Lee Rosenbaum's cultural commentary

The Museum of Modern Art's public-relations rollout of its latest (can we never say "final"?) expansion seems to have been about as convincing to the invited scribe tribe as was Gov. Chris Christie's "I-am-not-a-bully" press conference yesterday regarding BridgeGate in Fort Lee. Leading the procession of mourners for the soon-to-be demolished Tod Williams Billie … [Read more...] about Contrarian Musings: Why Folk Art Museum’s Building Should Not Be Saved (with slideshow)

NOTE: The links that I provided on Jan. 9 to the "Message from...Glenn Lowry" and to the "Vision Statement" for the expansion are, strangely, no longer functional, just three days later. They can now be found here (with Lowry's message renamed, "The Future MoMA: A Work in Progress") along with a newly added "Architect Statement." (I've updated the links below with the new … [Read more...] about Museum of Modern Art’s Folk-Art Decision: It’s a Knockdown (plus plans for MegaMoMA)

With today's announcement that it has "met and exceeded its goal of raising the museum’s endowment to a historic high of over $100 million," LA MOCA has upped its endowment goal to $150 million, saying that it has succeeded in "secur[ing] its financial stability." What it hasn't yet secured is a permanent leader who can stabilize its revolving-door directorship. Randy … [Read more...] about MOCA’s Unfinished Revival: “Financial Stability” (but no director yet)

I have never seen a more ignored major expansion of a top-tier American art museum than the Jan. 2 public opening of the final phase of the Cleveland Museum's eight-year, $350-million Rafael Viñoly-designed expansion and renovation. I can only guess that the museum is low-keying the West Wing's rollout because of the shadow cast by this recent debacle, which left it without a … [Read more...] about West Wing Dramas: Cleveland Museum’s Insubstantial Information and Creative Accounting

My daughter's wedding and my grandson's birth, which occurred in rapid succession (and in unexpected order!), made 2013 was more personally than professionally momentous for me. I did enjoy my mainstream-media work, public radio commentary (click each word for links to different stories) and lecturing gig, but my ambivalence about blogging (which devours the lion's share of my … [Read more...] about The Year in CultureGrrl, 2013 Edition (and a request)

I need to revise this headline from last Wednesday's CultureGrrl post---Worcester Art Museum’s “Fake” Rembrandt: “American Hustle” Cons the Audience. I'm beginning to believe that it's the Worcester Art Museum (WAM), not the new movie, that's misleading (if not exactly "conning") its audience when it comes to the "Rembrandt": "There are no questions about the authenticity of … [Read more...] about “Rembrandt”? Probably Not: Worcester Art Museum’s Own Version of “American Hustle”

More on this, here. Is the Worcester Art Museum's Rembrandt not a Rembrandt? That's what the main character of the uproarious, caustic new film, "American Hustle," convincingly maintains (without identifying the museum that he's debunking), at the very beginning of the movie's trailer: Notwithstanding these cinematic antics, "there are no questions about the … [Read more...] about Worcester Art Museum’s “Fake” Rembrandt: “American Hustle” Cons the Audience UPDATED

Did you have better things to do this Christmas morning than listening to me on NPR? If so, you can now hear me here (starting at 3:08), near the end of the segment on the Detroit Institute of Arts by NPR's Elizabeth Blair, which aired on "Morning Edition." (Click the arrow to the left of the audio bar below.) For the transcript of the full segment (accompanied by another … [Read more...] about My NPR Soundbite on Detroit Institute of Arts’ “Grand Bargain”

UPDATE: All the links in the original version of this post to documents that had been on the TDIC website (now revamped)---the PricewaterhouseCoopers report, the Employment Practices Policy, the statement on worker welfare---have changed and I've updated them. But I could not longer find a link to the news release on foreigners' visits to the model Saadiyat Accommodation … [Read more...] about Guardian Exposé: Substandard Conditions Reportedly Persist for Some Abu Dhabi Construction Workers (plus Guggenheim’s, TDIC’s reactions) UPDATED

I presciently prefaced my brief announcement last night of my NPR cameo on the Detroit Institute of Arts' situation by saying that I'd be on air this morning "if all goes according to plan." Ha! Having spent an entirely unplanned 10 hours last night and this morning in the Memorial Sloan-Kettering emergency room with my already sick friend who had developed acute … [Read more...] about Make Art, Not War: CultureGrrl Bumped Off (NPR) by AK-47 Rifle

If all goes according to plan (and it's already been postponed twice), I should be heard on NPR's "Morning Edition" tomorrow (along with other analysts), providing some commentary on the talks to preserve the art collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts in the face of the city's financial crisis. I was interviewed for this last Tuesday, but I'm sure the producer (and … [Read more...] about Detroit Diatribe: My NPR Commentary Tomorrow on the Art Institute’s Predicament

The "Grand Bargain" is gathering momentum. In comments to the Detroit News editorial board yesterday, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder revealed that he "wouldn't be close-minded" to proposals to allocate state funds towards protecting the Detroit Institute of Arts, "if it were part of settling the case." Similarly, Kalamazoo-based radio station WKZO reported on comments by … [Read more...] about Michigan Governor Suggests State Funds Could Go Towards Detroit Institute Rescue

In what has now become, for me, the most stomach-turning moment in the Detroit Institute of Arts/municipal crisis saga, the Detroit Free Press today has posted an interactive feature (to which I refuse to link) that features images and the purported "fair market values" of 30 highlights from the 2,773 DIA works appraised by Christie's at the behest of Detroit Emergency Manager … [Read more...] about Appraising the Appraisal: Christie’s Sickening Potential Shopping List of Detroit Institute’s Art

The dark "cloud of unknowing" (about which director Graham Beal has previously lamented) regarding deliberations about the Detroit Institute of Arts' fate continues to hang over the museum today, with the delivery of Christie's 150-page appraisal report to Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr. The report provides valuations for more than 2,000 works from the museum's … [Read more...] about Detroit Institute of Arts Comments on Christie’s Appraisal Report CLARIFIED

UPDATE: Detroit Institute's reaction to the report is here. This message from Christie's just hit my inbox: Christie’s has delivered to the Emergency Manager’s Office of the City of Detroit the final report on its two-part project that includes a valuation of City of Detroit (COD)- purchased works of art in the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) collection and recommendations … [Read more...] about Christie’s Submits 150-Page Report on Detroit Institute Art Valuations and Monetization Recommendations UPDATED