A
temple graced Notre Dame's campus this winter.
Actually it was a replica of a temple -- the earliest monumental
temple in Greece, built around 675 B.C. -- and it was the fruit
of The Project for the Study and Publication of Greek Stone Architecture
at Corinth, directed by Robin Rhodes of the Department of Art,
Art History and Design. The replica and an exhibit on the project
were on display in the Mestrovic Gallery at the Snite Museum of
Art from January 20 to March 19.
Rhodes and his team of Notre Dame alumni and students began
field work in 1999 by examining hundreds of scattered and broken
stones and tiles found on a hill in what was ancient Corinth.
Using such clues as shape and texture, the team deduced the purpose
of each fragment and visualized how the temple was constructed.
The Snite exhibit included a computerized depiction of the reconstruction
process, as well as precise models of the stones and tiles the
team worked with, full-scale replicas of portions of the temple,
and a 1:25 scale replica of the entire temple set against video
projections of the surrounding Greek landscape.
"All of this is unique," Rhodes says. "There has never been
an exhibition like this."
The exhibition visited the Snite two months after the museum
celebrated its 25th anniversary last November. Charles Loving,
the museum's director, says Rhodes' and other University exhibitions
serve one of the museum's two primary audiences: the faculty,
staff and students of Notre Dame. The museum's other primary audience
is the local community, particularly schoolchildren, to which
the museum offers a variety of tours and academic programs. Loving
estimates the museum draws 5,000 local students every year.
That figure is a testament to how far the museum has evolved
in 25 years. The Snite was constructed in 1980 as an extension
to the O'Shaughnessy Hall Art Gallery, which the University's
art collection was outgrowing. At that time, the collection numbered
around 12,000 works. It now has almost doubled. "The construction
of [the Snite] building was the catalyst for the major development
of collections," Loving says. "This institution has seen very
dramatic growth in a relatively short period of time."
The museum used to aspire to be a general encyclopedic museum,
with works from all cultures and time periods, Loving says. But
because larger museums in the Midwest, such as the Art Institute
of Chicago, are better suited to that purpose, the museum now
tries to focus on its strengths. Those include old master drawings,
19th century European photography, decorative arts and pre-Columbian
art.
Loving tells of a visit to the Snite from Michael Coe of Yale
University, whom he calls the great-grandfather of pre-Columbian
art: "As I was driving him to the airport he said, 'You have the
best Olmec collection in the country.'" When Loving asked if he
meant the best Olmec collection at a university museum, Coe responded,
"No, you have the best Olmec collection in the country."
Despite the Snite's stellar pre-Columbian collection and its
other strengths, the museum was long regarded as the University's
"best-kept secret," Loving says. The museum has tried to shake
that reputation in recent years through better public relations
and marketing. The Snite is frequently the subject of articles
and advertisements in the South Bend Tribune, and the
museum's marketing and public relations specialist, Gina Costa,
hosts a radio show. The Snite also received mention in last year's
football programs. "I think awareness of the museum is much greater
than it has been before," Loving says.
But Loving would like the museum in its next 25 years to play
an even more prominent role at the University and in the surrounding
community. "We have a current need for a new building, and our
dream is to create a fine arts district near the DeBartolo Performing
Arts Center," he says.
The University is holding a spot for a new museum adjacent to
the performing arts center. That location would cater to the campus
audience by bringing together the visual and the performing arts,
and it would cater to the general public by offering easier access
to the museum. "The perimeter of campus is exactly the perfect
place for us," Loving says.
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(April 2006)
