Archives for March 2010

I'm flushing the matzo out of my brain cells with strong coffee and have returned to posting, thanks to those of you who met the CultureGrrl Challenge (more on that below).So here's the moment you've all been waiting for---CultureGrrl in Swedish! As I mentioned last week (scroll to bottom), I was interviewed by Mårten Arndtzén, art critic/reporter for Sveriges Radio (Swedish … [Read more...] about CultureGrrl in Swedish: Hear Me on Sveriges Radio UPDATED

I have lashed myself to the mast and plugged my ears so that I cannot be tempted by the booting-up siren song of the computer this week. As I mentioned at the end of this post, I'm taking off today and tomorrow for the first two nights of Passover, and then intend to resist blogging for the rest of this holiday week, unless five readers let me know, by clicking my "Donate" … [Read more...] about A Week With Matzo But Without CultureGrrl (unless…)

Edmund Pillsbury, left; Charles Ryskamp, rightEdmund (Ted) Pillsbury and Charles Ryskamp, both of whom died late last week, were members of a dying breed---the museum director/connoisseur.Pillsbury, who from 1980-98 served as the Kimbell Art Museum's second leader, may have been the last of the buccaneering museum directors. Armed with a connoisseur's sharp eye and his … [Read more...] about Death of Two Connoisseurs: Kimbell’s Ted Pillsbury, Morgan’s and Frick’s Charles Ryskamp

Ryue Nishizawa and Kazuyo Sejima, 2010 Pritzker Prize winnersNew York's New Museum can now boast of having had its new facility designed by this year's winners of the prestigious Pritzker Prize for architecture. Ryue Nishizawa and Kazuyo Sejima of SANAA, the Tokyo-based architectural firm, won for their explorations "of continuous space, lightness, transparency, and materiality … [Read more...] about Sejima and Nishizawa, Architects of the New Museum, Win the Pritzker Prize

Are we about to see the end of visual arts scholarship as we know it? As reported on several art history-related websites (but not, as far as I've seen, in the mainstream media), one of the most lamentable results of the J. Paul Getty Trust's budgetary cutbacks is the Getty Research Institute's withdrawal of financial support for what it had previously called "one of the most … [Read more...] about The End of Art History: Getty Abandons Preeminent Research Database

I'll have some more Getty-related news for you, probably later today. But for now, you can hear, below, my commentary for yesterday's "Which Way, L.A.?" program (scroll to bottom) on Southern California Public Radio, (KCRW) about the directorial controversies at the Getty Museum and LA MOCA. I was a little disconcerted when the program's host, Warren Olney, stated that Jeffrey … [Read more...] about Hear My KCRW Radio Commentary on Getty and MOCA Directorships

Warren OlneyA very late-breaking development: I'll be speaking on Which Way, L.A.?, Warren Olney's news interview show on KCRW (89.9 FM), Southern California Public Radio, later today. I'll be commenting on the Getty and LA MOCA directorship controversies. CultureGrrl readers already have some advance knowledge of what I'm going to say (which has already been taped).Warren, … [Read more...] about Coming Today: My “Which Way, L.A.?” Commentary on KCRW About Getty and MOCA Directorships

What is this? A sports blog?Okay, the century is still young (and Cornell undoubtedly has a lot of great hockey games in its future). But my alma mater has captured the imagination of the whole country (except for certain parts of Kentucky) with its good-guy basketball team's glorious, improbable ascent to the NCAA's Sweet Sixteen. You can watch us continue our winning streak … [Read more...] about NEA’s First Webcast of Council Meeting Tomorrow; Cornell’s Game-of-the-Century Tonight!

Images from the Getty Museum's two campuses: Los Angeles (left), Malibu (right)Want to apply for the vacant directorship of the J. Paul Getty Museum? Now you can!Two weeks ago, the online application (who needs a search firm?) for the director of the two-campus Los Angeles/Malibu museum was posted on the Getty's website. As CultureGrrl readers may remember, the position was … [Read more...] about Getty Museum’s Open Call for “Inspiring Leaders”: Director Application Now Online!

Architect Jean Nouvel at press lunch for planned National Museum of Qatar, held yesterday at Museum of Modern Art Although I was preempted by the NY Time's Nicolai Ouroussoff from reporting on the plans for the National Museum of Qatar, I did elicit some new information from the architect, Jean Nouvel, about his project just next door to the Museum of Modern Art, where the … [Read more...] about Nouvel on the Redesigned MoMA/Hines Tower: “More Like a Skyscraper”

Fabulous fare at press lunch for the National Museum of Qatar, served today at the Museum of Modern ArtWhat, no ketchup? French fries but no ketchup?!?After having been miffed that the NY Times had already been served a full-course meal of publicity before the rest of us scribes had even unfolded our napkins at today's press lunch for the planned National Museum of Qatar, I … [Read more...] about (Non-)Ketchup Journalism: Full Plate at the Qatar/Nouvel Press Lunch

Invitation to cover old newsThe press lunch that I'll be attending today will be at the Museum of Modern Art. That means that at least the food should be good.But, really, how do Al Mayassa Bint Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani and Marie-Josée Kravis expect journalists like me to feel about our invitation to cover a story that was spoonfed to the NY Times' architecture critic in … [Read more...] about Unveiling Nouvel’s Qatar Museum: Ouroussoff Yesterday, Lowly Scribes Today UPDATED

The Triumph of the UnderdogsThe Gothamist blog network (which has linked to many a CultureGrrl story) has reportedly been bought by Cablevision-owned Rainbow Media for "between $5 million to $6 million."Hey, Dolans! CultureGrrl can be bought---fast and cheap.Or maybe there are some (very venturesome) venture capitalists out there, who want to help me with the business side of … [Read more...] about Gothamist Sale: Blogger Buyout vs. Blogger Burnout

The interior of the former home of Salander-O'Reilly GalleriesWith art dealer Lawrence Salander having last week pled guilty to stealing some $120 million from clients and backers, his Salander-O'Reilly Galleries' numerous creditors and high-and-dry consignors are engaged in a scramble to try to receive compensation from Salander assets for their financial losses and for works … [Read more...] about Philadelphia Museum’s Salander Morass: Case of the Missing Painting UPDATED

Selling art from one's current gallery inventory after becoming a museum director? That's fine and dandy with LA MOCA's trustees.Mike Boehm today posted an update on his LA Times story, which followed up on CultureGrrl's Wednesday post. I had revealed that Jeffrey Deitch intends to continue selling works that are currently in his gallery's inventory after he assumes the … [Read more...] about MOCA Responds to LA Times on Deitch’s Art Disposals