The DVF troupe was given a tour of the Iris & Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University today. The museum was reopened in 1999, 10 years after the Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989. Alas, that was two years after I had graduated, though to be honest, I’m not sure how much I would have visited had it been opened during my undergraduate career. I would have probably have said, “Hey, I have four years to go and visit; there’s plenty of time!” I’d then find myself going at the end of senior year, only to say to myself, “Man, I should have done this more often!”
At one point in history, the Stanford Museum was the largest museum in North America. Interesting factoid there, along with the price tag that came with restoring the museum following the earthquake, $40 million. The Cantor’s donated a sizeable sum and for that, they got their name on the museum. 92% of the museum’s collection is actually stored in the basement. Only 8% of the collection is on display. I’ve got this vision from Indiana Jones running through my head of what it looks like in the basement, with rows and rows of crates holding precious artifacts from antiquity.
I was disappointed to see Rodin’s Thinker in one of the museum rotundas. He used to be in front of Meyer Library in the heart of campus. We used to climb up onto his base and goofed around. Now, it’s a “Please Do Not Touch” art piece, enclosed all around by walls. He looks sad now and is no doubt contemplating his return to the great outdoors.
Thanks to Patience and Jeff for giving a great tour of the museum today! Now for some photos.
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