"American Radiance": Pennsylvania German decorative arts, including eagle carvings by Wilhelm Schimmel and fraktur and decorated manuscripts, east gallery, leading to Pennsylvania German pottery in eighteenthcentury Lancaster cupboard, south gallery; fourth floor.
ing that is now open in midtown Manhattan. There seemed to be an immediate and deep connection with Williams and Tsien on a philosophical level, and we knew the architectural statement would be strong. Like much of folk art itself, the museum is nothing if not "gutsy." Ultimately, however, the success of the building would be dependent upon its ability to function as a museum, a place for the display and exhibition of works of art. The architects achieved both of these goals with the kind of new and exciting architecture not seen in New York City in a number of years. The public apparently agrees with the critics, for the museum has experienced record numbers of visitors almost every day since December 11. Despite strong confidence in themselves and their vision, Williams
and Tsien always listened to our concerns about the practicalities of the choice of materials, time, and, of course, budget. Their inexhaustible well of creativity and imagination, as well as their ability to roll up their sleeves and attack any given problem or stumbling block without any preconceptions, left the rest of us in a constant state of awe. The entire process was, necessarily, one of collaboration, and not once did communication break down between all the various voices whose input was necessary to the project. I would like to say that William and Tsien were ably assisted by Matthew Baird, whom they assigned to us as the project architect, but "ably" does not even begin to do justice to Matthew's contributions. He has been incredible; balancing the desires and points of view of his own firm with those of
the museum, the museum's owner's representative, the various engineers, the consultants, and finally the contractor. He doesn't seem to possess a temper, and his instinctual ability to gather consensus on a solution for a problem proved invaluable. Beginning in 1999, Philip Ryan assumed the role of assistant project architect. The fourth member of William and Tsien's team was Jennifer Turner, who handled all of the furniture and fixtures for the project. Both Ryan and Turner enthusiastically gave 100 percent day in and day out, and they continue to help the museum as the few remaining t's are crossed and i's dotted. Assisting Tod Williams Billie Tsien and Associates as associate architects for the project was the firm of Helfand Myerberg Guggenheimer. We worked closely with Peter
SPRING 2002 FOLK ART 33