In what may be wishful thinking, Samuel Sachs II, who directed the chronically beleaguered Detroit Institute of Arts from 1985 to 1997, believes that the threat to the museum's collection posed by Detroit's dire financial circumstances may be "a lot of smoke but no fire." In a phone conversation yesterday, Sachs gave me a tutorial on Detroit politics and recounted to me the … [Read more...] about Former Detroit Institute Director Sam Sachs Downplays Collection Threat (plus, details of museum’s contract with the city) UPDATED
Archives for May 2013
The Semi-Return of CultureGrrl: Back (sort of) from All-Family-All-the-Time
As those of you who have read this post already know, I've been mostly off-blog since mid-May for good reason---the early arrival of my fabulous (and, of course, brilliant) first grandson, followed by my beautiful (and also brilliant) daughter's wedding in the Washington, DC, area (a good thing, since the weather for the outdoor ceremony was glorious, while here, in the NYC … [Read more...] about The Semi-Return of CultureGrrl: Back (sort of) from All-Family-All-the-Time
Dueling BlogBacks on Detroit Institute’s Endangered Collection: Michael Rush and James Maroney
The Detroit Institute of Arts' current dire predicament appears to have given Michael Rush, founding director of Michigan State University's Broad Art Museum, traumatic flashbacks to the near-death experience of Brandeis University's Rose Art Museum, which he directed during the period when the Waltham, MA, museum and its collection were endangered by the university's then … [Read more...] about Dueling BlogBacks on Detroit Institute’s Endangered Collection: Michael Rush and James Maroney
More Than a Mere Cleaning: MoMA Removes Restorer’s Gunk from Pollock’s “One”
Carol Vogel's NY Times report about what appear to have been do-it-yourself alterations under the auspices a previous owner of the Museum of Modern Art's newly restored Pollock masterpiece, "One: Number 31, 1950" gave me traumatic flashbacks to the bombshell article by art historian Rosalind Kraus in the September/October 1974 issue of Art in America. That shocking article had … [Read more...] about More Than a Mere Cleaning: MoMA Removes Restorer’s Gunk from Pollock’s “One”
From Millage to Pillage? Detroit Institute of Arts Confronts Possible Rape of Its Collection
To artworld observers, the notion that the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) could be forced, if the city declares bankruptcy, to relinquish its greatest masterpieces to satisfy Detroit's creditors is inconceivable. But the "inconceivable" is beginning to look possible: With the city's bankruptcy now looming as a real possibility, liquidating the museum's rich artistic assets, … [Read more...] about From Millage to Pillage? Detroit Institute of Arts Confronts Possible Rape of Its Collection
Thomas Messer, 93, Guggenheim’s Rock-Solid Director
In my 2008 tribute to the late Sherman Lee, long-time director of the Cleveland Museum, I had stated: He was my go-to person (along with Thomas Messer of the Guggenheim Museum) for brilliantly expressed, cogent and thoughtful quotes defending museum standards and ethics. He was always available, always unafraid to speak forcefully, and always generous with his insights. Now … [Read more...] about Thomas Messer, 93, Guggenheim’s Rock-Solid Director
Special Events: Why I’ve Stopped Writing (for now)
A few of my devoted art-lings may have been wondering about my utter disappearance from CultureGrrl and @CultureGrrl during the past few days. Here's why I've abandoned the keyboard, even though I had a lot of posts in mind: The only works of art I've been seeing since Monday evening are the Sol LeWitt mural, above, at New York-Presbyterian Children's Hospital and my … [Read more...] about Special Events: Why I’ve Stopped Writing (for now)
Expansion Derailed: Peabody Essex Terminates Relationship with the Late Rick Mather’s Firm
The Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA, has just announced that it will discontinue its relationship with the architectural firm of Rick Mather, whose death on Apr. 20 threw the museum's well planned expansion project into disarray. This just in from the PEM: “We are deeply saddened by Rick Mather’s passing. It was a privilege and an honor to work with Rick and his team. He … [Read more...] about Expansion Derailed: Peabody Essex Terminates Relationship with the Late Rick Mather’s Firm
