Don Bacigalupi has been president of Crystal Bridges only since February, 2013, but now he is leaving to become the Founding President of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which George Lucas intend to erect in Chicago. It is not without controversy. The recently released design concept, put forward by MAD Architects, has been criticized. People don’t approve of its “space-mountain-like design.”
Still it has a proposed opening date of 2018.
Previously, Bacigalupi was director of Crystal Bridges, and I’m not sure anyone ever understood that reassignment. His most recent venture, which took a vast about of his time, was curating State of the Art: American Art Now.
About the Lucas: A group called Friends of the Parks on Thursday has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the plan.
The museum was to be located on the same area on Lake Michigan as Soldier Field, Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium. The proposed site currently is used for parking lots.
The lawsuit seeks to block the transfer of the land from the city to the museum. By allowing the development, the suit said the nation’s third-largest city will interfere with the right of citizens to “use and enjoy property held in trust by the state of Illinois as a natural resource and pristine physical environment.”
…”The structure will interfere with keeping the lakefront clear and free,” [Cassandra Frances, president of the Friends of the Park] said.
Bacigalupi, who joined Crystal Bridges in 2009 from the Toledo Museum of Art, will remain a member of the Crystal Bridges board.