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museums

Monday Jun 29, 2009

LA's Museum of Contemporary Art Says They've Completely Recouped Their Loses, Everything's Fine Now

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On the other side of the coin, following that last post about hard times, we have the opposite over at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art who have announced that everything's fine and dandy with them again on the financial end. Just a few short months ago, you'll recall that the museum was only a few steps from an untimely death, forcing billionaire Eli Broad to step in and throw down $30 million to keep it afloat. Now the museum has said, on top of Broad's massive contribution, they've also raised nearly that same amount from other donors (mostly members of their board), bringing their total haul to $56.9 million and thus making everything good again for them. We're thinking, after seeing a turnaround this quick, it's probably always a good idea to get in friendly with Eli Broad and his rolodex if you ever find yourself running a museum. Also couldn't hurt to be in Los Angeles either, given the types of people who live in the area and their inflated pocketbooks -- just take a look at some of the members of their new board (which replaces those who left in protest earlier this year):

In other MOCA board business Thursday, trustees re-elected Jeffrey Soros as president, and Fred Sands, who recently donated $2 million, was chosen as vice president. Three new trustees were elected: writer-producer Darren Star, whose credits include "Sex and the City," "Melrose Place" and "Beverly Hills, 90210"; Carolyn Clark Powers, who also is on the collectors' committee at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Music Center's dance association; and Marc I. Stern, an investment executive who chairs Los Angeles Opera and is a board member of the Music Center, California Science Center and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.

Friday Jun 26, 2009

Quote of Note | Richard Armstrong

wrightgugg.jpg"It's the right size. It's sufficiently impressive. And it has a romantic, quasi-sexual feel to it."

-Guggenheim director Richard Armstrong on the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed museum

Wednesday Jun 24, 2009

Jerry Saltz Takes on MoMA's Lack of Female Artists via Facebook

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Staying in the museum world for a bit longer, Art Info has the goods on a bit of heated discussion at the hands of New York's art critic, Jerry Saltz. At the start of the month, the critic posted to his Facebook account that he wanted to know why MoMA's collection, on the 4th and 5th floors of their building, only featured 19 pieces by women, roughly 4% of the total. This led to lots of high-profile people in the industry, including MoMA employees, chiming in to give their two cents. Since then, Saltz has moved beyond Facebook, sending a letter to curator Ann Temkin asking for a response, with some very strong words: "...if we can try to close Gitmo, we can try to close this sad gap at MoMA." Makes for some good reading and thinking all around.

New York Museums Fight to Push Back Deaccessioning Bill

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While the debate continues over whether or not the Orange County Museum of Art handled themselves properly with their recent sale of a batch of paintings, the deaccessioning conversation has flared up again on the other coast, finding New York-based museums attempting to fight back a bill making its way through the state government that would regulate art sales used to help make ends meet. The passing of the bill would make it much more difficult sell off pieces of collections to anyone other than other museums or organizations who would keep the art available to the public. Museums in the state, like everywhere else across the county, are suffering from decreased endowments and massive cost-cutting efforts including the Guggenheim's layoffs and the Met's recent announcement that they've just finished their latest round of pink slips and closures, and they aren't keen to see one of their options to keep the doors open getting more difficult and are thus scrambling to keep the bill at bay while trying to avoid coming across as having a lack of concern for the public good. We'll keep you up to date of the bill's progress as it moves forward.

Monday Jun 22, 2009

Guggenheim Launches Online Design Forum

guggforum.jpgJust in time for the release of Gloria Vanderbilt's steamy novel about the widow of a Frank Lloyd Wright-like architect (warning: it involves a discovered cache of letters wrapped with a magenta ribbon), the Guggenheim today launched an online forum that will address the subject of how design can enhance or detract from everyday life. "Between the Over- and Underdesigned," which runs through July 2 on the museum's website, is the first in a series of moderated online discussions on the arts, architecture, and design. Leading the inaugural forum is journalist and critic Aric Chen, who is virtually joined by panelists Sarah Herda, executive director of the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts; Arjo Klamer, professor of the economics of art and culture at Erasmus University in Rotterdam; Ellen Lupton, curator of contemporary design at Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum; and David van der Leer, assistant curator of architecture and design at the Guggenheim. The forum encourages visitors from around the world to submit comments and questions for consideration by the panelists and to participate in two live chat sessions scheduled for this Thursday (with Chen) and next Tuesday (with van der Leer). Lupton has already gotten things off to a rousing start:

Imagine walking into a brand-new public building—let's say it's a museum, a campus student center, or a mental-health clinic. Every detail has been designed, from the drop ceiling to the polished floors. But taped to the security desk is a paper sign, printed out in all-caps Times Roman, that says Restrooms Are Downstairs in the Basement Behind the Boiler Room or Don't Even Think About Asking Me Where the Elevator Is. These homemade signs boil over with irritation, directed at a clueless public who don't know how the building works. What's happening here is not a failure of the public, however, but a failure of design.
Are we overdesigning our homes, our cities, ourselves? Or are we not designing them enough? How do we now define "good design"? Would you ever band together a stack of racy letters with a magenta ribbon? Join the conversation here.

