About Museum of Contemporary Art
Museum of Contemporary Art is one of the largest museums in the field of art. It displays art and paintings of 1945, which is the most challenging as well as interesting art exhibition. It is, in fact, a non-profit organization that is exempted from paying any kind of taxes. The museum is funded through individuals, corporations and various foundations.
Location of the Museum
Located in downtown Chicago, Illinois, Museum of Contemporary Art also receives support from a state agency called the Illinois Arts Council and the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The museum boasts of various stores and shops that include bookstore, gift store, restaurant, 300-seat theater and a terraced sculpture garden that provides the magnificent view of Lake Michigan.
History of Museum of Contemporary Art
The history of the museum takes us back to the year 1967. In October, the museum was opened for public viewing. The building of the museum was one-story building at 237 East Ontario Street. Jan van der Marck, who was its first director, founded Museum of Contemporary Art. Then, the board of directors elected Joseph Randall Shapiro as its first president. The premiere exhibitions during 1967 were:
- Pictures To Be Read/Poetry To Be Seen.
- Claes Oldenburg: Projects for Monuments.
- The first solo exhibition by the artist—Dan Flavin: Pink and Gold.
Museum of Contemporary Art was given its first assignment in the following year in 1968 by Venezuelan sculptor Marisol called ‘six women’. The major exhibition of this period were:
- George Segal: Twelve Human Situations.
- Selections from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Mayer.
The growth of the museum continued with MCA presenting the first U.S. demonstrative exhibition by Lee Bontecou, an American artist in 1972. Also, there was the first major museum exhibition by the Chicago imagists known as Chicago Imagist Art. Indeed, The MCA is the first one in the United States to present ‘At the End of the Century: One Hundred Years of Architecture’ in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA).
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