Archives for April 2011

Saturday's "Hide/Seek" panel at Rutgers University, left to right: Moderator Daniel Okrent, author, journalist, former chairman of National Portrait Gallery's board; Martin Sullivan, director, National Portrait Gallery; W. King Mott, associate professor of political science (specializing in queer theory), Seton Hall University; Lee Rosenbaum, CultureGrrl; Abe Zakhem, associate … [Read more...] about Director’s “Hide/Seek” Revelations: What REALLY Happened; What Won’t Happen Again

Eric Gibson, editor, Wall Street Journal "Leisure & Arts" page, one of tonight's panelistsChristie's this evening will host its second panel discussion on The Future of Arts Journalism. Who can ever forget the first, two years ago, where Sam Sifton, then the NY Times' cultural news editor, said this about his newspaper's arts reporters and critics, occasioning inward … [Read more...] about LIve or Online Tonight: Panel on “The Future of Arts Journalism” (Is there one?)

Left: Damaged statue of King Tutankhamun, recovered after having been missing from the Egyptian Museum since JanuaryRight: Photo of the same statue, intact, from the catalogue of the Metropolitan Museum's "Treasures of Tutankhamun" exhibitionPhoto: Rania Galal In the various reports of recoveries of objects stolen from the Egyptian Museum, we have learned little (and what we … [Read more...] about Damaged King Tut, Three Other Missing Objects, Recovered by Egyptian Museum

The Smithsonian had planned to release tomorrow the names of the panelists for its two-day "Hide/Seek"-related conference. Now they've put it off till next Monday, as spokesperson Linda St. Thomas told me. Either they're having trouble organizing the panels, or they don't want to invite controversy over their choices until the last minute.One reason why the planners may be … [Read more...] about Panelist “Hide/Seek”: Smithsonian Tags In-House Participants (only) for Two-Day Conference

I had really wanted you to see the video below (from ChinaForbiddenNews' YouTube channel), which highlights the disconnect between the humanistic message of works in Beijing's current Art of Enlightenment exhibition (which recently opened at the National Museum of China) and the deplorable detention of dissident artist Ai Weiwei by Chinese authorities. NTD-TV has now helped me … [Read more...] about “ChinaForbiddenNews” Video: Beijing’s “Art of Enlightenment” vs. Benighted Treatment of Ai Weiwei

Bonnie Pitman, outgoing director of the Dallas Museum of ArtFirst the unexpected death in December of Peter Marzio, the veteran director of the Houston Museum of Fine Arts.Now the unexpected announcement by the Dallas Museum of Art that Bonnie Pitman will step down from its directorship next month "for health reasons." Scott Cantrell of the Dallas Morning News reports that … [Read more...] about Dallas Joins Houston: Texas Now Has Two Big Directorships to Fill

The new message on the Tate Modern, London (image from its website and Twitter page)[More on Ai Weiwei---here, here, here and here.]The Guggenheim Foundation has launched an online petition in which the international art community calls upon China to release artist Ai Weiwei from custody. I have signed it; so should you. At this writing there are 4,361 signatories. (In the time … [Read more...] about Weiwei Watch: International Art Community Rallies for Ai’s Release; Clinton’s Comments

You're not too late! Come throw some hard questions at Martin Sullivan, director of the National Portrait Gallery, and me at our panel discussion tomorrow (Saturday) morning at Rutgers University, Newark, NJ: "Hide/Seek": Museums, Ethics and the Press. I might even venture to lob some questions at Martin myself, even though Daniel Okrent (author, editor, chairman of the … [Read more...] about Reminder: Meet NPG’s Martin Sullivan (and me) Tomorrow at Rutgers Panel on “Hide/Seek”

The newly released officially authorized "news" from China (as reported by Agence France-Presse) is that "Ai Weiwei is under investigation on suspicion of economic crimes. It has nothing to do with human rights or freedom of expression. Other countries have no right to interfere." Those were the words of China's foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei, in a statement to … [Read more...] about Bob Dylan’s Shanghai Challenge; ChinaForbiddenNews’ Hard-Hitting “Art of Enlightenment” Video

Alas, my post of late last night, in which I called for the artworld to unite in demanding the immediate release from government custody of the Chinese artist-activist Ai Weiwei, has not been "overtaken by events," as I had hoped. On the contrary, this human rights emergency has grown even more alarming and even more urgently in need of a global response.An official Chinese … [Read more...] about Weiwei Watch: Ominous Editorial in China’s Official “Global Times”

Bronze animal heads created by Ai Weiwei for his upcoming outdoor exhibition, Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads, May 2-July 15, Grand Army Plaza, New York[More on this story, here.]I hope that by the time your read this, Ai Weiwei may have been released and the message of this post will be overtaken by events.But as I write this late Tuesday night, the detention of the … [Read more...] about Weiwei Watch: The Artworld Must Respond

Mike Simpson (R, ID), chairman, House Subcommittee for Interior, Environment and Related AgenciesAttention Art-lings! If you've already booked flights, trains and limos to Washington for Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough's Thursday morning hearing before the House Subcommittee for Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, cancel those plans!As I had warned in my post … [Read more...] about Clough’s Appropriations Hearing Before House Subcommittee Is Postponed

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle with Liu Yandong, State Councillor of Culture for the People's Republic of China, at Friday's opening of "The Art of the Enlightenment," the major German loan show at the National Museum of China, BeijingPhoto: Frank Barbian © Staatliche Museen, Berlin[More on this story, here and here.]Guido Westerwelle has done the right thing.Last … [Read more...] about Weiwei Watch: Ai Still Missing; Germany’s Foreign Minister Demands His Release UPDATED TWICE

Taken into Custody: Ai Weiwei [UPDATE on this story, here.] Over the last few weeks, Chinese authorities have seemed determined not to let the viral popular uprisings that have transformed politics in the Middle East spread to China. As I read recent reports of actions taken against Chinese dissidents, it seemed to me chillingly likely that the crackdown might eventually … [Read more...] about Chinese Crackdown: Ai Weiwei Detained, Studio Raided

Sendai City MuseumPerforming arts groups, most notably the Metropolitan Opera, may be having second thoughts about their scheduled trips to Japan (as Robin Pogrebin reported in yesterday's NY Times). But the Boston Museum of Fine Arts is a trooper and the Sendai City Museum is a survivor: The BMFA's The Golden Age of Color Prints: Ukiyo-e from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston … [Read more...] about Unshaken by the Quake: BMFA’s Ukiyo-e Prints to Sendai