Peter Blake's Ideal Museum

In 1949 the architect Peter Blake designed and built a model for the ideal museum. The museum was designed to exhibit the works of Jackson Pollock and he wanted to reflect the artist's studio of the time and wanted the paintings to define the space, not the other way round (Blake, ??). The interesting feature of this gallery is the complete removal of any substantial walls. Instead the paintings themselves divide up the space, themselves being book-ended/supported between mirrors, to give the paintings the feeling of infinity. The semi circular partition is perforated to reflect the pellucid nature of the space.

You can read the article; Pollock: Blake’s 1949 Museum Design by Helen A. Harrison here - http://www.aaqeastend.com/contents/retrospective/issue-1-retrospective/blakes-1949-pollock-museum-design/

...and a gallery of images of a replica of the Blake's model here - http://www.aaqeastend.com/contents/portfolio/issue-1-portfolio/pollock-museum/

http://www.aaqeastend.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Ideal-Museum-Overview-B-808.jpg


http://www.aaqeastend.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Ideal-Museum-Overview-A-807.jpg

The gallery was never built, but VR gives me an excellent opportunity to build the gallery and walk around and experience it first hand! Here is my interpretation... (The artwork I have used is a license free place holder).

 

 

And because it was meant to be placed in Pollock's back garden...


The design is certainly light and airy. The art is indistinguishable from the architecture, which is Blake's intention. However, the artwork does tend to feel more like part of an experience, rather than the soul purpose of the space... now maybe it would help if I used Pollock's actual work, then perhaps it may feel like one is wondering in a Bachelard-esk forest. Without walls, ones gaze does tend to wander into the distance and the work becomes equal to the environment.

This was a good exercise and has got me thinking about the shape of space and subtlety of the act of exhibiting artworks or at least the possible needlessness of making great gestures in this sphere.

If you are reading this blog and feel you can add something to my research then please comment… even if you are correcting me or don’t agree with something that I say.