Archives for June 2020

The thought-police have come for Keith Christiansen, the Metropolitan Museum's chairman of European paintings. I'm posting (a blog entry, not bond) to bail him out. As reported in yesterday's paper by the NY Times' Robin Pogrebin, Keith's ill-advised (now removed) Juneteenth entry on his personal Instagram feed (also vanished) has ignited a firestorm of indignation for … [Read more...] about Instagram Slam: Don’t Cancel the Metropolitan Museum’s Embattled Keith Christiansen

I knew that my contrarian suggestions about what to do with the controversial sculptures of Confederate leaders on Richmond's Monument Avenue would provoke some pushback, but I hoped for the constructive critiques that I've come to expect from my knowledgeable, insightful readers. That's exactly what I got in two thoughtful responses to Monumental Misdirection: Topple … [Read more...] about BlogBacks: John Ravenal & Alan Wallach (& me) on the Confederate Sculptures Fracas

Those who prize equality and equity have been rightly horrified and mobilized by videos of the fatal encounters between police and George Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis and Rayshard Brooks last Friday in Atlanta. But the fierce energy behind violent, destructive expressions of rage that leave ruins in their wake should be applied to battling today's glaring injustices, not to … [Read more...] about Monumental Misdirection: Topple Injustices, Not Lost-Cause Statues (Some Juneteenth Musings)

Sotheby's has quietly upped its charges for purchasers of its offerings: An "Overhead Premium" of 1% of the auction hammer price will supplement its buyer's premium, effective Aug. 1. According to its announcement last month, little noticed by the public until Bloomberg's Katya Kazakina recently tweeted about it (more on that below), Sotheby's new charge will be "payable by … [Read more...] about “Overhead Premium”: Sotheby’s Invents a New Fee for Buyers

During this tumultuous time, I keep flashing back to the turmoil of the late '60s---the era when I came of political age as a college student, participating in the landmark 1969 March on Washington against the Vietnam War and attending antiwar "teach-ins" conducted by professors and students at my university, Cornell, which had a strong, politically active Asian Studies … [Read more...] about Back to the ’60s (again): Ex-Whitney Trustee Warren Kanders’ Dow Chemical Moment

In a striking departure from their customary reluctance to take strong political stands that would alienate some visitors, art museums around the country, speaking separately but with one voice, responded to the asphyxiation of George Floyd. The Metropolitan Museum arguably had the most startling response, in the form of today's stark banner at the top of its … [Read more...] about The George Floyd Fallout: Art Museums Take a Knee

Our loss yesterday of Christo, the canny conceptual artist with tangible appeal, is a poignant reminder of more innocent times---16 days in early 2005 when New Yorkers from all walks of life converged on Central Park for one peaceful purpose---to walk together basking in the luminosity of flowing canopies of saffron rip-stop nylon that were hung in a procession of some 7,500 … [Read more...] about Great “Gates”: A Tribute to Christo, 84, Who Made Magic in NYC’s Central Park