Archives for 2008

You can hear my Philadelphia Public Radio soundbite on the disposal of three Eakinses by the Philadelphia Museum here. They did use my comment that I thought the sale was inappropriate but executed in the most responsible way possible, under the circumstances. This was followed by museum director Anne d'Harnoncourt's observation that "you don't part with anything by Eakins … [Read more...] about My Public Radio Commentary on the Philadelphia Museum’s Eakins Disposals

Sold by Philadelphia Museum:Thomas Eakins, "Cowboy Singing," 1892Kept by Philadelphia Museum:Thomas Eakins, "Home Ranch," 1892Just when I had decided I wasn't going to rush to comment about the Philadelphia Museum's Eakins disposals that have raised the last of the funds needed to help defray its $34-million half-share of the purchase price for "The Gross Clinic," WHYY, … [Read more...] about “Gross Clinic” Disposals: Why is this “Cowboy Singing”?

Tatami Whammy: Me and My TeaWhat's this? Blogging can be hazardous to your health?Matt Richtel's recent story about dropped-dead middle-aged bloggers, published in the NY Times on the day that I left for my (non-working) vacation in Japan, struck a chord. So did a comment by a Buddhist monk who spoke to my tour group before a CliffsNotes version of a Japanese tea ceremony … [Read more...] about Middle-Aged Blog Slog: CultureGrrl’s Second-Anniversary Makeover

Jeff Koons in yesterday's press scrum at the Metropolitan Museum's roof gardenMemo to the Metropolitan Museum: Does the artworld really need another high-profile showcase for Jeff Koons' faux inflatables? Is it particularly desirable to borrow two of them from the coveted private collection of Steve Cohen, whose loans have recently been seen enriching just about every New York … [Read more...] about Koons Lampoon: Joy to the Met, Sorrow at LACMA

Brett Campbell, a Portland-based arts writer, responds to Martin Filler's guest blog post, MAD's Striptease: Cloepfil Shows New York What He's Got: Brad Cloepfil has done some magnificent work around the country and is on his way to becoming one of America's leading museum architects. This project [the new Museum of Arts & Design] was fraught with challenges from … [Read more...] about BlogBack: Arts Writer Brett Campbell Defends Brad Cloepfil

Life is short for Italian culture ministers (as you can see on this list of past officeholders). The Great Repatriator, Francesco Rutelli (above), is no exception: With the recent election of Silvio Berlusconi as Italy's new (and former) prime minister, a new culture minister will be named, according to Louis Godart, advisor on culture to Italy's president, responding to my … [Read more...] about News Flash: Rutelli Out as Culture Minister

Architect's rendering of 53 W. 53rd Street---the "Tour Verre"Photo: Ateliers Jean NouvelWhy am I not surprised? While I was away in Japan (where I marveled at I.M. Pei's awe-inspiring Miho Museum and the "wow"-worthy Kansai International Airport Terminal on a manmade island in Osaka, which I later discovered had been designed by Renzo Piano), Jean Nouvel's MoMA Monster was … [Read more...] about Nouvel News: MoMA Monster Gets Drubbed (and defended)

Edward Hicks, "The Peaceable Kingdom with the Leopard of Serenity"Photo: Sotheby'sFirst, another hearty thanks to my fabulous, recidivist guest blogger, Martin Filler, who has upstaged me in my own production: Thanks to his delicious posts on the best and worst new museums of 2007, visitors flocked to CultureGrrl in record numbers this week. And the hits just keep on coming.The … [Read more...] about Back from Japan: Updates on Stories We’ve Been Following

Black Mold Patches Above a Cow's Horns, Lascaux Photo, French Ministry of CultureHere I am just back from Japan, bringing you news from the south of France. This just in from the International Committee for the Preservation of Lascaux: The International Committee for the Preservation of Lascaux (ICPL) challenges the French National Television (TF1) announcement last Friday … [Read more...] about Lascaux Walls Being Scraped, Watchdog Group Alleges

The Dance of the MAD Veils, as observed last JulyBy Martin Filler, Guest BloggerI smiled when I read the juicy NY Times obituary of Sherry Britton, the burlesque queen of prewar renown, who died on April 1 at age 89. After her stripping days were done, she became a summer stock trouper during the 1950s, when I saw her perform at New Jersey's Camden County Music Circus in some … [Read more...] about MAD’s Striptease: Cloepfil Shows New York What He’s Got

Arkon Art MuseumBy Martin Filler, Guest BloggerAfter yesterday's accolades, here are my selections (by no means comprehensive) of the worst new museum architecture completed last year. Consider these as stand-ins for similar examples that share the same basic problem epitomized by each of these three.---John S. and James L. Knight Building, Akron Art Museum, by Coop … [Read more...] about Rating the New Museums: The Best (and Worst) of 2007—Part II

Top of the Heap: The New Museum on the Block By Martin Filler, Guest BloggerLast year marked both the 10th anniversary of Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and the 30th of Renzo Piano's and Richard Rogers' Centre Georges Pompidou--the two most influential cultural buildings of our time. As the worldwide construction boom spurred by those watershed projects continued … [Read more...] about Rating the New Museums: The Best (and Worst) of 2007—Part I

By Martin Filler, Guest BloggerEvery spring I vow to remain silent about the new winner of the Pritzker Prize, having dismissed the so-called Nobel of Architecture in a 1999 New Republic piece as no more than a redundant, self-regarding publicity stunt that promotes architects already rich and famous. Try telling that to an architect, though. I've yet to meet one who doesn't … [Read more...] about Nouvel Riches: Pritzker Gold, Tower of Glass

John RichardsonBy Martin Filler, Guest BloggerA few night ago, I was one of several speakers at a tribute to John Richardson given by the National Arts Club, which awarded the art historian its Gold Medal, several months after publication of A Life of Picasso: The Triumphant Years, 1917-1932, volume three of his acclaimed biography. I followed a daunting roster of … [Read more...] about John Richardson Tribute: The Case of the Missing Medals

Leonard Lauder at the WhitneyPhoto by Christopher London, ©Manhattan Society.com 2007 By Martin Filler, Guest BloggerIt's long been assumed that the donor of a new museum building or addition will play a central role in selecting its architect (as Paul Mellon did with I.M. Pei's East Building at the National Gallery of Art), or will reserve that right for himself (as Eli Broad … [Read more...] about Lauder to the Whitney: There’s No Place Like Home