The Menil neighborhood of Texas is basically a very typically quiet neighborhood who treasure their privacy and distinctiveness. The museum reflects their refined taste for creative works of art. The neighborhood comprises of some buildings and structures that dates back to the 1920s and 1930s, which are bungalow-style buildings. The originators of the neighborhood, the de Menils, practically had every single building in the neighborhood painted the same color - warm gray. First time Texas charter bus visitors might find the neighborhood lacking at first glance but we assure you that there is a very unified and surreal welcoming spirit if you cared to look a little deeper.
The Menil Collection is a renowned museum that features notable architectural significance. In 1972, Louis Kahn who had just done up the Kimbell Museum in Fort Worth was engaged to come up with the layout for The Menil Collection. Before this, the site and building was merely a residential enclave that dates as far back as 1920s, something that you will instantly notice as you go through the neighborhood in the Texas rented charter bus. When Kahn took over, the residential blocks were asked to remove...hence, the epic beginning of the Menil Collection in Texas. It took Kahn less than a year to complete this pet project of his.
The building itself may serve as a piece of art itself but there are many sculptures placed around the museum’s park and exterior - these are artistic contributions from the likes of A. Jim Love, B. Max Neuhaus, C. Michael Heizer, G. Mark di Suvero, H. Barnett Newman and the Tony Smith sculpture.
As you step into the museum from the mini bus that you are traveling in, you will realize something very unique about the museum - all the exhibits are displayed and bathed in natural light through the windows and not from from artificial lighting like any other typical museum. The artist herself did the paintings and artwork in natural light and that is how she wants to project it to people who see her artwork - in natural light. Engineers have been brought in from time to time to measure and control the damage and intensity of the atmospheric light.
The feeling you get from visiting a museum if The Menil Collection is very different from when you are walking through other museums. There is something very intense and yet natural about the experience. You want to walk through it slowly and there is no need to forcefully feel anything. You don’t panic if you don’t understand what the artist is trying to tell you through her artwork. Perhaps, it has got to do with how insistent the artist was about using natural light, or maybe it is her passion that was brought out in her masterpieces that subconsciously engulfed us as we walked through it. This attraction is one that you will remember the most for the whole charter bus rental vacation.
