Archives for November 2016

After a prolonged debate, ending in the wee hour of 12:03 a.m. Helsinki time, its City Council voted 53 to 32 to reject the Guggenheim's proposed Scandinavian outpost. Applause and cheers ensued. The meeting had been preceded by a demonstration in Senate Square by "a few dozen anti-Guggenheim protesters," according to a YLE News report. "Many argued that investments … [Read more...] about Guggenheim Helsinki Sinks in a 53-32 Council Vote (with video) UPDATED TWICE

Back in April, the Metropolitan Museum's president, Daniel Weiss, declined to disclose to me the cost of renovating the Whitney Museum's Breuer building, now repurposed (at least temporarily) as the Met Breuer. Thanks to the Met's annual report for fiscal 2016 (now online), the truth can now be told: Some $10.43 million was spent in FY16 and $2.52 million in FY15 for the … [Read more...] about The Cost of the Met Breuer (and other nuggets from Metropolitan Museum’s FY16 financials)

I've been off-blog too long---a combination of mainstream-media commitments and technological trauma (new computer). Let me start playing catch-up by addressing the latest arts/politics flashpoint: the "Hamilton" show vs. the Trump Show. I'll begin by coming out of my political closet: I disagree with almost everything the President-elect said to get himself elected, which … [Read more...] about Slam from “Ham”: Unpacking the (Lin-Manuel) Miranda Warning for Mike Pence (& for Trump)

Will the Guggenheim Helsinki, proposed in 2011 and stalled ever since, finally get off the drawing board? On Monday, the Helsinki City Board voted 8-7 to revive this persistent project, which will be up for approval by the full 85-member City Council on Nov. 30. In May 2012, the City Board had voted 8-7 to stop it. The project was recently dealt another serious blow … [Read more...] about Snowball’s Chance in Helsinki: Guggenheim Again Seeks Council Approval (plus Abu Dhabi update)

Sotheby's officials usually try to find something to crow about in their quarterly conference calls with analysts. But it's hard to sound bullish in the face of a third-quarter net loss of $54.5 million, as compared to a $17.9-million loss for the same period a year ago. The third quarter, when relatively few auctions are scheduled, is traditionally weak for the auction … [Read more...] about Sotheby’s Puts a Good Face on an Ugly Loss During (Non-)Earnings Conference Call