Lee Rosenbaum's cultural commentary

I'll have some more Getty-related news for you, probably later today. But for now, you can hear, below, my commentary for yesterday's "Which Way, L.A.?" program (scroll to bottom) on Southern California Public Radio, (KCRW) about the directorial controversies at the Getty Museum and LA MOCA. I was a little disconcerted when the program's host, Warren Olney, stated that Jeffrey … [Read more...] about Hear My KCRW Radio Commentary on Getty and MOCA Directorships

Warren OlneyA very late-breaking development: I'll be speaking on Which Way, L.A.?, Warren Olney's news interview show on KCRW (89.9 FM), Southern California Public Radio, later today. I'll be commenting on the Getty and LA MOCA directorship controversies. CultureGrrl readers already have some advance knowledge of what I'm going to say (which has already been taped).Warren, … [Read more...] about Coming Today: My “Which Way, L.A.?” Commentary on KCRW About Getty and MOCA Directorships

What is this? A sports blog?Okay, the century is still young (and Cornell undoubtedly has a lot of great hockey games in its future). But my alma mater has captured the imagination of the whole country (except for certain parts of Kentucky) with its good-guy basketball team's glorious, improbable ascent to the NCAA's Sweet Sixteen. You can watch us continue our winning streak … [Read more...] about NEA’s First Webcast of Council Meeting Tomorrow; Cornell’s Game-of-the-Century Tonight!

Images from the Getty Museum's two campuses: Los Angeles (left), Malibu (right)Want to apply for the vacant directorship of the J. Paul Getty Museum? Now you can!Two weeks ago, the online application (who needs a search firm?) for the director of the two-campus Los Angeles/Malibu museum was posted on the Getty's website. As CultureGrrl readers may remember, the position was … [Read more...] about Getty Museum’s Open Call for “Inspiring Leaders”: Director Application Now Online!

Architect Jean Nouvel at press lunch for planned National Museum of Qatar, held yesterday at Museum of Modern Art Although I was preempted by the NY Time's Nicolai Ouroussoff from reporting on the plans for the National Museum of Qatar, I did elicit some new information from the architect, Jean Nouvel, about his project just next door to the Museum of Modern Art, where the … [Read more...] about Nouvel on the Redesigned MoMA/Hines Tower: “More Like a Skyscraper”

Fabulous fare at press lunch for the National Museum of Qatar, served today at the Museum of Modern ArtWhat, no ketchup? French fries but no ketchup?!?After having been miffed that the NY Times had already been served a full-course meal of publicity before the rest of us scribes had even unfolded our napkins at today's press lunch for the planned National Museum of Qatar, I … [Read more...] about (Non-)Ketchup Journalism: Full Plate at the Qatar/Nouvel Press Lunch

Invitation to cover old newsThe press lunch that I'll be attending today will be at the Museum of Modern Art. That means that at least the food should be good.But, really, how do Al Mayassa Bint Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani and Marie-Josée Kravis expect journalists like me to feel about our invitation to cover a story that was spoonfed to the NY Times' architecture critic in … [Read more...] about Unveiling Nouvel’s Qatar Museum: Ouroussoff Yesterday, Lowly Scribes Today UPDATED

The Triumph of the UnderdogsThe Gothamist blog network (which has linked to many a CultureGrrl story) has reportedly been bought by Cablevision-owned Rainbow Media for "between $5 million to $6 million."Hey, Dolans! CultureGrrl can be bought---fast and cheap.Or maybe there are some (very venturesome) venture capitalists out there, who want to help me with the business side of … [Read more...] about Gothamist Sale: Blogger Buyout vs. Blogger Burnout

The interior of the former home of Salander-O'Reilly GalleriesWith art dealer Lawrence Salander having last week pled guilty to stealing some $120 million from clients and backers, his Salander-O'Reilly Galleries' numerous creditors and high-and-dry consignors are engaged in a scramble to try to receive compensation from Salander assets for their financial losses and for works … [Read more...] about Philadelphia Museum’s Salander Morass: Case of the Missing Painting UPDATED

Selling art from one's current gallery inventory after becoming a museum director? That's fine and dandy with LA MOCA's trustees.Mike Boehm today posted an update on his LA Times story, which followed up on CultureGrrl's Wednesday post. I had revealed that Jeffrey Deitch intends to continue selling works that are currently in his gallery's inventory after he assumes the … [Read more...] about MOCA Responds to LA Times on Deitch’s Art Disposals

William Kentridge's banner for the façade of the Metropolitan Opera House. The black silhouette of the renegade Nose is at the top, astride a horse. I love those rare moments when New York's preeminent cultural institutions work together in scintillating synergy. Sometimes it occurs through sheer serendipity. But in the case of the William Kentridge retrospective at the … [Read more...] about Kentridge X 2: MoMA + Met Opera = Harmonic Convergence

Jeffrey DeitchMike Boehm of the LA Times expertly moves the reportorial ball down the field today in his interview with Jeffrey Deitch regarding yesterday's revelations in CultureGrrl.LA MOCA's incoming director told Boehm one aspect of Deitch's plans that I hadn't learned about during my brief conversation with him after Jeffrey had addresssed an audience at the Guggenheim … [Read more...] about Deitch Deals: LA MOCA Director-Designate’s Self-Defense in LA Times

Jeffrey Deitch in front of LA MOCA's Giacomettis Just when New York dealer Jeffrey Deitch might have thought that the blow-up had subsided regarding his controversial appointment as the incoming director of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, more negative news was reported yesterday by the LA Times. What's more, CultureGrrl is about to break even more startling news … [Read more...] about Dealer-to-Director: More on Why Jeffrey Deitch is Wrong for LA MOCA

Screenshot from the Museum of Modern Art's live video feed of Marina Abramović's endurance performance in the atrium, "The Artist is Present" (Color-coordinated with her visitor, Abramović is on the right.) As an arts writer who (almost) always obeys the rules, I confronted a reportorial quandary at the recently concluded Tino Sehgal performance pieces at the Guggenheim and … [Read more...] about Sehgal, Abramović: Who’s more interesting—performers or visitors?

"At last, he's got to mention it!" I thought excitedly as I began reading Nicolai Ouroussoff's hot-blooded embrace in today's NY Times of architect Jean Nouvel's almost finished 100 Eleventh Avenue. As I perused the detailed appraisal of the building and its environs, I felt confident that the Knox Notch---the gap in Nouvel's building that permits barely a glimpse of a fragment … [Read more...] about Ouroussoff and the Knox Notch: The Critic Sees (or doesn’t)