UPDATE: Robinson responds, clearing up the confusion. As a Cornell University alumna who has had the highest regard for Frank Robinson's 19-year stewardship of my alma mater's Johnson Museum, I was shocked and saddened when I read a Real Clear Arts post yesterday by my fellow ArtsJournal blogger, Judith Dobrzynski, who blasted Robinson for for his NY Times letter---Invitation … [Read more...] about Detroit Institute Debate: Judith Dobrzynski’s Misunderstanding of Frank Robinson’s Nuanced NY Times Letter
Search Results for: detroit
Motown Meltdown: Christie’s to Appraise Part of Detroit Institute of Arts’ Collection; DIA Will “Cooperate Completely”
A precondition for any deplorable forced sale of works from the Detroit Institute of Arts' collection to help defray the financially devastated city's debts and obligations would be a professional appraisal of those artworks. That first step has now been set in motion, ordered today by Detroit's Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr. As announced separately today by Christie's and by … [Read more...] about Motown Meltdown: Christie’s to Appraise Part of Detroit Institute of Arts’ Collection; DIA Will “Cooperate Completely”
Motown Meltdown: WSJ’s Terry Teachout on Building a “No-Sale Consensus” for Detroit Institute’s Masterpieces
In his opinion piece on the Detroit Institute of Arts' uncertain future in today's Wall Street Journal, author, critic (and fellow ArtsJournal blogger) Terry Teachout adds a useful corollary to the argument (which I had articulated, here) that any financial restructuring plan for city's "postcrisis future" must (in Terry's words) "preserve at least some of the things that help … [Read more...] about Motown Meltdown: WSJ’s Terry Teachout on Building a “No-Sale Consensus” for Detroit Institute’s Masterpieces
“Sounder Grasp of Issues”: Schjeldahl Says Detroit Institute of Arts Shouldn’t Be Decimated After All
In a headspinning turnaround, New Yorker art critic Peter Schjeldahl yesterday asked for a do-over, after being pelted with a torrent of tirades for his muddled analysis regarding possible sales of the Detroit Institute of Art's masterpieces in connection with the city's pending bankruptcy filing. In retracting his ill-considered views, he essentially acknowledged that (in my … [Read more...] about “Sounder Grasp of Issues”: Schjeldahl Says Detroit Institute of Arts Shouldn’t Be Decimated After All
Fatuous Journalistic Commentary on the Detroit Institute of Arts’ Plight (and why it must be saved) UPDATED
UPDATE: For my take on Peter Schjeldahl's subsequent retraction, go here. There has been an astonishing amount of wrongheaded commentary---ranging from clueless to the pernicious---regarding the severe threat to the Detroit Institute of Arts' collection that could be triggered by the city's bankruptcy. With one exception, I don't wish to dignify this foolishness with links … [Read more...] about Fatuous Journalistic Commentary on the Detroit Institute of Arts’ Plight (and why it must be saved) UPDATED
Detroit Institute of Arts Issues Statement Regarding City’s Bankruptcy Filing Today
The Detroit Institute of Arts, whose rich collection is owned by the destitute City of Detroit, today posted this statement on its website regarding the news that the city has filed for bankruptcy: Like so many with deep roots in this city, the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is disappointed that the Emergency Manager determined it was necessary to file for bankruptcy. As a … [Read more...] about Detroit Institute of Arts Issues Statement Regarding City’s Bankruptcy Filing Today
Detroit’s Emergency Manager’s Proposals Spare Detroit Institute’s Art (plus DIA’s work behind scenes)
It's a hopeful sign, but not a complete reprieve. This just in from Mark Stryker of the Detroit Free Press [emphasis added]: The sale of city-owned art at the Detroit Institute of Arts was not part of the plan presented to creditors Friday morning by the city’s emergency manager Kevyn Orr. The report makes no mention of monetizing the museum or its art to raise money to … [Read more...] about Detroit’s Emergency Manager’s Proposals Spare Detroit Institute’s Art (plus DIA’s work behind scenes)
Best Artworld News You’ve Had Today: Michigan AG Opposes Sales of Detroit Institute’s Art UPDATED TWICE
