Name:Pamela Berman
Occupation: President, Board of Trustees of the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore
What I chose: The Brown Center at Maryland Institute College of Art, designed by Architect Charles Brickbauer
Why: Sharing a city lot with a red-brick studio building in the center of MICA’s Mount Royal Avenue urban campus, the Brown Center is a beacon. It faces the original Maryland Institute building, the “Main Building,” white, classically proportioned, well-behaved, set back from the street and accessed by graceful stairs, recalling a time when artists learned their craft by copying copies of antiquities.
The Brown Center challenges the traditional art academy straight on, bursting out of its footprint, strutting rhythmically and nearly colliding with its neighbor. It leans perilously over the sidewalk, in defiance of propriety. I look for it with anticipation every time I drive downtown and am delighted when I glimpse a corner of it unexpectedly from blocks away. Its sublime milky green glass skin absorbs the changing light of day and glows softly at night. This is not just a building; it is a work of art, and it never ceases to delight me.
While I am drawn to the exuberance of the structure, it is the emotional content which I find so irresistible. The building is dynamic, rebellious and intellectually challenging. Charles Brickbauer has found an original and exquisite way to express the thrill of artistic creation through unconventional form and impeccably chosen materials. What an inspiration for the students who explore new media, video and graphic art within its walls. And, what a gift from Brickbauer to share this vision with all of us.
– Jessica Novak
