Staying Up Late at Museums

Posted on October 31, 2011 by admin

Rubin Museum of Art

A participant taking a photograph of the painting she would sleep under in a Dream-Over at the Rubin Museum of Art.

Darcey Howard had her reasons for showing up at the Rubin Museum of Art in her pajamas. Seeing the Himalayan paintings and multilayered manuscript pages was not one of them. People waiting in line into the night this summer to see the “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “It was the opportunity to spend a night in a museum,” she said. “I was interested in the access off-hours, of being there when it was almost taboo.”

But there was nothing illicit about her arrival after dark. She did not set off the alarms when she tiptoed into the Rubin, in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, and the 12 hours that followed were nothing like “Night at the Museum,” the 2006 comedy that starred Ben Stiller as a new guard coping with fossils gone wild at a more famous and more established museum uptown.

Ms. Howard, 45, had paid $55 to sleep on a gallery floor alongside 80 others who had brought their own pillows, blankets and toothbrushes for what the Rubin had advertised as a “Dream-Over.” The Rubin even had “dream interpreters” — psychologists and psychiatrists led by Edward Nersessian, a professor from Weill Cornell Medical College — to wake them in the morning and take notes on their dreams. Or, at least, what they could remember of them. Continue reading →

Taking the Protests to the Art World

Posted on October 28, 2011 by admin

The Occupy Wall Street movement took on the art world, sort of, this week, with a splinter group, Occupy Museums. Convened on Thursday evening through a Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr posts, about 20 people made their way from the Museum of Modern Art to the New Museum to a downtown gallery, protesting what they say is the conflation of art and commerce, the snobbery of the art market and high ticket prices at museums, which they called the “temples of the cultural elite.”

Outside the New Museum they chanted: “Museums, open your minds and your hearts, and listen. Art is for everyone! The people are at your door.” Standing in a circle on the sidewalk, they used the call-and-repeat system known as the people’s mic, which has become a hallmark of the movement. The people’s mic is an “art form,” Noah Fischer, an artist and organizer of Occupy Museums, said later, promising that it was only the first new artistic tool to emerge from the protests. “I thing art is going a change from this movement,” he said, “because it’s going to unstick the current paradigm, which is based on money.” Continue reading →

Creative Time’s ‘Living as Form’

Posted on October 21, 2011 by admin

A view of “Living as Form” in the historic Essex Street Market. (all photos by the author)

What is the connection between art and social change? According to the received wisdom, art means an aesthetic object. Sometimes it also means a performance or an action — but then, it’s always an artificial one. Art is a deed staged not to accomplish a social or political goal but as an end in itself. Yes, an act could be art, but what about activism?

Creative Time is a visionary public art organization has built a program on challenging the definitions of art and muddying accepted categories. In addition to mounting inventive interventionist projects, such as Paul Chan’s “Waiting for Godot” in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Creative Time also gives out the annual Leonore Annenberg Prize for Art and Social Change. The $25,000 award honors “an artist who has committed his or her life’s work to promoting social justice in surprising and profound ways.” The first recipients, in 2009, were the Yes Men, an artist-activist (artivist?) pair that goes around impersonating greedy corporate leaders in order to publicly shame them.Would I call the Yes Men’s interventions art? (No.) Did it matter? (No.) Here, Creative Time asserted, were art and activism together. It was possible to do and be both. Maybe we needn’t adhere to definitions — or, more than that, maybe definitions are malleable.

Continue reading →

But is it art? Brooklyn artist plans to give birth in gallery

Posted on October 19, 2011 by admin

Pregnant Performance Artist Plans Gallery Birth

“The Birth of Baby X” is an exhibit by artist Marni Kotak at the Microscope Gallery in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

A performance artist is planning a month-long piece on her pregnancy that she hopes will end with her delivering the baby before an audience at a Brooklyn art gallery.

”The Birth of Baby X” is an exhibit from Brooklyn artist Marni Kotak, and she is setting up a birthing room at the Microscope Gallery in Bushwick, equipped with a bed, an inflatable birthing pool, a shower and a rocking chair.

With the baby’s due-date uncertain, the gallery is putting together a list of visitors to notify when she goes into labor. Kotak will be surrounded by an audience, but will also be supported by a midwife, a doula, and her husband, according to the New York Post. She told the paper that she sees human life as “the most profound work of art,” and she is “no more worried than I would be if I were having the baby at home or in a hospital.” Continue reading →

Art world fears “big chill” as Frieze Week begins

Posted on October 18, 2011 by admin

Will Chinese buyers ride to the rescue? Will the super-rich decide painting and sculpture is a better investment than volatile stocks or risky debt?

Those are the big questions on the art world’s lips as hundreds of galleries and collectors descend on London for the annual post-war and contemporary frenzy centred around the October 13-16 Frieze Art Fair in Regent’s Park.

The annual event held in a giant marquee has quickly become a key date for anyone wanting to acquire top works by modern and living painters. It has spawned a merry-go-round of auctions, rival fairs like the Pavilion of Art & Design PAD.L, major exhibitions, gallery openings including a new White Cube space and, of course, endless glitzy, champagne-fuelled parties.

But after two years of strong growth in prices, particularly for top artists, global financial turmoil once again threatens to bring the chill of uncertainty to the week as it did in the wake of the 2008 Lehman Brothers collapse.

Matthew Slotover, co-founder of Frieze who is considered one of the art world’s most powerful figures, conceded that concerns over slow economic growth and Europe’s debt crisis could weigh on the fair. But he, like many others, argued that investors may prefer to put their money into a painting than a paper asset. Continue reading →

Diverse Communities Squeezed Out of Arts Funding, US Report Says

Posted on October 17, 2011 by admin

endangered-mural-FNL-2

In this Sept. 13, 2011 photo, a member of the media, the widow of the artist and an art conservator survey damage to Arnold Belkin’s 1972 mural “Against Domestic Colonialism,” which adorns a playground wall in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, in New York. The national organization Heritage Preservation says Belkin’s mural is one of the most endangered public murals in the country and the group, as well as members of the community, are looking into ways to preserve it. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

There are billions of dollars to be had by philanthropic art foundations throughout the United States, but a new report from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy shows emerging art groups that serve poorer communities aren’t getting nearly the kind of funding they need.

The watchdog group’s report, released Monday, shows that billions of dollars in arts funding continue to serve a mostly shrinking, wealthy, white audience.A large portion of funding goes to more traditional sources such as museums, operas and symphonies. But recent surveys show attendance at those institutions is declining, while more people are interested in community-based art initiatives.

“We’ve got the vast majority of resources going to a very small number of institutions,” said Aaron Dorfman, executive director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. “That’s not healthy for the arts in America.” According to the study, the largest arts organizations with budgets exceeding $5 million represent only 2 percent of the nonprofit arts and culture sector. Yet those groups received 55 percent of foundation funding for the arts in 2009. Only 10 percent of funding went to underserved populations. However, the study’s author acknowledged the report may not account for every dollar granted to help reach diverse audiences at larger institutions. The study is meant to encourage funders to provide grants for a broader range of groups so programs can be more relevant and effective. Otherwise, the “pronounced imbalance restricts the expressive life of millions of people,” the study said. Continue reading →

Fresh face to usher in new era for NGV

Posted on October 14, 2011 by admin

AFR MAgazine Cover November 2009. Naomi Milgrom ceo of Sussan Group, photo by Paul Jones

The National Gallery of Victoria will see Naomi Milgrom take over as president of the Council of Trustees. Photo: Paul Jones

RETAILER and philanthropist Naomi Milgrom is set to be appointed the next president of the National Gallery of Victoria’s Council of Trustees. The appointment, subject to state government approval, will result in the chief executive of the Sussan and Sportsgirl chains taking the reins from lawyer and philanthropist Allan Myers, QC, who is retiring in April after nine years in the voluntary post. Ms Milgrom’s appointment is likely to signal major changes in the gallery’s direction as it also coincides with the departure of NGV director Gerard Vaughan, who is retiring next July after 13 years, two years before his latest five-year contract expires. Dr Vaughan and Mr Myers are highly regarded as a team and appreciated for their respect for the NGV’s rich collection as much as their fund-raising abilities. However, they were accused of not doing enough to promote contemporary art.

By contrast Ms Milgrom’s name is synonymous with contemporary art. She is a former chairwoman of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) in Southbank, the daughter of collectors Marc and Eva Besen, a collector herself, and is married to long-time collector and champion of contemporary art John Kaldor. Ms Milgrom is credited with encouraging her husband to donate 200 contemporary works from his collection worth between $35 million and $40 million to the Art Gallery of NSW in May this year. It stands as the largest single donation to a public gallery in Australia. Advertisement: Story continues below Ms Milgrom served on the NGV’s Council of Trustees in 2003 and 2004 and was reappointed by the Baillieu government in July as one of a number of arts board appointments to provide ”fresh perspectives”. Continue reading →

Tate Told To Sort Bullying

Posted on October 12, 2011 by admin

Trustees order management to get workplace under control

Something is not quite right within the seemingly idyllic Tate Organization, as gallery attendants accuse senior and middle managers of bullying. Cutbacks and replacement staff are to blame for internal friction within the large art organisation. A few months ago the case was so bad that the institution’s administration decided to intervene. The Board of Trustees, appointed by the Prime Minister, include media mogul, Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of Rupert, Lord Browne, the controversial former BP chief and Journalist, Lionel Barber all have voiced their disgust by saying they were “appalled by recent revelations” and that no employees should face the sort of working environment that seems to exist at Tate. It is everyones right to be able to work in a safe environment, without being bullied or discriminated against. To stop the situation escalating, the administration has had to implement a directive, consisting of independent monitoring, leadership training and “respect” workshops. One former employee described their work experience as like, “going through hell”. There was a “horrendous” atmosphere created by “callous and cold” management styles, age discrimination and unfair demands. The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has now called for action from the gallery management. Union representative Alan Leighton has said “Government cutbacks in national museums, galleries and government departments have led to restructuring and staff reductions. Consequently, staff at all levels are being asked to carry heavier loads. This causes extra pressure which can lead to bullying and perceived bullying.” A current staff member said yesterday that workers were “petrified”, and that disciplinary procedures for allegedly minor offences were being used to cut numbers. A survey by ORC International, brought in by the institution, has also shown that only 26 percent of 586 Tate staff taking part, believe their pay was “reasonable” compared with people in similar jobs in other institutions.
Some have blamed Government cutbacks in national museums, galleries and government departments which have led to restructuring and staff reductions as a cause. Consequently, staff at all levels are being asked to carry heavier loads. This generates extra pressure which can lead to bullying and perceived bullying.” Apparently, most recent staff surveys have revealed improvements in terms of the employees’ working conditions since the new measures. In January, the Tate brought in a research company, ORC International, to produce an “interpretative report” based on its survey of Tate employees. ORC International concluded that “the level of discrimination is in line with 2006″. One staff member highlighted a “climate of disrespect” within the Tate. The institution scored well on “pride” and “sense of belonging”. The trustees insisted that there should be a “zero tolerance policy” towards bullying within the organisation, with whistle-blowing policies, independent monitors and leadership training proposed as solutions.

29 Aug 2011

Complex to shut as big projects end their reign in Spain

Posted on October 10, 2011 by admin

International, Center, Architecture, Vertical, Spain, Traditional Culture, Oscar Niemeyer, Arts Culture and Entertainment.

The Niemeyer centre, designed by 103-year-old Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, in the Spanish city of Aviles. Photo: Getty Images

An arts centre is the latest big-spend venture to run into trouble.

A DAZZLING €44 million ($A60.8 million) arts centre in the northern Spanish city of Aviles is to close after six months amid political squabbling as the country asks itself what to do with a glut of glittering new museums.

The Niemeyer centre, which was designed by the celebrated 103-year-old Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, was intended to have the same impact on the industrial Cantabrian sea port as the Guggenheim museum has had on Bilbao, 240 kilometres to the east.

As Spain tries to digest the museums and arts centres designed by world-famous architects during the boom years of public investment in culture of the past two decades, a new regional government has forced the centre to shut its doors for at least the next two months. Continue reading →

Richard Hamilton, the original pop artist, dies at 89

Posted on September 21, 2011 by admin

Swingeing London by Richard Hamilton, showing Rolling Stone Mick Jagger in the back of a police car: a great modern history painting. Photograph: Serpentine

Richard Hamilton, the most influential British artist of the 20th century, has died aged 89. In his long, productive life he created the most important and enduring works of any British modern painter.

This may sound a surprising claim. We have our national icons and our pop celebrities. But neither Francis Bacon nor Lucian Freud nor Damien Hirst has shaped modern art as Hamilton did when he put a lolly with the word POP on it in the hand of a muscleman in his 1956 collage, Just What is it that Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing? Continue reading →

Oliver Cloke

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