Brigham Young University Museum of Art

BYU Museum of Art
Established 1993
Location Provo, Utah, USA
Type University museum
Visitors 334,774
Website http://moa.byu.edu/

Coordinates: 40°15′03″N 111°38′53″W / 40.25083°N 111.64806°W The Brigham Young University Museum of Art, located in Provo, Utah, is the university's primary art museum and is one of the best attended university-campus art museums in the United States. The museum, which had been discussed for more than fifty years,[1] opened in a 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) space in October 1993 with a large exhibit on the Etruscans.[2] The museum is an integral part of the BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications and provides opportunities for students across the college and the university's campus.

History

After breaking ground two years prior,[3] the museum opened in October 1993 as a location to house BYU's extensive collection of more than 17,000 pieces of art which, due to a lack of space, had never been able to be displayed permanently.[4] The lack of a permanent home had resulted in damage to some of the collection[5] and the loss of more than 900 pieces of art.[6]

According to a 2004 survey, the museum ranked first in attendance among university campus art museums with 334,774 visitors. Among all art museums, the museum comes in 31st in attendance out of 157 member art museums from the United States, Canada and Mexico.[7] The museum's philosophy of reaching out to the students and the community has been cited as one of the reasons for its success to date.[8] In addition to having the largest university museum attendance, the museum also has the highest level of student attendance because its staff works closely with faculty to incorporate the museum into school curriculum.[8]

At times, the university's connection with the LDS Church has led to certain special exhibits being modified, including a Rodin exhibit in 1997 that would have included 4 nude works of art.[9] The exclusion of those four pieces surprised museum professionals[10] and angered some students.[11]

Collection

The museum displays paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, installations, video, and photography. The permanent collection contains works of art from many renowned artists including Carl Bloch, Maynard Dixon, Rembrandt, Norman Rockwell, and Minerva Teichert. The museum's permanent collection is augmented by a number of partnerships with other organizations[8] and traveling exhibits and other special exhibits, including one that coincided with the 2002 Olympics that were held in nearby Salt Lake City.[12] The museum's collection includes more than 170 works related to Jesus Christ[13] showing how his portrayal has changed.[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Art Museum Dedicated at BYU". The Deseret News. 1993-10-14. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  2. ↑ "State-of-Art Structure has Plenty of Room for Expansion". The Salt Lake Tribune. 1993-10-17. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  3. ↑ "Ceremony Will Inaugurate Future Art Addition at BYU". The Salt Lake Tribune. 1991-03-24. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  4. ↑ Catherine Reese (1993-05-23). "BYU's State-of-the-Art Museum". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  5. ↑ "Trying to Track down Head of Brigham Young Statue". The Deseret News. 1994-07-28. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  6. ↑ Wright, Lili; Cilwick, Ted (1992-07-19). "Raiders of the Lost Art Plunder BYU Work". The Deseret News. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  7. ↑ "About the Museum". Brigham Young University. 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Ehren Clark (2007-04-19). "BYU Museum of Art is a Production". The Deseret News. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  9. ↑ "BYU Says No to Rodin Nudes". The Washington Post. 1997-10-28. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  10. ↑ Dan Egan (1997-10-28). "BYU's Ban on 4 Rodin Pieces Mystifies National Art Expert". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  11. ↑ "Students' Protest at BYU is About More than Rodin". The Deseret News. 1997-10-31. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  12. ↑ Brandon Griggs (2002-01-13). "Smithsonian Sends the Best of the West to BYU". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  13. ↑ Dave Gagon (2007-03-27). "Spend Some Time Exploring Area Galleries, Museums". The Deseret News. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  14. ↑ Rodger L. Hardy (2006-11-23). "Local Exhibit Shows Diversity Through Images of Christ's Life". The Deseret News. Retrieved 2008-06-17.

External links

Media related to Brigham Young University Museum of Art at Wikimedia Commons