Louis Kahn and Texas Modern

Serenity, subtlety and modest scale are probably not the first things that spring to mind when most people think about Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Nor would people associate a tradition of modernism with this region. Think again. These adjacent cities are home to three of the finest modern art museums in the world. They ask us to rethink museums and their connection to their location and environments, and maybe how to view art and architecture in general.

I spent a day visiting Louis Kahn's Kimbell Art Museum (1972) and Tadao Ando's Modern Art Museum (2002) in Fort Worth, and Renzo Piano's Nasher Sculpture Center (2003) in Dallas. It's an extraordinary trio, held together by aesthetics and natural elements that border on the sublime. Each museum and its grounds incorporates travertine stone and agile concrete walls, pools of water, an intimate connection with the outdoors and an obsession with natural light. They ask us to rethink the purpose of a museum—less as a holding tank for vast collections of art, like the Louvre, and more as a living, breathing modern space that inspires one's full senses with the work on display. If you think art museums are academic or stuffy, the Texa s trio will change your mind.

The integration of the natural elements comes across in unique ways: black crows in huge numbers had taken over the Nasher Sculpture Center, creating an Alfred Hitchcock-like atmosphere. While their presence was most likely infuriating for the maintenance crew, their cackling, together with the sounds of rushing fountain water, created an atmosphere of unusual sensual richness and presence. In the same vein, the winds rippling the broad reflection pool at Ando's Modern Art Museum produced perfectly timed acoustics and patterns in counterpoint to the rigid structure.  These noises awake your senses in more physical than intellectual manner and are a happy acoustical alternative to recorded guides of art speak that teach us to appreciate the works in a more academic manner.

But the Kimbell Art Museum deserves special recognition.  It established a benchmark for museums in the area, establishing a high standard.  I find it especially unique as an example of architecture that might not be considered quintessentially modern by many. The form is as singular as a museum as Frank Lloyd Wrights Guggenheim in New York. Its arches, indoor/outdoor orientation, and water reminded us of the rich historic elements seen in the Alhambra in Granada Spain while equally making a connection to the modern formal elements you see in Judd’s work in Marfa Texas.

The friendly, human scale made it seem livable rather than institutional. Its structure and character, conceived in the early '70s, are unique and innovative, and Kahn's obsession with natural light and shadow is at the heart of the space. Elegant curves join angular structures in a celebration of materials and simplicity that is too robust to be referred to as minimalist. It is the Eames chair of buildings, equally classic and playful. As with all great buildings, you have to go there to fully experience it. But we took photos of the way the light creates a unique presence with its patterns on surfaces and how the illumination of spaces changed constantly with the daylight. The longer you hang around the building the more you will see, as the light patterns change as the daylight progresses, creating new compositions and altering the forms and spaces internally and externally. Arched slits—lunettes—between each vaulted room, along with a clever opening in the ceiling, allow light to have a life of its own, reminding us of the primal nature and pleasure of our perceptions. There are numerous Kahn quotes throughout that are as entertaining as the building: "A great American poet once asked the architect, what slice of sun does your building have? What light enters your room?—as if to say that the sun never knew how great it was until it struck the side of the building." Click here to see more of the Kimbell Art Museum.

This connection with the outdoors and the environment and natural light is still not palatable to many traditional art lovers and museum goers.  I have read and criticism for the recent De Young Museum in San Francisco, a Herzog and de Meuron work that incorporates natural light beautifully in many of the galleries and passages on our few clear days. It has a signature seven floor tower that allows viewers to experience  the spectacular environment and vista, sights as compelling as any work of art in that is asks us to use our full senses as to appreciate the context as much as the artwork. Kahn was truly breaking ground with respect to museum design.

You can learn more about the Kimbell online and purchase the small museum book that documents the museum's design and construction, which is $15 well spent.

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