I was a little disconcerted when the program’s host, Warren Olney, stated that Jeffrey Deitch‘s appointment to LA MOCA’s directorship was controversial “because he wants to continue dealing art when he’s the director.” That was Warren’s way of summarizing this CultureGrrl post, but as I explained in my response to him, the reality is more nuanced than “wanting to continue dealing.”
What I do believe is that the action that Deitch says he is contemplating—selling off former gallery inventory, after he becomes director, to pay off some of his gallery-related expenses—runs afoul of professional guidelines that prohibit dealing by museum directors.
Other CultureGrrl posts referred to in my KCRW commentary are here, here and here.
To get to my segment, which ends the hour-long program, you’ve got to click the arrow, wait for the end of the short lead-in, and then scroll three-quarters of the way to the right, setting the pointer (which you’ll see to the left, just below the photograph) at slightly before the 45-minute mark: