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HAD364: MUSEUM VISIT #2 Choose one of the following Museums to visit and complete the questionnaire.* (ADMISSION IS FREE with YOUR PRATT ID)

Locations and Hours:

Morgan Museum and Library 225 Madison Ave at East 36th Street Tuesday through Thursday: 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday: 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Cooper Hewitt/Smithsonian Design Museum 2 East 91st Street Weekdays and Sundays, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m

Frick Art Museum One East 70th Street Tuesday through Saturday, 10am-6pm Sundays, 11am-5pm

DUE: Remember your museum visit will replace class on Tuesday, November 26th and is worth 10% of your grade.

Staple your ticket/receipt to the assignment! Go! Your experience and assignment will not be the same without going to the Museum and being in the space.

Introduction:

Each of these Museums was once a private home that later became a museum under different circumstances. For instance, plans to turn the Frick Mansion into an Art Museum were stipulated in Henry Clay Frick’s will while Carnegie never intended his home to become a museum nor does it house a collection that belonged to him but was taken over by the Smithsonian after being used for Columbia School of Social Work classes. In addition, each space has been altered since it was a residence, with the most dramatic example being the Morgan library that combines original parts of the house and a new addition that holds exhibition space, restaurants and museum shop. As you walk through these museums consider the relationship between domestic interior and public exhibition space by answering the questions below.

The answer to each question should be about 1-2 paragraphs. Answer both required questions and one optional question. Three questions in total.

REQUIRED:

1. After walking through the Museum, make three to four observations about how the domestic interior has been altered to accommodate an exhibition space (not commercial space). What might have

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been the reasons behind the alteration? What is gained and/or lost? Is it successful or not? What alternative alterations could have been made to solve the same problem or need? Be specific in your descriptions of the spaces (ornament, size, colors, furniture, art, lighting).

2. What are the most impressive remaining elements of the residence? Why? Why might they have been preserved over other elements? What do they indicate about the past residents? About the priorities of the residents and/or time in terms of spatial patterns (traffic, sense of space)? About the decorative priorities and preferences? What seem to be some of the most important symbols of wealth? culture? domesticity? How are spaces accommodated to the materials and construction available? How does it try to belie those?

CHOOSE ONE of the FOLLOWING:

A. Present two to three questions about the interior (or set of interiors) that you think would be valuable to pursue if you were using this interior as the subject of a research paper. Explain the value of these questions, directions for research and a hypothesis of what research might reveal. Suggest what kinds of sources might be useful for the research. Consider what larger problems these questions address about the history and/or theory of interior design, historic houses and/or museum design.

B. Offer an alternative design for two connecting spaces in the Museum you visited. For instance, you can design a gallery and a front hall or a courtyard, or two adjacent galleries or a gallery and transition space. Include a drawing as well as a detailed prose description that not only presents materials, dimensions, objects and layout but also an explanation of why this design better serves the function of the space and the mission of the Museum. It should also address your philosophy of how to balance historic preservation and Museum design as well as the most important design considerations in a public Museum space.

*For extra credit: Visit two and answer a fourth question. The fourth essay should present a comparison of how the two balance exhibition and historical preservation, past and present.

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