Charlotte's Bechtler Museum Tapped Southern Version Of NY's Metropolitan

The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art opened Jan. 2 in Charlotte, N.C.

Its being compared to the NYC Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Since I'm originally from New York (Native Brooklynite) of course I totally disagree. Anyone who has ever toured the NY Metro would know exactly why. (Size, Quality of Art work, Big Money, World Class, etc.,)

However in all fairness Bechtler is still a very nice place to visit if your ever in Charlotte.







Bechtler Evokes Feel Of New York In Charlotte


With a splash of color, whimsy and fun, the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art opened Saturday - moving Charlotte into a new artistic league.

More than 5,000 visitors from across the Carolinas filled the four floors of the building, waiting in lines that spilled out of the lobby and into the adjoining Knight Theater.

"Cool," said 5-year-old Whit Wright of Charlotte, grinning as he danced around a rhythmically rocking sculpture by Jean Tinguely.

"Sexual," said Charlottean Tyler Lee, 30, gesturing toward a maze of abstract body parts woven into a Picasso tapestry.

"Amazing," said art history student Catherine Holt, 25, of Charlotte, who for years has heard teachers preach the importance of seeing art in person. On Saturday, she saw her first Edgar Degas original and said she knows now how right they were.

After a chilly ribbon-cutting outside around noon, visitors got in free to the Southeast's only museum dedicated to 20th-century modern art.

Many of the 116 pieces on display - drawn from a collection of more than 1,400 donated to the city by Swiss-born Charlotte resident Andreas Bechtler - have never been exhibited publicly in the United States.

The striking terra cotta building - one of only two in this country designed by Swiss architect Mario Botta - is as much a work of art as the pieces inside.

The building was financed by the city and county and built by Wachovia/Wells Fargo for $17million, with Andreas Bechtler contributing $3 million to construction costs.

The museum is part of the South Tryon Street cultural campus, which also includes the Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, the Knight Theater and the new Mint Museum Uptown, which will open this fall.

At the Bechtler opening, a mix of visitors - families, bohemian types, women in trendy scarves and teens in fleece jackets - seemed equally delighted with the museum.

"I feel like I'm in New York," said Charlottean Fielding Williams, 43.

"I haven't seen such a collection since I was in some European museums," said Mary Kendrick, 41, of Charlotte, who brought her two young sons to the opening.

Four-year-old Ian Kendrick thought the Picasso tapestry looked "kind of Chinese." His 8-year-old brother, Nathan, noticed how much a wooden Max Ernst sculpture looked like "a laundry rack."

Dan Prickett, former chairman of Charlotte's Arts & Science Council board now living in Charleston, made the trip to town just for the opening.

"This is going to draw people into the city in large numbers," he said. "Rarely do you see in one place in America - outside of New York - a collection of this caliber."

In the fourth-floor main gallery, Charlottean Paulette Henry, 48, looked at a framed painter's towel, complete with paint smudges and ragged holes. On the back, it's inscribed to the Bechtler family by artist Joan Miró.

"Different," Henry said with a bemused expression.

"You'd be surprised what can make art these days," said her stepdaughter, Christina Forbes, 19, of Raleigh.

But Emily Lorance, 28, of Belmont, enjoyed the "playfulness" of the same towel. "It's not often you go to a museum and find such personalized messages," she said.

Architect Botta spoke at the ribbon-cutting and drew impromptu building sketches afterward for visitors, including Mecklenburg County Commissioners Chair Jennifer Roberts.

Through an interpreter, he said he "tried to create a little treasure chest within the city" with the Bechtler building.

Judging by Saturday's reaction from the public, the building and its art have managed to do just that.



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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, NY Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bechtler Museum, Wikipedia, Youtube, Google Maps

Michelle Obama at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC...Encourages Arts Education

This afternoon First Lady Michelle Obama made an appearance at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.

She was the guest speaker at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the museum's newly renovated American wing.

Also in attendance for the event was NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Rep. Charles Rangel, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Vogue Editor Anna Wintour, supermodel Iman and designer Ralph Lauren.

In her remarks Mrs. Obama disclosed that she and the President's first date took place at a museum. She also encouraged our nation's communities to offer opportunities for children and youth to express themselves artistically in some way.
(I most certainly hope Charlotte, NC saw or heard about this either on-line or on television.)

Later this evening she attended the American Ballet Theatre Opening Night Spring Gala with Caroline Kennedy.








THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the First Lady
______________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release May 18, 2009

REMARKS BY THE FIRST LADY
AT THE RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY
FOR THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART AMERICAN WING

Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York, New York


MRS. OBAMA: "Thank you. Thank you so much. Please, rest.
Good afternoon and thank you, Emily, for that introduction, and thank you for reminding me. You know, after 20-some-odd years of knowing a guy, you forget that your first date was at a museum. But it was, and it was obviously wonderful; it worked."

"So I am delighted to be here with you to celebrate American history through the arts. From the beginning of our nation, the inspired works of our artists and artisans have reflected the ingenuity, creativity, independence and beauty of this nation. It is the painter, the potter, the weaver, the silver smith, the architect, the designer whose work continues to create an identity for America that is respected and recognized around the world as distinctive and new."

"The American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art captures this spirit in presenting a variety of American art forms and providing a link to history for us to learn from, appreciate and be inspired by."

"Our future as an innovative country depends on ensuring that everyone has access to the arts and to cultural opportunity. Nearly 6 million people make their living in the non-profit arts industry, and arts and cultural activities contribute more than $160 billion to our economy every year. And trust me, I tried to do my part to add to that number."

"The President included an additional $50 million in funding to the NEA in the stimulus package to preserve jobs in state arts agencies and regional arts organizations in order to keep them up and running during the economic downturn."

"But the intersection of creativity and commerce is about more than economic stimulus, it's also about who we are as people. The President and I want to ensure that all children have access to great works of art at museums like the one here. We want them to have access to great poets and musicians in theaters around the country, to arts education in their schools and community workshops."

"We want all children who believe in their talent to see a way to create a future for themselves in the arts community, be it as a hobby or as a profession."

"The arts are not just a nice thing to have or to do if there is free time or if one can afford it. Rather, paintings and poetry, music and fashion, design and dialogue, they all define who we are as a people and provide an account of our history for the next generation."

"The President recently nominated renowned theater producer Rocco Landesman to chair the National Endowment for the Arts. Rocco's entrepreneurial spirit and his commitment to being a bridge between the philanthropic, non-profit and commercial arts community will ensure that all types of art and creative expression are provided fertile ground to live and to grow."

"And that's what we hope to do at the White House, that's what we've been trying to do at the White House. We've been trying to break down barriers that too often exist between major cultural establishments and the people in their immediate communities; to invite kids who are living inches away from the power and prestige and fortune and fame, we want to let those kids know that they belong here, too."

"I want to applaud the Metropolitan Museum of Art for all the outreach that you do, for having kids like these here today to be involved in this and to experience this and to share this with us, because this is your place, too. So we're very proud of the Met for the work that they've done."

"So we are excited. Thank you for including me. And now we can get to the -- we're going to cut the ribbon now. Thank you so much."



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Sources: Whitehouse.gov, Huffington Post, Political Punch, ABC News, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Day Life, Google Maps