Swiss artist Thomas Hirschhorn's Gramsci Monument, presented by the Dia Art Foundation (to Sept. 15), is a ramshackle, purpose-built philosophers' lair that works admirably as a vibrant community center, but not so well as an incubator of public intellectuals. The joint was jumping on the balmy Saturday afternoon when I visited: It was Family Day---a celebratory community … [Read more...] about Thomas Hirschhorn’s Lively Gramsci Monument Brings Intellectual Gobbledygook to the Masses (with video)
Archives for July 2013
Steven Litt Survives Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Newsroom Purge
The Plain Dealer today became the Pain Dealer: About 50 members of its newsroom staff were reportedly laid off this morning, via phone calls. I had feared that my post today would be another Jori Finkel story, with the Cleveland newspaper's veteran art and architecture critic, Steven Litt, as another victim of the national decline in arts coverage. I was pleasantly … [Read more...] about Steven Litt Survives Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Newsroom Purge
“Sounder Grasp of Issues”: Schjeldahl Says Detroit Institute of Arts Shouldn’t Be Decimated After All
In a headspinning turnaround, New Yorker art critic Peter Schjeldahl yesterday asked for a do-over, after being pelted with a torrent of tirades for his muddled analysis regarding possible sales of the Detroit Institute of Art's masterpieces in connection with the city's pending bankruptcy filing. In retracting his ill-considered views, he essentially acknowledged that (in my … [Read more...] about “Sounder Grasp of Issues”: Schjeldahl Says Detroit Institute of Arts Shouldn’t Be Decimated After All
Fatuous Journalistic Commentary on the Detroit Institute of Arts’ Plight (and why it must be saved) UPDATED
UPDATE: For my take on Peter Schjeldahl's subsequent retraction, go here. There has been an astonishing amount of wrongheaded commentary---ranging from clueless to the pernicious---regarding the severe threat to the Detroit Institute of Arts' collection that could be triggered by the city's bankruptcy. With one exception, I don't wish to dignify this foolishness with links … [Read more...] about Fatuous Journalistic Commentary on the Detroit Institute of Arts’ Plight (and why it must be saved) UPDATED
“Leadership Changes”: Text of LA MOCA’s Announcement on Jeffrey Deitch
The expected has now happened. LA MOCA's official announcement of the eventual (but still indeterminate) departure of Jeffrey Deitch has just hit my inbox. As far as I can tell, it's not on the museum's website at this writing, but you can read it in full at the above link. Saying that Deitch "will be stepping down," the release about "leadership changes" (including … [Read more...] about “Leadership Changes”: Text of LA MOCA’s Announcement on Jeffrey Deitch
Cleveland Museum’s David Franklin Draws the Line: Cancels Sicily’s Loan Show
David Franklin, director of the Cleveland Museum of Art, was absolutely right to reject Sicily's outrageous, untimely attempt to change its financial conditions for the critically praised loan show, Sicily: Art and Invention between Greece and Rome, now at the Getty Museum. Until its just announced cancelation, the show was scheduled to appear in Cleveland from Sept. 29 to Jan. … [Read more...] about Cleveland Museum’s David Franklin Draws the Line: Cancels Sicily’s Loan Show
My KCRW Radio Commentary on Deitch’s Possible Departure from MOCA UPDATED
UPDATE: You can hear us now: A little too quickly for me to give you a proper heads-up (although I did announce it on my @CultureGrrl Twitter feed, in the righthand column of the blog), I contributed commentary this afternoon on Southern California's public radio station, KCRW, regarding an unconfirmed artworld development that's been touched upon during the … [Read more...] about My KCRW Radio Commentary on Deitch’s Possible Departure from MOCA UPDATED
More Cultural Politics: Andrew Finch, AAMD’s Policy Director, on Congress’ Convoluted Budgetary Process
As I noted late yesterday, the draconian proposed Fiscal 2014 budget cuts for culture-related funding, as outlined yesterday by the House Appropriations Committee, are (thankfully) far from the last word on the subject. At my request, Andrew Finch, the Washington-based director of policy for the Association of Art Museum Directors, walks us through the steps of the budgetary … [Read more...] about More Cultural Politics: Andrew Finch, AAMD’s Policy Director, on Congress’ Convoluted Budgetary Process
