Lee Rosenbaum's cultural commentary

In its written statement Monday announcing its plan to close the Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University said that "the university will publicly sell the art collection." Let me repeat that: It said "THE art collection." It didn't say "SOME of the art collection."But now Fred Thys of Boston's public radio station, WBUR, reports that Brandeis President Jehuda Reinharz informed him … [Read more...] about The Spectre of the Rose: Brandeis Flip-Flops Again

Malcolm RogersIn my diatribe yesterday against the decision by the board of the Association of Art Museum Directors that its member museums should deny loans to or collaboration with the National Academy, I noted that six museums listed on the Academy's website as lending art to an upcoming Academy show have now been deleted from the online description of that show. The only … [Read more...] about Malcolm Rogers: Promised Loans May Still Go to National Academy Show

[NOTE: I originally intended to post this yesterday, until the Rose Art Museum situation preempted it. But recent developments make this recommendation more relevant than ever, as I will argue below.] I'm second to no one in deploring the National Academy Museum's desperation deaccessions, but I think the Association of Art Museum Directors' reaction to that watershed event … [Read more...] about Deaccession Aggression: One Decision that AAMD Should Rescind

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley Sometimes, it seems, we can't trust what Brandeis University's publicity machine would have us believe. As I reported here, a university spokesman told the Boston Globe's Geoff Edgers that the Massachusetts Attorney General had been informed of university's plan to sell the Rose Museum's entire collection. The university … [Read more...] about NY Times Reports That Massachusetts AG Will Review Brandeis Art-Sale Plans UPDATED

David Robertson, President, ACUMG and director, Mary and Leigh Block Museum, Northwestern University The Association of College and University Museums and Galleries (ACUMG), the leading professional organization for such institutions, has issued this statement lamenting Brandeis University's plan to close its Rose Art Museum and sell off its collection: Speaking on behalf … [Read more...] about ACUMG and AAMD Issue Statements Deploring Rose Museum’s Dissolution UPDATED

Thumbs down on Brandeis University President Jehuda ReinharzForget the Quincy Jones Petition. If you want to sign an important artworld action document, go to the petition by Concerned Alumni of Brandeis University---In Opposition to the Closing of the Rose Art Museum.The petition says it all:The Brandeis University Board of Trustees in a closed meeting and without any … [Read more...] about More on the Closing of the Rose: Sign the Petition; Stop the Auction UPDATED

Michael Conforti's WSJ Portrait, by Ismael RoldanYou can read me now: He's a Museum Leader for These Troubled Times, my Wall Street Journal profile of Michael Conforti, director of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, and president of the Association of Art Museum Directors.Of course when I wrote this piece for today's (Tuesday's) WSJ "Leisure & … [Read more...] about My WSJ “Cultural Conversation” with AAMD President Michael Conforti

Michael Rush, director of Brandeis University's withering Rose Art Museum[More CultureGrrl coverage of the Rose: here, here, here, here, here and here.]Forget about the National Academy's selling a couple of major paintings---mere chicken feed. How about selling your museum's ENTIRE collection? After you rub your eyes in disbelief, read it and weep---Geoff Edgers' and Peter … [Read more...] about Brandeis to “Deaccession” Its Entire Rose Art Museum

Janet Landay, newly appointed AAMD executive directorAs you wing your way tomorrow to the midwinter membership meeting of the Association of Art Museum Directors in San Diego (Jan. 28-30), all you artworld luminaries should fasten your seatbelts, make sure you've found your flotation devices, and then turn to the "Leisure & Arts" page of your copy of tomorrow's Wall Street … [Read more...] about Required Museum-Director Reading for the AAMD Meeting: My WSJ Profile Tomorrow of Michael Conforti UPDATED

David Smith, teacher, author and overthrower of culture czarsAs you might have expected, CultureGrrl readers are engaged by the question of whether there should be a cabinet-level Secretary of Culture in the Obama administration. (My thumbs-down is here and here.) At the end of this post, you can read what Bill Ivey, who was appointed by President Obama to lead the national … [Read more...] about BlogBacks: Culture Czar Sparring, Pro and Con (and Bill Ivey’s position) UPDATED

Seattle Art Museum director Mimi Gates, speaking at 2007 press preview for SAM's expansionWhen I read last night (here, here and here) that JPMorgan Chase, which has acquired Washington Mutual Bank, was not going to honor WaMu's lease of eight floors above the new Seattle Art Museum expansion, my first thought was that the museum might sue. It has been receiving some $5.8 … [Read more...] about Seattle Art Museum’s WaMu Whammy, Continued: JPMorgan Chase Scotches Lease Deal UPDATED

Taft Museum, CincinnatiLet's leave Washington and go back to Cincinnati, where Eric McCauley Lee, current director of the Taft Museum and director-elect of the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, aced his CultureGrrl interview.As promised last week, here are some excerpts from our phone conversation.---On the Kimbell's planned expansion: I think Renzo Piano is absolutely the … [Read more...] about Lee to Lee: My Interview with Eric McCauley, Kimbell Museum’s Director-Elect

Alexander Avdeyev, recently named culture minister of the Russian Federation[Part I is here.]Proponents of the idea of a cabinet-level Secretary of Culture point out that foreign culture ministers currently have no counterpart in the U.S. There's good reason for that.Many foreign countries have a tradition of substantial government subsidies for cultural institutions. When your … [Read more...] about Topple the Culture Czar, Part II: Why “Culture Ministry” is a Foreign Concept

Quincy JonesI've got nothing against better coordination among government programs involving the arts and humanities. Regular meetings of representatives from the relevant offices and agencies could foment creative synergies. Perhaps a White House official with advisory, not managerial, responsibilities could help facilitate this without inserting what we emphatically DON'T … [Read more...] about In Defense of Disorder: Topple the “Culture Czar,” Part I (UPDATED)

Tunesmith Jerome Kern: Inaugural DittyThe deep emotional resonance of the inauguration in Washington today had everything to do with the extraordinary ascent of our first President of color, but little to do with the power of his words. To me, the speech was thoughtful, serious and substantial, but not (as many had hoped) inspired or inspiring in the manner of Lincoln, FDR or … [Read more...] about Inaugural Speech: Lyrics of Barack Obama (to music by Jerome Kern)