Happenings at the Brooklyn Museum Shop

Since the completion of our design of the Brooklyn Museum Shop in Brooklyn, NY back in 2012, the shop has won awards, has had increased sales and grand exposure with articles in such publications as the New York Times,  Time-Out and New York Magazine, as well as an exciting line of featured exhibits and artists.  Check out what's happening these days at the shop...

Our Museum Shop Welcomes Richard Aste and Hermes Mallea An Old World empire and its caste-like social hierarchy underscores the social inequity endured by Spanish Americans in the New World. Colonial elites of all heritages amassed unprecedented fortunes leading to opulent displays of luxury goods and showcasing their purchasing power Behind Closed Doors.  —Richard Aste, Curator of European Art Behind Closed Doors Event Thursday, September 19, 7 p.m. The Museum Shop, 1st Floor Richard Aste will be on hand for the Members Preview for the exhibition Behind Closed Doors: Art in the Spanish American Home, 1492–1898, signing copies of the accompanying catalog. Read more. Great Houses of Havana Aste will be joined by Hermes Mallea, author of Great Houses of Havana, which traces the evolution of the Cuban home from the classic, Spanish colonial courtyard house to the “Tropical Modernist” villas of the 1950s. Read more.

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54 Jeff Competition

Our firm recently participated in 54Jeff, an ideas competition for public use of the former Grand Rapids Public Museum building at 54 Jefferson.  

BACKGROUND

In 1940, after years of storing and exhibiting its collection of borrowed or repurposed spaces, the Grand Rapids Public Museum moved into 54 Jefferson, a 30,000 square foot facility, one of the last projects to be funded under the W.P.A. during the Great Depression.  Over the next fifty years, 54 Jefferson, with a whale skeleton suspended in its great hall, and mammal dioramas and displays of rocks and minerals, taxidermied birds and other natural history specimens in the adjoining galleries, was visited by nearly every schoolchild in Grand Rapids.  In 1994, faced with the deteriorating condition of the building and changing museum standards, the museum relocated to a new facility, leaving dioramas, showcases and exhibits behind.  Since that time, 54 Jefferson has been maintained by the museum and the city of Grand Rapids, but has otherwise been largely closed to the public.

                    

Beginning in 2010, the Grand Rapids Public Museum collaborated with SiTE:LAB, a non-profit that conducts art exhibitions in vacant buildings, on a series of projects in 54 Jefferson.  Allowing the public - and particularly those who still remember the space from grade school field trips - to again enter the space has fostered renewed interest in the future of this iconic building.  SiTE:LAB is hoping to use that attention to initiate a community driven reexamination of the building's potential as a public space, and as a first step in that process, conducted this ideas competition, called 54Jeff.

THE CHALLENGE

Competitors were challenged to create compelling visions for the future of this former museum.  While not every proposal may be feasible in light of the political, legal and financial obstacles facing the development of any new urban public space, each can raise the community's awareness of the unique potential of 54 Jefferson to serve Grand Rapids in new and innovative ways.

OUR ENTRY

Proposal:  In the same manner that the former Public Museum at 54 Jefferson offered an experience of our surrounding world that appealed to the senses through sight, touch, sound, taste and smell, we propose a Grand Rapids cultural institution that provides a dynamic, living & changing record of local ideas in their various stages from emergence through maturity that appeals as much to the senses as to the mind and offers its patrons an experience that has been enhanced beyond the limitations of a virtual realm.

Conception/Formation/Emergence/Development/Realization/Regeneration:  We propose that the 54 Jeff building be used as a venue to introduce to the public new local ideas through launch events, presentations and physical displays.  Ideas remain on display in the many existing vignettes for exposure to ongoing public reaction while providing up to date information on the idea’s progress as it moves toward realization.  At the heart of this design is a map of metropolitan Grand Rapids superimposed on the main level floor.  A “pin” placed at an idea’s geographic location will direct visitors to the corresponding vignette where they can learn more about the idea, experience actual samples, track its progress and find ways they can to get the idea off the ground.  The floor will also serve the purpose of idea mapping; showing how ideas that have reached maturity are leading to new ideas (regeneration), highlighting idea concentrations throughout the city, demonstrating how ideas are related both in and across disciplines and identifying locations in our neighborhoods that may be in need of a good idea. As a starting point, we submit the following disciplines:

• Arts – fine arts, theatre, music, literature, language, design, cuisine
• Urban Renewal & Development – revitalization, preservation, development, beautification, transportation
• Social & Civic – community, justice, heroes, public servants, education, government, religion
• Entertainment – activities, functions, events, retail
• Science & Industry – medicine, materials, economy, environment, manufacturing, research, commerce

In this capacity, the redefined Grand Rapids Public Museum will strengthen our community, foster creativity, encourage cooperation across disciplines and connect ideas with needed support.

