IU Art Museum plans $1 million renovation

The IU Art Museum is working to raise $1 million for the renovation of a gallery that hasn't even seen a new coat of paint in two decades. The third-floor collection of African, Oceanic and pre-Columbian art will be the first room to receive remodeling in a plan to overhaul the layout of the entire museum.\nIU Art Museum gallery curator Diane Pelrine discussed plans for the remodeling Wednesday.\n"Let's face it. We need some general repairing," Pelrine said. "The gallery is showing some wear and tear from the past 20 years."\nSince the third-floor collection attracts the fewest number of patrons, the museum decided it should receive the first face lift. The collection has remained relatively unchanged since its opening in the fall of 1985. Pelrine blames its location, its lack of advertising on the lower floors and a general ignorance of this genre of art for its unpopularity. \n"I am working on a plan that will make people feel like they want to go into the gallery," Pelrine said.\nAt the meeting, which was open to the public, the proposed changes were discussed over lunch. More than 20 members of the arts community, including docents, Bloomington residents, patrons and students, offered suggestions about the changes.\nPelrine said the interior walls will be knocked out and the gallery will be given a whole new layout, complete with an orientation room and separate areas for each collection. There will be a new emphasis on contemporary African art, thanks to a partnership with the IU African studies program. \nRob Shakespeare from the IU theater lighting department will create a new lighting plan. The individual glass cases will be lowered to meet the \nAmerican Disability Act's recommendation of 30 inches from the ground to provide accessibility for patrons in wheelchairs as well as children. There will be audio tours and new brochures for self-guided tours. Everything, down to the color of the walls, is going to be updated.\nPelrine said she would like to focus heavily on education about the pieces but would like to stay away from long, detailed labels next to the works themselves. \n"We are an art museum first," she said. "Although context is important, we want people to look at these objects and appreciate them as aesthetic objects."\nTherefore, a resource room will be built in the gallery to raise awareness for these cultures and their art. A computer kiosk with Internet access will be hooked up, and the gallery will include a television showing clips from festivals from parts of the world relevant to the artwork. One of the participants at Wednesday's meeting suggested the museum offer some sort of touch exhibit for children, which Pelrine noted.\nSeveral new pieces will be added as part of the permanent collection, but the American Indian art will be put into storage, since there is not enough to create an entire exhibit. \nJoseph Stahlman, a Ph.D. student in the anthropology department, voiced his concern with this decision.\n"Do you think that if you removed the contemporary Native American objects, that people will think that they have nothing to contribute?" Stahlman asked.\nPelrine said that she understood his apprehension. \n"I feel a little uneasy about it," she said. "But I want people to see what we have and to see a full story. I don't want to detract from that."\nAside from this one conflict, participants in the discussion seemed enthusiastic about the upcoming remodeling. They offered advice on what to do with the pieces while the gallery is under construction, which will last at least nine months. Pelrine said the museum would like to do renovations during the summer when there is less traffic. It plans to put some of the art in the special exhibitions gallery on the ground floor and possibly lend some out to other universities and art museums to be housed until the gallery is complete.\nSo far, the museum has raised about $80,000 and is in the process of finalizing plans and applying for grants and endowments. Pelrine said there is still a lot of work left to do. \n"I am still collecting what people like and don't like about the installment," she said.