Contemporary Arts Museum Houston by Chris Carr

   

      The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH) is an extremely important part of Houston’s museum district. The museum is always free to the public, along with whatever art pieces are inside. Located in the center of the arts district, it boasts a memorable stainless steel outer shell that few will ever forget. As stunning as it currently is, the museum was not always this way. 

       Throughout the years, CAMH has gone through multiple changes as a whole. Originally the museum was not actually a museum at all. Although founded by Walter I. Farmer, Robert Preusser, Alvin Romansky, Karl F. Kamrath, Edward M. Schiwetz, and Robert D. Straus, throughout the forties it would host its exhibitions at other museums and buildings in and around Houston; the most notable being empty galleries at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. In a technical sense the museum was really only an organized idea at this point, and was purely volunteer. Even though it was young, the museums first exhibition, “This is Contemporary Art” included some of the most famous architects and artists of the twentieth century, with names such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles Eames, and Vincent Van Gogh. Soon the CAHM started making serious progress and became more than just a volunteer gallery. 

               As CAMH continued to grow, a small building was purchased to house the pieces normally showcased elsewhere, in 1949. This finally gave the museum somewhere it could call home, but was still just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to its first building, CAMH, although traditionally strictly non-profit and volunteer, hired its first employee Jermayne MacAgy. The building itself was much too small to house the ever growing series of prominent collections, so the board allocated enough money for a new building to located in Montrose, the center of the arts district.

               The new building was planned and constructed by Gunnar Birkerts and Associates in 1972. Having Gunnar Birkerts build the museum was quite profound as he was a member of the American Institute of Architects, and was the recipient of many different architectural awards. Constructed to be noticed and remembered, the new building, which is still open today, was made of stainless steel, but oddly enough had no windows.  This is in an attempt to create an environment that is isolated, yet controlled at the same time. With no natural source of light, the source, and amount can be manipulated completely, depending on the will of the exhibitions owner. In addition, the museum never permanently hosts any body of work in its thirteen thousand square foot expanse. This helps bring in more people, and at the same time by circulating art, allows Houstonians the chance to see a unique blend of artwork. 

               The current museum was renovated by Stern and Buck to help preserve and stimulate its architectural identity. The new look helped gave the museum a fresh new appeal. During the renovation, Olin partnership renovated the outside landscaping. Olin partnership helped bring nature into the design scheme by using adding trees, and expanding the amount of greenery and water features on the property. 

      When it comes to the design of the elevations, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is dominated by a modern appeal. By creating such a basic design of steel for the outer layer, Birkerts emulated the same idea behind Mies Van Der Rohe’s “Farnsworth House”, “Less is more”. Mies’ idea of “less is more” was prevalent through many of his works. Birkerts previous work was more of a mix of both minimalism and ornamentation. In the Farnsworth house, the house only contained what it required to in essence be a house, no more, no less.  The stainless steel is timeless, so by picking it, Mies work is once again exemplified. While the house contains sharp angles, it is still dominated by one idea, the metal body. In the CAHM, the minimalist approach ends on the outside, as the transition inside provides a much different theme. (Phaidon)(FarnsworthHouse).

        The museum itself is literally called the “Contemporary” Arts Museum Houston, and that’s exactly what it contains inside of it, contemporary art. Since the museum is quite local, and houses contemporary art, the interior fits the mold for postmodern ideals. By housing many different types of contemporary art and design the museum creates a culmination of pluralism to occur. With the different types of art, the museum gains a bit of an eccentric air, mirroring part of Houston’s city cultural flair. The postmodern inside blends beautifully with the outside to create a truly one of a kind composition. 

       Not to be left out though is the buildings landscape. It too contains postmodern and modern elements. While the sparse use of trees and random metal objects add to the postmodern ornamental values of the design, the use of concrete and water features add to the modern feel. The outside of the building, mixed together as it is, really exemplifies the work’s values as a whole. In doing this, the building fits in perfectly with the rest of Houston at a social level as well. The house, as well as the city, contains a diverse grab bag of features that make both one of a kind. The design will continue to be timeless, as well as inspire future generations to blend not necessarily postmodern and modern values, but to at the very least think outside of the box.

References

Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2015, from http://houstonmuseumdistrict.org/museums/contemporary-arts-museum-houston/

CONTEMPORARY ARTS MUSEUM. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2015, from http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/klc02

Archive. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2015, from http://camh.org/exhibitions/archive