That the exhibition focuses on O'Keeffe's interaction with the world and the manipulation of her own image is interesting in light of the fact that the Milwaukee Art Museum is undertaking a retooling of its image, too. This is a different Milwaukee Art Museum, using Calatrava's mind-boggling design as a springboard from which to launch itself into the world in reimagined form. It wants to be a museum that Milwaukee and the world can't ignore. Still, spectacular building notwithstanding, a museum is only as good as its contents. Calatrava's work is already an important monument in Milwaukee's landscape, and it will remain something everyone can enjoy.
Art museums gain their intellectual power by the way their contents are arranged.
Their organization can surprise by making hitherto unseen connections visible, or it can reinforce received wisdom. Both objects are valid. The Milwaukee Art Museum's reinstallation is essentially conservative. It strives for formal sophistication, understatement and gravitas. Along with the Calatrava exterior, it announces an art museum of significance.