This past December, the Art Institute of Chicago unveiled the largest gift in the museum’s history in a new exhibit titled “The New Contemporary.” What’s being shown is part of the collection of Stefan Edlis and his wife, Gael Neeson, who in April donated 44 postwar artworks valued at around $400 million; the generous gift includes pieces by Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, Cy Twombly, and Roy Lichtenstein as well as more recent pieces by Cindy Sherman, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, and others. Edlis and Neeson required their pieces to be immediately and lastingly displayed rather than put in storage for another time, as so often happens with museum collections—the AIC agreed to permanently feature the 44 paintings, sculptures, and photographs for the next 50 years.
The competition between the MCA and the AIC becomes more apparent with “The New Contemporary.” The MCA has faced the challenge of exposing new artists and being up-to-date with the rest of the art world while also bringing in larger, more conventional crowds (look no further than “David Bowie Is,” which really only fulfilled the latter objective). With “The New Contemporary,” the AIC is targeting the MCA’s mission: ” . . . to be an innovative and compelling center of contemporary art.” Of course, the AIC has been collecting contemporary art since the museum’s founding in the mid- to late 19th century, a time when impressionism was considered “contemporary.” But Edlis and Neeson’s gift and the popularity of the Modern Wing have completed the transformation from the 20th-century AIC into what Marc Augé calls a “supermodern” place—one that feels faster, in pursuit of bigger crowds and new money. v
Sun–Wed 10:30 AM–5 PM, Thu-Fri 10:30 AM–8 PM, Sat 10:30 AM–5 PM Art Institute of Chicago, Modern Wing 111 S. Michigan 312-443-3600artinstituteofchicago.org $23, $17 students, seniors ($5 discount for Chicago residents), free kids under 14; free for Illinois residents Thursdays 5-8 PM
