Much has been made in recent years about the sudden emergence of architects as artistic superstars, and many in the art world have begun to question whether museums are focusing on their facades to the detriment of their collections. But even with all the new construction going on across North America, “most United States museums have only about 5% of their permanent collections on display” at any given time. And the crunch goes beyond gallery space to issues of storage: after all, how a museum preserves the art it isn’t displaying is just as important as how it presents art to the public, but raising money for storage facilities just doesn’t have the allure of getting one’s name on a new building.
Tag: 12.27.05
Are Canada’s Museums Only Skin Deep?
All across Canada, the arts are experiencing a construction boom unlike any other in modern memory, as museums and galleries scramble to open the biggest, best, and most recognizable buildings they can afford. But for all the focus on architecture, Canada’s art institutions still face an uphill battle in bringing great art into the country, and keeping it there. “There’s still no significant, amply funded international biennial being staged on Canadian soil. Compromised acquisition budgets in the major museums prevent our curators from having real clout abroad… But from what we saw in 2005, at least we can say we are heading in the right direction. 2006 will be a year to keep building, but it should also be a year to think hard about what we are going to look at once all that building is done.”
It Was A Very Good Year, Eh?
Canada’s art auction houses had a banner year in 2005, with CAN$46 million in combined profit brought in from sales of Canadian art. “This was almost a 40 per cent jump over last year’s total, and affirmation that the boom in the resale art market that started in the mid-1990s is still going strong, with no ‘market correction’ seeming to loom in the foreseeable future. As usual, it was the painters of wood and water, mountain and sky, horse and sleigh who commanded the highest prices. Yes, more collectors are buying more works by post-Second World War artists — but in most instances the prices paid for a substantial Jack Bush, Michael Snow, Paul-Emile Borduas or Greg Curnoe are less than what these artists may have received when their works were first sold on the primary market.”
Will 2006 Be The Year Of The Electronic Lockdown?
“As the music, television and movie industries move to make more media available online, they are also attempting to keep that content from showing up on peer-to-peer networks or being copied for friends. They are looking to Congress for help. Meanwhile, many consumer electronics firms are hobbling their own devices to protect themselves from potential lawsuits or, in the case of Apple, to make money from selling media to those who bought the company’s hardware… Media companies also told Congress in November that they want new digital FM signals to include an anti-copying flag and that satellite radio companies should not be allowed to create portable players that can store gigs of content.”
Avoiding The Tough Issues
For Australia’s classical music institutions and those who purport to support them, 2005 was a year of standing pat and avoiding the hard debates about the future, says Peter McCallum. Orchestras which are unedeniably artistically vibrant seem at a loss when asked to describe their future, and the federal government first proposed, then backed off a plan for combining struggling ensembles and streamlining business plans. “In music, dissent is not the primary issue but the art form needs challenging work and it is not legislation that keeps this in short supply but a mood of risk avoidance and self-censorship.”
Rethinking Cleveland’s Arts District
“University Circle, Cleveland’s cultural and educational district, is a classic underachiever. It’s like a brilliant but nerdy student who never lives up to his potential, socially or academically… The district holds a magnificent collection of great institutions, from Case Western Reserve University to the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Orchestra and University Hospitals… Nevertheless, the place looks and feels dead most of the time. It is marred by wide, heavily trafficked streets; by inwardly oriented buildings that fail to animate their surroundings; and by a paucity of housing, retail shops and restaurants.” Still, the corporation that made University Circle what it is has recognized that a change is necessary, and is taking steps to make the entertainment district more… well, entertaining.
The Woman Who Turned Around American Ballet Theatre
Since her appointment in April 2004, Rachel Moore, a former dancer, now 41, has taken firm hold of an unwieldy, creaky organization that is also a great one, constantly beset by financial problems, yet somehow managing to produce the spectacular productions and dancers for which it is famous. Since Ms. Moore took over, Ballet Theater’s endowment has risen from $8 million to $15 million; its City Center season this fall showed box office gains of 30 percent over the previous year; and for the first time in six years, an operating deficit has disappeared and a modest surplus is projected when audit results are released next week.