Rice Gallery treatment shows lack of concern for arts
On Friday, May 12, I took my 9-year-old daughter to visit the Rice Gallery one last time before it closed. She has been going to see exhibits there before she was old enough to walk, and later as she got older, marveling at every interactive installation that allowed you to walk through, or even (gasp) touch the work of world-renowned artists. And, long before she was born, as an undergraduate and later as a graduate student on campus, I always found my way to the Rice Gallery. As I often had classes at Rayzor Hall or Sewall Hall, I’d make it a point to take the long way back and peek into the gallery. What truly made the Rice Gallery special was its location in the heart of campus. As such, you were sometimes privy to the artist at work. It was always a thrill to watch a work slowly come to life, as you went about the business of classes and the more mundane aspects of life.