PORTLAND, Maine — High above Congress Square a migration of motley-hued birds soar. A great horned owl glares, an American oystercatcher swoops, and a large turkey vulture shifts in the air as you ascend the stairs into the Portland Museum of Art’s newest installation: Modern Menagerie.
Just beyond the paper mache sculptures by Christopher Patch, a shimmering buck head blinged out in crystal welcomes you to this new fourth floor zoo review.
“It’s a natural entry point for kids,” said Graeme Kennedy, the museum’s director of marketing and public relations.
He gestured toward Bernard Langlais’ large, brilliantly colorful “Indian Jungle Scene” wood relief. The 8-foot square, carefully carved masterpiece is “a great place to play ‘I Spy,” he said. A careful looker will see eyes peering out among the leaves, meeting the gaze of a curious child.
The semipermanent installation features a handful of well-known Maine artists. The work of Dahlov Ipcar juxtaposed with that of her mother, the painter Marguerite Thompson Zorach, echoes the artistic lineage they both share. Modern Menagerie opens the first window into the museum’s new phase: Your Museum, Reimagined.
“Maine has such a rich history of artists, we are creating a visual art narrative so the public can engage with the collection in new ways,” said Kennedy.
To make that happen, the museum’s permanent collection of 18,000 works of art are coming out of the closet. Up until this point, only 5 percent have been shown here. By this time next year, every gallery will be reinstalled, reshaped and revivified. Modern Menagerie is the first peek. And it will be up for about five years.
Commanding one wall is Ipcar’s “Blue Savannah,” a colorful patchwork of a multitude of leaping animals across various jungle vignettes. “It’s her at the height of her artistic practice,” said Kennedy.
Fans of Langlais will delight in the individual elements of his fountain, commissioned by the Samoset Resort in Rockport in the 1970s. The ensemble of roughly wrought but humorously effective caricatures of familiar seabirds and the iconic Andre the seal are very approachable. Their presence on multi-level platforms helps define the newly porous space and invites viewer engagement.
Created for a 60-foot vertical fountain that was shelved when the resort changed ownership, the pieces have been in storage ever since.
“It’s a monumental work to Maine and Langlais’ career,” said Kennedy.
So far, the 135 year institution’s refresh is working.
“The museum has experienced a 31 percent increase in attendance this February compared to last year,” said Kennedy. “People are expecting more from museums now. As centers for ideas, rather than exalted places.”
