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Alan Gilbert Anthony Tommasini gets his wish. At least my pick, Riccardo Muti, gets the number two spot and is expected to spend six to eight weeks with the orchestra, according to Daniel Wakin's report in today's NY Times. Lorin Maazel still has two more seasons as the orchestra's music director, before passing the baton. So how come, under "What's New" on the NY Phil's home … [Read more...] about It’s Alan Gilbert for the NY Philharmonic (UPDATED)

Here's my piece, "The Seattle Art Museum: A Work in Progress," which appears in today's (Wednesday's) Wall Street Journal. Better late than never, as we always say. Now that it's published, I can blog about some of the things I left out for lack of space and lack of taste. We wouldn't want to offend Rupert Murdoch's sensibilities by mentioning the "Lusty Lady" in the … [Read more...] about Lee’s Seattle Article in the Wall Street Journal

After I sent NPR the link to my post this morning, they changed the mischievous headline. It no longer reads: "State Dept. Museums Plug Cultural Diplomacy." Now it's: "State Department Funds World Museum Exhibits." That's nothing new, and it doesn't capture what's dicey about the new Museums & Community Collaborations Abroad program. Better would have been: "State Department … [Read more...] about More Thoughts on Museums as Foreign Policy Agents (UPDATED)

Erik Ledbetter, senior manager of international programs for the American Association of Museums, responds to my posts (here and here) on the new Museums and Community Collaborations Abroad intiative: AAM is pleased to see so much attention being paid to our new Museums and Community Collaborations Abroad program. However, when Lee characterizes MCCA as "co-opting museums to … [Read more...] about BlogBack: AAM on Its State Department Collaboration

I did indeed have my one sentence of fame on National Public Radio today, in a segment that they (mischievously?) titled: "State Dept. Museums Plug Cultural Diplomacy." Does this mean that institutions that imprudently allow themselves be co-opted by political propagandists will henceforth be know as "State Department Museums"? Taking the other side in this two-minute debate … [Read more...] about My NPR Soundbite on the Museum Propaganda Initiative

I was interviewed this afternoon by Elizabeth Blair of National Public Radio for a segment related to this post, criticizing the new Museums & Community Collaborations Abroad program. With or without my comments, it's scheduled to air tomorrow (Tuesday) on Morning Edition. I'll post a link to the audio, when available. … [Read more...] about CultureGrrl Speaks Tomorrow (Maybe) on NPR

When Hawass Met Hatshepsut I don't know about you, but I was not entirely convinced by the confident and unequivocal identification of Queen Hatshepsut's mummy, as shown in exhaustive and dramatic detail last night on the Discovery Channel's 's documentary, Secrets of Egypt's Lost Queen. The ennobling of the previously anonymous mummy revolved around the Cinderella glass … [Read more...] about Does Zahi Hawass Believe in the Tooth Fairy?

Should museums participate in a program that exploits their expertise to promote U.S. government foreign policy objectives? Jason Kaufman of The Art Newspaper alerts us to a highly disturbing crossing of lines between disinterested scholarship and political agendas: According to the American Association of Museums' description of its new Museums & Community Collaborations … [Read more...] about AAM Collaborates in U.S. Program Co-opting Museums as Agents of Foreign Policy

Chips Off the New Bloch I like what Tyler Green accomplishes on Modern Art Notes this morning, giving a new perspective to the already much celebrated Steven Holl addition (above) to Kansas City's Nelson-Atkins Museum. He does something that few critics ever stoop do do: shares with us the effect of the Bloch Building on real people, not just the "experts." Seen-it-all critics, … [Read more...] about Tyler on Nelson-Atkins’ Bloch Building: Power to the People

The Professional Association of Visual Artists in the Netherlands is demanding a halt to the eBay auction of works that were given to the national art collection in return for a fixed income for participating artists. The group "has sent a letter explaining their indignation about the affair to the Dutch Minister of Culture," according to De Volkskrant, a Dutch newspaper. … [Read more...] about Dutch Artists Threaten Legal Action Over Sale of Their Work

Roberta Lapucci It's a painting that was regarded as a copy of a recognized Caravaggio, "St. Jerome Writing," in the Oratory of St John's Co-Cathedral, Valletta, Malta. Now Roberta Lapucci says the version that she recently examined is also by the master. Roberta Who? The Associated Press has the story, but fails to identify Lapucci. She's a conservator and has been a faculty … [Read more...] about A Newly Discovered Caravaggio? Bring on the Skeptics

Christie's has just issued two important press releases: The first boasts about the first-year performance of its online bidding service, Christie's Live; the second celebrates the auction house's "Historic Worldwide Sales" for the first half of this year. I'll discuss the second release next week. For now, you can get Bloomberg's take on it, here. The release about the … [Read more...] about Christie’s Live: Online Bidding Is Not Very Lively

An important curator from a major big-city museum (not New York) wrote yesterday to take me to task for suggesting that the Klee Center in Bern should have allowed skylights in the galleries, even if it compromised the condition of the art. Although skylights would have made Renzo Piano's achievement even more exciting, I never meant to suggest that architectural aesthetics … [Read more...] about Klee Clarification

It's not official until the NY Times lady gets that story. This means: If it's not Friday (the day when Carol Vogel's "Inside Art" hits the stands), the news hasn't really happened yet. Vogel reports in tomorrow's paper (online tonight) that Damien Hirst's shark is indeed set to menace the Met, as suggested by CultureGrrl two days ago. Apparently it's arriving as a loan from … [Read more...] about Cohen Sends Hirst Shark to the Met; Prince Considers Erecting a Third House

The Zentrum Paul Klee's Secret Skylight During my recent European sojourn, I got to see two of the world's most celebrated recent museum buildings, both by Renzo Piano: His Beyeler Foundation Museum, in Riehen (near Basel), more than lived up to its reputation as one of the most perfect confluences of nature, architecture and art ever created. I was enchanted by … [Read more...] about Piano’s Paul Klee Center: Best Laid Architectural Plans Turned Upside Down