Real Clear Arts

Judith H. Dobrzynski on Culture

In Age Of University Museums, A Thriver

MeadowsPlensaThis is becoming an age of university museums: we’ve seen new buildings, renovated buildings, new programs tied closer to non-art courses, energetic directors with larger visions — I’m thinking of places like Michigan State, Yale, UCLA, Princeton, Harvard…  We’ve also seen controversy, of course: the Rose at Brandeis, for example. Yet some might argue that the Rose is stronger now for it; certainly more people value it; more people know of the Rose.

So when The Wall Street Journal asked me to go visit the Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University in Dallas late last year, I was interested for that reason alone. I’d never been to the Meadows — aka “The Prado on the Prairie” — although it will celebrate its 50th year in 2015. I knew the Meadows’ big ambitions — I’d already mentioned here, in 2010, that the Prado had forged a partnership with the Meadows, and I was curious to see how it had so far turned out. I also knew that it had just purchased a Goya, a portrait of his grandson that, though once owned by the legendary collector George Embiricos, and not seen publicly in more than 40 years, had failed to sell at Sotheby’s a year ago.

MeadowsCalatravaThe result of my trip in is in tomorrow’s WSJ — Spanish Meadows: A Cultural Conversation with Mark Roglan.

The short answers are the Meadows seems to be thriving, though attendance is just 50,000 a year — that’s not bad for Dallas but I think it could do better. Much of the permanent collection was in storage while I was there, sent there to make room for a special exhibition, Sorolla and America, but the central gallery, jam-packed with paintings and sculptures hung salon-style, certainly offered interesting works and I saw some more in storage. The director, Mark Roglan, is certainly energetic.

I also liked the fact that the Meadows is collecting contemporary Spanish art — and I’ve posted two sculptures here, Calatrava (bottom) and Plensa (top), which struck me as the best I’d seen there.

I did not get a picture of that central gallery (I was concentrating on my interviewing there), but below is a view of the oval gallery on the first floor, hung traditionally.

MeadowsOval

 

If you’re in Dallas/Fort Worth — go.

Photo Credits: © Judith H. Dobrzynski 

 

 

A New View Of/Place For Mayan Art

It’s an odd place to reveal new discoveries Mayan art, but if you’d like to see a nine-foot long stucco sculpture depicting a crouching jaguar, ca. 300 AD-600AD, as well as a preview of a new museum’s collection, you’ll have to head to the Los Angeles Jewelry, Antique and Design show at the LA Convention Center, Jan. 15 through 19.

JaguarThe jaguar (left), making its public debut, will be on view along with a limestone panel that was once part of a wall whose the inscription reportedly recounts a dynastic tale spanning from the year 652 AD to 799 AD, a chocolate drinking vessel and many other pre-Columbian ceramics, several dance masks, textiles and a vase (c 600-900 AD) depicting an obese ruler with an elaborate feather headdress and a mask of a huge toad, with its own headband of the “Jester God” (right).

These objects are drawn from the collection of the Museo Maya de America in Guatemala City — a not-yet built structure that is set to break ground in 2016. La Ruta Maya Foundation, which was founded in 1990 to preserve, conserve and recover Mayan objects, is sponsoring the exhibit. It was curated, according to a release, by “Sofia Paredes Maury, Fundacion La Ruta Maya;  Ines Guzman, Museo Maya de America; Raymond Senuk, Friends of Ixchel Museum; Professor Peter Markman & Dr. Allison Hanney, Xipe Projects and Adrian Lorenzana, Paiz Foundation with Conceptual Curator Gio Rossilli.”

MayanVaseTreasures of the Maya Spirit is in Los Angeles because, the foundation says, the city has the largest population of Guatemalans living outside their home country. The exhibit include about 200 examples of  Mayan art from the  Pre-Classic Mayan period (250 BC – 900 AD) through early part of twentieth-century, as well as several contemporary works that won prizes in the Guatemalan Biennale. 

Guatemala has other museums (see the list here). But the one under discussion — or in planning — is a welcome addition. The museum has a website, and a Foundation, whose mission is “to create a world-class museum responsible for safeguarding the Mayan archeological and ethnographic treasures of Guatemala. As the primary sponsor of the museum, the foundation aims to create a landmark that will bring the world to Guatemala while connecting the country to the world. The foundation’s activities focus on using art and culture as driving forces in the region’s economy.” It’s designed by Harry Gugger Studio and over, under architects of Boston.

All good news! Let’s hope it raise the necessary money to get the museum built and opened.

 

 

Betsky Out At Cincinnati Art Museum

A press release just arrived, saying: “Aaron Betsky today announced that he will be stepping down as Director of the Cincinnati Art Museum effective when his successor is named. ” The release made no mention of where he will go next.

BetskyThe move is not a surprise to me: I’ve written about Betsky’s tenure in Cincinnati a couple of times and I’ve thought he was a bad match for the job. He did some things well, but I didn’t agree with much of his program and I have suspected that the board was uncomfortable too. (My previous posts are here, here and here. I did write one positive post, here.)

Today’s press release  said:

During the past seven years as Director Mr. Betsky has significantly enhanced the museum’s collections, exhibition program, and physical facilities while balancing the budget each year and increasing the endowment by 18% despite the challenging financial environment.  In 2011 the 132-year old museum had its second highest[sic] attendance and in 2010 it’s[sic] third highest[sic] visitor attendance in recent history.

Ah, but at what cost? As my posts indicated, several museum employees fled the museum, his taste in art, lack of scholarship and ability to raise money was questioned, and his schedule of exhibitions was very mixed. Those high attendance numbers were achieved only by presenting exhibits, like wedding gowns, that were beneath the museum.

