Austin Museum of Art

I visited the Austin museum of art (AMoA) last couple of weeks and found it very disappointed. Even though it is quite cheap for admission (around $ 5 each) comparing to other art museums in the major city, I still expect more out of it.
We went there because I saw the AMoA website that they are holding an exhibition of Roy Lictenstein. When we arrived, we were quite shocked by the size of the museum. It located closed to State Capitol in one of the office building. Also, the exhibition area is only on the first floor. Further to that, they have only the Lictenstein’s work. I think it should be more like an «art gallery» not a «museum» since they don’t have any other artist’s work in the museum. I doubt that they have their own collection at all. By far, this is one of the worst «museum» that I have ever been to.
My advice is you need to check the AMoA Website before you go. You will need to see what exhibition they are currently holding because that will be the only thing to see. Don’t expect to see more.

The downtown AMOA location has closed permanently. I’m posting this here so out of town vistors don’t plan a day to head over there only to be disappointed. They still have their Laguna Gloria location, which is lovely.

I hate to say it’s lame, but it is. I’m so sorry.

I’ve been going to the AMOA since I was a kid, and I always really liked it. It’s not exactly world class, but it is a decent art museum, and they’ve got some cool works there. The building itself is kinda eh, though. It’s basically an office building that has a few lower levels dedicated to paintings.

Not really worth a visit, with all the great things to do in Austin, TX. This museum is small and the art in the permanent collection is overall uninspiring, while the art in the visiting exhibits are uneventful and somewhat of a bore. Better off exploring the city itself with it’s awesome murals and street art.
One redeeming quality of this museum is their interactive children’s section where the little ones get to play wih art and other children! The museum is also centrally located in the heart of downtown Austin so if you did go for a couple of hours you could explore he downtown area on foot!

Me: Would you like to go to a museum?
My brother visiting from out of town: Yes, are there any with surrealist art?
Me: If one of them did, it would be AMOA.
We arrive at the museum, put the stickers on our shirts and walk in.
My brother turns to me and says: This is a modern art museum?
Me: They have lots of different types.
Him, point at the «M» of the AMOA sticker on his shirt: It says M for Modern.
Me: No, M for museum.
Him: Oh.
After spending over an hour and seeing all the works on display, we walk out and he is quiet for a little bit. Then…
Him: If you had told me before we walked in to AMOA that I would have found an exhibition on the evolution of the design of the office chair interesting, I would not have believed you. If you told me now, I would say yes. I would say it was very interesting.
He then spent a solid 10 minutes rehashing the different materials and the the construction and the design of the office chair. I wasn’t as engaged in this topic as he was, but I did enjoy the paintings and especially the layout of four of the abstract paintings which included a well-​positioned Warhol. I have to hand it to AMOA; they definitely have a talent for presentation.

After visiting magnificent museums of large cities such as NY and Pittsburgh where you could spend days observing the exhibits, this place just doesn’t add up, whatsoever. Sorry. It’s tiny. There is maybe 4,000 square feet of total space which includes a kids activity room. The sign is indeed misleading. I didn’t find it worth my time and travel going there, plus paying for parking on the street which is hard to find. I was able to see the whole place in 10 minutes.

I think a more accurate name for this establishment would be the Austin Dormitory of Art, because that’s about the size of this «museum.» Ironically enough, there was a living art installation of two people dwelling in what appeared to be an Ikea showroom. Only one thing was missing, THE PEOPLE. I was left staring at a vacant loft and a TV playing what I would have seen had I been there on opening night. It was like watching an episode of The Real World, minus the scripted tension and night-​vision hookups. How exciting!
Only slightly more entertaining was the video in the screening room. It was one of those stereotypically obscure «art films» that was probably directed by a snoody Frenchman wearing a beret and mock turtleneck. At the risk of sounding like a philistine, I didn’t get it.
The entrance of the museum was more like a Gap storefront. It lures you in with the best selections, leaving you under whelmed as you peruse the rest of the walls. The first collection in the front showroom was a series of photographs involving a «little person» and Olympic competition. Those images won a permanent exhibition in my memory banks. Next to that was a stunning display of photorealistic portraits done by an artist whose name I don’t recall. And rounding out the highlights of my disappointingly short visit was the surprisingly adequate children’s activity center. If I were a father I would have probably added another star to my rating. Alas, I’m not, and I feel that space would be better served as additional art space. But kudos for the kiddos.
Sadly, there’s more art on the bodies of your average Austinite than there is in this deceptively small museum. If you want a true taste of the Texas capital’s art scene, you’d be better off keeping your eyes peeled for tattoos and graffiti.

I’ve given this museum 2 stars because the people who work or volunteer there are extremely friendly, but to be frank, it was a reach. The building itself is several floors high and the large AMOA sign gives you the impression that there is an actual museum inside so you’re pretty much set up to be disappointed before you even enter.
The museum actually consists of one floor primarily occupied by a gift shop and a kids activity area. This is fine, but there is a dedicated children’s museum down the street and you can find a larger selection of art themed kitsch on South Congress.
I first went for the Lichtenstein exhibit and I took my time following the flow from room to room for maybe 15 minutes before I was surprised to find myself back at the entrance. I’m sure the volunteer who informed me that there was no second floor must get asked that question all day long but she stayed upbeat and told me I was free to go through again.
Beyond being disappointed I found it profoundly sad. I went to high school in Indianapolis. Fourteen years ago it was not exactly considered a cultural or artistic hub (and still isn’t) yet they seemed to understand the importance of having the museum that represents their city also reflect just how much that city respects art.
Austin is a city that grew from art. It’s a city that prides itself on it’s artistic community. It’s a city that has better art exhibits on peoples front lawns! This museum doesn’t represent that, but I really believe it wants to be a place that can be a source of pride.
The most important thing to remember is that Austin is a city of artists and art lovers and we can make that museum truly amazing if we work at it. So, if you have an extra 15 minutes downtown, go. Take a look at the tiny space that shows visitors how much we value art in this town and ask yourself what you can do to make it better.
Hell, ask one of the exceedingly friendly works or volunteers… after all, they are exceedingly friendly :) and I’m sure they’d love to talk to you.

Meh.
I usually love museums… but I can’t appreciate this place. At the time of the visit, there was a traveling exhibition called «From Process to Print; Graphic Works by Romare Bearden». His artwork took up most of the space in the museum.
Aside for the exhibition, I don’t remember the normal collection at the Austin Museum of Art. It was very small.
On the bright side — great for kids. There’s a whole dedicated area!

I think sometimes we forget that supporting art and harnessing an art audience is one of the more important things we can do to help a city grow.
AMOA is what a lot of people say — small and slightly conservative, but it does honestly depend on the exhibit. Having heard from various professors and friends who have volunteered there, I know that they are working on a limited budget with plans to build a really great building in the next ten to fifteen years. With larger space comes better sculpture, installation art and performance!
The current exhibit, a solo show by Chris Jordan, isn’t super great or anything. It’s a pretty minimal show curated for a larger family audience. They have a side exhibit of some of their permanent collection and there was some happy surprises, for sure. (There’s also that annoying fucking Annie Leibovitz photo of Willie Nelson that I feel like I’ve seen there ten million times already!)
I will say though that the video by Ramin Bahrani, slightly hidden in the the room when you walk in to the left, was one of the best pieces of art I’ve seen in a really long time.
Anyway, support the arts and keep AMOA in mind for sure — especially if you have a family and your looking for a great afternoon in the kid’s art play room.

I’ve seen better, Austin can do better.
There really isn’t much here. A couple rooms for small exhibits a gift shop (possibly larger than some of the exhibits themselves), and a register to take your money.
I believe art is an important part of any culture and while it is impossible to suggest what they do have here is not worth your time, it’s just paltry compared to some place else in town like the Blanton, and can make an art lover weep when compared to a place like the art institute in Chicago. I challenge you to spend over an hour here, I’d dare say it’s impossible.
Overall, a ‘meh’ experience. I’ll stay off my soap box, but I’d like to think we could do better.

Not impressive, at all. Small place. You can see everything within 10 minutes, and probably want to spend more time in the gift-​store.
I could hand-​arrange a pile of trash and stare at it from the comfort of my own home, save myself the trip and the $ 10 (two adult tickets).
Perhaps I am just not wowed by what is touted as «Modern Art» these days.

Expect to be as bored by a tour of AMOA as you are reading its name, «Austin Museum of Art» — its exhibits are about as repetitive as the phrase, «museum of art,» and its absence of weird makes it distinctly lacking in Austin-​oriented material.
AMOA offer a short list of benefits. They’re fairly priced at $ 5 for an adult ticket, $ 4 for students and free for children. They gear themselves to families by providing an artsy children’s room to distract their peeping eyes. Their doors conveniently open onto South Congress, though parking in that area can take hours.
Essentially, for a basic museum experience, visit AMOA. Their Web site claims to «appeal to a general audience,» and since there’s nothing general about the Austin experience, this stop should never appear on a tourist’s agenda, and only rarely on a native’s. Their galleries only interest most individuals enough to meander through the museum at a standard, steady rate.
For a truly engrossing experience, step away from the large letters and glass walls and explore some of the side streets; a genuine Austin museum is bound to pop up.

I’m going to echo the sentiments of other Unilocalers and say this place is cool, but really small compared to many cities’ museums of modern art. You have to take an elevator to get to the bathroom too, which I didn’t like.
I saw an exhibit about Hatch Show Print and the pieces were all very nice. There was a family fun room where you could make your own «prints» using embossed block letters and stamps. I thought that was a nice touch and the kids there seemed to enjoy it too.
I’d come back for an exhibit I wanted to see… I’d prefer more to see, however, than just three rooms worth of art.

I’m giving AMOA four stars purely because the fifth star is reserved for the day it gets a full-​sized building and can present the kind of shows everyone wants it to show. I love the Blanton, and am thrilled with its appearance on the Austin scene, but it is, ultimately and rightly, a university museum charged with educating its students. AMOA’s role is and will and can be very different in our city: focused on community and family art education and entertainment, as well as able to define and support our local and Texas art scenes by being able to show these artists’ works alongside and in light of other nationally and internationally-​respected artists. AMOA puts on very good shows and does a lot of good in our city that gets way overlooked. With a real, downtown space, they could do a lot more.
Everyone who complains that it’s not big enough can do four things to change that:
1. Become a member. It’s REALLY not expensive, you can go every day for no additional charge, you get a discount in the amazing shop, and it keeps the museum running and allows them to keep offering free school tours to the more than 10,000 kids who visit a year.
2. Convince five to ten of your friends to become members, too, so that you can meet up for fun at openings and at Second Saturdays are for Families, etc.
3. Go to see the shows, take young people to use the hand-​on education artmaking space, go to some lectures and events. You’ll want more if you keep trying it out.
4. Stop kvetching about AMOA being small on Unilocal and start making useful noise about how we need a real, community-​based, full-​sized, downtown museum. Tell wealthy people and corporate heads and foundation reps that they should invest good, big money in helping that project happen. Donate some of your own money to education programs or, even better, directly for the new building.
AMOA can’t make a huge collection appear out of thin air or host «Treasures of» and «Masterpieces of» exhibitions until they have enough money, space and the right kind of conditions to do so. I’ve been watching the good work they’ve been doing for more than ten years now, and it’s irksome that a couple of crummy economic crashes and folks who do more complaining than fundraising have kept this goal from happening before now.

While it would be tons more fun to couch a review of AMOA in the context of a reality television show («the art! the horror!»), what in reality seems much more practical is the legitimate admission that this remains a very well-​intentioned venue that tends to attract some quite interesting and contemplative pieces. And that no doubt they’re striving for more.
It’s a funny world we live in: people — contrary to popular indigenous literature — may be often drawn to the alternative take on perception, namely, for instance, the re-​imagined maps that were happening last time in. And while the mavens of renowned venues like the MoMa or the Tate certainly have a legitimate measuring bar, thank heavens the real world doesn’t often weigh itself upon those platitudes. Occasionally, and as we say albeit just perhaps, what’s enticing is just enticing, whether it comes on the heels of a débutante opening or not. I for one am amped to wander around here again.

All the other cities have good museums… why not Austin? I view the Blanton as The University’s museum… this is Austin’s. It’s in a nice space on the first floor of an office building. It’s also very small. It caters to traveling exhibits put together by museums elsewhere. There is very little that the museum itself seems to own.
Clearly it’s a money thing. With all of the other arts spaces in town, there is only so much money to go around. Maybe one day, they will have there own building and a big collection… I’m not holding my breath.

Was looking forward to seeing the Chuck Close exhibit since I’d heard about it. Was also very excited for the $ 5 admission fee. The Chuck Close exhibit was phenomenal — genius. The rest of the gallery had some interesting pieces, but I was disappointed with how small the museum itself was.
There is a very neat ‘make your own art’ room which encouraged children and adults alike to draw self-​portraits, discover their fingerprints magnified, and more. All are also given ample space to display their creations once complete.
I’m used to living just blocks from the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art and the Met when I lived in New York. The Austin Museum of Art can’t compare, but it’s a nice little spot to spend an hour.

I don’t know whether to give this place a 4 or a 1.
The first time I went into this building, years ago, I cried. Not tears of joy. I love Austin and appreciate the music scene, but I thought if this is The Austin Museum of Art — I’d expect better from rural Louisiana. The museum is tiny. The permanent collection is almost non-​existent.
My problem with this place is the name. If you’re going to call yourself the Austin Museum of Art, you are representing yourself as the art center of Austin, and this says really sad things about the state of art in Austin. I hate to be one of those transplant whiners, but after seeing my hometown of Boston’s MFA, all the smaller museums in Boston and Cambridge, The Smithsonian museums in DC, the Art Institute of Chicago — heck even the museums of Houston and Dallas — to walk into this place was like a smack in the face.
I was mollified somewhat when the Blanton opened up and became the heart of the fine arts for Austin. I realized this museum was never meant to be that. But seriously, I think the city should sue to take its name off this place. If it called itself the Congress Street Art Space, for example, I wouldn’t have such an issue with it. And the space has had some really decent exhibits, most notably the Lichtenstein exhibit. As a small art gallery, this place would get 4 stars from me. As The Austin Museum of Art — 0 stars. I split the difference and give it 2.