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BY KATE BONANSINGA |
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Perhaps the most ambitious of the many enterprises that he has launched since his arrival in Portland from Memphis, Tenn., in 1994, the "Project of the Millennium" has a goal of raising $30 million, over two-thirds of which is already secured. The money is to be allocated to operating expenses as well as to improvements, including permanent galleries for the museum's collections, a Center for Northwest Art, space for rotating exhibitions and a community-education center. Plans for programming are less evolved. At present, it's not clear whether it will continue in the vein that Buchanan has established thus far. Though the museum has hosted several exhibitions over the past few years, the most heavily publicized and attended (and the longest-running) were Imperial Tombs of China in 1996 and Splendors of Ancient Egypt, which closed last month. These shows were criticized by many in the art community because they originated from elsewhere and occupied almost the entire museum for several months. In a recent conversation with Buchanan and Kathryn Kanjo, curator of contemporary art, I asked whether, with more square footage, the museum will continue to support these general surveys of culture. Buchanan maintains that with additional galleries committed to the broad-based permanent collection, exhibitions of which will provide a general overview of art history, such shows may not be necessary. Construction of the special exhibition gallery, anticipated to take a year, is due to begin in November. Buchanan says that this could be a place for more in-depth studies of visual culture, at least part of the time. This is potentially good news. It will provide more opportunities for curators to place objects from the museum collection into contexts, temporarily joining them with works that reflect similar sensibilities or concerns--in other words, to organize original exhibitions with a clear curatorial voice. The increased exhibition space will extend to the outdoors, with a sculpture garden planned for the area between the Pietro Belluschi complex and the museum's north wing. It will also include videos borrowed from other institutions to be projected on an outdoor screen for several hours beginning at dusk each evening. The anticipated Center for Northwest Art will include work from this region from the late 19th century through to the present. It will be an important addition, since both Buchanan and Kanjo see PAM as having a regional focus. Buchanan contends the museum can support local artists in three ways: "The curators can publicize artists working here and now by speaking favorably of them both inside and outside of the Portland community, by exhibiting contemporary, regional work and by purchasing works for its permanent collection." The second gesture is fulfilled in part, he continues, by the Oregon Biennials. (The next is slated for late summer 1999.) When asked if the anticipated increase in square footage will translate to an increase in acquisitions, Kanjo said that although the budget for purchasing art is slim, gifts are actively solicited by the curators, and there will be more potential to obtain work because of increased exhibition space. It was on her recommendation that the Contemporary Art Council purchased Surround, the 1996 sculpture by Portland artist Lee C. Imonen that was an award winner at the 1997 Biennial, for the museum's permanent collection. More recently, on Sept. 16, the Sara Lee Corporation donated Édouard Vuillard's 1908 painting Bay Window at Pouliguen near La Baule. Dr. Richard R. Brettell, who is overseeing the dispersion of the company's collection, contacted Buchanan, with whom he was previously acquainted, because he was interested in placing a piece in a museum in the Northwest. The acquisition, then, is a result of Buchanan's connections rather than a recommendation from one of the curators. Asked about the extent of his curatorial input, Buchanan responded, "I'm open to everyone's ideas, they all go into the hat for us to choose from." Kanjo countered that her boss, like all museum directors, has final say in what the museum exhibits. The exchange signaled that there may be some disagreement about the amount of curatorial freedom Buchanan allows his staff. If he chooses to give talented curators room, literally and figuratively, to convey their ideas, his personal magnetism and fund-raising efforts will truly bear fruit.
originally published September 23 , 1998
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