Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
Established 2014
Location TBD
Type Art Museum
Founder George Lucas
Director Don Bacigalupi
Judy Kim, Dep. Dir.
Website lucasmuseum.org

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is a museum project in development by film creator and director, George Lucas.[1] It will hold paintings, photography, illustration, cinematic art and digital art from Lucas' personal collection .[2]

Collections

The museum will house works by artists such as Howard Chandler Christy, N.C. Wyeth, Maxfield Parrish, and Norman Rockwell.[3]

History

The first president of the Museum is Don Bacigalupi, former president of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. In 2015, the State of Illinois approved potential land use for the museum[4] and the Chicago City Council approved zoning.[5][6]

Proposed San Francisco Presidio site

Previous plan for the museum in Chicago

To be known as the Lucas Cultural Arts Museum, it was originally planned for San Francisco, on Crissy Field. This version of the museum would have held Lucas’ art collection, which is estimated to be worth approximately $1 billion.[7] After four years of negotiation with The Presidio Trust over the land in San Francisco, Lucas announced instead that Chicago would host the museum, due in part to interest from the city's mayor, Rahm Emanuel, and the promise of land on the shore of Lake Michigan.[8][9][10] The museum would lease the land from the Chicago Park District for $1 a year.[11] Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti also made a bid to host the project, offering Lucas land near the University of Southern California.[1] Youngstown Mayor, John McNally, has also proposed to Lucas to locate the museum in Youngstown, Ohio offering donated land in the city's downtown.[12][13]

On May 3, 2016, a statement released by Melody Hobson, wife of George Lucas, stated that the couple was seeking other cities to host the museum after a protracted confrontation with Friends of the Parks.[14] On June 24, 2016, Lucas announced that the museum would not be located in Chicago.[15][16]

Proposed Chicago site

The proposed site on a parking lot near Soldier Field, Burnham Harbor and the Museum Campus was chosen by a Chicago city commission.[17] After the formal announcement of the museum's location on Chicago's lake shore and the later unveiling of its architecture, the project faced opposition again. In an editorial, the Chicago Tribune condemned the size of the structure, referring to it as "a monument to its patron rather than a modest addition to a democratic public space". The Chicago plan called for a museum building roughly four times the size of the one planned for San Francisco, though that size was later scaled back.[18][19] The Tribune also expressed worries about the cost of maintenance, to be absorbed by taxpayers, and the damage to the preservation of the lake front.

Friends of the Parks, a Chicago-area preservation organization, opposed the plan, citing a ban on development on the land set aside for Lucas. It filed a federal suit to block the development, arguing that granting the museum a 99-year lease "effectively surrenders control" of prime lakefront property to a museum that is "not for the benefit of the public" but would "promote private and/or commercial interests".[20] In March 2015, U.S. District Judge John Darrah ruled the land intended for the museum is held in public trust. Thus, the Illinois General Assembly is the only body with the power to allow construction to proceed, under certain limitations.[21] The state subsequently approved a law designed to enable such projects, while the Chicago Park District approved a long-term lease and litigation on that lease is going forward.[22][23][24]

Criticism also has been leveled against Friends of the Parks for its opposition.[25] In May 2016, Bill Kurtis wrote an op-ed in support of the Lucas Museum which appeared in the Chicago Tribune.[26]

Third proposed site

In June 2016, Museum officials announced that they are now considering sites in Los Angeles and San Francisco.[27]

Design

MAD architects, headed by Ma Yansong, was responsible for designing a building for the Chicago site, while VOA Associates was designated to oversee construction. Studio Gang Architects, already involved in the rehabilitation of Northerly Island, was selected to design the landscape. [28][29]

The design was met with some criticism upon release. Blair Kamin of the Chicago Tribune called the structure "needlessly massive" and called for a "dose of restraint" to preserve the lakefront.[30] In Crain's Chicago Business, Greg Hinz derided it as "[yelling] and [carrying] on, in its own way defacing the city's lakefront as much as any teenager with a can of spray paint...".[31]

Revised plans were released in September 2015, which scaled back on the size of the project but otherwise kept the basic design.[19]

After it was announced that the museum would not be built in Chicago, Kamin wrote, "But that bizarre design — which drew comparisons to Jabba the Hutt's palace, piles of road salt and nuclear power plants — was never right for the lakefront. It was an icon wannabe rather than a modest, naturalistic statement."[32]

