Last December we noticed that the cranes from the construction of the 42-story Museum Tower condo development in the Arts District were beginning to obstruct the view from the aperture of James Turrell’s installation at the Nasher Sculpture Center, Tending, (Blue). Those photos were a follow up to an initial story in the September 2009 D Magazine which raised the potential conflict between the new condo tower and Turrell’s well-loved art work.
In that article, Willard Spiegelman and Tim Rogers conducted an experiment, ingeniously utilizing a giant red balloon to test whether or not the new building, when completed, would be seen from the interior of Turrell’s piece.
Now a balloon is hardly needed. Although a sign and rope at the Nasher indicates that Turrell’s work is currently closed to the public, photos taken by FrontRow show that Museum Tower is beginning to make its way into the view. In fact, the photo above shows that the tower is clearly visible from Tending, (Blue) even though it is only the 24th story of the new building that has been constructed. There will be eighteen additional stories constructed before Museum Tower is complete.
Kristen Gibbins, a spokesperson for the Nasher, confirmed that the exhibit space is closed because the crane from the construction could be seen from Tending, (Blue). Gibbins said that the museum has been in conversations with James Terrell about the progress on the tower, and that the artist will soon make a trip to Dallas to determine how to address the intrusion of the tower on the piece. The timing of that trip has not yet been set, she said.
Gibbins added that Museum Tower has been “very much involved” with the status of Tending, (Blue), and that they are committed to being a “good neighbor,” but said it was too early to comment on whether the museum would ask for financial assistance to modify Tending, (Blue).
