Archives for September 2010

This could conceivably be a case of "great minds think alike": Just one day after I posted what I thought was my own cleverly coined one-word critique of the Guggenheim's deal with YouTube---the "Googleheim"---that same hybrid word was deployed in a Sept. 23 article by Rachel Hewitt that appeared on the website of Chicago Art Magazine.But that ain't all. In a puzzling turn of … [Read more...] about Huff Post’s “Googleheim” Story Pockets My Coinage, Switches Authors UPDATED

My blogging buddy, Jon Lackman of the Art History Newsletter, has a little list that he's extrapolated by crunching the numbers from the National Research Council's just released database assessing U.S. doctoral programs in 62 academic fields.Jon has listed 51 schools in order of their purported rank for art-history PhD programs. Here are his Top … [Read more...] about Scholarly Smackdown: Where are the Best Art History PhD Programs?

Metropolitan Museum director Thomas Campbell, and Asian art chairman James C.Y. Watt, at press preview for "The World of Khubilai Khan"Where are the barbarians when we really need them?The Metropolitan Museum's just opened exhibition of art in China during the period of occupation by Mongol invaders---The World of Khubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty---is a typically … [Read more...] about The Met’s Timid “Khubilai Khan” Show: No Barbarians at These Gates

NY Assemblyman Jonathan Bing, whose district includes Metropolitan MuseumNew York Governor David Paterson on Sept. 17 signed the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA), which I previously discussed briefly here. It took effect immediately.Widely supported by museums (and sponsored by Assemblyman Jonathan Bing and State Senator Liz Krueger), the new law … [Read more...] about Donor Groaner: Stealth Provision in NY State’s New Law for “Prudent” Endowment Spending

The unexpurgated version of my WQXR "Arts File" segment that you may have heard (in edited form) on the radio or online this morning is now posted on the station's website: New Arts Season, Rising Ticket Prices. You can hear me here right now (click arrow on left), with more comments about my own cut-rate cultural explorations (including a Pitmen pitch) and ending with a plea … [Read more...] about CultureGrrl in the Cheap Seats: WQXR Podcast and MeTube Video

If all goes according to plan, you'll be able to hear me tomorrow morning in an "Arts File" segment on WQXR, New York's public classical music station. I'll be commenting on the high cost of attending cultural events (mostly music and theater, with a little bit of art thrown in). I'll also touch upon the strategies used by the budget-minded NYC cultural consumers … [Read more...] about Coming Tomorrow: My WQXR Commentary on High Ticket Prices

Early Rendering of Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Abu DhabiMy previous post---describing the detailed written agreement protecting the rights of construction workers at the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi---was headlined: Guggenheim's Armstrong Does It Right.But today's post critiquing the agreement on the website of Human Rights Watch (HRW) could have been entitled: "Guggenheim's … [Read more...] about Guggenheim Abu Dhabi: Human Rights Watch Criticizes Workers’ Rights Agreement

When I interviewed Richard Armstrong in February 2009, shortly after he became director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, he assured me that he was sensitive to the concerns repeatedly expressed by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and others about the exploitation of migrant construction workers in the United Arab Emirates, which encompass Abu Dhabi. Armstrong then told … [Read more...] about Guggenheim’s Armstrong Does it Right in Abu Dhabi: Construction Workers’ Rights Agreement

Steven Pleshette Murphy, Christie's new President and CEOVeteran auction watchers are scratching their heads at yesterday's unexpected news that Christie's has tapped Steve Murphy, an American with no art-related background or auction-related experience, to be the London-based auction house's chief executive officer, "effective immediately." The official announcement was issued … [Read more...] about Whither Christie’s? Steve Murphy, Auction Newbie, Takes the Helm

Left: Tennessee Attorney General Robert Cooper Right: New York State Regent James DawsonIn a motion filed in Davidson County Chancery Court on Friday, Tennessee Attorney General Robert Cooper echoed CultureGrrl's critique from Wednesday of the muddled logic in Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle's Memorandum and Order. In an astonishing turnaround from her previous pronouncement in … [Read more...] about Fisk Judge’s and NYS Regents’ Reversals: Blindsided AG and Regent Speak Out

Ford Bell, AAM's presidentThis just in from Ford Bell, president of the American Association of Museums:AAM finds the decision of the NY State Board of Regents to permit museums to sell objects in their collections to cover operating costs [see my comment, below] disturbing, holding possibly severe ramifications for the museum field. Museums are all about public service, … [Read more...] about Deaccession Obsession: AAM’s Statement on Regents’ Reneging on Regs

Roger Tilles, chairman of the NY State Board of Regents' Cultural Education Committee, discussing the deaccession decision at Monday's board meetingIn reversing its course on enacting strong safeguards against desperation deaccessions, the NY State Board of Regents at least owes the public a better explanation than it got for its sudden and unexpected flip-flop. Here's what … [Read more...] about Expediency Trumps Policy: More on NYS Regents’ Deaccessions Flip-Flop UPDATED

Regent James Dawson ducks the vote.Back in August, when it appeared that the bill introduced in the New York State Legislature to regulate museum deaccessions was dead, its chief sponsor, Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, told me:The Regents' regulations [my link, not his], warts and all, will provide significant protections for 98% of cultural institutions [those chartered after … [Read more...] about NYS Regents Back Down on Deaccession Regulations

Fisk's Monday prayer vigil for Alice Walton's millionsIn a 31-page Memorandum and Order issued late yesterday afternoon, Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle handed a complete defeat to Tennessee Attorney General Robert Cooper, who had proposed a temporary arrangement to keep Fisk University's Stieglitz Collection full-time in Nashville, rather than half-time in … [Read more...] about AG Defeat: Judge Nixes Frist/Fisk, Smiles on Crystal Bridges

Abdi Farah, the artist formerly known as "Next"Oh no. It's ba-a-a-a-ck!Yesterday I was asked by e-mail if I'd "be up for posting some information" about the casting call for the next installment(s) of Bravo's The Next Great Artist, "perhaps even chatting with one of our casting executives (i.e. what they are looking for in applicants, what to expect from a casting call, … [Read more...] about Are You the Next “Next Great Artist”?