HELP! Let me down!!!
On Wednesday, you viewed my CultureGrrl Video overview of the exteriors of the monumentally proportioned, copper-topped pavilions that will open on Nov. 11 as the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, founded and munificently funded by Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton.
Now, come inside with me as we watch the paint dry. To add a little suspense to this construction-site tour, we’ll step outside in the middle of our journey for a wild ride in what the construction workers told me was a “boom lift” (“cherry picker,” in my layman’s lingo). Having just fired a few hardball questions at the museum’s director, Don Bacigalupi, in a one-on-one interview after Wednesday’s official press hardhat tour and lunch, I feared that my high-altitude adventure might be how they do away with impertinent journalists. (Just kidding about the last part.)
That’s your intrepid blogger, in the photo above, shot from terra firma by David Burghart, director of facilities and grounds for the museum and its manager for the construction project. I’m starting to feel like the George Plimpton of the artworld. (I wonder if Alice, who’s my age, has done this.)
David was my patient, genial guide for this in-depth personal tour—your first sneak peak (with some CultureGrrl commentary) at the interiors of the galleries: