The putative "Michelangelo of Fifth Avenue" has gotten an upgrade. With Italian Renaissance scholars James Beck, Leo Steinberg and, above all, the great Michelangelo expert Creighton Gilbert no longer with us to cast doubt on his controversial, ambitious attribution, James Draper, curator at the Metropolitan Museum, has quietly removed the "attributed to" from the label for … [Read more...] about The Met’s Stealth Attribution: A Michelangelo in Our Midst?
Archives for 2012
Architecture Critic Paul Goldberger vs. Dallas’ Museum Tower
Yesterday, in the interest of fairness, I aired the response of Museum Tower to my post on the harm that the glare of its highly reflective skin is causing the Nasher Sculpture Center.Just so I don't leave you with the mistaken impression that I agree with the condo's take on this contretemps, here's my Twitter exchange this morning with Vanity Fair's distinguished architecture … [Read more...] about Architecture Critic Paul Goldberger vs. Dallas’ Museum Tower
BlogBack by Museum Tower Spokesperson: Nasher’s Louver Solution Won’t Mitigate Glare
Here's the other side of the story regarding the Nasher clash over the glowering tower. Rebecca Shaw, executive vice president for Spaeth Communications, responds to Reflective Invective: Nasher's Jeremy Strick Glares Back at Condo Tower's Glare, Reacts to DMA's Free Admission: A feasibility report for a retractable louver system to remediate the reflected light [from the new … [Read more...] about BlogBack by Museum Tower Spokesperson: Nasher’s Louver Solution Won’t Mitigate Glare
Reflective Invective: Nasher’s Jeremy Strick Glares Back at Condo Tower’s Glare, Reacts to DMA’s Free Admission
Picasso in Plaid: "Nude Man and Woman," 1971All photos courtesy of Nasher Sculpture CenterContacted by me yesterday (in light of this CultureGrrl post) for an update on his standoff with the highly reflective (and, to the Nasher, highly pernicious) Museum Tower, Jeremy Strick, director of the Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, gave me this detailed reply (and sent me photos … [Read more...] about Reflective Invective: Nasher’s Jeremy Strick Glares Back at Condo Tower’s Glare, Reacts to DMA’s Free Admission
Dallas Fallacy: Should Museums’ Admission Be Free? (Should Nasher Sculpture Center be glare-free?) CORRECTED
If this works for the Dallas Museum of Art, fine. Maxwell Anderson, the DMA's director, has thrown down the populist gauntlet by trumpeting his museum's decision (effective Jan. 21) to offer not only free admission (eliminating the current $10 adult fee) but also "free membership" (which won't offer the same benefits as paid membership, such as the soon-to-be obsolete perk … [Read more...] about Dallas Fallacy: Should Museums’ Admission Be Free? (Should Nasher Sculpture Center be glare-free?) CORRECTED
“A Long Way to Go”: Washingtonian‘s Investigation of the Corcoran Gallery’s Woes
Crumbling infrastructure: A skylight in poor condition at the Corcoran Gallery last September Photo by Lee Rosenbaum If you care at all about the precarious condition and uncertain fate of the venerable Corcoran Gallery, Washington, DC, drop everything and read Luke Mullins in-depth Crisis at the Corcoran in the December issue of Washingtonian magazine. It will leave you … [Read more...] about “A Long Way to Go”: Washingtonian‘s Investigation of the Corcoran Gallery’s Woes
Barnes Foundation’s Visitor (Dis)Satisfaction Survey (plus: Kelly Preempts Glackens)
The drop-off entrance at the new Barnes Foundation (Ellsworth Kelly's "BarnesTotem" juts out above the canopy, to the right of the museum building)Photo by Lee RosenbaumBecause I didn't only go to the Philly Barnes's press preview in May, but also went Back to the Barnes in June (plunking down $18 for my ticket, as normal visitors do), I found myself on the receiving end … [Read more...] about Barnes Foundation’s Visitor (Dis)Satisfaction Survey (plus: Kelly Preempts Glackens)
The CultureGrrl Curriculum: My Middlebury College Talk on Reviewers’ Influence (or lack thereof)
