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AAMD members on the fast track (site of the Indy 500). Zero-to-Forty Conforti in the driver's seat. (Couldn't they get the Jeff Koons racecar for this occasion?) I've always wanted to be a fly on the wall of the Association of Art Museum Directors' national meetings. In one of the most infamous moments of my so-called career, I went undercover, grabbing an unclaimed name … [Read more...] about AAMD Pushes the Hot Buttons: Rent-a-Rose, Private-Collection Shows, Recession Exhibitions

Bison in Altamira Cave, Santillana de Mar, SpainOn Sept. 18, 2001, I published a piece in the Wall Street Journal (no online link) about my memorable visit to Spain's prehistoric Altamira Cave. I then described the "intense spiritual charge of being surrounded by the creative aura of our inspired precursors, who, gazing at the bumps, cracks and curves of their abode's inner … [Read more...] about Attention Prehistoric Cave Lovers: Altamira Reopening

Left to right: Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, Jerry Saltz, China Chow, Bill Powers, Simon de PuryI don't watch reality shows. I couldn't even sit through a full episode of "Project Runway," let alone "American Idol." So despite my artworld interest, I'm not the target audience for Work of Art: The Next Great Artist, premiering Wednesday on Bravo. I take the roles of artists and art … [Read more...] about “The Next Great Artist”? Where’s Simon When We Really Need Him?

Wanna follow what's going on at the Association of Art Museum Directors' annual powwow? Now you can!The story so far from Indianapolis:Great gift bags with mugs made from corn by-products! More excitingly:127 directors and several guests from federal agencies and foundations arriving today.And outgoing president Michael Conforti isn't even there yet. He's still home in … [Read more...] about Department of Transparency: AAMD Tweets!

In an editorial dated tomorrow (Sunday) but online tonight, the Boston Globe has strongly endorsed Rent-a-Rose, demonstrating a shocking lack of comprehension of why Brandeis is seeking to monetize the Rose Art Museum's collection. After the university incurred widespread condemnation for its initial plan to sell all or some of its collection to address Brandeis' broader … [Read more...] about Boston Globe’s Clueless Editorial on Rent-a-Rose

Michael Conforti, director of the Clark Art Institute, will be scurrying to Indianapolis from this Sunday's Picasso Looks at Degas preview party at his Williamstown, MA, museum, to turn over the presidency of the Association of Art Museum Directors to the Minneapolis Institute's Kaywin Feldman at AAMD's annual meeting, June 6-9.Will Feldman eye Conforti in the same way that … [Read more...] about AAMD Meeting: My Suggested Agenda CORRECTED and UPDATED

When I was at the Museum of Modern Art on Wednesday, I came upon this tribute to sculptor Louise Bourgeois, 98, who died on Monday---an installation of these ghostly sentinels at an entrance to the 4th-floor permanent-collection galleries:Louise Bourgeois, "Quarantania, I," 1947-53, reassembled by the artist in 1981In addition to the usual object label, there was this one:By … [Read more...] about Louise Bourgeois: MoMA’s Instant Memorial

Alex Nyerges, director, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"There are two things that I need by the opening," Alex Nyerges, director of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, impatiently told the contractors whose work on outdoor amenities, related to the museum's Rick Mather-designed expansion, wasn't proceeding fast enough to suit him. "I need blue [the reflecting pool] and I need green … [Read more...] about More on the Virginia MFA: Last-Minute Frenzy, First-Rate Displays

Jeffrey Deitch, center, at the LA MOCA press conference announcing his appointment, with (left to right) museum co-chairs David Johnson and Maria Bell; LA Councilwoman Jan Perry; MOCA's founding chairman, Eli BroadLA Times art critic Christopher Knight offers some practical advice for NYC dealer-turned-director Jeffrey Deitch, as he takes the helm at LA MOCA today: Change the … [Read more...] about Deitch Assumes Directorship: What He Needs to Do at LA MOCA

You can read today's Wall Street Journal "Leisure & Arts" piece now---Virginia is For Art Lovers, about the well articulated Rick Mather-designed expansion of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The photo accompanying the piece, also published on the VMFA's website, makes the atrium appear more barren than it feels when in use:Just add people (and more sculpture, soon to be … [Read more...] about Online Now: My WSJ Piece on the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ Expansion

Rick Mather, architect for the latest VMFA expansionAn under-the-radar museum gets an under-the-radar expansion by an under-the-radar architect. Considering the size, scope and importance of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts' collection, it generally receives surprisingly little attention from the media outside of Virginia. And considering the architectural importance of its … [Read more...] about MeTube: My Upcoming WSJ Review of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ Expansion

Agnes Gund, Museum of Modern Art's president emerita, as seen among the posted mug shots of Marina Abramović's visitorsPhotograph: Marco AnelliIf, unlike me, you want to endure a long wait in line in the Museum of Modern Art's atrium for the chance to sit opposite Marina Abramović, you'll have to do it today. The performance priestess' self-imposed penance, which began on Mar. … [Read more...] about Last Day with Marina at MoMA: The 15-Minute Limit UPDATED

Actor Dennis Hopper, best known for his 1969 "Easy Rider" film role, has died of prostate cancer at the age of 74. His less known visual arts work is the subject of the first show to be brought to LA MOCA by dealer Jeffrey Deitch, the museum's incoming director: Dennis Hopper Double Standard, July 11-Sept. 26.Coincidentally, today is the last day of the last show, Shepard … [Read more...] about LA MOCA’s Dennis Hopper Retrospective Becomes a Memorial Show

Cover of catalogue for Rose Art Museum's "permanent" collection In a detailed, thoroughly reported story for today's Boston Globe, Geoff Edgers' dropped this pre-holiday weekend bombshell: Brandeis to Loan Art to Boost Budget. In his account, Edgers repeatedly uses the "loan" euphemism, but what's really contemplated is renting the Rose Art Museum's collection for big … [Read more...] about Rent-a-Rose: Sotheby’s Persuades Brandeis to Lend Collection for Profit

The first Johns "Flag," 1954-55, collection of the Museum of Modern Art© 2010 Jasper Johns / Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY When we last discussed the Michael Crichton sale at Christie's, we had the NY Times' Carol Vogel fingering Bryn Mawr dealer Richard Rossello as the buyer of the record-breaking $28.6-million Jasper Johns "Flag" (not the one shown above) and everybody else … [Read more...] about My Q&A with Richard Rossello: Will the Real Johns “Flag” Buyer Please Salute?