References

  1. 1 2 Matthews, David (29 September 2015). "Lucas Museum Called 'Huge Plus for City,' 'Upside-down Snow Cone' at Forum.". DNA Info. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  2. ↑ Lucas Museum of Narrative Art (2015). "Lucas Museum of Narrative Art". Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  3. ↑ Walker, Alissa (26 June 2014). "17 Works of Art That Will Hang In George Lucas's New Museum". Gawker Media (Gizmodo). Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "Lawmakers Approve Bill on Obama Library, Lucas Museum". NBC Chicago.
  5. ↑ Smith, Aaron (October 30, 2015). "'Star Wars' creator George Lucas wins approval for Chicago art museum". CNNMoney.
  6. ↑ Rosenfeld, Karrisa (October 29, 2015). "MAD's George Lucas Museum Wins Approval in Chicago". ArchDaily.com.
  7. ↑ Bailey, Holly (June 14, 2013). "George Lucas pitches a San Francisco art museum". Yahoo! News.
  8. ↑ Harris, Melissa (April 10, 2014). "Chicago to Vie for George Lucas' Museum". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  9. ↑ Erdman, Shelby Lin (June 25, 2014). "Chicago Beats Out San Francisco for New George Lucas Museum", CNN. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  10. ↑ Sneed, Michael (June 25, 2014). "Sneed Scoop: Chicago Lands George Lucas Museum". Chicago Sun-Time. Archived from the original on November 7, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  11. ↑ Geiger, Kim (November 12, 2014). "Parks Group to Sue over Lakefront Site for Lucas Museum", Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Youngstown mayor invites George Lucas to build museum downtown". 20 May 2016.
  13. ↑ "City Officials Have Star (Wars) in Their Eyes".
  14. ↑ "Lucas Museum's Chicago Plan Now Appears Dead". CBS Chicago. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  15. ↑ O'Connell, Patrick M.; Ruthhart, Bill (June 24, 2016). "Lucas Museum Drops Plan to Build in Chicago", Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  16. ↑ Bentle, Kyle; Berlin, Jonathon; Brinson, Jemal R. (June 15, 2016; updated June 24, 2016). "The Saga of the Lucas Museum", Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  17. ↑ http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20160615/OPINION/160619937/george-lucas-didnt-choose-this-controversial-museum-site-we-did
  18. ↑ Editorial Board (7 November 2014). "Keep George Lucas' museum off Chicago's lakefront". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  19. 1 2 O'Connell, Patrick M. (10 September 2015). "Scaled-back Lucas museum plans may put lawsuit in jeopardy". chicagotribune.com.
  20. ↑ Rahm plan: Demolish McCormick Place East, put Lucas Museum there
  21. ↑ Sisson, Patrick (March 13, 2015). "Will Judge's Ruling Send Lucas Museum to a Site Far, Far Away? - Museum Battles - Curbed Chicago". Curbed. Vox Media (Curbed). Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  22. ↑ Manson, Patricia (February 4, 2016). "Lucas Museum put on hold again". Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  23. ↑ "How public? Lucas case may hinge on interpretation of legal landmark". Chicago Tribune. November 9, 2015.
  24. ↑ O'Connell, Patrick M. (4 February 2016). "Judge deals setback to Lucas Museum, denies motion to dismiss lawsuit". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  25. ↑ Harris, Melissa (March 23, 2015). "In Lucas Museum fight, preservationists are protecting parking lots". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  26. ↑ Chicago Tribune (11 May 2016). "Bill Kurtis op-ed: Lucas Museum would further Chicago's lakefront mission". chicagotribune.com.
  27. ↑ Ng, David (24 June 2016). "George Lucas abandons Chicago, will build new museum in California". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  28. ↑ Neamt, Ioana (30 July 2014). "Studio Gang And MAD Architects To Design George Lucas' Museum Of Narrative Art". Commercial Property Executive. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  29. ↑ Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. "Museum Design". Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  30. ↑ Kamin, Blair (3 November 2014). "Lucas Museum design an architectural mountain on city's lakefront". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  31. ↑ Hinz, Greg (3 November 2014). "Lucas Museum rolls out a design R2-D2 would pan". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  32. ↑ Kamin, Blair (June 24, 2016). "Lucas Reaps Bitter Fruits of Arrogance as Chicago Museum Plan Collapses", Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
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