Benny Andrews Rediscovered: Holland Cotter (and my) Appreciation of Michael Rosenfeld’s Retrospective
There is a capsule review in today's NY Times that merits wider attention and museum follow-up---Holland Cotter's very belated praise for Michael Rosenfeld Gallery's Benny Andrews show (closing May 18). It's the artist's first (also belated) retrospective since his death in 2006. As I felt when I visited this show several weeks ago (tweeting appreciatively, here and here), … [Read more...] about Benny Andrews Rediscovered: Holland Cotter (and my) Appreciation of Michael Rosenfeld’s Retrospective
Diller Scofidio + Renfro May Keep Folk Art Building in Designing MoMA’s New Galleries
Robin Pogrebin was given the story before the Museum of Modern Art sent it to the rest of us: It now appears there's a chance that the fierce opponents to the demolition of Tod Williams' and Billie Tsien's American Folk Art Museum building may actually have their way. This memo from MoMA's director, Glenn Lowry, to the museum's board and staff has just hit my inbox: The … [Read more...] about Diller Scofidio + Renfro May Keep Folk Art Building in Designing MoMA’s New Galleries
Auctioneer Andreas Rumbler Gets Deserved Applause at Christie’s Bumpy Impressionist/Modern Sale
"This is the most important Fauve portrait to come to market, bar none," you can hear Brooke Lampley, Christie's Impressionist/modern department head, assert to the press in this CultureGrrl Video. Expounding upon Derain's “Madame Matisse in a Kimono,” 1905, the second-highest estimated work in the sale at $15-20 million, Lampley added: I try not to use the words 'museum … [Read more...] about Auctioneer Andreas Rumbler Gets Deserved Applause at Christie’s Bumpy Impressionist/Modern Sale
Campbell/Cambodia: Metropolitan Museum’s Principled Repatriation of Looted Khmer Statues
In deciding to repatriate two important 10th-century Koh Ker stone statues of “Kneeling Attendants,” on public display in its permanent collection galleries for almost 20 years, the Metropolitan Museum has set a gold standard for museums' cultural-property policy, going far beyond what the Association of Art Museum Directors mandates. (AAMD's antiquities guideslines refer to … [Read more...] about Campbell/Cambodia: Metropolitan Museum’s Principled Repatriation of Looted Khmer Statues
Sotheby’s Slog: Lackluster Impressionist/Modern Sale UPDATED
You know it's a boring evening when the most exciting aspect of the just concluded Sotheby's Impressionist/modern sale (which I previewed here) was the first-time use of multiple cameras, allowing those of us viewing the sale online to see not only the auctioneer but also the auction-house officials fielding phone bids. This not only provides a livelier viewing experience … [Read more...] about Sotheby’s Slog: Lackluster Impressionist/Modern Sale UPDATED
Whither the Impressionist/Modern Art Market? Auction House PR Machines in Overdrive (with video)
It's the auction houses' job, during the run-up to the big spring sales, to hype the robust state of the art market and the importance of works being offered. But while there are some notable highlights, there's nothing to "Scream" about in this spring's major Impressionist/modern sales at Sotheby's and Christie's, scheduled for tonight and tomorrow night, … [Read more...] about Whither the Impressionist/Modern Art Market? Auction House PR Machines in Overdrive (with video)
Debunking “Punk”: Metropolitan Museum’s Exhibition from (Richard) Hell
In a series of tweets (with photos) that I posted @CultureGrrl earlier today, I essentially said all I'm going to say about the Metropolitan Museum's disheveled, disjointed, dismaying Punk: Chaos to Couture (May 9-Aug. 14). Here's my first of several salvos against a show that I put down as "theatrics without substance": My photo, taken near the entrance to the … [Read more...] about Debunking “Punk”: Metropolitan Museum’s Exhibition from (Richard) Hell