Although I was expecting some pushback when I published my Wall Street Journal review of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's technological transformation, I've been taken aback at how my Twitter "Notifications" feed has been flooded with reactions (way beyond what I posted in my Storify of the first tweets) from SFMOMA's digital team, not to mention numerous other members … [Read more...] about Deferring to Digerati: What Didn’t I Get About SFMOMA’s App?
Archives for July 2016
Twitter Swarm: Reactions to My WSJ Review of SFMOMA’s New Tech
When I published today's Wall Street Journal piece on the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's technological transformation---Golden Gate Gigabytes (this hardcopy headline is much catchier than the online one)---I knew from the heated tweets inspired by my previous WSJ tech piece that I'd better duck. I'll have more to say about what I admired most about SFMOMA's eclectic … [Read more...] about Twitter Swarm: Reactions to My WSJ Review of SFMOMA’s New Tech
Robust App, Weak Tours: My WSJ Review of SFMOMA’s Technological Transformation
I seem to have landed the museum-tech beat on the Wall Street Journal's "Arts in Review" page. In tomorrow's Personal Journal section (online now), you can read: At SFMOMA, Tech and Culture Meet---my mixed review of the newly expanded San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's digital transformation. In my previous digital adventure---The Brave New Museum Sputters Into Life---I … [Read more...] about Robust App, Weak Tours: My WSJ Review of SFMOMA’s Technological Transformation
Willful Wilsey Wilts: Regime Change at Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
The long overdue wresting of control over the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco from a bejeweled socialite and consummate fundraiser, Diane "Dede" Wilsey, is finally occurring under the museums' new director, Max Hollein, who assumed his post on June 1. What we don't yet know is whether Max impelled this change or just got lucky. In her dual role as FAMSF's board … [Read more...] about Willful Wilsey Wilts: Regime Change at Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
“The Keeper” Sleeper: The New Museum Displays the Harrowing “Sketchbook from Auschwitz”
"Start on the fourth floor, but make sure not to miss the second floor," New Museum director Lisa Phillips advised me when I arrived with only an hour to spare for the press preview of The Keeper (to Sept. 25)---an ephemera-packed exhibition of the stuff assembled and preserved by obsessive-compulsive accumulators of objects and images. Astutely curated by the indispensable … [Read more...] about “The Keeper” Sleeper: The New Museum Displays the Harrowing “Sketchbook from Auschwitz”
The Met Mess: Parsing the Organizational Upheavals at the Metropolitan Museum
What do the disarray of the Metropolitan Museum's finances and the shakeup of its senior staff say about Tom Campbell's performance as director of this country's preeminent art museum? It could be that directing the Met is too complicated and challenging a task for someone who assumed the post with scant administrative experience. In September 2008, at Campbell's … [Read more...] about The Met Mess: Parsing the Organizational Upheavals at the Metropolitan Museum
GOP Stop? Cleveland Museum’s Convention Intervention
The Cleveland Museum of Art today finds itself near "the room where it happens" (to quote from Broadway's "Hamilton"). Some convention-weary delegates and families will probably migrate there, seeking respite and cultural solace. While awaiting further developments, the museum posted a mischievous tweet, which sparked this @ClevelandArt/@CultureGrrl exchange: … [Read more...] about GOP Stop? Cleveland Museum’s Convention Intervention
Shiner Whiner: Warhol Museum’s Director Joins the Flight from Museum to Market
Should museum directors and curators parlay their nonprofit contacts into for-profit pursuits? The latest news in museum-to-market defections---last week's announcement that Eric Shiner, the five-year director of the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, will leave Aug. 15 to join Sotheby's---is one of several eyebrow-raising transitions suggesting that the financial incentive and … [Read more...] about Shiner Whiner: Warhol Museum’s Director Joins the Flight from Museum to Market
Climate-Control Crisis Closes Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum dropped this bombshell in my inbox at 5:23 p.m.: Because of an air-conditioning outage, the Brooklyn Museum will be closed tomorrow, Friday, July 8 through Sunday, July 10. Our team is working around the clock to replace the damaged systems during this time. All museum collections are being constantly monitored and sensitive materials are being moved to … [Read more...] about Climate-Control Crisis Closes Brooklyn Museum
Injured Elvis’ Secret Tryst with Conservators: SFMOMA’s Neal Benezra Tells All
Journalists (including me) extracted only minimal information from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's press office about the "minimal" damage suffered by Warhol's celebrated "Triple Elvis [Ferus type]," 1963, on 100-year loan from the Doris and Donald Fisher Collection. But Neal Benezra, the museum's director, was more forthcoming when I caught up with him last week in … [Read more...] about Injured Elvis’ Secret Tryst with Conservators: SFMOMA’s Neal Benezra Tells All