The article in today’s New York Times, headlined “Wounded In Crossfire Of a Capital Culture War”, about the Hide/Seek controversy at the National Portrait Gallery and the troubles it has brought Smithsonian secretary G. Wayne Clough (below) only left me with more questions and several confirmed impressions.
Here are a few:
- Why would G. Wayne Clough, the Smithsonian secretary who made the decision to pull “A Fire in My Belly” from Hide/Seek even schedule a public forum on the issue if he has no intention of taking questions? Who gave him that advice? The same guy(s) who suggested that he save the exhibition by deleting the David Wojnarowicz film/video?
- Jonanthan D. Katz, the professor/co-curator of the exhibit (rightly labeled as “something of a gadfly”) has been saying that many museums had rejected his pitches for this, or a similar, exhibit. Yesterday, the number was 40, but I’ve seen smaller totals in previous published accounts. But who are these scaredy-cat museums? Wouldn’t we like to know? How about a list from Katz? That would shake up the art world.
I know this — I’ve inquired of a few museum directors about this: none said they had heard of the idea and all said they’d have been interested. Only Arnold Lehman, of the Brooklyn Museum, was on the record when I asked, so you have to trust me — there were others.
- Former Senator Chris Dodd is quoted saying “You’re not going to get Congress to support a museum.” Really? What about the National Gallery of Art? For FY 2012, the Obama administration is seeking $118.8 million for its operations (plus more to be left available for repairs), which would be a slight increase from FY 2011 at the current rate of spending (2011 budget bills have yet to be passed, as I recall).
- Julian Raby, director of the Freer-Sackler Galleries, has been doing a pretty job over there. Now he has been designated the “in-house arts troubleshooter.” Excuse me, but isn’t that what Undersecretary (for history, art and culture) Richard Kurin is supposed to be doing? Doesn’t this show that Clough was wrong to cut the position of Undersecretary for Art once held by Ned Rifkin? If Clough wants to give that job to Raby, fine; he should then appoint a new director for the Freer-Sackler. If not, let Raby do his real job.
All of this only reinforces a view I’ve had almost since Clough took over. Then I wrote that Clough, an engineer, had little feel for the museums side of his job. I thought they might suffer from benign neglect. It’s worse than that: neglect coupled with interference at the wrong time.
Which brings me to another feeling I’ve had. It’s time to reconsider the entire structure of the Smithsonian. Breaking it in two, into the scientific side and the cultural side, is an idea whose time has come.