Extended Interviews: Art Institute of Chicago

The new modern wing of the "Art Institute of Chicago":http://www.artic.edu/aic/ was intended to expand one of the nation's leading museums and provide space for its collection of modern and contemporary art. Architect "Renzo Piano":http://www.rpbw.com/ also conceived it as an addition in a deeper sense to "a city rich in architectural tradition":http://www.architecture.org/. The original Beaux Art-style building, which opened in 1893, is itself a historic landmark, its "famous lions":http://www.flickr.com/photos/15811123@N02/1751751547/ a longtime city icon. The new addition, by far the largest in the museum's history, was 10 years in the planning and building, at a cost of nearly $300 million, almost all from private donations. Below are three extended interviews with architect Renzo Piano, Chicago Art Institute director James Cuno and Chicago Tribune architecture critic "Blair Kamin":http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/. You can also view a slide show of the Modern Wing and samples from its collection "by clicking here":http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/entertainment/art/chicago_art_institute/. And additional reports on the new Modern Wing produced by local PBS station partner WTTW's Chicago Tonight are "available here":http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=42%2C8%2C8&vid=051809e. We'll post Thursday's NewsHour segment in Art Beat soon.