Idea Museum 2002

What would your dream museum look like? In this painting and collage, the African-American artist Benny Andrews (1930-2006) playfully explores ideas of display. His imaginative museum space is filled with thought-provoking artworks, while families and couples weave throughout. Created in 2002, ‘Idea Museum’ is a fantastically expressive work. Andrews has focussed on geometrical forms and sharp lines. The composition is topped by a glass roof, which provides a view onto the clouds and blue sky. This feature allows the room to feel open and uncontained. At the rear wall of the gallery, we see a doorframe which opens onto a landscape scene. This suggests that the gallery continues into the open air. The entire atmosphere is slightly surreal and dreamlike. The work merges two artistic mediums. Here, Andrews has used traditional oil paint on canvas… but he also incorporated slices of fabric to create a collage. This technique provides texture and an extra layer of visual interest. In the late 1960s, Benny Andrews was a founder of the Black Emergency Cultural Coalition. This group organised art strikes to call attention to the exclusion of black artists in New York museums. The artist went on to become an educator and activist, believing that there was a place for everyone in the art world. This inclusive belief is exemplified by ‘Idea Museum’. The imaginary gallery seems accessible and interactive; it welcomes a wide variety of people. Some of the figures are smartly dressed in suits and dresses complete with hats, while others sport the casual attire of jeans and t-shirts. Andrews has represented a diverse range of ages and races.