END RESULT

34 entries from all over the country and beyond were created with compelling visions for the future of this former museum.  Although our firm's entry did not win, we believe it was a notable idea for this building as public space. 

To see the winners and other entries, please visit 54Jeff's website or facebook page.

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Outdoor Canopies

The first thing we might think of when we hear the word 'canopy' is the leaves of tall trees which make a heavy cover overhead, not allowing the sun to touch the heavy undergrowth in dense forests. In modern times, 'canopy' has a different meaning. Canopies, or outdoor canopies, are temporary coverings used in open outside space.

However, there are a number of varieties of canopies, and one has the opportunity to choose from hundreds of canopies that are easily available at retail shops and online as well.

A few types of canopies are outdoor shade canopies, outdoor canopy tents, garden canopies, pop-up canopies, KD canopies and so on. Canopies are not only meant for taking rest in the outdoors, but are also concerned with the protection of your valuable outdoor assets.

Usually, the canopies are attractive and sturdy. They serve as cover, shade and shelter for your patio, greenhouse, party, flea market, parking space, nursery, plants, flowers, camping area, garden area, pet, storage, deck, pool, barbeque, dog kennel, outdoor event or construction area.

Not only this, a canopy can also give shelter and protection to one's car, truck, recreational vehicle, boat, Jet Ski and other such things. These fancy and multi-functional canopies can also be used as a free-standing carport, dock house, gazebo, garage and virtually any other cover.

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Heading Home Celebration at Cornerstone University

This past Saturday, September 21, Cornerstone University held a day-long festival and dedication ceremony to celebrate the official opening of DeWitt Baseball Stadium and Central Hall Dormitory.  The day was filled with family, fun and games with Cornerstone students, alumni and the Grand Rapids community.  To help bring in this monumental occasion, three former big-leaguers joined in the celebration - Brian Doyle, Sid Bream and Lee Guetterman.  Check out MLive's coverage of this event (below) for some great photos and details on the day.

We are proud to have been a part of such a ground-breaking facility.  We hope this stadium serves Cornerstone University well for many baseball seasons and years to come!

Major league trio helps Cornerstone University dedicate new baseball facility

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Cornerstone alumni Larry Rolston, left and John Shick, both former players laugh before the dedication ceremony of the new De Witt Baseball Field at Cornerstone University on Saturday, September 21, 2013. (Andrew Kuhn | MLive.com)

Andrew Kuhn

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By Kelly Hill | For MLive.com 
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on September 21, 2013 at 6:03 PM, updated September 21, 2013 at 6:44 PM

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GRAND RAPIDS – Aaron Taylor stepped into the batting cage Saturday ready to take a few swings.
Aaron, a 7-year old from Caledonia, had Joel Boersen, a Cornerstone University sophomore, pitching to him and Lee Guetterman, a former major league pitcher, filming the action.
Hitting from the right side of the plate, Taylor, a veteran of Little League baseball, grounded a few balls to the left side of the infield then lined a couple toward the shortstop position.
“I'm in machine pitch, but hitting's the best,” Aaron said after exiting the cage.

Former Major League Baseball players, from left, Brian Doyle, Sid Bream and Lee Guetterman sign autographs on Saturday, Sept. 21, during Cornerstone University's grand opening of its new baseball field and dormitory.Lenny Padilla | Mlive.com 

