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Exhibition Review
The William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum, Little Rock, Ark., http://www.clintonpresidentialcenter.org.
Permanent exhibition, opened Nov. 2004. 20,000 sq. ft. Ralph Applebaum Associates, design.
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| After defeating George H. W. Bush in 1992, Bill Clinton did not dismantle his campaign apparatus. He simply moved it into the White House, creating what commentators called the "permanent campaign." Relying on pollsters, political consultants, and public relations experts, the Clinton White House carefully crafted its message to sell policy positions to voters and members of Congress, responded forcefully to attacks on its credibility and programs, and generally burnished the image of the president and his family. For critics, the permanent campaign was further evidence of Clinton's lack of moral compass, his slipperiness, and his self-serving ways. For supporters, it was just smart politics. |
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The William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas, can best be understood as the latest phase of that permanent campaign. Designed to push specific policies, answer critics, and enhance the stature of Clinton and his wife, Hillary, the museum is much like Clinton's two runs for the presidency, expertly done and bound to infuriate his detractors and satisfy his supporters. Clinton started planning the library and museum soon after winning a second term in 1996 and was intimately involved in nearly every aspect of its creation. He selected the site (a thirty-acre industrial brown-field on the Arkansas River just east of downtown Little Rock) and the architects (James Polshek and Richard Olcott of Polshek Partnership Architects), insisted that the building be environmentally friendly (it has 306 solar panels and recycled materials were used in its construction), approved the design (a cantilevered steel and glass box extending out over the Arkansas River to symbolize the "bridge to the twenty-first century" image of his 1996 campaign), helped the William J. Clinton Foundation raise the $165 million needed for construction and tens of millions more for associated projects and a permanent endowment, worked with the designers (Ralph Applebaum Associates of New York City) to craft the exhibits, and even recorded an audio tour full of reminiscences and personal insights for museum-goers. Much like Clinton's autobiography, My Life (2004), the museum's exhibits provide a finely crafted firsthand account of politics in the 1990s by a well-informed, articulate, but hardly disinterested participant. |
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Upon the completion of the museum in November 2004, Clinton and his foundation, in accordance with federal law, turned it over to the National Archives and Records Administration, which now oversees the exhibits and the associated presidential archive. Since then, over one million people have visited the William J. Clinton Presidential Center, which includes not only the museum and library but a well-manicured riverfront park, the University of Arkansas's Clinton School of Public Service, and offices of the Clinton Foundation, which continues to oversee the former president's philanthropic and public policy endeavors. The papers from Clinton's twelve years as Arkansas governor are housed a few blocks away in an archive operated by the Central Arkansas Library System and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. |
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While the museum displays many of the trappings common to presidential libraries—the official limousine, a replica of the Oval Office, gifts from foreign leaders, menus of state dinners, gowns of the first lady, the china pattern used on formal occasions—the heart of the exhibit focuses on the accomplishments of the Clinton administration. A 110-foot timeline detailing Clinton's eight-year tenure runs down the center of the main hall surrounded by fourteen alcoves, each highlighting a different aspect of his presidency. Both the timeline and the alcoves are visually appealing and beautifully executed, combining text; photographs and documents culled from the adjacent presidential archive; audio narration; and video of news footage, presidential speeches, and ceremonies. Despite all of this information, the museumgoer is never overwhelmed. The design of the alcoves is clever, ensuring that visitors encounter the material in easily digestible amounts. The timeline gives the exhibits a sense of cohesion, something that is missing from other presidential libraries, whose exhibits tend to be presented in a more episodic fashion. |
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