The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum: A Fusion of Contemporary Art and Innovative Architecture at Michigan State University
The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum (MSU Broad), a contemporary art museum on the campus of Michigan State University (MSU) in East Lansing, Michigan, stands as a testament to the transformative power of art and architecture. Designed by the globally renowned architect Zaha Hadid, the museum is not only a repository of artistic expression but also an architectural marvel that has reshaped the cultural landscape of the university and the surrounding community.
A Vision Realized: The Genesis of the MSU Broad
The story of the MSU Broad begins with a vision to create a world-class art museum at Michigan State University. Before the MSU Broad, art collections were housed by the Kresge Art Museum, located within Michigan State University's art department building, the Kresge Art Center. The Kresge Art Museum traces its roots to the 1930s when the university's art department first started displaying its official art collection in various locations on campus. In 1959 the Kresge Art Center was built, and a space called "the Gallery" was set aside to house the art. Recognizing the need for a dedicated space to showcase art and foster cultural engagement, a community committee, including David and Ruth Greenbaum, advocated for a new facility.
The Broads' Transformative Gift
In 2007, Michigan State alumnus and Fortune 500 businessman Eli Broad and his wife, Edythe Broad, philanthropists and art collectors, stepped forward with a transformative gift of $26 million. This contribution, the largest in the university's history at the time, included $18.5 million for the construction of a new museum and an additional $7.5 million to fund art acquisitions, exhibitions, and operations. Their gift propelled the vision of a world-class art museum into reality. The Broads' commitment extended beyond financial support. They envisioned a museum that would not only house art but also serve as a catalyst for creativity and cultural exchange throughout the entire campus and community.
Selecting an Architect: A Global Competition
Following the approval of the museum, a competition was held to select the architect who would bring this vision to life. From approximately 30 firms, 10 semifinalists were identified, and five architectural firms were chosen to submit competition proposals. The proposed building was to include a minimum of 26,000 square feet (2,400 m2) of gallery space and would accommodate both permanent and temporary exhibitions. The selection process involved a distinguished jury, including Eli Broad, Michael Govan, and other experts in architecture, arts, and business.
Zaha Hadid's Winning Design: A Bold and Innovative Vision
Zaha Hadid Architects emerged as the winner of the competition, presenting a design that was both innovative and striking. Hadid, a Pritzker Prize-winning architect known for her theoretical and academic work, envisioned a building that would challenge conventional notions of architecture and create a dynamic and engaging space for art.
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Architectural Marvel: The Design and Construction of the MSU Broad
Designed by architect Zaha Hadid, the Broad Art Museum's iconic design is constructed of steel and concrete with a pleated stainless steel and glass exterior. The structural system combines steel framing, concrete shear, and bearing walls. The floors are structural concrete, finished as polished concrete and wood in the galleries. The exterior is a rain-screen system consisting of sheathed steel framing clad with folding and pleated stainless steel panels. There is a high-performance glazing for the windows, doors, and skylights. The Broad Art Museum's design is a testament to Hadid's architectural vision and the collaborative efforts of the construction team. Barton Malow served as the project director, overseeing the complex construction process. The building's angular design, characterized by its pleated stainless steel and glass exterior, creates a visually striking presence on the Michigan State University campus.
A Pleated Stainless Steel Façade: Reflecting Light and Innovation
The museum's exterior is clad in pleated stainless steel and glass, creating a dynamic and reflective surface that interacts with light and the surrounding environment. This unique façade distinguishes the building from the traditional brick Collegiate Gothic architecture of the north campus, symbolizing the museum's forward-looking approach. The pleated design also serves a practical purpose, creating a rain-screen system that protects the building from the elements.
Interior Spaces: Fluidity and Connectivity
The MSU Broad is composed of three levels: lower, ground (main), and second with its highest point at approximately 38 feet on the west side (Minskoff Gallery), sloping to about 24 feet on the east side (Education Wing). Its layout is centered around the floating staircase with the galleries branching out from it. The movement within and between the gallery spaces is fluid and designed to be affected by other visitors. The second-level spaces provide dramatic views of both campus and downtown East Lansing. The museum's interior spaces are designed to be fluid and interconnected, encouraging visitors to explore the art and engage with the building's architecture. The floating staircase serves as a central element, connecting the different levels and providing a dramatic focal point. The galleries branch out from the staircase, creating a sense of openness and discovery. Public movement and circulation areas of the building are marked through the use of architectural concrete.
Community-Focused Design: A Gateway to Art and Culture
The Broad's design is largely community-focused. The internal galleries and public spaces are positioned to create an intentional exchange between the city, its inhabitants, the museum visitor and the art. A dialog is formed with the town and Grand River Avenue, East Lansing's downtown area, through a visual connectivity between the galleries, plaza, and city. It functions as a gateway between the East Lansing community and campus with its parallel doors connecting campus to the downtown area. The floating staircase echoes the exchange with Grand River Avenue via the two-story glazed window opening. The museum's design is intended to foster a sense of community and connection. The internal galleries and public spaces are positioned to create an intentional exchange between the city, its inhabitants, the museum visitor, and the art. A visual connectivity between the galleries, plaza, and city creates a dialogue with the town and Grand River Avenue, East Lansing's downtown area.
A Hub for Art and Culture: Exhibitions, Collections, and Programs
The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum is not only an architectural landmark but also a dynamic hub for art and culture. Its exhibitions, collections, and programs engage diverse audiences and promote a deeper understanding of contemporary art and its historical context.