Cultural Politics: House Appropriations Committee Lacks Art Appreciation
It's not yet time to panic, but if you care about federal arts funding, it is time to make some noise. The House Appropriations Committee's proposed Fiscal 2014 Budget (beginning Oct. 1) for Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, includes what would be, if adopted, draconian cuts in the budgets of arts-related federal agencies and museums. The following percentage … [Read more...] about Cultural Politics: House Appropriations Committee Lacks Art Appreciation
Detroit Institute of Arts Issues Statement Regarding City’s Bankruptcy Filing Today
The Detroit Institute of Arts, whose rich collection is owned by the destitute City of Detroit, today posted this statement on its website regarding the news that the city has filed for bankruptcy: Like so many with deep roots in this city, the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is disappointed that the Emergency Manager determined it was necessary to file for bankruptcy. As a … [Read more...] about Detroit Institute of Arts Issues Statement Regarding City’s Bankruptcy Filing Today
Guggenheim Acknowledges Its Turrell “Skyspace” Isn’t One (plus my video of Turrell explaining how “Aten Reign” was made) CORRECTED
Criticized by me on CultureGrrl and on WNYC public radio for over-hyping its rotunda installation as "one of [James] Turrell’s luminous and immersive Skyspaces,” the Guggenheim Museum, I've just learned, has posted a video about how "Aten Reign" differs from (and, I believe, falls short of) true Skyspaces. A link to that video was tweeted yesterday by @MOMAPS1, whose Meeting, … [Read more...] about Guggenheim Acknowledges Its Turrell “Skyspace” Isn’t One (plus my video of Turrell explaining how “Aten Reign” was made) CORRECTED
Repatriation and Restitution: Crimes of Omission in NY Times’ Cultural-Property Coverage
In articles on two successive days at the beginning of this month, the NY Times reported on cultural-property controversies regarding the restitution of artworks with sketchy Nazi-era ownership histories, and the repatriation of antiquities thought to have been illicitly exported from their countries of origin. In both articles, writers Patricia Cohen and Tom Mashberg, … [Read more...] about Repatriation and Restitution: Crimes of Omission in NY Times’ Cultural-Property Coverage
Dia Founders Blast Art Disposals: “Complete Betrayal of Trust”
Last Monday, in my second post lamenting the Dia Art Foundation's planned sale of some about 30 works (including all its Cy Twomblys, its only Barnett Newman and two John Chamberlains displayed in the Guggenheim Museum's 2012 retrospective), I wrote that Philippe Vergne, the foundation's director, had "offered to speak with me on Monday [that is, today]. I'll report on that … [Read more...] about Dia Founders Blast Art Disposals: “Complete Betrayal of Trust”
Your Money or Your Show: Sicily Makes Cleveland an Offer It Can (and should) Refuse for “Art and Invention”
On yesterday's Cleveland Plain Dealer website (and, I assume, in today's hardcopy), Steven Litt reported on an unspecified "economic proposal" made by Sicily to the Cleveland Museum regarding the critically acclaimed (now jeopardized) Sicily: Art and Invention between Greece and Rome. Readers commenting on Litt's article, blasting this as "extortion," have been making … [Read more...] about Your Money or Your Show: Sicily Makes Cleveland an Offer It Can (and should) Refuse for “Art and Invention”
Here’s to the Losers: LA Times Dumps Jori Finkel; Cleveland Museum Mourns Its Scuttled Sicily Show UPDATED
Both of these late-breaking developments are hard to swallow. The LA Times' ace arts reporter, Jori Finkel, whom I called "estimable" while she was writing for the NY Times and whose reliable, informed and comprehensive reports I've cited repeatedly since she moved to the West Coast, has been laid off by the financially strapped Los Angeles newspaper. In an … [Read more...] about Here’s to the Losers: LA Times Dumps Jori Finkel; Cleveland Museum Mourns Its Scuttled Sicily Show UPDATED