Comparing The Hirshhorn Museum And Sculpture Garden

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, located on the National Mall in Washington, DC, is a unique museum in a city filled with cultural institutions. The distinct architectural design and the focus of the collection on modern and contemporary art, primarily by living artists, sets the museum apart from the numerous other art museums in nearby, and has helped it to develop into an iconic part of the Smithsonian Institution’s museum complex.
The Hirshhorn is heavily tied to the memory of its founder, Joseph H. Hirshhorn, and this is reflected not only in the name of the museum, but in the design of both the collection and website as well. Hirshhorn made his fortune investing in Uranium mining, and amassed an extensive collection of modern

The building is decidedly modern, distinguishing itself from all around it, and reflecting the nature of its contents. The unique architecture of the museum is a source of pride for the Hirshhorn, abandoning neoclassical and Beaux-arts elements in favor of a cylindrical form elevated by four massive legs, with a central courtyard and fountain. The website outlines building materials, dimensions, and the breakdown of its floorplan and the footprint of the plaza and sculpture garden. The Hirshhorn provides press reviews of the building through the website, some praising it, some making neutral observations, and others criticizing it. The inclusion of such reviews promotes the idea of discussion about personal interpretations of art, rather than dictating preconceived notions of

Going beyond the average museum website, however, the Hirshhorn provides extensive information on various methods of conservation, different conservation projects both current and past, and information on issues of conservation specific to the modern and contemporary arts, such as the preservation of time-based media. The Hirshhorn also discusses the importance of preventative conservation, and details the efforts of the museum that achieve this. Perhaps most noteworthy is the approach to including the artists in the conservation process. An opportunity made possible by the museum’s focus on living artists, the Hirshhorn hosts a collaborative “Capturing the Contemporary” initiative, involving discussions between conservators, curators, educators, and other staff with artists with a preservation focus. The museum recognizes the intregal role that such artist interviews play in the conservation of contemporary work, especially as artists continue to push the boundaries of art and explore new media and unconventional fabrication