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Forbidden Territory: British Museum Hajj Exhibition

February 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
2._Khalili_BM_Hajj_-_sanctuary_at_Mecca

The reopening of the new and improved Islamic art galleries at the Metropolitan Museum* last fall is just one of many recent initiatives to expose us all to Islamic culture -- so many that they all cannot be chronicled here. But I was intrigued by the focus of an exhibition at the British Museum, which opened last week and runs until Apr. 15: it's called "Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam." It's forbidden territory, since only Muslims may enter Mecca, the destination of the hajj. How was this to be depicted? This is the first exhibition … [Read more...]

02/3/12 10:03 AM | filed under: Exhibitions, Museums, Uncategorized |

Breaking Now: MFAH Selects Architect

February 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment
steven_holl1

This just in from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston: Steven Holl Architects will design its contemporary art building. If Holl (at right) is as sensitive and smart as he was for the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art's Bloch building, it's an excellent choice. (See what I've written for the Wall Street Journal about that building here.) Here's what the museum says: Cornelia Long, chair of the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, announced today that Steven Holl Architects has been selected to partner with the board and staff of … [Read more...]

02/2/12 2:37 PM | filed under: Museums |

A Reinstallation That Gives Beckmann A Room Of His Own

February 1, 2012 By 1 Comment
The Beckmann Gallery

I can't prove it (yet), but it seems to me that the renewed focus by museums on their permanent collections during these years of financial worries is producing some very fine results -- not innovations, really, but new applications of some practices in different places to excellent effect. I just learned of another example: The St. Louis Art Museum, in reinstalling its permanent collection, has created a separate gallery for Max Beckmann. This seems long overdue. By its own admission, the museum owns the world's largest collection of … [Read more...]

02/1/12 4:58 PM | filed under: Curatorial Matters, Museums, Uncategorized |

Does The Visual Art World Need Sharper Criticism? Yes.

February 1, 2012 By 6 Comments
Damaged IT Goods

Does the art world need a good hatchet job or two? That thought crossed my mind when I read A New Honor for the Hatchet Job, on The New York Times website: it outlines a prize, soon to be given by a British website called The Omnivore, which "will be presented to the author of the angriest, funniest, most trenchant book review of the past twelve months." The point, says The Omnivore, is "to raise the profile of professional critics and to promote integrity and wit in literary journalism." It didn't take me more than a few seconds to … [Read more...]

02/1/12 7:59 AM | filed under: Media, Uncategorized |

Someone’s Reading, and Listening…

January 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

They didn't give me credit, of course, but I was amused today when, after a few days absence, I turned on WNYC to listen to today's episode of the BBC's "A History of the World in 100 Objects." When I touted the series here, on Jan. 17, I suggested that " the Museum of the City of New York’s collection [be used] to tell the history of New York in 10 objects." Instead, the Leonard Lopate show itself it doing it. Without so much as mentioning my post -- which, I suppose is retribution, as I mentioned only WNYC, not the LL show itself in my … [Read more...]

01/31/12 1:31 PM | filed under: Media, Uncategorized |

Five Questions For Jay Xu, A Year After The Asian Art Museum’s Near-Bankruptcy

January 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment
JayXu-thumb-280x184-18772

It was just over a year ago that the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco got itself out of trouble, when the city fostered a five-party agreement to restructure the museum's debt. At the time, I also wrote a piece for the Wall Street Journal suggesting that, while circumstances did add to the museum's troubles, perhaps it wasn't all that wise to get itself into high finance. All that is behind the museum now. In fact, last September it re-launched with a new logo (which requires an explanation, alas) and a new mission, as covered in The New … [Read more...]

01/30/12 4:00 PM | filed under: Museum Funding-Fundraising, Museums, People, Uncategorized |

The Art Institute Of Chicago Links Up With India

January 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Untitled, 1934. Courtesy of the AIC

In some art circles, as in economic circles, Asia looms very large -- as competition.  Some worry aloud that the West may lose its influence over culture to China and India, that someday we'll all be gazing at and buying art from contemporary Asian artists rather than American and European ones. And worse, that tourists will be prowling all over new Asian museums rather than our own. Bye, bye, the 5 million visitors at the Metropolitan Museum and the 8 million at the Louvre.   I've always thought the hand-wringing was overdone, at … [Read more...]

01/29/12 7:37 PM | filed under: Exhibitions, Museums |

Boston Patrons Shell Out: Two New Endowed Directorships

January 26, 2012 By 2 Comments
Eijk and Rose-Marie van Otterloo at home

As I've said before, two's company -- so once again I'll mention something because there've been two instances in a very short time. On Tuesday came the news from the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston that, for the first time in its history, both the Director and Chief Curator positions were being endowed. Jill Medvedow will now  be known as the Ellen Matilda Poss Director and Karen Molesworth will be the Barbara Lee Chief Curator. Today, the nearby Peabody Essex Museum announced that its director had also been endowed. Dan … [Read more...]

01/26/12 4:47 PM | filed under: Museum Funding-Fundraising, Uncategorized |

Hidden Masterpieces: Science Takes Us Underneath The Paint

January 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment
dvd--oots

Out of the Shadows, a film by Kevin Sullivan about the use of advanced technology to discover the way artists work, made its debut in New York yesterday -- a showing at the Winter Antiques Show at the Park Avenue Armory. I went to look, and concluded that it's a good film for museums to screen -- and build a program around. Many museums have discovered that people like to see what art conservation is all about, and this film takes that interest and runs with it. Narrated by Donald Sutherland, the documentary -- don't Google it, … [Read more...]

01/25/12 8:16 PM | filed under: Artworks, Uncategorized |

Since When Does The Departure Of A Museum’s Education Director Make News?

January 24, 2012 By 3 Comments

It's not very often that the departure of a museum's education director merits an article in a city's newspaper. But that is what happened last week, when Williams College announced that it had picked Christina Olsen to head its museum of art. Olsen is leaving the Portland Art Museum, and the Oregonian acknowledged her work there, and before at the Getty, as well as her ambition, in a meaty article. The writer, D.K. Row, had also featured Olsen in an article in 2010. Then, he called Olsen one of the most important people at the museum and … [Read more...]

01/24/12 2:00 PM | filed under: Uncategorized |
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