So I remember hearing a lot about this building when I arrived in the Fall of 2012, but there was this sense that it needed to be banged up a bit, that it was just too pristine to function well as a place of play and experimentation for visual artists. The second-year MFA students, they were used to having their studios tucked into old dormitories on campus or attic spaces in Midway Studios, so I think their transition to this stone and glass tower was just somewhat awkward for them. But I was thrilled.
I mean, I was coming in and making videos and performances, and I was really excited to make use of a facility that boasted state-of-the-art technological resources, as well as being a space that integrated both the fine and performing arts departments. Over time, we began to see how each space at the Logan Center was incredibly flexible, from the production studio in the basement with its cyc wall, all the way up to the ninth story at the Performance Penthouse. The Logan Center really became a kind of laboratory for the arts.
Spaces designed as lecture halls held late-night dance parties after exhibition openings. The cantilevers intended for studying doubled as performance spaces. The building changed all the time in how it was used, and we soon learned that it wasn't about the way the building looked that mattered. It was about what we could do inside that made all of the difference. And what we could do there was inexhaustible and it was truly a gift.