John Elderfield, chief curator emeritus of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, who on Feb. 1 will become distinguished curator and lecturer at the Princeton University Art Museum, responds to Fielding Elderfield: Will Princeton’s Catch Remain Gagosian’s Designated Hitter?. The following is my response to your email of Dec. 26, which arrived while I was away … [Read more...] about “Strict Separation,” “Transparency”: My Q&A with John Elderfield on Princeton/Gagosian Loyalties
Archives for 2014
The Year in CultureGrrl, 2014 Edition
I admit it: For me, 2014 was all about that little guy in the center of the photo (his parents---my son and daughter-in-law---are on the left; my daughter and son-in-law, on right). In fact, I'll be headed his way as soon as I finish this post, to find out how many new words and new tricks he's acquired during his California vacation. This year's professional landmark, for … [Read more...] about The Year in CultureGrrl, 2014 Edition
Fielding Elderfield: Will Princeton’s Catch Remain Gagosian’s Designated Hitter? UPDATED
UPDATE: Elderfield's response is here. Can you be a museum curator and a commercial-gallery consultant at the same time? The conflict-of-interest potential seems obvious, but possibly not to the Princeton University Art Museum and John Elderfield. They recently announced that the chief curator emeritus of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, who now organizes … [Read more...] about Fielding Elderfield: Will Princeton’s Catch Remain Gagosian’s Designated Hitter? UPDATED
Souped-Up Cooper Hewitt, Part II: Touchstones Amid the Touchscreens (An Irreverent Photo Essay)
In some ways, the new Cooper Hewitt, which reopened on Dec. 12 after a three-year renovation, reconfiguration and technological revolution, is still a work in progress. The most obvious unfinished business in this $91-million (including $10 million for endowment) undertaking is the much hyped introduction of the Interactive Pen, which is currently on display as an Inactive Pen … [Read more...] about Souped-Up Cooper Hewitt, Part II: Touchstones Amid the Touchscreens (An Irreverent Photo Essay)
My Apollo Magazine Debate on Satellite Museums; Plus: Latest Abu Dhabi Workers’ Rights Report
I recently got tapped by Apollo magazine to tackle the topic listed on the lower-right corner of the January cover (above): "The trouble with museum franchises." Little did I know how timely this would turn out to be, thanks to the just released 2014 independent monitor report on employment practices at projects (including the Louvre Abu Dhabi) on Saadiyat Island, where the … [Read more...] about My Apollo Magazine Debate on Satellite Museums; Plus: Latest Abu Dhabi Workers’ Rights Report
The DIY Museum, Part I: New Souped-Up Cooper Hewitt (with video)
I visit museums to admire and understand the work produced by the most talented people in their fields, not to try my hand at doing what they do. That means I'm probably not the ideal visitor for the reconceived, interactive Cooper Hewitt that has finally reopened after a too-long, three-year hiatus. All photos by Lee Rosenbaum It's not that I don't appreciate the … [Read more...] about The DIY Museum, Part I: New Souped-Up Cooper Hewitt (with video)
“Forever Now,” Forever Yesterday: MoMA’s Failed Defense of 21st-Century Painting
As a lover of painting, I was rooting for the curator Laura Hoptman's survey of current art in that venerable genre---The Forever Now, which opened yesterday (to Apr. 5) at the Museum of Modern Art. Sadly, this show didn't do much to help the cause. I had high hopes that this 17-artist exhibition of works featuring pigment that is applied by hand, not digitally … [Read more...] about “Forever Now,” Forever Yesterday: MoMA’s Failed Defense of 21st-Century Painting
BlogBack: Spence Porter on British Museum’s Elgin Marble Loan
I'm not the only one speculating about Neil MacGregor's reasons for temporarily losing his Marbles. New York playwright Spence Porter responds to Preparing for Lawsuit? Why Might Neil MacGregor Be Doubling Down on His Elgin Marbles Bet?: I'm not an attorney so this may be totally off base, but I can't help thinking of another reason for the British Museum to do the Russian … [Read more...] about BlogBack: Spence Porter on British Museum’s Elgin Marble Loan
Stubbornly Figurative in an Age of Abstraction: Jane Freilicher, 90, Dies
Jane Freilicher, the deftly atmospheric figurative painter whose death at the age of 90 was announced yesterday by her New York gallery, Tibor de Nagy, was one of the artists I interviewed for a Mar. 7, 1993 piece in the NY Times "Arts & Leisure" section (no link available) on "older" artists (then in their 50s and 60s) who were well known but had fallen out of … [Read more...] about Stubbornly Figurative in an Age of Abstraction: Jane Freilicher, 90, Dies
Preparing for Lawsuit? Why Might Neil MacGregor Be Doubling Down on His Elgin Marbles Bet?
In his sudden, astonishing campaign to make piecemeal loans of Parthenon Marbles to foreign museums, Neil MacGregor---a lawyer before he became a museum professional---may be laying the groundwork for the British Museum's defense against the Greek government's contemplated lawsuit to reclaim the so-called Elgin Marbles. After I posted my perplexity as to why the always … [Read more...] about Preparing for Lawsuit? Why Might Neil MacGregor Be Doubling Down on His Elgin Marbles Bet?
Neil MacGregor Plays Russian Roulette with the Acropolis Marbles
More on this here. Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, is not a stupid person. So what can he have been thinking when he recently said (as reported by BBC Radio 4) "that he hoped the Greek government would be 'delighted'" about his institution's loan to the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, of the River-God Ilissos---a reclining male figure originally from … [Read more...] about Neil MacGregor Plays Russian Roulette with the Acropolis Marbles
Blogger’s Bounty: CultureGrrl Receives Arts Writers Grant
I had planned a more buoyant announcement of my "exciting personal news," as I called it in a draft written this afternoon. But it's hard to be self-congratulatory about relatively trivial matters when many of us in the NYC area tonight are mourning a "grotesque and outrageous" miscarriage of justice. So here, without embellishment, is my bit of news: I've been awarded the … [Read more...] about Blogger’s Bounty: CultureGrrl Receives Arts Writers Grant
No Gehry Guggenheim: Six Outliers Are Finalists for Helsinki Outpost
The architects on the Guggenheim's six-firm shortlist for its proposed (but not yet government-approved) Helsinki facility are neither starchitects nor Scandinavians. The names and designs of the six finalists were released today at 4:14 a.m., NYC time (a more civilized hour in Helsinki). As I mentioned in yesterday's post, the architectural firms have now been publicly … [Read more...] about No Gehry Guggenheim: Six Outliers Are Finalists for Helsinki Outpost
Good Morning, Helsinki: Guggenheim Poised to Announce Six Shortlisted Architects
More on this here. When we awake in the U.S. tomorrow (unless you're an insomniac or even more of a night owl than I am), the Guggenheim will have announced the six finalists chosen from the 1,717 anonymous submissions in the architectural competition for its proposed Helsinki satellite facility (which has not yet received government approval). The decision of the 11 jurors is … [Read more...] about Good Morning, Helsinki: Guggenheim Poised to Announce Six Shortlisted Architects
“Willful Provincialism”: More From Williams Curator Kevin Murphy on Crystal Bridges
Kevin Murphy, curator of American art at the Williams College Museum of Art (and previously at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art), elaborates on Flight from Bentonville: Ex-Crystal Bridges Curator Kevin Murphy on Why He Left: I worried slightly when I read your initial blog post, because I do tend to err on the side of candor. The Afghanistan comment riled some Arkansan … [Read more...] about “Willful Provincialism”: More From Williams Curator Kevin Murphy on Crystal Bridges