Damien Hirst, "The Virgin Mother," 2005, the Lever House Art CollectionWhen it comes to the two mega-million contemporary art-market stars---Koons and Hirst---I've sometimes thought that the sensibility that feels attuned to one cannot also strongly admire the other (unless you're a profit-oriented dealer or a trophy-hunting collector). The former artist is engaged in what … [Read more...] about Hirstians vs. Koonsians: Two Warring Camps?
John Russell, 89: The Kinder, Gentler Critic
John Russell and his wife, Rosamond BernierPhotograph by Trish LewisThe last time I saw John Russell, the former NY Times art critic who died Saturday at 89, he looked frail, supported by his wife Rosamond Bernier, the arts writer and cultural raconteur, at the opening of the expanded Taniguchi-designed Museum of Modern Art. I asked him what he thought and, of course, he gave … [Read more...] about John Russell, 89: The Kinder, Gentler Critic
Iowa Brouhaha: WSJ’s Eric Gibson Calls for Enforcement of Deaccession Standards
Eric Gibson, editor of Wall Street Journal's "Leisure & Arts" pageEric Gibson, on today's "Taste" page in the Wall Street Journal, adds his baritone to what he calls the "chorus of condemnation" against the idea of selling the Pollock held by the University of Iowa's art museum. And he appends a new verse, recommending that the federal government step in to deter future … [Read more...] about Iowa Brouhaha: WSJ’s Eric Gibson Calls for Enforcement of Deaccession Standards
Crystal Bridges: Alice Walton’s $488-Million Museum
Crystal Bridges: the planIn its recently file appeals brief arguing for a proposed $30-million deal with Alice Walton's planned Crystal Bridges Museum, Bentonville, Arkansas, Fisk University sought to convince the Tennessee Court of Appeals that the in-construction institution will be a solid collection-sharing partner.Using information supplied in the legal deposition of Bob … [Read more...] about Crystal Bridges: Alice Walton’s $488-Million Museum
A Brief that Strains Belief: Fisk’s Legal Flip-Flop
Fisk University's Carl Van Vechten Gallery, prior to closingIn its appeals brief (full text here) seeking to enter into a $30-million collection-sharing agreement with Alice Walton's Crystal Bridges Museum, Fisk University continues to send a mixed and contradictory message about its ability to display and care for its Stieglitz Collection. (Complete list of its 101 works is … [Read more...] about A Brief that Strains Belief: Fisk’s Legal Flip-Flop
Hoving’s Ravings: Been to the Met Lately?
Thomas HovingTom Hoving has a journalistic conflict-of-interest problem. As a newly minted columnist for Artnet Magazine, he's got a not-so-hidden personal agenda---to rehabilitate his reputation as an authority who knows what's best for museums in general and for the Metropolitan Museum in particular. Marginalized long ago by the institution he used to run, he seems to be … [Read more...] about Hoving’s Ravings: Been to the Met Lately?
Andy Warhol Chocolates? Licensing Goes Gooey
Cash Cow: Warhol limited edition key ringDoes anyone worry any more about cheapening an artist's image by indiscriminate commercial licensing of images?The Andy Warhol Foundation has been in the forefront of exploiting art as a licensing cash cow, an activity regarded by some as consistent with Warhol's own values, because "early on he saw himself as a brand, as a vehicle to … [Read more...] about Andy Warhol Chocolates? Licensing Goes Gooey
PA Attorney General Candidate Joins the Battle of the Barnes
John Morganelli, Candidate for PA Attorney GeneralIn a press release posted Friday (go here, click "Press Releases" and then on the Aug. 13 release), John Morganelli, Democratic candidate for attorney general of Pennsylvania, blasted Republican incumbent Tom Corbett for his "failure [in the Barnes case]...to fulfill his responsibilities to represent the public interest when it … [Read more...] about PA Attorney General Candidate Joins the Battle of the Barnes
Fisk Files Appeals Brief for Collection-Sharing Deal with Alice Walton
Fisk just won't give up.In a case of unfortunate timing, the Nashville university last week filed in Tennessee Court of Appeals a brief arguing for reversal of a lower court decision that prevents Fisk from selling for $30 million a half-share in its Stieglitz Collection to Alice Walton's Crystal Bridges Museum. Just a few days later, the Association of Art Museum Directors … [Read more...] about Fisk Files Appeals Brief for Collection-Sharing Deal with Alice Walton
The Whitney’s Downtown Dilemma: In Irreverent Street-Art Photo Essay
Little mentioned in all the excitement about the new Whitney ocean liner (as I described it Tuesday on WNYC), which is expected to be launched in late 2012 in New York's Meatpacking District, is that several buildings will be have to be demolished and businesses relocated to make way for it. (The museum will also construct a new meat refrigeration facility as part of the deal. … [Read more...] about The Whitney’s Downtown Dilemma: In Irreverent Street-Art Photo Essay
You Can Hear It Now (finally!): My WNYC Commentary on the Whitney’s Expansion
Okay, so WNYC has relaunched its entire website in a new format, and somehow my Whitney expansion commentary, which some of you may have heard live yesterday afternoon, has (at this writing) vanished, except for this audio-challenged link.But fear not, art-lings: My New York Public Radio editor has forwarded to me the segment's mp3, which I have managed to post in playable form … [Read more...] about You Can Hear It Now (finally!): My WNYC Commentary on the Whitney’s Expansion
Repose for Iowa’s Pollock? Museum’s Director Is Optimistic UPDATED WITH AAMD STATEMENT
Pam White, interim director of the University of Iowa Museum of Art, leading a media tour through the flood-damaged facility (Photo from the museum's blog, Art Matters)[UPDATE AT THE END: AAMD's just-released statement.]The blogosphere (including my blog) has been getting bent out of shape about the request by one of the University of Iowa's board members, Michael Gartner, for … [Read more...] about Repose for Iowa’s Pollock? Museum’s Director Is Optimistic UPDATED WITH AAMD STATEMENT
Audio Glitch: My Not-Yet-Online Radio Commentary on the Whitney Museum Expansion
If you missed it live, you CAN'T hear me now, commenting on the Whitney Museum expansion on WNYC. That's because they're revamping their website tonight and relaunching it tomorrow. The culture editor said she MIGHT get it up tonight. There is an audio bar for my commentary here, but so far it doesn't work. We can all try it again later.For now, let's just say that I offered … [Read more...] about Audio Glitch: My Not-Yet-Online Radio Commentary on the Whitney Museum Expansion
AAM’s New Antiquities Acquisition Standards: More Sweeping than AAMD’s
What's an antiquities-collecting American museum to do?In one important respect, the American Association of Museums' Standards Regarding Archaeological Material and Ancient Art, issued yesterday, substantially differences from the standards announced on June 4 by the Association of Art Museum Directors. This may confuse the issue for U.S. institutions trying to do the right … [Read more...] about AAM’s New Antiquities Acquisition Standards: More Sweeping than AAMD’s
Downtown Whitney Lovefest, Continued: City Commission’s Vote, CultureGrrl’s Radio Commentary UPDATED
Members of New York's City Planning Commission (Amanda Burden, chair, in white), minutes before today's Whitney voteEmbraced on all sides by glowing adjectives, the Downtown Whitney expansion project was unanimously approved this afternoon by New York's City Planning Commission, which had heard nothing but accolades in testimony by community denizens and government staffers at … [Read more...] about Downtown Whitney Lovefest, Continued: City Commission’s Vote, CultureGrrl’s Radio Commentary UPDATED