Jeremy Strick, taking his place in the "Bronze Crowd," 1990-91, by Magdalena Abakanowicz, at the Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas When LA MOCA's financial survival was looking doubtful, I placed a call to the office of director Jeremy Strick, requesting comment. I had pleasant memories of a far-ranging conversation we had over lunch during a group press visit to MOCA, … [Read more...] about Jeremy Unmuzzled: Strick’s Candid Account of the LA MOCA Saga
The Return of the Grrl
I just got back from sulking, only to discover that two faithful readers have responded admirably to the CultureGrrl Challenge---one with a small donation, one with a large one. I'm equally moved by each. Many, many thanks! As for the rest of you: Do you read me?Courtesy of my benefactors, it looks like you'll be consuming tomorrow that "juicy post" I promised. It has to do … [Read more...] about The Return of the Grrl
Another Day Without CultureGrrl
No ads are decorating my right column. No one has hit my "Donate" button since Monday. I do want to warmly thank my 14 faithful readers who have deemed this blog worthy of support in the two weeks since the CultureGrrl Fund Drive began. As for the rest of you who hit my blog 64,500 times last month: Please do not take this Grrl for granted!Unless someone rises to this … [Read more...] about Another Day Without CultureGrrl
NEA’s Bad-News Report: Artists’ Unemployment Rises (Duh)
From NEA's just-released report: Artists' 4th-quarter unemployment rates in 2007 (blue) and 2008 (orange), compared to rates in general workforce and professional workforceJust in case you live a sheltered life and think that performing and visual artists are doing great in this recession, the National Endowment for the Arts is here to set you straight.NEA's latest research … [Read more...] about NEA’s Bad-News Report: Artists’ Unemployment Rises (Duh)
Rose Lends to Philly’s Cézanne Show; More Brandeis Administration Disinformation
For another in the continuing series of exhibitions demonstrating why disposing of important works from the collection of Brandeis University's Rose Art Museum collection should be a non-starter, we now take you to Cézanne and Beyond at the Philadelphia Museum.Below, on the left, is a Rose-owned painting in that show. On the right, the painting that hangs to its right:Left: … [Read more...] about Rose Lends to Philly’s Cézanne Show; More Brandeis Administration Disinformation
Another Bronze Deal-Buster: Ken Johnson Bashes Met’s Shapely French Show
Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, "Denis Diderot," 1777, Musée de Louvre While we're on the subject of bronze-related ambushes... Ian Wardropper and James David Draper: I've got your back: Draper's back. (Wardropper's front) They're the chairman and curator, respectively, of the Metropolitan Museum's department of European sculpture and decorative arts, who must have been … [Read more...] about Another Bronze Deal-Buster: Ken Johnson Bashes Met’s Shapely French Show
Guerilla Bidding War: Christie’s Ambushed by Bogus Chinese-Bronze Bids UPDATED
The scene at Christie's Saint Laurent/Bergé auction at the Grand Palais, ParisAs if coping with a severe art-market slump weren't difficult enough, Christie's, basking in the afterglow of its recession-defying Saint Laurent/Bergé sales, now has to contend with the brazen guerilla sabotage of the bidding for two of the sales' star lots. A previously reliable megabucks Chinese … [Read more...] about Guerilla Bidding War: Christie’s Ambushed by Bogus Chinese-Bronze Bids UPDATED
Richard Koshalek: From High Life to Hirshhorn
Richard Koshalek, the Hirshhorn Museum's director designatePhoto: Steven A. HellerI don't remember everything I read, but as soon as I learned that veteran art museum director Richard Koshalek had been named to become the new director of the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (effective Apr. 13), a startling article that had appeared on the front page of the … [Read more...] about Richard Koshalek: From High Life to Hirshhorn
Resourceful Rishel: Philadelphia’s Sensational “Cézanne and Beyond”
The Philadelphia Museum of Art, decked out for its new blockbuster If you live within driving distance of Philadelphia, I've got just two words for you: ROAD TRIP! If the Philadelphia Museum is too far a drive, then hop a train, a boat or a plane, but DO NOT let May 17 pass by without devoting serious time to the masterful Cézanne and Beyond, crafted by that consummate … [Read more...] about Resourceful Rishel: Philadelphia’s Sensational “Cézanne and Beyond”
Castiglione Casting: Auctioned “Chinese” Bronzes, Sought By China, Likely Italian-Designed
Jackie Chan, repatriation fighterCalling the two 18th-century Qing Dynasty bronzes of a rat and rabbit, auctioned yesterday by Christie's, "Chinese bronzes" (as I did in yesterday's post) is a bit of a misnomer.According to Christie's catalogue entry:These superb and remarkably realistic heads were almost certainly designed by Giuseppe Castiglione [an Italian Jesuit missionary … [Read more...] about Castiglione Casting: Auctioned “Chinese” Bronzes, Sought By China, Likely Italian-Designed
Rare Chinese Bronzes Fetch $20.12 Million Each at Christie’s Bravura French Auction
Bronzes from the Zodiac Fountain of Beijing's Summer Palace, sold today by Christie's in Paris from the collection of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé With the final session of the Saint Laurent/Bergé dispersal still in progress, the two rare Chinese Qing Dynasty bronzes of a rat and a rabbit, looted by French and British troops in 1860 (during the Second Opium War) from the … [Read more...] about Rare Chinese Bronzes Fetch $20.12 Million Each at Christie’s Bravura French Auction
Concert Hall Gaffes: An Irreverent Alice Tully Hall Photo Essay (Part Two)
[Part One is here.]It's an happy coincidence that this final post in my series about the death of a once admired example of Brutalist architecture, Pietro Belluschi's 1969 Alice Tully Hall and Juilliard School (reborn as Diller Scofidio + Renfro's new contemporary eye-catcher), appears on the same day as the indispensable Ada Louise Huxtable's Wall Street Journal appraisal of … [Read more...] about Concert Hall Gaffes: An Irreverent Alice Tully Hall Photo Essay (Part Two)
Concert Hall Gaffes: An Irreverent Alice Tully Hall Photo Essay (Part One)
[Part Two is here. My previous posts on the transformation of Lincoln Center's intimate, multipurpose theater, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, are here, here and here.]Some critics think that the old Alice Tully Hall was the pits. But I thought that its new entrance pit was the pits.One of the strangest bits of misleading hype attached to this newly transformed performing … [Read more...] about Concert Hall Gaffes: An Irreverent Alice Tully Hall Photo Essay (Part One)
Scene from a Paris Auction: Christie’s Saint Laurent/Bergé Sale
They don't make 'em like this in New York.Above is a view of the enormous, enthusiastic audience at yesterday's extraordinarily successful Impressionist/modern sale that kicked off the three-day, six-session dispersal of the collection of Pierre Bergé and the late fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. (I hope they had lots of bid spotters.)Steven Erlanger of the NY Times … [Read more...] about Scene from a Paris Auction: Christie’s Saint Laurent/Bergé Sale
Alice Tully’s Extreme Makeover (Part Two): How Bad Was the Old Hall?
The original Alice Tully Hall, designed by Pietro Belluschi, 1969 Photo: Sandor Acs I've already told you what I admire about the total transformation of Alice Tully Hall. In a subsequent post, I'm going to take you on a curmudgeonly tour, grumbling about some vexing missteps as I escort you, via photographs, from the entrance to your seats, with a break for … [Read more...] about Alice Tully’s Extreme Makeover (Part Two): How Bad Was the Old Hall?