THE GLENSTONE MUSEUM EXPERIENCE

What would you do with several billion dollars?

That’s BILLION - with a “B”.

We all daydream as we plunk down our dollar for the Lotto ( Listen sometime to Brandy Clark sing “we pray to Jesus and we play the Lotto”…) Probably the dream goes ….First, I’ll pay all the Visa/Master Card charges, car payments and mortgages for me, my family, the person who sold me the Lotto ticket and maybe one or two total strangers. I’ll set up trust funds for all my grandchildren and/or nieces and nephews (then, naturally, much time is spent on how this should be done.  We don’t want the kiddies to be spoiled…they must learn to work and not feel entitled…so maybe the $$$ is protected until they reach age…21? 35? first house? first marriage? And we won’t pay anything to cousin Tim who is a drunk and would just re-mortgage his house anyway and why should I give anything to that pimply faced clerk who sold me the ticket at the SuperKiss. He was rude!)

Finally, it occurs to you that this is getting too complicated. Give all the money away! But how? Too whom? How far will several billion dollars go anyway in today’s world? (Just ask Bill and Linda Gates! I don’t think they’ve found the right combination yet…but they do keep trying.)

Mitchell and Emily Rales hit on the solution that apparently is right for them.

In the 1990s, they spent oodles amassing a great contemporary art collection (post-WWII).  Then they bought several hundred acres in the rolling hillside of Potomac, Maryland - the very same general area where other zillionaires built country estates hidden from any road with miles of driveways through quaint painted fences (Ever been there?) - and hired a well-respected architect to design and build their house, their pool house and a small museum.  Another highly qualified landscape architect worked with artists and architect to mold the acreage. All this magnificence opened in 2006 (presently, a larger museum ‘annex’ is under construction to be complete in 2017-18.) It’s public - with a few caveats.

First, it’s only open Thursday through Sunday, 10 am - 4 pm. And you must make an advance reservation. Each hourly group is held to 20 max. visitors. And you must be with a guide at all times. Of course, you are not allowed near the private residence (reasonable request). There is really no such thing as “going off on your own.” Your movements are followed via walkie talkie and within minutes, a guide is at your side.

Relatively few people know that Glenstone exists and the board (yes, it’s a non-profit and has board members) wants to keep it that way.  One told me “We want visitors to appreciate the experience without feeling crowded.” Word goes out via the odd newspaper report but they spend zero on advertising or outreach.  They mount changing exhibits in the museum but only from their own collection.  None of that “PRE-PACKAGED TRAVELING SHOW” business. (They do “loan” out works from their collection to other museums.) 

Is this good? Bad? Who cares? 

Is it different from the Phillip Johnson Glass House? (Admission via reservation.) 

How is it different from Crystal Bridges Museum, opened just last year in Bentonville, Arkansas, the whim of a WallMart heir?

What about Storm King? Private collection - open to the public - much older and larger but not exactly on everybody’s radar screen.

I guess being a billionaire comes with its own set of problems. I’ll never know. But one thing is clear:  people - A LOT OF US! - will travel to find these places and put up with the rules for the chance to see some extraordinary art/architecture.  I will always reserve a seat on that bus. 

"Split Rock", Jeff Koons, 22,000 live plants re-planted every spring. Interior watering system.

Andy Goldsworthy, site specific, one of 3 stone houses that protect a clay orb inside.

Richard Serra site specific