Currently the Presidio has some operational closures due to the government shutdown. Despite this, The Walt Disney Family Museum was open and celebrating its fourth anniversary. With a new Executive Director, Kirsten Komoroske, the museum has a full slate of events, classes, and special exhibits in its future which makes it a destination for Disney fans from around the globe.
The museum will have a new neighbor. The Presidio Trust, which manages the former military base asked for proposals for the Mid-Crissy Area which used to house the commissary and now is home to the Sports Basement athletic supply store. After narrowing down all the candidates to three, the Trust is seeking public comment before making a final decision.
The three finalists are The Bridge/Sustainability Institute, The Presidio Exchange, and the Lucas Cultural Arts Museum. The Walt Disney Family Museum has made their decision on which project they support, and it should probably be no surprise that they selected the Lucas Cultural Arts Museum. Now obviously, the proposal that Disney fans are most interested would be George Lucas, who recently sold his company to Disney
Now that George Lucas has more time on his hands after selling his businesses to The Walt Disney Company, he is putting his all in to making his vision for a museum along the San Francisco Bay a reality. As George says, “The Lucas Cultural Arts Museum will be a center highlighting populist art from some of the great illustrators of the last 150 years through today’s digital art used to create animated and live-action movies, visual effects, props and sketches. They’re all united by their ability to capture our shared cultural story-from Rockwell’s pencil sketches to computer generated moving images. More than just exhibiting illustration and technological innovation, this cross-section of art can help to describe and define our culture-its past, present, and future. It provides a unique way to see what’s emotionally important to us as a society and how we communicate those feelings without words. The best way to truly understand art is to experience it.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI6dRf4TrGg#action=share
I recently attended a public session where the three finalists presented their final proposals and participated in a question and answer session. George showed his commitment to this project by being in attendance and presenting. While the session was well attended as far as public hearings go, it was odd to see George Lucas in such an intimate setting. George discussed his passion for the Bay Area and the Presidio in particular mentioning that he moved ILM to the park to ensure that the area would be financially viable following its decommission as a military base. He also discussed how the museum is fully funded and that the facility is designed to fit in with its surroundings while highlighting the beautiful vistas of the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. They also highlighted that the museum features a completely underground parking structure to maximize green space and limit cars in view. While the design aesthetic is impressive, harkening back to the Pan Pacific Exhibition, what truly is appealing about the museum is its mission to showcase a form of art that could be described as America’s contribution to art.
The museum is dedicated to storytelling art, which George Lucas feels does not get enough respect in the art world and little presence in fine arts museums around the world. One of the major collections of the museum will be George’s illustration collection including George’s acclaimed Norman Rockwell collection which was recently a hit at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. A subset of the illustration collection will focus on children’s illustrations such as E.H. Shepard’s
Christopher Robin at the Enchanted Place” which features future Disney star, Winnie the Pooh. A comic art collection will feature works similar to Disney Legend’s Carl Barks’ “Money Bin Memories” featuring Huey, Dewey, Louie, Donald, and Uncle Scrooge. Of course the cinematic art & design, digital art, digital animation, and visual effects galleries will feature works from Star Wars, Pixar, and ILM… all now owned by Disney.
Diane Disney Miller endorsed George Lucas’s vision for a museum of storytelling art in the Presidio. In a letter dated June 10, 2013, she states, “Locating the proposed museum in close proximity to ours will enable us to develop and engaging experience for visitors to The Presidio and the Bay Area. Augmenting our community with such a museum will strengthen San Francisco’s commitment to the film arts and boldly underscore the spirit of creativity innovation, and imagination that courses through both our own museum and the city.”
For Lucas’s part, in their proposal they share their vision of partnering with The Walt Disney Family Museum: “The Walt Disney Family Museum’s mission is to share Walt Disney’s legacy — from Mickey Mouse to Snow White, from Mary Poppins to Disneyland — whose artistry and imagination helped define 20th-century America. The Walt Disney Family Museum brings his legacy to life and invites viewers to find their own creative inspiration in his story. There is a built in connection between the Walt Disney Family Museum and Lucas Cultural Arts Museum’s mission and collection — the art of visual storytelling in America. We envision that there will be many opportunities when the Lucas Cultural Arts Museum and the Walt Disney Family Museum will collaborate and complement each other in its programmatic offerings. In keeping a dialogue between the two neighboring institutions, we hope to create shared links, shared programs and shared visitor experiences when thematically appropriate.”
Other people that have a legacy at Disney also support the project, such as former Disney executive and current CEO of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Jeffrey Katzenberg who stated that, “I firmly believe in the power of digital art and its ability to connect generations via storytelling. This museum would be a cultural experience like none other and I can’t imagine a better place for it to be presented. Where creativity, inspiration and innovation has, and will continue to meet…The Presidio.”
Brad Bird, director of “The Incredibles”, ‘Ratatouille”, and the upcoming “Tomorrowland”, supported the project as well in a letter of support: “A museum that cultivates and reinvigorates the connection between storytelling and the visual arts in the public’s mind is an invaluable resource. Locating that museum on such a beautiful site, right here in San Francisco is just the sort of breathtaking dream that created the Bay Area, and will enhance San Francisco’s reputation as one of the finest cities in the world.”
But the most support the museum is getting from a Disney personality is from John Lasseter, who is on the Board of Directors of the Lucas Cultural Arts Museum. George and John’s relationship with Bob Iger brings Disney’s support of the museum to the level that the museum lists Pixar and The Walt Disney Company as partners in the project. (The proposal also includes the Disney-owned Lucasfilm, but I presume that was obvious).
If you ask what unites all of the Disney brands that Bob has acquired since 2005, it is that they tell stories. Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar all follow the legacy that Walt founded the company around. Telling stories through art. Whether it is a comic book, theme park attraction, or an animated classic; we are engaged in these stories through images. Perhaps it is time for a museum to celebrate America’s contribution to art.
On October 24, 2013, the Presidio Trust Board of Directors will take public comment at a meeting being held at 630 in the Observation Post at 211 Lincoln Boulevard, Main Post. You can also leave your comments on their website at Presidio.gov. If this museum comes to be, the Presidio will feature two museums within walking distance that celebrate two visionaries that have left their mark on the Walt Disney Company, film, and American culture. I wish both museums the best of success moving forward.