Disney at The New Orleans Museum Of Art: Where Are The Curators?

While everyone's been getting worked up about the exhibition of art, curated by Jeff Koons, from Dakis Joannou's collection at the New Museum, something that looks far worse is going on at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Starting today, it's showing Dreams Come True: Art of the Classic Fairy Tales from The Walt Disney Studio.

The timing couldn't be better -- for Disney. According to NOMA, the show

also will include artwork from the upcoming Walt Disney Animation Studios musical, The Princess and The Frog, an animated comedy from the creators of The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, set in New Orleans and due for release at Christmas 2009.

The movie opens nationwide on Dec. 11. Makes you wonder who the biggest beneficiary of this exhibit is, doesn't it?

Wait, it gets worse. According to The Times-Picayune, "Lella Smith, the creative director of Disney's Animation Research Library...selected the art for the exhibit..."

And that was because? NOMA has no curators? (I see several listed on the website.)

Ms. Smith also wrote the catalogue. Disney animation may be a legitimate exhibit. E. John Bullard, the museum's director, defended it to the T-P this way:

Do people still look down their noses at pop culture?...We're going back and discovering what turned people onto art in the first place. ... There can't be anyone in America who has not seen a Disney movie, as a child, a parent or a grandparent.

But that's the wrong question. One right is, why didn't the museum exercise its curatorial judgment and its right to select what is in the exhibit? And other, is this the right time for the show, given the movie tie-in? And a third, did Disney contribute to the cost of the exhibit? And a fourth, whose idea was the exhibit?

This is starting to be a trend, a very bad one.  

BTW, I've chosen to illustrate this post with a picture of NOMA, not a "princess" cell, because why give Disney more free publicity? Turns out that choice was an easy one anyway: Disney has a always been a fierce defender of its copyright, and the picture on NOMA's website for the exhibit is emblazoned with a large  © Disney Enterprises, Inc. that spoils the view anyway.

Photo: Courtesy of the New Orleans Museum of Art