The open batting practice, which Aaron took part Saturday, was one of many activities sports fans, spectators and members of the community enjoyed at Cornerstone as the university dedicated the DeWitt Baseball Field and Central Hall, the unique residence hall and athletic offices behind the plate.Golden Eagles coach David Mitroff invited three of his oldest and closest friends, former major leaguers Sid Bream, Brian Doyle and Guetterman to the celebration that ended with the Golden Eagles playing Spring Arbor.
“This is a unique place,” said Bream, 53, who played his entire 12-year career in the National League and who probably is most famous for scoring the winning run in Game 7 of the 1992 National League Championship Series, thereby sending the Atlanta Braves to the World Series. “It is a pleasure to see how Dave (Mitroff) is working with these young men. He is not just developing players, he is teaching the right things as far as life is concerned. They are going to come out of here as men of honesty and honor.”
Saturday's festivities opened with Cornerstone University's varsity softball team taking on Grand Rapids Community College in an exhibition. After that, the Golden Eagles' men's soccer team took on Concordia.
“This is awesome,” said Doyle, 58, who played three seasons with the New York Yankees and appeared in the 1978 World Series. “I started working with Dave and this team when they were just breaking ground on this so this is a great day of celebration. The main theme here, for every student, is to impact the entire world for the cause of Jesus Christ. It is not just about what they do in baseball but what they do as Godly men.”

Cornerstone University baseball players put up a banner along the fence of the new baseball field on Saturday, Sept. 21. The school held a celebration for the grand opening of its new field and dormitory.Lenny Padilla | Mlive.com 

Doyle visits the Cornerstone campus and works with the baseball players numerous times each year.
“Coach Mitroff is building the program here and and I'm excited to see it growing,” Doyle said. “Whatever Coach Mitroff wants me to do, I will do.”
Tours of the facility also were available during Saturday's “Heading Home” celebration. Cornerstone's baseball program was reborn last spring, when the Golden Eagles went 16-26 overall and 10-6 in the Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference.
“Having a facility like this is really important to everyone, not just the students, and not just the school, but all of the community and even the surrounding communities,” Guetterman said. “It is important to support it, so we can ensure its success.”
The new facility already has made Mitroff's job, and that of his staff, easier.
“I have never seen anything like this anywhere in the country,” Mitroff said. “And it is making it easier for us. We have a national focus as well as a local one, but we had a Division I shortstop, Santino “Sonny” Mastrmatteo, who started 41 games last year (at the University of Tennessee-Martin) call us and transfer.”
Saturday's festivities were dampened, but only a bit, when the Golden Eagles lost to Spring Arbor.
“Sid and Lee are men of God who, as friends, told me what I needed to hear, not just what I wanted to hear,” Mitroff said. “Now I hope they can have the same kind of influence on these guys that they had on me."

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Take Me Home

It's an interesting concept to make an '80s teen sex comedy in 2011 (or a few years earlier since the film's release was delayed) and Take Me Home Tonight manages to touch upon some of the magic of those films while also retaining modernistic comedy elements. The creators have stated that they wanted to make a movie that feels like it was made in the '80s rather than just parodying the decade, but the result shifts back and forth between accomplishing that goal and venturing towards the outlandish antics of present day gross-out teen comedies. The R rating allows for more colorful dialogue, a little nudity and plenty of drug use, but the most satisfyingly humorous moments don't involve sex, drugs, or its '80s setting. Visually (and certainly musically) the best of the '80s is there, but strangely the film would have been as effective set in any era. 

Though Matt Franklin (Topher Grace) now works at a Suncoast Video after graduating from MIT and has no prospects on his future career, his greatest regret is never obtaining the phone number of his unrequited high school crush Tori Frederking (Teresa Palmer). When a chance meeting with his dream girl allows him to join her at Kyle Masterson's (Chris Pratt) legendary Labor Day weekend party, Matt, his best friend Barry (Dan Fogler), and his twin sister Wendy (Anna Faris), navigate the rocky revelations of burgeoning adulthood through a night of wild partying, self reflection, and second chances.

Master of the '80s teen comedy, John Hughes, often employed a tactic where a moment of hilarity emerged after reflecting on the more serious revelations of growing up. Take Me Home Tonight uses an antithetical approach - bouts of comedy are capped with the somber musings of regrets and failures. This often leaves a bitter taste to the conclusion of each event no matter how comically it started and forces the viewer to reminisce on the solemnity. As a result the comedy acquires a much darker feel than it actually deserves, which perhaps accurately resonates with the seriousness of cocaine use and lying to women, but detracts from the laugh-out-loud appeal.

A few references to Hughes' work and some paralleling ideas surface in Take Me Home Tonight, but the film can't quite grasp the charm and sincerity of its authentic predecessors. It does, however, still manage to feature a classic tale of a teenager searching for his dream girl and accompanies this with clever bits of comedy and the scene-stealing over-the-top exploits of funnyman Dan Fogler.

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