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Kaywin Feldman with her museum's antiquitiesTwo astoundingly intemperate and, to my mind, wrong-headed NY Times editorials published in the past eight days made me wonder if someone new had been assigned the arts beat on the Times' editorial board. But it looks like Verlyn Klinkenborg is still the only one described as a culture pundit on the newspaper's list of its 15 … [Read more...] about Editorial Madness X2: NY Times on Museum Repatriations, “Hide/Seek” Controversy

Jonathan Katz, co-curator of "Hide/Seek" show at National Portrait GalleryJonathan Katz, director of the doctoral program in visual studies at the State University of New York at Buffalo and co-curator with David Ward of the National Portrait Gallery's controversial Hide/Seek exhibition, takes strong exception to CultureGrrl's take on the issues raised by that show: As the … [Read more...] about Jonathan Katz, “Hide/Seek” Curator, Blasts CultureGrrl; More News

Well this certainly wasn't what I expected when I visited the Boston Museum of Fine Arts yesterday to view its new Art of the Americas wing! Just as the museum was closing this afternoon at about 4:40 p.m., while my husband and I were on the coatcheck line, an alarm sounded and the museum was hastily evacuated. I still have not been able to find out from the museum whether … [Read more...] about MeTube: Boston Museum of Fine Arts Evacuated UPDATED

I just learned of this, it's Sunday and I'm away in Boston, so I haven't gotten the Smithsonian's side of this story. But to some degree, this video speaks for itself. You can hear the guard several times warning the cameraman that no photography is allowed in the gallery:Here's the coverage (with full names) in the Washington City Paper. The protesters assert that the video … [Read more...] about YouTube: Protesters Bring Banned Video (on iPad) into National Portrait Gallery

My Late Parents, in healthier timesI'm going to try, once again, to make it all the way to Boston today, for a short stay. As you may remember, I had to do a U-turn three weeks ago, when I was heading for the press preview of the new Norman Foster-designed expansion of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, because of my mother's suddenly deteriorating condition. My mother was a … [Read more...] about Lost in Boston: Getting Back on Course

"Hide/Seek," the catalogueI've received some thoughtful comments, pro and con, about my take on the National Portrait Gallery's video controversy, and I'll publish a few, below. But first, a news update (in addition to AAMD's just released statement and another from the Association of Art Museum Curators) and a few additional comments from me:David Wojnarowicz's controversial … [Read more...] about BlogBacks on “Hide/Seek” (and new exposure for Wojnarowicz) UPDATED

Sometimes composing a forceful, principled statement takes time. This just in: the Association of Art Museum Directors' statement on the "Hide/Seek" controversy at the National Portrait Gallery (online here): It is extremely regrettable that the Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery, a major American art museum with a long history of public service in the … [Read more...] about AAMD’s Strong Statement on “Hide/Seek” Controversy

Sotheby's Five-Year Stock Price Chart There have been mixed messages about how sales are doing at the still-in-progress Art Basel Miami, which I have once again perversely failed to attend. So while all you CultureGrrl readers are away from your computers, catching the rays and perusing the booths, here's a bullish market signal to contemplate: Sotheby's has gotten … [Read more...] about Non-Basel Art Market Indicator: Sotheby’s Ups Its Guarantees

I guess it just had to happen.While I was focused on Washington, this slipped in yesterday from Nashville:Fisk University announced today that it has filed a notice with the Davidson County Chancery Court that it will appeal the ruling of the Court concerning Fisk's request to enter into a sharing arrangement with the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas for … [Read more...] about Fisk to Attorney General: Let’s Go to the Court of Appeals!

A meditation on the fragility of the human flesh.That's how National Portrait Gallery director Martin Sullivan---in today's NPR segment, Smithsonian Under Fire For Gay Portraiture Exhibit---described David Wojnarowicz's incendiary (literally and figuratively) video, "A Fire in My Belly," which had become the center of a political firestorm. But this harsh, grating piece is no … [Read more...] about Audio’s Up: NPR’s “Hide/Seek” Podcast (and me)

Martin Sullivan, director, National Portrait GalleryKeying off this CultureGrrl post, NPR interviewed me today for an "All Things Considered" segment on the controversy over the National Portrait Gallery's Hide/Seek exhibition. If all goes according to plan, that report will air this evening, possibly after 5:30 p.m. You can listen live to NPR here; I'll post the link to the … [Read more...] about My Q&A with the Smithsonian on “Hide/Seek” (and NPR’s interview with me)

"David Wojnarowicz Smoking" by Peter HujarAs if rising tensions between North and South Korea, Iran's scary nuclear program and the damaging diplomatic fallout from WikiLeaks weren't enough, the Republican leadership of Congress has found another burning issue requiring immediate action---the screening at a federally funded Washington museum, the National Portrait Gallery, of … [Read more...] about From “Piss Christ” to Ant-Covered Jesus: The Culture Wars Resume

[Part II is here.] Almost three months before the Morgan Library and Museum reopened its newly restored and reinstalled McKim building---the former refuge of financier J.P. Morgan---William Griswold, the fifth director of this historic treasure trove (and its 2006 Renzo Piano-designed add-on) took me on a whirlwind tour to discuss the activity swirling around us. Because … [Read more...] about MeTube: Morgan Library’s Glorious Restoration, Before and After—Part I

My fifth annual Art Basel Miami sour grapes souffléI don't know about you, but I find that my experience of artwork online is nothing like my experience of artwork on site. There have been many, many times when I thought that a piece looked very intriguing on my desktop, only to be greatly disappointed by an encounter with the real thing. Brightly backlit pieces on my computer … [Read more...] about Who Needs Art Basel Miami? Pajama Purchasing at the “VIP” Virtual Art Fair

Snap of unflappable Steve Martin on inside flap of his book jacketOh, all right. I admit it: Although I'm still not finished reading it, I'm enjoying my gift from author/actor Steve Martin a lot more than I had expected. As those of you who have read about my recent losses already know, I can use a lifting of my spirits. I could also use a click or two on my "Donate" button. I … [Read more...] about How’s Steve Martin’s Artworld Novel? “Ohhh…Alright…”