Archives for May 2011

Renzo Piano's sketch for the planned Downtown Whitney [Part I is here. I have since learned that my commentary for WNYC on MoMA's purchase of the American Folk Art Museum's building was aired, as well as published.] Having been in retrenchment mode during the Great Recession, the Metropolitan Museum appears ready to flex its financial muscles again: It has just announced … [Read more...] about Museum Musical Chairs: Met at the Whitney; MoMA at Folk Art—Part II UPDATED

The American Folk Art Museum's sliver building on W. 53rd Street Help me! I have a lousy sense of direction and can't seem to find some of my favorite NYC museums! The Whitney Museum's building is going to be (temporarily, at least) an outpost of the Metropolitan Museum. The American Folk Art Museum building will be part of the Museum of Modern Art. And the Whitney will … [Read more...] about Museum Musical Chairs: Met at the Whitney; MoMA at Folk Art—Part I

A lot to remember: Andy Warhol, "Self-Portrait," 1963-4If you've been following the news reports on the evening Impressionist/modern and contemporary sales this week and last at Sotheby's and Christie's, you know that the "recovery" of the art market appears to have stalled, along with the rest of the economic recovery. "Tepid," "far from stellar" and "rather underwhelming" are … [Read more...] about $38.44-Million Warhol Ordeal: “The Longest Lot in History” at Christie’s

Don Bacigalupi, executive director, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, on last week's hardhat tour with journalistsI had one of those astonishing did-he-really-say-that moments in my half-hour conversation last week with Don Bacigalupi, executive director of Alice Walton's Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. We chatted during my visit to the in-construction facility in … [Read more...] about Crystal Bridges’ Director on Fisk Art-Sale Controversy: “We don’t need that collection.”

Warren Olney, moderator, "Which Way, L.A.?" on Los Angeles Public RadioI'll be sharing my thoughts about James Cuno, the incoming president of the J. Paul Getty Trust, on Warren Olney's Which Way LA?, broadcast over public radio station KCRW at 7 p.m. LA time (10 p.m. on the East Coast). My segment is supposed to air at about 7:12 p.m., Western. You'll be able to listen live … [Read more...] about My “Which Way, L.A.?” Conversation on James Cuno (also with the Getty’s Ron Hartwig) UPDATED with Podcast

James Cuno, speaking at the May 2009 inaugural ceremony for the Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago While most of the New York art press was gathered at the Metropolitan Museum yesterday to ingest the highly anticipated chicken and salad at that museum's spring press lunch, Los Angeles' J. Paul Getty Trust lobbed this bombshell into our inboxes: James Cuno, … [Read more...] about Archaeologists’ Red Flag: James Cuno Named Getty Trust President

[UPDATE: Audio's now online, and embedded at the end of this post.]If all goes according to plan, I'll be accorded a (probably brief) soundbite later today on the subject of Alice Walton's $800-million museum (and that's just the endowment). It will be part of Marketplace, an American Public Media business show that is heard on National Public Radio.In the NYC area, this should … [Read more...] about Coming Soon: My NPR Crystal Bridges Soundbite UPDATED

HELP! Let me down!!!On Wednesday, you viewed my CultureGrrl Video overview of the exteriors of the monumentally proportioned, copper-topped pavilions that will open on Nov. 11 as the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, founded and munificently funded by Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton.Now, come inside with me as we watch the paint dry. To add a little suspense to this … [Read more...] about MeTube at Crystal Bridges: My Precarious Hardhat Tour with Its Project Manager

Did Don Bacigalupi just say $800 MILLION???At a press luncheon today at the in-construction Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, its director announced that the Walton Family Foundation would be donating $350 million towards the institution's operating endowment (defraying $14 million of the $16-20 million annual operating budget at a 4% fixed draw-down … [Read more...] about Crystal Bridges Museum Announces $800-Million Walton Endowment; My Sneak-Peak Video at Construction Site

Tent for the Costume Institute's gala tonight at the Metropolitan Museum of Art While I was no fan of the catalogue, I was wowed by the coup de théâtre that is Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty at the Metropolitan Museum (May 4-July 31). The installation was more inventive and inspired than almost anything I've seen pulled off at this venerable institution. (You'll get some … [Read more...] about Necromancy at the Met: Disturbing Allure of Alexander McQueen’s Dark Art

Bronze animal heads created by Ai Weiwei for his outdoor exhibition, "Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads," Grand Army Plaza, New YorkToday was to have been the official launch of Ai Weiwei's Circle of Animals installation at the Pulitzer Fountain in New York. But the end of Osama bin Laden has put an end to that, for today, because it was to have been a ceremonial New York City … [Read more...] about Ai Weiwei “Circle of Animals” Launch in NYC Delayed by Osama Drama UPDATED

Photo: British Monarchy Photostream on FlickrThe Metropolitan Museum has assured me that this isn't going to happen. But when I came upon tomorrow's article for the Scotsman (online tonight), I couldn't help but wonder whether The Dress might yet show up as a late addition to the soon-to-open Alexander McQueen show at the Met. (After all, the director, Tom Campbell, speaks the … [Read more...] about Dept. of Knockoffs: A Spate of Kates (Original dress to be displayed.)