Museum-orama: Smithsonian Leaks, British Deaccession Debate, Seattle Public Art Controversy, Joe Thompson and Richard Prince in Radio Interviews

Temporary Fix for Leaking Skylight Over the Museum of African Art, from the GAO Report

---The latest Smithsonian revelations involve not news leaks, but water leaks: James Grimaldi of the Washington Post has the story about the just released Government Accountability Office report, which revealed that collections were put at risk by deferral of urgently needed repairs. Biggest shocker: In October 2006 at the Sackler Gallery, "a major leak unexpectedly occurred in a holding area...three weeks before $500-million worth of art arrived to be held there. If the leak had occurred while the art was being stored in the space, the art could have been destroyed."

Not previously reported (as far as I can tell) is the identity of the works that had this close brush with disaster: They were "some of the earliest biblical artifacts in existence," destined for In the Beginning: Bibles Before the Year 1000, which opened at the Sackler on Oct. 21. These included: "leaves from three of the six oldest surviving Hebrew codices, the oldest known manuscripts of the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy, one of the earliest known manuscripts of the Gospels written in Latin, the oldest dated parchment biblical codex in the world, a page from the earliest Bible with full-page illustration." Yikes!

Elizabeth Duley, recently appointed to a newly created position, head of collections management, at the Sackler and Freer galleries, "will be responsible for solving long-standing storage issues," according to the Aug. 8 press release. She'll certainly have her work cut out for her.

---Are British museums about to loosen their prohibition against selling works from their collections? James Fenton of the Guardian has the story, pegged to a survey of 50 curators in the September Apollo magazine, which reported that "57% were in favour [of deaccessioning], as long as...specific safeguards were imposed."

---Public art or public nuisance? In a blooper tour of Seattle's city-wide outdoor museum, Danny Westneat argues that publicly funded works intended to enhance the quality of life sometimes detract from it.

---The MASS MoCA mess, continued: Director Joe Thompson speaks to Andrea Shea on public radio. NY Times readers, including Yale University Art Gallery director Jock Reynolds and performance artist Laurie Anderson, sound off in letters to the editor defending Thompson against Roberta Smith's fierce attack.

---The elusive Richard Prince speaks to New York Public Radio's Allison Lichter on the occasion of his just opened Guggenheim retrospective.

Some Prince outtakes:

Art's probably the only thing that makes me feel good....I think my responsibility is being irresponsible....I don't want a critic; I don't want to be judged. I just would love to be adored.