Rose Blows: Rosenquist Pulls Out of Brandeis Commitment

Well, maybe the devastation of last year's fire suddenly loomed larger than it had just a couple of weeks ago (scroll down), when the show was a "definite" go. Or maybe, despite his public assertion to the contrary, Rosenquist's second thoughts also had something to do with his increased misgivings about the museum's permanent-collection controversy. He shared some of that with Edgers:

In recent weeks, ...he vacillated, particularly after talking with Jonathan Lee, one of several members of the Rose's board of overseers who is suing Brandeis to block any sale of artworks. At one point recently, Rosenquist said, he demanded a similar written promise from the university not to sell works.

Brandeis insists that some kind of show will somehow go on, but two months is a paltry lead time for putting together a new loan show. It's almost a given that contemporary artists will be leery of cooperating with Brandeis after all the controversy and chaos.

I guess the staff (what's with that Audrey Flack picture?) may just have to rely on that permanent collection that the university has been thinking of selling and is now trying (at least in part) to monetize through Sotheby's-brokered rentals. Anything that forces the university to focus on the collection's educational value to its own community could be a good thing.

For now, maybe the university's and the museum's officials should reread this statement at the end of the account of the Rose's history on its own website:

The Rose has accomplished in its short life what many institutions can only dream of. The dream of the Rose is to honor its unique and inestimable collection, exhibiting it in ever new and experimental ways and enhancing it with the inexhaustible generosity of donors and the keen, experienced eyes of its caretakers.

So be it.