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The Architects of Rock and Roll
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Cleveland
In September 1995 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum opened to great fanfare and celebration in Cleveland, Ohio. The I. M. Pei-designed structure, which is dominated by a triangular glass "tent" reminiscent of the architect's Louvre pyramid and supported by a 162-foot tower, houses more than 55,000 square feet of exhibition space, and is surrounded by an outdoor plaza of 65,000 square feet (fig. 1). The building is meant to embody the energy of rock and roll and indeed, upon entering the hall, one is struck by a sensory barrage of rock music emanating from all corners. The vast expanse of the naturally lit main hall features brightly colored Trabants suspended from the ceiling donated by the band U2 from its Zoo TV tour, super-sized electric-guitar sculptures, and other oversized rock-concert stage props, letting the visitor know that this is no sedate museum. Since its opening, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum has been controversial: naysayers derided the attempt to historicize a living cultural expression, and purists considered it a premature institutionalization of amusical form that is based on the rejection of authority. Over the years that criticism has softened, and some artists who openly rejected the idea have since been inducted into the hall of fame. Since its opening nearly eight million people from around the world have visited the museum, and nearly fifty thousand students and educators participate in its in-house and outreach programs annually.
While technology is an essential ingredient in the sound of rock and roll, its presence in the museum is muted. The museum's collection and exhibits are dominated by rock-star stage garb, electric guitars, photographs, assorted documents, ephemera, videos, and numerous listening kiosks and interactive exhibits. However, one small exhibit hall on the second floor, a newly reopened and expanded exhibit building on the original installation, features a timeline of audio technology and displays devoted to three individuals whose contributions were bound up in the technology of radio, recording, and performance.
A red-and-blue neon sign marks the entrance to The Architects of Rock and Roll, which profiles Les Paul, Alan Freed, and Sam Phillips as "the creative...