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A Diverse Collection: From Antiquities to Contemporary Works
The museum's permanent collection of over 10,000 pieces includes more than 7,500 inherited from the Kresge Art Museum, MSU's former art museum, when it closed, representing a wide array of artistic production from the ancient to the present, across the world, in a variety of media. Significant holdings include Ancient Greek and Roman antiquities; pre-Columbian sculptures and vessels; Medieval and Renaissance illuminations; Old Master paintings; 19th-century American paintings; 20th-century sculpture by artists such as Alexander Calder and Jenny Holzer; and works by contemporary artists such as Chuck Close and Ann Hamilton. The rotating exhibition schedule allows for frequent new shows to be on view. The museum's curatorial focus is a global focus on emerging to mid-career artists. Exhibitions consist largely of contemporary artists, including those achieving their Master of Fine Arts degree at Michigan State University, as well as shows of selected works from the collection.
Engaging Programs: Education and Outreach
The MSU Broad organizes a few hundred programs for various ages, open to all at no charge. These programs include lectures, workshops, tours, and family activities, designed to enhance the visitor experience and foster a lifelong appreciation of art. The museum also collaborates with local schools and community organizations to provide educational opportunities for students of all ages.
Inaugural Exhibitions: Setting the Stage for Contemporary Art
The Broad MSU’s inaugural exhibitions, special projects and commissions, curated by Rush include: Global Groove 1973/2012 (on view through February 24, 2013) features Nam June Paik’s seminal video from 1973, Global Groove, as a jumping off point to explore current trends in international video art. The exhibition will celebrate the multiple approaches to the medium artists are using, from low-tech to highly cinematic; personal and diaristic to intensely political and challenging. The exhibition features a unique architectural design for video in the center of the largest gallery in the museum. are featured. The artists of Global Groove 1973/2012 include Bashar Alhroub, Berry Bickle, Negar Behbahani, Lee Yongbaek, Basir Mahmood, Zwelethu Mthethwa and Matthew Hindley, Nam June Paik, The Propeller Group, Sam Jury, Zhao Yao and Li Ming. In Search of Time (on view through February 10, 2013). In celebrating the opening of this iconic building at Michigan State University, In Search of Time seeks to explore the longing artists have held for hundreds of years to express their relationship to time and memory. By creating dialogues among artworks from the medieval period, the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries, this exhibition gives voice to a motif artists have shared for hundreds of years. The artists featured in In Search of Time include Josef Albers, William Baziotes, Romare Bearden, Joseph Beuys, Brassai, Larry Clarke, John Coplans, Joseph Cornell, Benjamin Cotton, Salvador Dali, Erwin Elliott, Paolo di Giovanni Fei, Damien Hirst, Toba Khadoori, Anselm Kiefer, Helen Levitt, Barbara Morgan, E.O. Hoppe, Sam Jury, Mike Kelley, Edweard Muybridge, Fairfield Porter, Ed Ruscha, Esteban Vicente, Andy Warhol and mid-late 19th-century African sculptures. Marco Brambilla’s Evolution is a densely packed, mesmerizing 3-D video that recounts the entire history of human evolution, illustrated as a vast side-scrolling video mural depicting the spectacle of human conflict and triumph across time. Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle will create a monumental sculpture that references the work of Buckminster Fuller, suspended by cable in the 32-feet-high portion of the northwest gallery on the first floor of the museum. Marjetica Ptroč will construct Soweto House with Prepaid Water Meter, part of the artist’s ongoing global exploration of housing situations and solutions in currently or formerly unplanned cities. Chen Qiulin will create an installation with suspended bodies reflecting those lost in the floods of the massive Three Gorges project in China, including a video of a wedding of two young residents who proclaim the undaunted future of the region. Nguyen Phuong Linh will create a two-ton sculpture of a boat made entirely of salt, referencing both migration and daily living in her native country. Fritz Haeg: Domestic Integrities began in early September 2012 at a temporary space and is on view in the museum through January 2013. Organized by curator of contemporary art Ali Gass and director of education Aimee Shapiro, Domestic Integrities explores local patterns and rituals of interior domestic landscapes-the ways in which local resources are harvested and digested into the home, bringing the outdoors in. Museum exhibitions of the project are presented on spirally stitched circular rugs called Domestic Integrity Fields made of discarded textiles that gradually expand as they travel from city to city. For the edition of Domestic Integrities produced by the Broad MSU, visitors and collaborating student groups bring something they have cooked or produced from elements harvested or found in the area. After the Broad MSU exhibition, Domestic Integrities will continue on to the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.
A Legacy of Vision and Impact
The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum stands as a testament to the transformative power of art, architecture, and philanthropy. It has enriched the cultural landscape of Michigan State University and the surrounding community, providing a space for learning, inspiration, and engagement.
A Driver of Tourism and Economic Activity: Realizing the Vision
The original vision for the Broad Art Museum had it acting as a regional driver of tourism and economic activity. While initial attendance figures were promising, the museum has faced challenges in fully realizing its economic impact. However, it continues to serve as a cultural destination, attracting visitors from across the region and beyond.
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A Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
The museum has made efforts to address issues of diversity and inclusion in its collection and programming. These efforts include strategic acquisitions to emphasize women and BIPOC artists, as well as exhibitions and programs that explore diverse perspectives and experiences.
A Lasting Legacy: Inspiring Future Generations
The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum is more than just a building; it is a symbol of creativity, innovation, and community engagement. It serves as a reminder of the importance of art in our lives and the power of architecture to shape our experiences. As it continues to evolve and grow, the MSU Broad will undoubtedly inspire future generations of artists, scholars, and community members.
Key Dates in the MSU Broad's History
- 1931: MSU’s Art Department was created
- 1959: The Kresge Art Gallery (later Museum) opened.
- 2007: Eli and Edythe Broad announced a $26 million gift to build the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University.
- November 10, 2012: The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University opened to the public.
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