A jewel of the YSU campus, facility was born of a love for art

By GUY D’ASTOLFO

dastolfo@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Like an iceberg, the John J. McDonough Museum of Art reveals only a fraction of its size at first glance.

But there is much more to the building than the small part that is visible to passers-by on busy Wick Avenue. The museum’s size, not to mention its striking architecture, cannot be fully appreciated until one examines it from all sides.

The same can be said for its value to Youngstown State University and the community at large.

The McDonough, which is part of YSU, serves primarily as an exhibition space for students and faculty. But the modern art museum also fills a unique role in the Mahoning Valley’s cultural scene. It features exhibitions, installations, performances and lectures by regional, national and international artists.

The museum, which opened in 1991, is about to embark on its 20th anniversary celebration. A full year’s worth of special events and exhibitions have been scheduled to mark the milestone.

Almost everything about the museum is unique: the way it was funded, its architecture ... and its rareness.

Few colleges the size of YSU have a free-standing art exhibition hall, let alone one that was designed by an internationally renowned architect and built exclusively to be a museum. Most universities either retro-fit an old building or use a portion of another building for exhibition space, said Leslie Brothers, director of the McDonough.

Brothers, who heads a full-time staff of two other people and a number of students who work part-time, fully appreciates the beauty of the facility. She is also passionate about its purpose and potential.

“The college of Fine and Performing Arts [at YSU] has taken a leadership role in continuing to build culture in this community,” said Brothers. “I am proud to be part of that. The college contributes significantly to the ... transformation of Youngstown into a vital, viable locus for industry and urban life.”

Brothers, who has been at the helm of the McDonough since 2001, said the museum, the Dana School of Music, and the YSU theater department, are key players in the city’s fine-arts scene.

In addition to Brothers, the McDonough’s full-time staff includes curator John Noga and assistant director Angela DeLucia.

HOW IT BEGAN

The 20,000-square-foot building has its roots in art.

In the late 1980s, John J. McDonough, a Youngstown doctor and a prominent art collector, offered to sell a painting from his collection and give the proceeds to YSU to build an art museum. The college was in need of gallery space, and McDonough’s offer was beyond its wildest dreams.

“Gloucester Harbor” by Childe Hassam was sold at auction for $1.2 million. McDonough contracted New York architects Gwathmey Siegel & Associates to design the $3 million building. That same year, the prominent firm was also commissioned to design Harvard University’s art museum and an expansion of the Guggenheim Museum.

With additional monies from the state, construction began in the fall of 1990. The modernistic building opened Oct. 26, 1991.

Gwathmey is known for designing buildings that are in harmony with their surroundings and terrain. It draped the McDonough over a prominent slope, integrating a lecture theater and an outdoor sculpture terrace into the site.

The museum sits across the street from the classic Butler Institute of American Art building, discreetly complementing it without clashing.

Its interior has a geometric quality, with galleries and transitional areas lit by skylights.

EXHIBITIONS

A year’s worth of events to mark the McDonough’s 20th anniversary will begin Friday, when an exhibition by Pittsburgh artist Susanne Slavick opens.

Entitled “Cinder,” the exhibition responds to the remains left behind by violence. Its images address themes of regret and regeneration. Slavick will give a lecture at the museum at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 29.

The artist begins with photos of war-torn cities in places such as Lebanon and Iraq and manipulates them through painting or other media “to bring life back to devastated and deserted spaces,” said Brothers. “[The exhibition] connects to cities in transition, like Youngstown.”

Slavick uses elements from the culture of the devastated areas in her art. “She takes images that are so commonly seen in the news media that we stop paying attention,” said Brothers. “She gets us to look at them again and see in them ... hope.”

Another upcoming exhibition will bring artists who got their start at YSU back to the campus. Titled “Reunion,” it will feature the work of 52 former students who are still active in the art world. It opens Feb. 18 and runs through March 18.

A focal point of the anniversary year will be Mad About the Arts on Feb. 25. The annual fundraiser and social event will complement “Reunion.”

The season-closing exhibition (June 10 to July 22) will feature works by the late Alex Kuthy. Kuthy’s wife donated 25 of his paintings to the museum, which will be auctioned June 25. A concurrent exhibition of works owned by local collectors will focus on the appreciation of art collecting.

Other exhibitions and events will include the Fall Graduating Students Show, Dec. 3-18; the Student Art Association fine art and craft sale, Dec. 4-5; the annual scholastic art awards exhibit, Jan. 15-Feb. 4; the annual juried student exhibition, April 1-15; and the Spring Graduating Students Show, April 29-May 14.