Janet Landay, former executive director, Association of Art Museum DirectorsWhile we're on the subject of resignations, there's been another important abdication of perhaps more immediate relevance to CultureGrrl's core professional audience---the abrupt, unexplained departure of Janet Landay from the Association of Art Museum Directors, after two years as its executive … [Read more...] about Why Did Janet Landay Leave AAMD? (and what’s needed now)
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Should Levine Resign from Met? Justin Davidson’s Bad Call
Metropolitan Opera music director James Levine: Should he throw in the towel? In the wake of conductor James Levine's announcement that he would to resign the music directorship of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Justin Davidson of New York magazine declared that the maestro should do the same at the Metropolitan Opera. Davidson wrote: The time has come to make him conductor … [Read more...] about Should Levine Resign from Met? Justin Davidson’s Bad Call
Penn Center’s List (with photos) of Egypt’s Missing Objects
One (as yet not publicly unidentified) of these three sandstone heads of an Amarna princess has been reported as missing from the Egyptian Museum.Photo from Antiquities Missing from Egypt report, Penn Cultural Heritage Center Partially filling the information vacuum about exactly what objects have gone missing during the chaotic situation in Egypt, the Penn Cultural Heritage … [Read more...] about Penn Center’s List (with photos) of Egypt’s Missing Objects
The Art of Dissertation Writing: “Enhanced Modeling”
I've been on-topic for way too long. Let's now wander completely off-topic.The resignatons of Hawass and Levine notwithstanding, to me the most important news event of last week was the designation of CultureDaughter as a PhD-to-be (to become official at May graduation). On Thursday, she presented an enthusiastically acclaimed defense of her doctoral dissertation, entitled … [Read more...] about The Art of Dissertation Writing: “Enhanced Modeling”
Hawass Unhinged: Is Dr. Zahi Becoming Archaeology’s Charlie Sheen? UPDATED TWICE
Abu Sir, where, according to Zahi Hawass, the tomb of Petah-Shepses has been damagedPhoto from Blue Shield's report on Egyptian archaeological sitesCultureGrrl, at the risk of being tedious, has lately become "all Egypt, all the time." But I can't seem to avert my eyes from this archaeological disaster. In yesterday's post on his website, Zahi Hawass, Egypt's former Minister of … [Read more...] about Hawass Unhinged: Is Dr. Zahi Becoming Archaeology’s Charlie Sheen? UPDATED TWICE
Missing the Point: AAMD’s and AiA’s Joint Statement on Egypt’s Missing Objects
De Morgan storage facility at Dahshur, site of a Metropolitan Museum expedition Photo from Blue Shield's report on Egyptian archaeological sites A joint statement on the "alarming picture on the state of antiquities and cultural sites" in Egypt was issued yesterday by the Association of Art Museum Directors and the Archaeological Institute of America. But it misses two … [Read more...] about Missing the Point: AAMD’s and AiA’s Joint Statement on Egypt’s Missing Objects
CNN Report Casts Doubt on Hawass Resignation
Zahi HawassMaybe my headline yesterday should have read:Zahi Hawass Resigns (or maybe not)CNN today reports [via]:Egypt's antiquities minister, Zahi Hawass, said Friday he plans to step down to protest police inaction as the country's ancient treasures are being looted and vandalized....Hawass said he has not resigned yet but will if asked by new Prime Minister Essam Sharaf. … [Read more...] about CNN Report Casts Doubt on Hawass Resignation
End of an Egyptology Era: Zahi Hawass Resigns
Happier Days: Zahi Hawass at the Valley of the KingsPhoto: Supreme Council of AntiquitiesThe NY Times this afternoon confirmed that Zahi Hawass, Egypt's long-time head of antiquities, has stepped down. As I indicated yesterday, his motivation is probably more than his stated dismay at unchecked looting. His probably more compelling concerns were evidenced by his using the … [Read more...] about End of an Egyptology Era: Zahi Hawass Resigns
MeTube: Whither the Met Opera? The Press Conference Before Levine’s BSO Resignation
Music director James Levine, left, and general manager Peter Gelb at last month's press conference on the Metropolitan Opera's new seasonWhile this blog focuses primarily on the visual arts, it's no secret that I'm an ardent operaphile and, especially, a Levine lover. I wasn't around for opera's previous Golden Ages, but for me, the era when music director James Levine … [Read more...] about MeTube: Whither the Met Opera? The Press Conference Before Levine’s BSO Resignation
Regime Change: Will Hawass Step Down? UPDATED
Egyptian Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass with King TutPhoto: Stephanie SakoutisKate Taylor of the NY Times reported online yesterday that Zahi Hawass, Egypt's antiquities minister, is "considering resigning." Taylor suggests that his reason has to do with recent additional looting (including break-ins Monday at two warehouses near the pyramids of Giza), which led him to … [Read more...] about Regime Change: Will Hawass Step Down? UPDATED
Art & Politics: Museums Advocacy Day’s Letter-Writing Campaign; Mark di Suvero’s Medal
Yesterday and today were Museums Advocacy Day. (Maybe they should have made "Museums" singular and "Day" plural.) Museum devotees gathered in Washington to urge their Congressmen to support appropriations benefiting the nation's cultural institutions. This effort had particularly urgency this year, given the threatened cuts to funding during this time of fiscal … [Read more...] about Art & Politics: Museums Advocacy Day’s Letter-Writing Campaign; Mark di Suvero’s Medal
The Museum Director’s Speech: Stuttering Vanquished
Geoffrey Rush, the King's coachWhen I viewed the film that was yesterday's big Oscar winner, The King's Speech, it had immediately brought to mind my own professional encounters with a stutterer---an important museum director, whom I first interviewed by phone many years ago, when he was a curator and was I a cub reporter.While I lobbed him some softball questions, our … [Read more...] about The Museum Director’s Speech: Stuttering Vanquished
“Hide/Seek” Fallout: Interference Institutionalized at the Smithsonian
Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough The National Portrait Gallery's controversial gay-themed show---Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture---closed on Feb. 13 as scheduled, not prematurely as museum officials had feared after the exhibition attracted the wrath of William Donohue, president of the Catholic League, and two powerful Congressional … [Read more...] about “Hide/Seek” Fallout: Interference Institutionalized at the Smithsonian
Blue Shield Issues Independent Report on Antiquities Situation in Egypt
De Morgans storage facility at DahshurPhoto from Blue Shield's report on Egyptian archaeological sitesWhile Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Zahi Hawass now indicates that we still may not know the full extent of the losses from the Egyptian Museum (where, he says, a "complete inventory is still underway"), we at least now have an independent (if incomplete) third-party report … [Read more...] about Blue Shield Issues Independent Report on Antiquities Situation in Egypt
Deaccession Redirection: Can Randolph College and Brandeis University Emulate Iowa?
George Bellows, "Men of the Docks," 1912 Now that the University of Iowa's Pollock has been rescued from those who wanted to sell it, could this be the start of a happy trend? It's taken me a while to get to this, but on Feb. 10, Liz Barry of the Lynchburg, VA, News & Advance reported: More than two years after Randolph College sold [my link, not hers] "The … [Read more...] about Deaccession Redirection: Can Randolph College and Brandeis University Emulate Iowa?