OCMA Director to Keep Buyer's Name Secret Outside of Museum Community

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Some further developments on the Orange County Museum of Art scandal that's been the talk in museum circles these past few days. After secretly selling a handful of paintings to a private collector without first mentioning their desire to sell to other museums in the area, thus potentially keeping the pieces accessible, the OCMA's director, Dennis Szakacs has said that he is more than happy to tell other museums who they sold the paintings to, but they plan to keep it a secret from everyone else:

"The person's identity is going to be known within the museum community," even though OCMA has promised not to divulge it to the general public, said Szakacs, who called the Times from Venice, Italy, on Thursday. If another museum asks, he added, "I would absolutely direct them to the collector, and I would make that introduction, and help facilitate that loan...or give any other museum an opportunity to cultivate this person, build a relationship with them, invite them to be on their board. All these opportunities are available to anyone in the [museum] community."

We're guessing it's just a matter of time until the name gets leaked, but until then, and likely even after, Szakacs and his museum won't be the most popular people in the area for the foreseeable future.

Debbie Reynolds 'Hollywood Museum' Files for Chapter 11

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If you were anxiously awaiting your trip to see all the sights and sounds of Hollywood, it looks like your trip to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee might not be worth it after all. Actress Debbie Reynolds' non-profit that was busy building the Hollywood Motion Picture and Television Museum to house her massive collection of pieces of movie memorabilia has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, having run into a snag when a lender sued the company over the more than a million dollars they say they are still owed. This has brought everything to a halt, with the building only half done (this continuously updated web cam of the structure's progress is apt of be slightly awkward if the bankruptcy keeps things shuttered for long). But fear not, as you could always either a) go to California to see the actual place movies are made, b) travel to one of the few remaining Planet Hollywoods, or c) keep your plans to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, because after all, Dollywood is still there.

Thursday Jun 18, 2009

Paul Smith's Giant Rabbits Aim to Curb Littering in London

bunnybin.jpgJust give the giant green rabbit your garbage and nobody gets hurt. The five-foot-tall bunnies stationed through September at London's Covent Garden and Holland Park actually come in peace, bearing trash bags. Toss in your garbage and their ears light up. The bunny bins were designed by the multitalented Paul Smith as one of 15 projects commissioned for London by the city's Design Museum. "I tried to keep my idea simple and hopefully interesting. I am always amazed how bad people are about litter and how they are so thoughtless," said Smith. "My exhibit is hopefully a tiny step towards making people be better with their rubbish."

While Smith injected his trademark whimsy into rubbish bins, David Adjaye smartened up London's bus shelters, Thomas Heatherwick gathered up quotidian lampposts into a "chandelier" bouquet, and Zaha Hadid, well, she whipped up an entire vision for the city of London. Other top designers who answered the museum's call to give something back to London include Tom Dixon, Neville Brody, and Ron Arad. All 15 projects are on view through October 4 in the Design Museum's "Super Contemporary" exhibition, which is co-sponsored by Beefeater gin. You'll need to remember that last part when the guards give you trouble for drinking gin—make that Beefeater 24 "luxury gin"—in the museum. Just tell them the green bunnies made you do it.

Wednesday Jun 17, 2009

Orange County Museum of Art Secretly Sells Paintings, Opens Back Up Deaccessioning Debate

0618orangemuseum.jpg

Speaking of hard times in the museum industry, the Orange County Museum of Art has found itself being marred by criticism over their recent sale of nearly all of their California Impressionist paintings to a private art collector. All of this was done on the quiet and quick back in March, but was discovered due to a tip to the LA Times's Culture Monster blog. Now that the information has been released, it's brought the debate over deaccessioning back to the table, particularly if the Orange County Museum followed the guidelines set forth by museum organizations (e.g. it's okay if you're selling work to buy more work, but it's not okay to sell work just to pay the bills, and it's also important that you try and get the pieces to other museums, instead of into the hands of collectors who plan to squirrel them away). So now the museum is playing on the defense, trying to smooth the situation over with their critics and explaining the sales. But they've certainly yet to soothe everyone, with or without the full story:

What OCMA says it did is not a clear-cut ethical breach, said Janet Landay, executive director of the Assn. of Art Museum Directors. "Frequently these things are less than black and white," she said, and a private sale to a collector "isn't in that level of egregious behavior" and "could easily be a very legitimate decision."

That doesn't wash with Bolton Colburn, director of the Laguna Art Museum, and Jean Stern, director of the Irvine Museum. Both say that if they'd known the California Impressionists were for sale, they would have sought donors to bankroll bids. The genre, often called "plein air painting," is important to both museums.

Shrinking Endowments Force Guggenheim to Lay Off Eight Percent of Staff

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The Guggenheim is the latest museum foundation to publicly suffer this rocky economic climate, having just announced that they will be laying off eight percent of their workforce, or twenty-five people in total. In addition, as has become par for the course since things took a turn toward the grim last year, they will be cutting back on any and all expenses in an attempt to hopefully keep everything afloat for a bit longer. All of this, of course, is due to the Guggenheim losing a healthy chunk of their regular endowments, like what's happening all across the board in the industry. Though, for now, it appears that there won't be any cutbacks in what's being displayed in their museums around the world, despite its history not discounting that that might also happen around the corner:

Still, [director Richard Armstrong] emphasized, no exhibitions have been canceled and the museum's hours will remain the same. Attendance stands at an all-time high of 1.1 million visitors a year. "The shows will go on a bit longer, but our commitments remain intact," he said.

Tough times have affected the Guggenheim before. In 1994, during another economic downturn, nearly 10 percent of its staff was dismissed, operating hours were reduced and its library was temporarily closed. After 9/11, when the institution was crippled by a drop in tourism, admissions plunged almost 60 percent and revenue ran about half of projections. As a result, about 80 employees, or roughly a fifth of the staff, received pink slips.


Previously

Artist Katie Holten Takes All the Trees, Puts 'Em in a Tree Museum

Will The Judds Launch the Temporary Museum Movement?

Despite Popularity, Louvre Has Concerns About Future

Guggenheim Teams with Google on Shelter Design Contest

Brooklyn Museum Swindler Arrested

Headless Dinos, Paint Throwing Vandals and a Struggling Johnny Appleseed Center

Night at the Museum Sequel Spotlights Smithsonian; Next Stop, MoMA?

A Tour of Renzo Piano's New Modern Wing, Part Three

A Tour of Renzo Piano's New Modern Wing, Part Two

Exclusive Tour of Renzo Piano's New Modern Wing, Part One

Tucson Museum of Art Sees Arraignment of Million Dollar Thief

Rose Art Advisory Panel Gives Thumbs Up to Brandeis' Closure Plans, Supporters Cry Foul

Albertina Museum Gets Pranked Double in Vienna Radio Station's Beyonce Stunt

Getty Trust Cuts 200+ Positions, Institutes Budget Trims and Expects Exhibit Delays

Mr. T, Lincoln, Seinfeld Cast Among Hollywood Wax Museum Figures up for Sale

Dire World Straits Result in Different Outcomes for Museums

What Went Wrong With the Children's Museum of Los Angeles from Birth to Death

The Many Pros and Cons of the Art Institute of Chicago's New Modern Wing

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Awkward Spot, Laying Off While Working with Renzo Piano on Expansion Plans

Seattle Art Museum Possibly Finds Desperately Needed New Renter for Empty Offices

Sports Museum Creditors Asking Artifact Donors to Pay to Get Their Stuff Back

San Diego Museum Thieves Skip the Collection, Hit the ATM

Revised Presidio Museum Plans Slapped with Another New Complaint

Children's Museum of Los Angeles Forced to Close Before It Even Opened

David Ross Complains About Museum Sales, Rose Art Avoids Them (For Now)

Wayne Clough Extends Hours at Smithsonian Hot Spots to Help Revenue Flow

Museum Industry Tries Turning to Tech to Drum Up Interest

Museums Pained Over Both Too Few Visitors and Excess Attendance

Seattle Art Museum Surprised by Huge Number of Visitors

The Louvre Retains Its Place as 'World's Most Popular Museum'

Presidio Museum Registers New Complaint: No Parking

Proposals Unveiled for National Museum of African American History and Culture

Queens Museum of Art Offers Up New York City for Sale

Chicago Councilmen Issue Threats Over Museum Ticket Price Increases

Rose Family Speaks Out Against Brandeis University

Getty Trust the Latest to Suffer Economic Hardships

Layoffs Continue at the Met with Likely More to Come

LA Sports Museum Forced to Close Its Doors, While Santa Cruz Will Remain Open

Hernan Bas Comes to Brooklyn

Newport Film Festival Donates $10,000 to Museum of Modern Art

MoMA Debuts Redesigned Website

Closure of Museum Erotica Proves We're All Doomed

Renderings of the Latest Draft of the Presidio Museum

Museum of Broadcast Communications Celebrates Life of Paul Harvey (Hopes Doing So Will Result in More Donations)

Brandeis Changing Its Story on Closure of Rose Art Museum

New Plans for Presidio Museum Seem to Appease Hatred

The Met Closes Retail Outlets, Acknowledges Possible Layoffs

NY's Sports Museum of America Shuts Down

On the Verge of Collapse, Vanderbilt Museum Finds Gem Behind Basement Wall

Las Vegas Art Museum to Close Its Doors, While Shuttered Minnesota Museum Tries to Figure Out What to Do Next

Wayne Clough's Plans to Keep the Smithsonian's Head Above Water

Carnegie Gets a New Director, Pasadena Loses One, and Vanderbilt Considers Selling Its Dinosaurs

Karim Rashid Curates MAD Show of 'Rad' Radiators

MoMA Updates Identity, Acquires Giant Collection of Fluxus Art

Bruce Boucher Appointed Director of UVA Art Museum

Fringe Fashion: FIT Symposium to Explore Subculture and Style

Jimmy Carter Library Museum to Receive Major Overhaul

LAMoCA Loses Nine Board Members

Big Fight Begins (Ends?) Over Brandeis University's Plans to Close Art Museum and Sell Collection

Smithsonian Releases Shortlist of Architects to Build Museum of African American History

LAMoCA Begins Lay-Offs and Budget Cuts

Rose Art Museum Surprises All By Closing Doors, Planning to Sell Off Its Entire Collection

The Smithsonian's New Secretary Freezes Hiring and Closes Door on Raises and Bonuses

JP Morgan Chase Drops Seattle Art Museum Lease, Leaves Museum $60 Million Short

National Museum of American History Employees Sleep Over Before Inauguration Day

Star Trek Helps Cast the Presidio Museum Debate in a New Light

The National Museum of American History's Quest to Find Worthwhile Obama Collectables

'Walking Piano' from Big Donated to Philadelphia Children's Museum

Los Angeles' Museum of Contemporary Art Defends Selling Pieces of its Collection

A Wedding Night at the Museum

Cultural Outing Suggestions for Your Upcoming Trip to D.C.

Maria Lind Recognized for Curatorial Achievement

French Museums Make Plans to Go Free Beginning in April

Field Museum Latest to be Hit by the Gloomy Economy

Bruce Lee's Townhome Spared Uncertain Future, Will Be Converted Into a Museum

The Met's New Director, Thomas Campbell, Makes First Big Public Announcement Online

Time Flies at the Guggenheim: Museum's 24-Hour Marathon Program Begins Tonight

Santa Cruz Surfing Museum Logo Battle Gets More Heated and Interesting

Santa Cruz Surfing Museum Struggles Financially and with Stolen Logo

Cincinnati Museum Follows Renzo Piano's Greening and Charles Young Talks About Landing MoCA's Top Job

One Time 'Sure Thing' King Tut Exhibit Now Struggling to Make Money

Shakeup at MOCA: Director Steps Down, Board Accepts Broad Bailout

Museums with New Buildings or Renovations Feel the Pinch Even Harder

Architects Go Crazy Over New Presidio Planning While the MoCA Considers Selling Art to Pay Bills

Brooklyn Museum Will Transfer Costume Collection to Metropolitan Museum

New York's Board of Regents Might Allow Museums to Sell Straight From Their Collections

Whitney Names Curators of 2010 Biennial

Museums Deal with Bad Governors, Economic Pressures, and Fire Sales

Scotland's Lighthouse Fends Off Death, Shall Live to See More Days

Roberta Smith Figures Out How to Save LA's MOCA

Copia Creditor Holds Up Bankruptcy While Don Fisher Bows to Presidio Trust's Changes

Grammy Museum Opens Tomorrow, Christopher Hawthorne Hates the Building It Lives In

Eli Broad Says $30 Million He's Giving to MoCA is No Big Deal

Presidio Museum Land Battle is About to Get Worse

Cincinnati Zoo Blasted After Teaming with the Creation Museum, Cancels Shared Promotion

Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art Under Investigation for Campaign Contributions

Robert Mondavi's Copia Museum in Napa Shuts Its Doors

Minnesota Museum of American Art Falls Victim to Financial Crisis, Shuts Down

Heritage Farmstead Museum Theft Proves Massive Fraud Not Just a Woe for Big Institutions

Don't Get MAD at MoMA, Get Even

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