University of Minnesota's Weisman Art Museum as unique inside as it is outside
If you've been to the University of Minnesota, you can't miss the Weisman Art Museum. It stands out in more ways than one.
After more than 90 years, the museum still caters to all walks of life.
"It's a pretty polarizing design, right? Folks tend to love it or hate it," said Susannah Schouweiler, director of communications and marketing.
Those who love the outside of the Weisman Art Museum are likely lovers of the unusual. Those who hate it could be commuters caught in its glare.
"You see it as soon as you cross that Washington Street bridge," Schouweiler said. "You can't miss it, and it will glare right in your eye."
Fans of the Weisman will tell you that it's just as interesting inside as it is outside.
"It's a museum that has art from all over the world," Schouweiler said.
Thirty-thousand pieces to be exact — from paintings to pottery.
Schouweiler said the museum opened modestly in the 1930s on an upper floor of the Northrop Auditorium.
"One of the first pieces of artwork that we collected that made us kind of a bigger deal in the world of art museums was a Georgia O'Keeffe 'Oriental Poppies' painting," Schouweiler said.
The Weisman didn't get its own space until 1993, thanks to philanthropists and donors like Frederick Weisman, whom the museum is named after. Frank Gehry is the artist who came up with the quirky design, drawing inspiration from nearby cliffs. He also helped with the museum's expansion in 2011.
"These two rooms are our featured exhibit for the spring. It's called 'Seen,'" Schouweiler said.
Expansion has helped with temporary exhibits like Seen, which gives visitors a feel for what it's like to be incarcerated. It's a collaboration between current inmates and local artists.
"You can walk through. There are three different cell blocks in here," Schouweiler said.
Next door symbolizes homecoming and healing, after leaving prison.
"We really wanted those human experiences to be made visible," Schouweiler said. "Your life doesn't stop when you are sentenced and you are living in prison."
The museum has never charged for admission.
"It's very student-oriented and it also challenges what would be in galleries because of that," said MollieRae Miller, assistant registrar.
Another thing that makes the Weisman unique is that students and faculty can actually bring home a select piece of art for a semester or even an entire school year for a small fee — kind of like checking out a book at the library.
But there's plenty of art that never leaves because it can't.
"This was a derelict Spokane, Washington, tenement building," Schouweiler said.
Pedicord Apartments is a time capsule of what an apartment building looked like in the 70s and 80s. It's one of the most popular exhibits because it's so authentic.
"You walk in and you lean over and you can hear the tenants inside each of these spaces. Some folks are watching TV. Some folks are having a party," Schouweiler said.
They are recordings, but you get the idea. And that's what the Weisman is all about — giving visitors an experience that's as unusual as the building itself.
"You take the time for yourself. And we have plenty of folks who come and hang out just because it's a beautiful space," Schouweiler said.
The Weisman Art Museum is free and open to the public year-round. It's closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Directors say the outside of the building is extremely hard to clean because of its design.
