Balenciaga at the De Young: Do we really need another designer clothing show at the De Young? I thought that the Westwood show was the most pretentious piece of bull puckey that I'd seen in a long time - ugly clothes capped by a video with the designer pontificating about the universal importance of her clothes. Really? Ripped leather and hideous, unwearable clothes are of philosophical importance? At least Balenciaga's designs are elegant but really, how many clothing shows do we really need? If the De Young wants to focus on textiles, why not textiles from Indonesia or ballet costumes from the Ballet Russe?
"A major retrospective of Spanish designer Cristobal Balenciaga, one of the last century's most noted couturiers, is scheduled to open at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco in Spring 2011, museum officials announced today."
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/chronstyle/detail?blogid=51&entry_id=61474#ixzz0lkuLbdrs
http://www.private-collections.org/
The NY Times reports that after-hours museum events are a very mixed bag;
This does not surprise me. The people who come to the museum to listen to the music of groups like the Barbarians aren't really interested in the art. They want to drink, dance and P-A-R-T-Y. I don't know what the answer is but I suspect trying to cater to the lowest common denominator isn't it - maybe our local museums should take a lesson from Grace McCann Morley, the first director of SF MOMA and arguably the most successful. She put together a superb program of lectures, films and events that raised museum membership and attendance to record levels. Maybe if the museums would focus on events for those who love the art instead of trying to be trendy, they might be more successful. Recent after hours events at SFMOMA had very little to do with the museum’s gallery programming, which includes its 75th-anniversary exhibition and a Luc Tuymans retrospective.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/arts/design/18sfculture.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
The State of California Considers Bill That Will Hurt K-12 Arts Education
Essentially this bill means that students who attend career and technical education high schools in the State of California do not have to have any arts instruction, at all. They still have to have all the other subjects required for graduation, but not the arts.
And the really bad news is that this bill appears to be moving full steam ahead.
http://www.artsjournal.com/dewey21c/
After reading about all this bad news, I calmed myself by a walk through the Asian, where some new (to me) beautiful things are on display, part of the Spring rotation. What gives me hope is that, even in our modern version of the Dark Ages, there are those who continue to make art (like the artists whose spaces I visited last weekend) and those who cherish and protect art like the wonderful people at the Asian (and in museums all around the world).
First, newly on view in the South Asian galleries is a recently acquired silver bowl featuring scenes of Zoroastrian rulers. Made in a Burmese silver shop for a well-to-do Parsee family in India, this impressive bowl measures more than a foot in diameter and was meant for use in an annual ceremony honoring deceased relatives.
Ritual food vessel, approx. 900-850 BCE. China. Bronze. The Avery Brundage Collection, AAM# B60B1056
More at: http://www.asianart.org/blog/
Indigenous sculpture from Southeast Asia hangs in the home of gallerist Sabrina Buell.
It's for a good cause but at $100 to $500 a crack, this is obviously not for the lower classes. Oh well, I guess it's the 21st century version of Lord and Lady Bountiful. http://www.private-collections.org/
The NY Times reports that after-hours museum events are a very mixed bag;
This does not surprise me. The people who come to the museum to listen to the music of groups like the Barbarians aren't really interested in the art. They want to drink, dance and P-A-R-T-Y. I don't know what the answer is but I suspect trying to cater to the lowest common denominator isn't it - maybe our local museums should take a lesson from Grace McCann Morley, the first director of SF MOMA and arguably the most successful. She put together a superb program of lectures, films and events that raised museum membership and attendance to record levels. Maybe if the museums would focus on events for those who love the art instead of trying to be trendy, they might be more successful. Recent after hours events at SFMOMA had very little to do with the museum’s gallery programming, which includes its 75th-anniversary exhibition and a Luc Tuymans retrospective.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/arts/design/18sfculture.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
The State of California Considers Bill That Will Hurt K-12 Arts Education
Essentially this bill means that students who attend career and technical education high schools in the State of California do not have to have any arts instruction, at all. They still have to have all the other subjects required for graduation, but not the arts.
And the really bad news is that this bill appears to be moving full steam ahead.
http://www.artsjournal.com/dewey21c/
After reading about all this bad news, I calmed myself by a walk through the Asian, where some new (to me) beautiful things are on display, part of the Spring rotation. What gives me hope is that, even in our modern version of the Dark Ages, there are those who continue to make art (like the artists whose spaces I visited last weekend) and those who cherish and protect art like the wonderful people at the Asian (and in museums all around the world).
More at: http://www.asianart.org/blog/
1 comment:
I'm with you about the fashion shows - too many! I'll bet they are money makers for the Museum, which is why they get air time.
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