On another troubling note, about ten days ago a publication called City Beat published a rather positive piece about Betsky; that he let the reporter go ahead with it — he must have known this was coming — also says something about his character.

 

Hoping For A Better 2014 For The Cleveland Museum

ClevelandWestWingLast night, the Cleveland Museum of Art opened its new west wing galleries (at right), designed by Raphael Vinoly and featuring Chinese, Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan art — thus completing its years-long renovation and expansion. I can’t really be specific on how long it has been — though the museum says eight years — because it seems to me that I first saw models of the plan back in the late ’90s, when the museum was led by the late Bob Bergman (who died in ’99).

The New Year’s Eve  party was a ticketed event (sold out, per the website), so the galleries really open to the public tomorrow, Friday and — nicely — on Saturday with a scholar’s day (which, oddly, includes a scavenger hunt and games as well as serious lectures).

I think we would have heard more about the New Year’s Eve celebration and the subsequent activities nationally had it not been for the unfortunate events earlier this year surrounding the museum’s recently departed director David Franklin.

But never mind: the museum, being led — strangely — by a trustee for the moment, racked up a big series of accomplishments last year, and Franklin must be given credit for most of them, his personal life notwithstanding. In mid-December, the museum listed some (here):

  • 501,314 visitors came to the museum during the 2012-2013 fiscal year — a 39% increase year-over-year and the highest attendance in more than a decade.
  • Key drivers of attendance included the opening of the museum’s 39,000 square foot atrium and the innovative Gallery One, which has won some tech awards.
  • The new north wing galleries opened.
  • The museum started some new programming initiatives, including the MIX at CMA first Friday happy hour series and Second Sundays family day programming.

Despite receiving a recent philanthropy update and the following disclosures about fundraising in the past year, I am pretty sure the museum must still raise a tidy sum to complete its $350 million capital campaign, but on New Year’s Day, I have not even tried to pin down someone at the museum — let’s just say it’s substantial. Still, the release said:

Over this period [the FY], the museum raised nearly $36 million from over 15,000 supporters and 20,000 members. In the first six months of the current fiscal year, which will end on June 30, 2014, overall fundraising has outpaced last year by more than 80%, totaling $24 million. These dollars support all aspects of the museum’s work and allow the museum to maintain a balanced budget. Since July 2012, commitments for Transformation: The Campaign for the Cleveland Museum of Art alone totaled $27 million.

The museum also is to be congratulated for starting the Joseph and Nancy Keithley Institute for Art History, on partnership with Case Western Reserve University. This initiative, designed for curators, scholars, museum directors and academic leaders, reimagines a joint doctoral program that the museum and university developed together over the past few years by stressing an “object-oriented” approach that integrates theory and methodology with intense study of actual pieces of art. It’s funded in part by the Mellon Foundation.

So Cleveland, I hope you have begun a serious search for a new, highly qualified and scholarly director, one who will match your marvelous collection. I wish you a better 2014 than 2013 turned out to be.

End Of The Year Thoughts On Museums And Money

PAYARTFORWARD_bannerToday, and for the last week, I’ve been getting emails from museums and other non-profits asking me to give to the annual fund. Likewise, when I visit museum websites in recent days, many carry a banner asking for a hand. (In fact, I am surprised when I visit a website in these final days of the year that doesn’t ask for donations…). Here’s one from LACMA, cropped, at right.

This all reminded me that way back in March, I promised here that I would be back here elaborating on an article I wrote for the Museums section of The New York Times. And then I promptly forgot about it. In the article — Country Music Temple Stays in Financial Tune – I explored the business model of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. Year in, year out, the Hall gets some 80% to 90% of its budget from earned income.

What’s the applicability to art museums? The answer isn’t simple. A percentage anywhere near that high is clearly out of the reach of art museums, and rightfully so. Country music is a far more popular art form than museum-quality art — and the Hall does things that would not be acceptable at an art museum. And yet, given the economic turmoil of the last few years, which has dried up some sources of contributed income and government support, art museums must strive to maximize earned income. When money is needed, trustees generally push for museums to earn more before they reach deeper into their own pockets.

Pretty much everyone agrees that income is tied to attendance, which unfortunately leads to shows that directors tend to call “populist” but really mean “commercial.” That’s why we’ve had more exhibits lately like Jewels by JAR at the Metropolitan Museum*, which Roberta Smith eviscerated in her recent NYT review; and there have been plenty of others. 

So where does this leave art museums — which are criticized (including by me) when they do something too commercial and yet pushed to boost attendance as the be-all and end-all, the solution to money problems.

I’ve nothing against attendance, but it isn’t the whole solution. The “gate,” as we all know, provides a small proportion of earned income — though it does drive shop and restaurant expenditures. I agree with a point made by Kyle Young, the Country Music Hall’s director, in my March article, that “museums could be a lot more creative about the way they do earn money.” To a certain extent, that may mean — certainly at some museums — better management of costs. It may also mean negotiating better terms with restaurateurs (or managing in-house), selling more wine, changing operating hours, etc.

If that sounds impractical, I can only suggest a re-read of the article I wrote last January for The Wall Street Journal, about the financial model at the Peabody Essex Museum, in which director Dan Monroe laid out a vision that is nearly the opposite of the Country Music Hall of Fame. By 2018, the Peabody Essex expects to get 24% of its budget from earned income. Instead:

By 2017, when the campaign is complete, the Peabody Essex expects to finance 58% of its annual budget (projected at $35 million, up from $23 million in 2012) from the endowment. That compares with 25% in 2011.

I prefer the PEM model for art museums. But it means changing the mindset of donors. I hope that really starts happening in 2014.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of LACMA

*I consult to a foundation that supports the Met