Lee Rosenbaum's cultural commentary

From the 2012 Whitney Biennial: LaToya Ruby Frazier, "Corporate Exploitation and Economic Inequality!," 2011. © LaToya Ruby Frazier; courtesy the artist Photograph by Abigail DeVilleThey had me for a moment.Whitney Museum director Adam Weinberg and I had shared a very early period of our careers working in the Union Square office of the Art Workers News, an artists' rights … [Read more...] about Prank Alert: Whitney “Press Release” Turns Museum over to Demonstrators UPDATED

Close up of the exterior and windows of the Barnes Foundation's new Philadelphia facility, opening May 19Photo by Lee RosenbaumTwo readers respond to Rent-a-Barnes: Disregarding the Founder's No-Parties Intent:Robert Zaller, professor of history and politics at Drexel University, informs me there were plenty of parties (notwithstanding the prohibition in founder Albert Barnes' … [Read more...] about BlogBacks: Readers Weigh In on the Philly Barnes

Returning repeatedly to the Barnes Foundation's website to see whether there was any acknowledgement of the death of its general counsel (which has now been reported as a suicide in an obit by Stephan Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer), I stumbled across the Special Events section. It appears that CultureDaughter, still engaged in her nationwide mission to find the perfect … [Read more...] about Rent-a-Barnes: Disregarding the Founder’s No-Parties Intent

There has been no official confirmation yet of the cause of the sudden death last week of Brett Miller, 47, the Barnes Foundation's general counsel. But a CultureGrrl reader, who insisted on anonymity, has told me that Miller's Philadelphia neighbors reported that he had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. One of Miller's neighbors told my source that Miller died "some time … [Read more...] about Death of Brett Miller, 47, Barnes Foundation’s Counsel, Said to Be a Suicide

More on this, here.I liked and respected Brett Miller, the Barnes Foundation's general counsel since January 2010, and I am saddened by the news (reported by Helen Stoilas of the Art Newspaper) that he was found dead this weekend at his home. There's nothing about this, at this writing, in the Phladelphia Inquirer. No cause of death has yet been disclosed. That Miller, an … [Read more...] about Brett Miller, Barnes Foundation’s Counsel, Found Dead UPDATED

Tobi Tobias, Pulitzer FinalistThe 2012 Pulitzer Prizes have just been announced, and ArtsJournal has broken the blogger barrier: Tobi Tobias has been named as one of two finalists in the criticism category, for posts on her Seeing Things blog on ArtsJournal (which also hosts CultureGrrl). Tobi was cited "for work appearing on ArtsJournal.com that reveals passion as well as deep … [Read more...] about Blogger Breakthrough: ArtsJournal’s Tobi Tobias Named Pulitzer Finalist

In another insult to second-class journalists (i.e., everyone who doesn't write for the NY Times), the Guggenheim vigorously promoted a major press conference Thursday morning to announce its new "global cultural exchange" and then made attendance superfluous by delivering the entire story to Carol Vogel a day early. Everyone who showed up at the Gugg's 9 a.m. breakfast had … [Read more...] about Latest Global Guggenheim Developments: Helsinki & Singapore

Now at the Getty: Statue of Persephone, c. 300 B.C., Regional Archaeological Museum of Aidone I've been traveling on a work-ation since Thursday, so I haven't had a chance to report on the press lunch hosted by Jim Cuno in New York City last Wednesday---his first since becoming president of the J. Paul Getty Trust. The last time I saw him preside at an NYC press gathering, … [Read more...] about Getty President James Cuno’s Odd NYC Press Lunch (plus new Morgantina show)

Object of Contention: 10th-Century Khmer "Athlete," held by Sotheby's The Feds are doing it again---trying to intervene in a cultural-property ownership dispute by seeking to seize an antiquity thought to have been out of its country of origin for decades. In what I believe to be heavy-handed and counterproductive interference in what should be, at worst, a legal dispute … [Read more...] about Cambodian Battle: Feds’ Second Antiquities-Seizure Attempt Aborted (for now)

Orange County Government Center, 1971, designed by Paul Rudolph You might have missed it while you were engaged in feverish holiday preparations (perhaps, as I was, elbow-deep in matzo-farfel stuffing), but a month after CultureGrrl's first post on the endangered Paul Rudolph building in Goshen, NY, Robin Pogrebin landed a front-page article in Saturday's NY Times that … [Read more...] about Goshen Commotion: Endanged Rudolph Building Makes NY Times’ Front Page (plus architectural news in my own hometown)

Ai Weiwei in one of many confrontations with authorities, as seen in Alison Klayman's new film, "Ai Weiwei Never Sorry," a Sundance Selects release. Photo by Ted Alcorn On Tuesday, the first anniversary of the beginning of dissident artist Ai Weiwei's 81-day detention by Chinese authorities, I attended an advance screening in New York of Alison Klayman's powerful cinematic … [Read more...] about “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry”: Exhilarating, Inspiring Film Portrait of China’s Conscientious Objector

Google Art Project, piloted by a few museums more than a year ago, has now (like its parent company) conquered the world. Some 151 institutions in 40 countries (including 29 in the U.S.) have now jumped on bandwidth bandwagon, and every one of them (well, not quite) has felt impelled to send me an e-mail announcing its participation. As I write this, the announcements are still … [Read more...] about Tech Attack! Google Art Project Takes Over the World (and my inbox)

Mummy Mask of the Lady Ka-nefer-nefer, Egyptian, Dynasty 19 (1295-1186 BC), St. Louis Art MuseumU.S. District Court Judge Henry Autry has just dealt the U.S. Government a serious blow [via] in its increasingly aggressive legal posture on behalf of foreign governments in cultural-property disputes. And the St. Louis Art Museum gets to keep one of its most prized possessions.In … [Read more...] about Repose for the Mummy: St. Louis Art Museum Wins Ka-Nefer-Nefer Court Case

Wanna see Morley Safer's latest "60 Minutes" screed, where he once again suggests that the contemporary artworld (this time seen at Art Basel Miami) may be "the biggest scam since Hans Christian Andersen trotted out the emperor's new clothes"?Then again, are you sure you want to waste your time with this?Okay, art-lings, if you really want to (perhaps in the April Fools … [Read more...] about April’s Fool: Mordant Morley Safer Still Doesn’t Get Contemporary Art (with video)

Brooke Astor's art-filled Park Avenue apartment Good things sometimes come to those who wait. The Metropolitan Museum announced late this afternoon that thanks to a settlement brokered by the office of NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, it stands to receive some $20 million from the estate of its major benefactor and trustee, Brooke Astor. The windfall "will be used … [Read more...] about Brooke Astor Settlement: Belated Windfall for Metropolitan Museum, Morgan Library, Brooklyn Museum, Other NY Cultural Institutions