UPDATE: Here's the Attorney General's full 22-page opinion. There's a ray of hope regarding attempts to monetize the Detroit Institute of Arts' masterpieces to help solve the city's financial ills: This just in from Chad Livengood of the Detroit News: In an official opinion released Thursday [today], [Attorney General Bill] Schuette said Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr cannot … [Read more...] about Best Artworld News You’ve Had Today: Michigan AG Opposes Sales of Detroit Institute’s Art UPDATED TWICE
“Breach of Trust”: AAMD President Timothy Rub’s Eloquent Letter to Michigan’s Governor Defends Detroit Institute’s Collection
As I hoped he would, Timothy Rub, director of the Philadelphia Museum, has hit the ground running in his new gig as president of the Association of Art Museum Directors. His just released Letter to Michigan Governor Rick Snyder goes beyond the usual bromides (which he repeats) that monetizing the Detroit Institute of Art's collection to satisfy the financially Detroit's … [Read more...] about “Breach of Trust”: AAMD President Timothy Rub’s Eloquent Letter to Michigan’s Governor Defends Detroit Institute’s Collection
Former Detroit Institute Director Sam Sachs Downplays Collection Threat (plus, details of museum’s contract with the city) UPDATED
In what may be wishful thinking, Samuel Sachs II, who directed the chronically beleaguered Detroit Institute of Arts from 1985 to 1997, believes that the threat to the museum's collection posed by Detroit's dire financial circumstances may be "a lot of smoke but no fire." In a phone conversation yesterday, Sachs gave me a tutorial on Detroit politics and recounted to me the … [Read more...] about Former Detroit Institute Director Sam Sachs Downplays Collection Threat (plus, details of museum’s contract with the city) UPDATED
Dueling BlogBacks on Detroit Institute’s Endangered Collection: Michael Rush and James Maroney
The Detroit Institute of Arts' current dire predicament appears to have given Michael Rush, founding director of Michigan State University's Broad Art Museum, traumatic flashbacks to the near-death experience of Brandeis University's Rose Art Museum, which he directed during the period when the Waltham, MA, museum and its collection were endangered by the university's then … [Read more...] about Dueling BlogBacks on Detroit Institute’s Endangered Collection: Michael Rush and James Maroney
From Millage to Pillage? Detroit Institute of Arts Confronts Possible Rape of Its Collection
To artworld observers, the notion that the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) could be forced, if the city declares bankruptcy, to relinquish its greatest masterpieces to satisfy Detroit's creditors is inconceivable. But the "inconceivable" is beginning to look possible: With the city's bankruptcy now looming as a real possibility, liquidating the museum's rich artistic assets, … [Read more...] about From Millage to Pillage? Detroit Institute of Arts Confronts Possible Rape of Its Collection
Happy Ending: Detroit Director Graham Beal’s Live Chat on the Millage Passage
Adding a bravura coda to his well orchestrated (and successful) campaign for the tri-county passage a property levy (millage) to support operations at the Detroit Institute of Arts, its director, Graham Beal, has just concluded a live web chat (moderated by the Detroit Free Press' Mark Stryker), in which he answered questions from the community. Lee's question, relayed to … [Read more...] about Happy Ending: Detroit Director Graham Beal’s Live Chat on the Millage Passage
Party Time at Detroit Institute: Champagne Spillage for the Millage
They were celebrating last night at the Detroit Institute of Arts, as voting results indicated success for the museum's millage. Mark Stryker of the Detroit Free Press reports: A crucial millage for the Detroit Institute of Arts passed easily in Wayne and Oakland counties, but was approved by the slimmest of margins in Macomb County as the final votes were … [Read more...] about Party Time at Detroit Institute: Champagne Spillage for the Millage
Motor-City Woes: Detroit Institute of Arts Seeks Tri-County Property Levy CORRECTED
Detroit Institute of ArtsDesperate times call for desperate measures. I would ordinarily question a museum's trying to circumvent the usual government taxation and appropriation process, as the Detroit Institute of Arts now seems to be doing. DIA has launched a campaign seeking voter approval on Aug. 7 of a three-county (Wayne, Macomb and Oakland, which is the state's … [Read more...] about Motor-City Woes: Detroit Institute of Arts Seeks Tri-County Property Levy CORRECTED