That sculpture, like many others scattered in courtyards and in front of classroom buildings across MSU’s campus, pales in comparison to the university’s latest artistic endeavor: the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum.

With a $40 million to $45 million price tag and almost five years of development, the project is a significant investment. Funded in bulk by a gift from its namesakes, which MSU’s website notes is “the largest individual cash gift in the university’s history,” the museum is slated to open its doors next April.

The construction site has blocked roads and sidewalks sprouting lengths of orange plastic fencing. Like all the construction on campus this summer, it prompts questions such as “What is that?” and “Why do we need that?”. The project will reshape the portal linking the campus with the outside world completely.

All this for the sake of art?

Although some people gripe about other areas where the school might channel its resources, the fact remains that while art might not contribute much in the classroom — at least, for those not studying it — or on the athletic field, it does contribute to campus culture considerably.

For example, the museum will be the first university building on Grand River Avenue to face outward. This is another of the many recent efforts to brush away the lines between the campus and the city of East Lansing, and that’s something everyone can get behind.

Another thing the museum has done is enlist the services of Zaha Hadid, an architect of outstanding and innovative vision who can be vouched for by a simple Google search of her name. Seeing as some of MSU’s most attractive buildings are its oldest — embracing the ivy-sheathed brick-and-mortar aesthetic seen in the radius around Beaumont Tower — the decision to insert a sleek, futuristic Hadid design seems a bold move.

Whether the discontinuity will be striking or jarring remains to be seen. This author is optimistic.
Of course, it’s not so much the museum itself but what’s inside that will make the difference. The concept art on a banner outside the construction site is mildly disconcerting, featuring what appears to be an enormous balloon animal occupying the museum’s interior. The exhibits that take up residence next April will be the real key to success.

Another important question lies in student involvement. Will the art museum attract study groups and be a social gathering space, or will it generally be ignored? (Think: the Union vs. the Student Services Building.) Will it instead be an attraction for members of the public, for those younger than 12 and older than 30?

Can it be both?

Certainly, it has that potential. If art is anything, it is universal, and the university has made a wise choice in investing its time, money and land in this new project.

Imagine the view from the Gallery windows without those red and black curves cutting the air. Plain grass fields might be good for pickup soccer, but they lack a sense of wonderment and imagination. That’s why these sculptures make sense for a college campus.

On the one hand, traditional art and architecture offer comfort and continuity, a sense of our roots — and MSU certainly has those.

But modern art asks questions and looks to the future in search of answers. With the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum on the horizon, that future looks a lot more attractive.

Craig Pearson is a State News guest columnist. Reach him at pears153@msu.edu