It's probably a good thing that Colin Bailey wasn't present at the de Young Museum for yesterday's celebratory announcement of his selection to be the next director of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Had he been there, he would likely have winced at remarks by Diane "Dede" Wilsey, the museums' voluble president. During the question-and-answer part of the event, she … [Read more...] about Willful Wilsey: Colin Bailey’s First Problem as Director at Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (plus Bailey as mentor, with video)
Archives for March 2013
It’s Colin Bailey! Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Pick a Scholar “Who is Fun” UPDATED (with video)
"It's a dream come true....I've long wanted to be a director of a museum!" exulted the absent Colin Bailey in a video (at the bottom of this post) prepared by search firm m/Oppenheim for the rollout of his directorship today at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Museum president Diane "Dede" Wilsey described Bailey, currently deputy director and curator at the Frick … [Read more...] about It’s Colin Bailey! Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Pick a Scholar “Who is Fun” UPDATED (with video)
BlogBack: John Sandercock, NY Attorney, on Whether MOCA Broke California Law
I still have had no response from LA MOCA to my various questions, regarding the museum's uncertain future and checkered past, but CultureGrrl reader John Sandercock, a New York attorney with no connection to the in-recovery Los Angeles museum, helpfully explains for us why officials from MOCA and legal experts might disagree with the assertion in a 2010 LA Times article (which … [Read more...] about BlogBack: John Sandercock, NY Attorney, on Whether MOCA Broke California Law
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco to Livestream Director Announcement
Wanna see the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco's "Special Announcement," streamed live from the de Young Museum? Soon you can! Go here today at noon, California time, to learn the results of the board's special meeting today to select the museums' new director. … [Read more...] about Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco to Livestream Director Announcement
Board of Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Tomorrow Considers Appointment of New Director
On P. 3 of its publicly posted agenda for tomorrow's Special Meeting, the board of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco has revealed that it will take up the following item in closed session: Consideration and Possible Action to Appoint a New Director of Museums of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco The trustees will then reconvene in open session and provide a … [Read more...] about Board of Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Tomorrow Considers Appointment of New Director
MOCA Reports Commitments to “Nearly Triple” Museum’s Endowment (and requests a CultureGrrl correction)
In an announcement that just hit my inbox, LA MOCA exulted that its trustees "have obtained commitments over the past two weeks that will boost the endowment to more than $60 million, a record high in the museum's 34-year history and a reflection of the board's commitment to keep MOCA as a museum dedicated solely to contemporary art." This is putting their money where their … [Read more...] about MOCA Reports Commitments to “Nearly Triple” Museum’s Endowment (and requests a CultureGrrl correction)
Anti-Broad Bromide: Roberta Smith’s Muddled LA MOCA Analysis
In her Critic's Notebook piece about the LA MOCA mess that hit the NY Times' website this morning (and presumably will appear in tomorrow's paper), Roberta Smith once again demonstrates that her brilliance as an art critic is not matched by equal acumen in analyzing museum-management issues. Setting the scene for her muddled analysis, Roberta proclaims this in her first … [Read more...] about Anti-Broad Bromide: Roberta Smith’s Muddled LA MOCA Analysis
President Obama at the Israel Museum: Political Subtext of the Dead Sea Scrolls
President Obama's visit this morning to the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, wasn't a mere culture break from his whirlwind schedule of meetings with political leaders in Israel and, tomorrow, Jordan. Israeli officials also had a political agenda in bringing him to see the display of the Dead Sea Scrolls (specifically, the Great Isaiah Scroll, shown above), which are preserved and … [Read more...] about President Obama at the Israel Museum: Political Subtext of the Dead Sea Scrolls
MOCA’s Confusion-Sowing Declaration of “Independence” (plus the details of Eli Broad’s penalty clause for museum mergers)
The uncertainty regarding LA MOCA's future, caused by a demonstrably under-performing board and administration, reached new heights late yesterday with the museum's release of a three-sentence statement titled, “MOCA Trustees Committed to Independence.” Intended to provide some clarity regarding the museum's murky prospects, it only muddied the waters further: The Board is in … [Read more...] about MOCA’s Confusion-Sowing Declaration of “Independence” (plus the details of Eli Broad’s penalty clause for museum mergers)
Free the Gardner 13: FBI Renews Push to Recover Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s Purloined Paintings
The FBI today issued this press release and a video, below, in an effort to reenergize the 23-year-old quest to recover the works stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. They hope that reminding people of what the paintings look like (in part, via the slideshow below), as well as re-publicizing the $5-million reward for "information that leads directly to the … [Read more...] about Free the Gardner 13: FBI Renews Push to Recover Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s Purloined Paintings
News Flash: Colin Bailey to Be Named as Director of Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Someone with strong ties to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco told me today that he had it on good authority that Colin Bailey, who is deputy director and curator at the Frick Collection, New York, is soon to be officially named as director of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. I have tonight confirmed this with an unimpeachably reliable art professional (not from the … [Read more...] about News Flash: Colin Bailey to Be Named as Director of Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Berkeley’s Loss: Toyo Ito Wins the 2013 Pritzker Architecture Prize
Toyo Ito, 71, the Tokyo-based architect who is most famous for his 2000 Sendai Mediatheque, which withstood the devastating 2011 earthquake (in which Sendai was near the epicenter), was named today as recipient of the 2013 Pritzker Architecture Prize. The $100,000 award will be presented May 29 at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston. You can see … [Read more...] about Berkeley’s Loss: Toyo Ito Wins the 2013 Pritzker Architecture Prize
Who Wants to Be My 7,500th Twitter Follower? UPDATED
UPDATE: Thanks for following, @paintcast, aka Kevin McCarthy---wearin' the green and following McCultureGrrl on St. Patrick's Day! My counter has been been hovering between 7,498 and 7,499 for a while. (Sunday's a slow "following" day.) At this writing, I'm just one away (although these numbers tend to fluctuate a bit). Maybe I'll take my 10,000th follower out to lunch, … [Read more...] about Who Wants to Be My 7,500th Twitter Follower? UPDATED
LA Times Reveals Provisions Regarding Mergers in the 2008 Eli Broad/MOCA Agreement; USC Still Interested
Mike Boehm of the LA Times has gotten his hands on the 16-page bailout agreement between Eli Broad and LA MOCA. That 2008 document, Boehm reports, "includes a four-page section concerning 'significant actions' that MOCA trustees can't take with a simple vote. One of them is agreeing to be subsumed under another local museum---such as LACMA---before 2019." Here's Boehm's … [Read more...] about LA Times Reveals Provisions Regarding Mergers in the 2008 Eli Broad/MOCA Agreement; USC Still Interested
Crystal Bridges Developments: Acquisitions, Shared Works, New Trustee (plus the mysterious “strategic plan”)
Aside from Crystal Bridges Museum's recent major upheavals in staff, there has been an impressive number of major developments at the Bentonville, AR, museum that Alice Walton built. Its collection has been beefed up with about 2,000 new works (including works on paper), including gap-fillers such as one just announced this afternoon, which Crystal Bridges will share with the … [Read more...] about Crystal Bridges Developments: Acquisitions, Shared Works, New Trustee (plus the mysterious “strategic plan”)