MoMA and Museums' Public Trust

There is one important aspect of MoMAgate that I have not yet mentioned in my various posts: the effect that these disclosures may have in tarnishing the entire field. Some enterprising journalist or government investigator will now likely be moved to probe further into how museums compensate their directors. I don't know if they will hit paydirt.
On Friday, when I asked MoMA whether its side deal to augment director Glenn Lowry's compensation was "not as anomalous as [Stephanie] Strom's article makes it seem," communications director Kim Mitchell replied:
While it would be inappropriate for us to name other institutions, every organization deals with the issue of accomplishing recruitment and retention goals. We believe that other organizations have used a variety of different mechanisms in structuring compensation programs.
The issue of public trust in art museums was the subject, a few years ago, of a series of lectures that Lowry participated in, organized by James Cuno, then director of the Harvard University Art Museums.
The book that grew out of these lectures, Whose Muse? Art Museums and the Public Trust (above), recorded a roundtable discussion among museum directors who participated in this project.
Here's one interchange from that discussion:
Cuno: I think we all agree that a big part of our job today is to respect and reinvigorate the public trust in our museums, in museums as public institutions....
Lowry: I think this is a topic absolutely germane to our profession. I isn't an abstract concept, rather something central to the success or failure of our museums and to the museum profession. And we are far from fully understanding its implications and how to respond intelligently to all the challenges we face in keeping the public trust.
Lowry had better "fully understand" the implications of this latest threat to public trust in museums, and he needs to "respond intelligently to all the challenges" he now faces "in keeping the public trust." He has been uncharacteristically silent so far, choosing to respond to questions from me and from Stephanie Strom of the NY Times and through a spokesperson, rather than directly.
I know Glenn has a busy schedule, but he's back now from Mexico City, and if there were ever a calendar-clearing crisis, this is it.
Categories:
Blogroll
About Last Night
Art History Newsletter
Art History Today (U.K.)
Art Law Blog
Art Observed
Art To Go (Seattle)
Artblog.net
Articulations (Smithsonian)
Artopia
Auction Blog (Men's Vogue)
Design Observer
A Don's Life
Edward Lifson (Chicago)
Exhibitionist (Boston)
Eye Level (SAAM)
Foot in Mouth (dance)
Illicit Cultural Property
LA Observed (Los Angeles)
Looking Around (Time)
Looting Matters
Modern Kicks
NewYorkology--Architecture
NewYorkology--Museums
NYC Opera Fanatic
Opera Chic
Slog (Seattle)
Tropolism
Walker
AJ Ads
AJ Blogs
AJBlogCentral | rssculture
Terry Teachout on the arts in New York City
Andrew Taylor on the business of arts & culture
rock culture approximately
Rebuilding Gulf Culture after Katrina
Douglas McLennan's blog
Art from the American Outback
John Rockwell on the arts
Jan Herman - arts, media & culture with 'tude
dance
Apollinaire Scherr talks about dance
Tobi Tobias on dance et al...
media
Jeff Weinstein's Cultural Mixology
Martha Bayles on Film...
music
Greg Sandow performs a book-in-progress
Howard Mandel's freelance Urban Improvisation
Focus on New Orleans. Jazz and Other Sounds
Exploring Orchestras w/ Henry Fogel
Kyle Gann on music after the fact
Doug Ramsey on Jazz and other matters...
Greg Sandow on the future of Classical Music
Norman Lebrecht on Shifting Sound Worlds
publishing
Jerome Weeks on Books
Scott McLemee on books, ideas & trash-culture ephemera
visual
Public Art, Public Space
John Perreault's art diary
Lee Rosenbaum's Cultural Commentary
Tyler Green's modern & contemporary art blog

Leave a comment