The Association of Art Museum Directors has taked a stance — not a surprising one, but nevertheless a timely one. This afternoon, President Michael Conforti, also director of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, has sent a letter to Gov. Ed Rendell (right) of Pennsylvania opposing the state’s proposed tax on admissions, memberships and programs at museums and other non-profits.

The key words:

…this tax is nothing short of a tax on education.  Museums, along with other cultural institutions, provide unparalleled educational opportunities for the young people of Pennsylvania, families supporting their children’s learning, adults seeking spiritual and psychological nourishment, and everyone looking for affordable and uplifting leisure activities at a time of economic challenge.  Levying a tax on participation in educational programs and experiences will only discourage the public from taking advantage of Pennsylvania’s wide range of cultural resources.

Moreover, the proposed expansion of the sales tax will erode the substantial positive economic impact of your state’s cultural institutions: non-profit organizations in Pennsylvania generate $1.99 billion in economic activity each year.

AAMD copied various legislative leaders, including Dominic Pileggi, Jake Corman, Jay Costa, Jr., Dwight Evans, Todd A. Eachus, Keith R. McCall, Samuel H. Smith, Lawrence M. Farnese Jr., and Frank Oliver.

Let’s hope it helps, and perhaps it will stir readers who live in Pennsylvania to weigh in, too.  

This morning, the Grand Rapids Symphony joined in the arts celebration surrounding ArtPrize, and I’m beginning to wonder what haven’t people in that city thought of to make this event special? I’m also beginning to sound like a publicist, instead of a journalist, on this topic, and that I regret — but it’s not often that a community seems so intensively involved with the arts. On Wednesday, Michael Kaiser even spoke about “the crisis in arts funding,” in connection with ArtPrize, at the Gerald R. Ford Museum.

But back to the music.

David Lockington, the symphony’s music director (right), has composed a piece called Ceremonial Fantasy Fanfare for ArtPrize “inspired by visual artists and honoring the ArtPrize Top 10,” according to the symphony’s website.

The top ten artists, who will go on to the next round, were announced last night; their work is displayed on the ArtPrize site: David Lubbers, Sarah Grant, Nessie Project, Jason Hackenwerth, Ran Ortner, Eric Daigh, Michael Westra, Tracy Van Duinen, and Bill Secunda. That’s based on 332,051 votes. Grand Rapids Press has more on the outcome.

The symphony performance took place this morning, and photos of ArtPrize contestants were set to be shown during the music. The symphony also coordinated the participation of nearly 30 local churches that agreed to ring their church bells in unison at a particular point in the piece.

OK, here’s one more thing it could do: put the Fanfare up on the web so we all can listen to it.

Photo Credit: Adrian Mendoza

If you happen to find yourself in the Battery Park City neighborhood in New York — especially if you’re with a child (or more) — you might want to drop in to the new Poets House* to show them something they’ve never seen before: typewriters. These ones in particular were once owned by the late poet laureate Stanley Kunitz.

You’ll see new things, too (Philip Guston works, for one), about which more in a moment.  

The two typewriters sit in the children’s room, and Lee Briccetti, the executive director, tells me that kids love them — along with the old card catlogues they can open and shut, finding poems in the drawers.  

Those are just a few of the touches at the new Poets House, which has been around since 1985, mainly in a Soho loft. The opening of its beautiful building in Battery Park City in New York last weekend, heralded the other day in The New York Times, could well be a transforming event.

One of the things I love about the group is that, despite its flashy, elegant building, the first image on its home page is of its stacks (above) — they’re what counts. Poets House has some 50,000 volumes of poetry, counting books, chapbooks, journals, reading tapes, CDs and so on (all donated!). It’s open access, to all — you can roam. And though that picture doesn’t show them, there are comfortable couches and chairs on the right where you can sit and read poetry.

Another thing that picture doesn’t show is those Guston paintings and drawings.

[Read more…] about You Don’t Have To Be A Poet To Love Poets House

Where does Anthony van Dyck fit in the history of art? Grabbing the nearest art reference books on my shelf, I find one calling him “the most important Flemish painter of the 17th century apart from Rubens” and another saying “It is not too much to say that he created the English portrait tradition almost single handed.”

The question arose in my mind when a press release from Sotheby’s landed in my email box yesterday announcing that it would soon sell “an outstanding self-portrait” by van Dyke. And:

This masterpiece, which is van Dyck’s last portrait of himself, was painted in London in 1641 in the final months of his life. It is one of only three self portraits that the artist painted in England and it captures him grandly attired in a black and white silk doublet. The painting has been in the same family collection since 1712…It was one of the star exhibits of the recent Van Dyck & Britain show at Tate Britain…It ranks among the most important paintings by van Dyck ever to come to the auction market.

And the estimate? Â£2-3 million, which seems surpringly low. The high end converts to less than $5 million. According to the Daily Telegraph, the record price at auction for a van Dyck is £3,065,250, for A Rearing Stallion, in 2008.

By comparison, the number of contemporary works that have fetched higher prices is ridiculous. Finding examples is like shooting fish in a barrel: to name three, there’s Peter Doig — White Canoe: £5.7 million, Richard Prince — Man Crazy Nurse: $7.4 million, John Currin — Nice ‘N Easy, $5.5 million. Masterpieces?

OK, the market has declined since those prices were realized, but something still seems way out of whack. Whose work would you rather own?  

Photo: Courtesy of Sotheby’s

 

The Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo is scaling back again in response to its economic woes. It will close the Collectors Gallery, which featured the work of local artists, permanently at the end of October.

The Collectors Gallery dates to 1933, according to WBFO, the public radio station that broke the news (here’s the link) yesterday. It said, “The volunteer-run gallery spotlights regional artists and gives the public a chance to become art patrons.”

I checked the museum’s website, and there’s nothing yet about this under Newsroom.

Why is it that so few museums actually put out a forthright statement about things like this? I’m a fan of reporters’ digging out news, but once it’s out there, why not make it official?

While on the site, I went back to the museum’s July statement announcing a three-year plan to address its financial challenges. No mention of the Collectors Gallery then… That was when the Albright-Knox reduced hours to four days a week and said it needed to refocus on its core mission.

Times change, though and — surprise — I agree with the decision. Support for local artists is important at many museums, and I would count Albright-Knox among them. But Director Louis Grachos was not that far off when told WBFO that it was “important that the museum not compete with the many art galleries that have popped up all over the city in recent years.”

He might have mentioned a more important factor, the new Burchfield Penney Art Center across the street (which I wrote about here): It focuses on the art of Western New York State and is off to a great start in its new building.

Interestingly, the July statement has new resonance in light of the controversy at the Cleveland Museum of Art, which wants to dip into revenue generated by endowment funds restricted to acquisitions. The A-K board president Charles W. Banta said then:

Because of the Gallery’s endowment that is restricted for the purchase of works of art, the museum has been able to continue to build its outstanding Permanent Collection despite the current economic climate. The strength of the Collection will ensure that a reduction in operating expenses will not diminish the aesthetic and artistic experience of visitors to the Gallery.

Of course, none of this excuses the Albright-Knox’s deaccessions in 2007, about which many are still smarting.

Photo Credit: Column Structure IX, 2006, Robert Mangold, from an exhibition opening at the Albright-Knox on Oct. 23. Courtesy of the museum.