Middlebury College Museum of Art Those of you who follow my @CultureGrrl Twitter feed know that one of the reasons I'll be posting sparsely this week is that I'm preparing to lecture at Middlebury College, Vermont, on the thorny topic of How Critics Influence Museums (and vice versa). DO we, in fact, influence museums? Only under certain circumstances, which I'll attempt … [Read more...] about The CultureGrrl Curriculum: My Middlebury College Talk on Reviewers’ Influence (or lack thereof)
Mea Culpa: I Fell for Crystal Bridges Hoax
Can I attribute this to my continued post-Israel jet lag?Falling for a hoax e-mail about Alice Walton's and Crystal Bridges' supposed solidarity with protests by Walmart workers, I posted her "statement" (which I've now taken down). What was I thinking? This falls into the same category as the Whitney hoax, which I saw for what it was. My deepest apologies for this major gaffe. … [Read more...] about Mea Culpa: I Fell for Crystal Bridges Hoax
Rocco Landesman Steps Down from NEA Chairmanship
NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman, delivering opening remarks last month at an arts-education panel in Newark, NJPhoto by Lee RosenbaumRocco Landesman today announced that he will step down at the end of this year as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Landesman stated: My intention has always been to serve one term and we have been able to accomplish more than I had … [Read more...] about Rocco Landesman Steps Down from NEA Chairmanship
Jittery Journey: The Grrl Returns from Israel (with grayer hair)
"Enjoy Eilat" sign on the small airport for Israel's Red Sea resort town, as seen from my hotelPhoto by Lee RosenbaumIt was difficult for me to "Enjoy Eilat," the Red Sea beach resort to which my husband and I traveled at the end of our two-week sojourn in Israel.As readers of my previous post and followers of the last 34 entries on my Twitter feed know, I endured a "frying … [Read more...] about Jittery Journey: The Grrl Returns from Israel (with grayer hair)
Sandy Update: CultureGrrl Will Return (eventually)
It takes a hurricane to fell CultureGrrl. Today was Day 6 of no electricity, heat or cable And now I'm charging my iPhone in the Delta terminal of JFK, from which I'll be wisked away to the land of milk, honey, electricity, heat and hot showers.I'll try to tweet while I'm gone and I'll post a bit towards the end of the month. But Thanksgiving and a late November trip … [Read more...] about Sandy Update: CultureGrrl Will Return (eventually)
AFA Museum Funding Panel: Tom Campbell, Ari Wiseman on Donor Influence (or lack thereof)
Left to right at last Wednesday's all-star panel on museum funding: Thomas Campbell, Maxwell Anderson (moderator), Ari Wiseman Photo by Lee Rosenbaum [We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for my Twitter feed's Hurricane Sandy updates (with photos), from my perch atop the New Jersey Palisades, overlooking the Hudson River and Manhattan---here, here and here. At … [Read more...] about AFA Museum Funding Panel: Tom Campbell, Ari Wiseman on Donor Influence (or lack thereof)
Vandal Vanity: Art Crime Pays for Alleged Attacker of Menil’s Picasso
Screenshot from a visitor's video showing last June's defacement of the Menil Collection's Picasso, "Woman in a Red Armchair," 1929, still in conservationIf he wanted to encourage copycat vandalism, James Perez, owner of Cueto James Art Gallery in Houston, could have done no better than to give a one-man show to the suspect in the attack on the Menil Collection's Picasso.In … [Read more...] about Vandal Vanity: Art Crime Pays for Alleged Attacker of Menil’s Picasso
Museum Funding Conundrums: Tom Campbell of Metropolitan Museum Leads All-Star Cast (with video)
Left to right: Mariët Westermann, Thomas Campbell, Maxwell Anderson, Ari Wiseman, James Bildner, Melissa Chiu Photo by Lee Rosenbaum A self-acknowledged New York-centric panel of major museum officials and experts in cultural philanthropy engaged last night in an illuminating, wide-ranging discussion pegged to the topic of Art Museum Funding at the Crossroads. I distilled … [Read more...] about Museum Funding Conundrums: Tom Campbell of Metropolitan Museum Leads All-Star Cast (with video)