A Rose by any other name...

First, let's get a group of links out of the way, so you can read some of the details for yourselves.

1. Time- This made time. That's good.
   
2. The Daily Beast- The beginning of the money trail starts to leak
   
3. MAN interview- He has also released a PDF statement calling for blood and excusing any staff that want to leave.
   
4. CAA- Favorite academic quote yet:
   

   The teaching of art and art history in higher education is untenable without the direct study of physical works of art, and it appears the Brandeis Board of Trustees has disregarded the kind of scholarship and creativity that have been the hallmark of CAA members for nearly one hundred years.

5. Conde Nast Portfolio A and B- Surprised by the fact that they care, but not surprised by the desire to deregulate of the markets vis-a-vis the rose should be able to sell anything they want.
   
6. Innermost parts- A synopsis on what went down when the students got to talk to Pres. Reinharz
7. The Hoot-Talk about anything you'd like but the Rose, which is what everyone wants to talk about...
   
8. Tom Lentz of Harvard talks- And I for one would love to see Harvard, MFA, ICA, or whoever will step up with the funds talk to Brandeis prior to open market sale. If the Rose is going to close, then at least find homes for these works in public collections.
   

As far as I can tell, this whole idea is in order to circumvent MA state law for non-profit entities regarding gains vs. initial capital of the Endowment fund- long story short, if they sell the works for more than one dollar, they get instant gains on the books, and can spend money again. Their laudable emergency fund is going to run out this year as they cannot touch the endowment's initial capital

About the Rose

So, the Board of Overseers at Brandeis have deemed in their infinite wisdom that the Rose art museum is expendable. That, to paraphrase Laurie Fendrich, art is a commodity after all.

Beyond the obvious stuff, the closing a museum is bad, the lengthy lawsuits are on the way, and the Brandeis is going to have a massive loss of status in the arts community, there are quite a few moving parts to watch.

It seems that the Board of Overseers didn't consider discussing this with the Board of the Rose, important past donors, or almost anyone- save the state AG, who is involved because of their non-profit status. The woman whose name is on the walls takes this as a massive affront to her and her husband who expanded the building to exhibit the collection she loves.

The current director of the museum, Michael Rush must be in a swirl right now. There are indications that the review by a certain auction house he had conducted after he was hired may be the cause of the myopic $Dollar$Signs$ that are blinding the Board. As it is slowly coming out that this is a top down problem, I doubt people will hold this against him. In spring of '07 (PDF) the Brandeis Magazine they send to alumni had an article that went in to great depth about the numerous changes Rush was hoping to engender at the museum. All positive. Nothing like what is happening.

Now, to use a metaphor, I've never seen a University have a bank scare before, but do you think that some students might transfer out of an institution that has to sell the art on the walls to survive? I do.

And what does this do for the school's future? Would you donate art to Brandeis? I sure wouldn't without some serious legalese connected to the donation. So there is almost no chance of ever having a museum at the University again. This may also dissuade people considering other financial gifts.

And last, how bad has Brandeis been hit? Will Yehuda Reinharz leave anything uncut? Is Brandeis the first school to go to a meta-major system with a summer semester? Either way good luck Brandeis. You're going to need it.

Abstract Innovations

Q-Tip seems like he is in every music blog right now. The Renaissance has quickly taken on "classic" status. I like it, so don't expect me to hate on it here. But I just listened to Abstract Innovations, and it's also pretty good. If I have all my information right, it is a mix tape put together by Dub MD and came out a minute ago. So I get caught sleeping again.

You'll find that the tape sounds kinda like a certain recent release from Q-Tip. Three of the songs get worked on here and developed after this mixtape into The Renaissance versions that were released late last year. But wait, not only are there pre-production versions of songs you already know, there are also some sweet tracks on here that you probably haven't heard. Poetry with Erykah Badu for example or I Got Rhythm Ft Royce The 5' 9 & Lena Horne. Go find it.

In fact, let me introduce you to Capt. Crawl. He's your new best friend. Remember MP3's suck and if you can go buy the vinyl you'll be happier and the artist you like will be able to buy dinner tonight. So listen to the free download and then go support the artists.[/soapbox]

Hello World

The Rose is closing down. The annual at the DeCordova is going Biannual. Bill Arning is leaving for TX. John Updike dies. Bottom feeder mass market galleries are even closing. The LEF is not going to give money to artists anymore. The ICA just gave an award to an employee of a major gallery- whose owner happens to be on the ICA's board- and had the least interesting work in the competition. The art world is in transition locally.

Scotch whisky is looking like a good idea right about now. But seriously, there seems to be a need for some serious soul searching in the Boston Art scene. BRS and Greg Cook are talking about it. The more I learn about other cities, I find that Boston has per-capita the worst art scene around. I don't blame the substantial presence of NY in our backyard for the lack of exhibition space here. Contributing causes could be the price of real estate and the number of schools in the area. Or, it could be some melange of issues that will never be overcome.

I, and others need to be very exact when speaking about this issue. We could start by taking stock in what we have. We have numerous commercial galleries in Boston. They are diverse no matter how much people complain about them. No one should confuse the Nielsen, GASP, Sampson, and Diamond-Newman galleries.

One could complain about large local institute/museums- Phillips Andover, The Davis, DeCordova, The Rose, or the ICA for examples but in reality we have quite a few great local groups that put on pretty good shows. The most obvious one, the MFA has lots of great unnoticed shows, and if bringing in boring blockbusters to advertise on the sides of buses for tourists is how they pay their bills, so be it. And we haven't even talked about Harvard, BC, BU, SMFA, Tufts, Simmons, MIT, etc which at any given time one will have a knock you out show that will not be seen elsewhere.

Now we get to the other spaces. Non-commercial, institute, musuem or educational spaces. Other. The great missing link in Boston in my opinion. Boston proper is enclosed by spaces like Essex, the Danforth, or the South Shore. All three have a balance of classes, exhibitions, and bill paying worries. All three would love to see a proposal for exhibition. All three would love if you took or taught a class. And all three are often wrongly overlooked as they don't have a singular driving force that is obvious from the outside.

We lost artSpace@16 last summer. And that left a hole in Boston's fabric. We have the Berwick, and I for one believe we need more non-profit oranizations like the Berwick. Totally divorced from relying on classes for their money. Founded by someone or a group who means well with a singular focus. There are micro-locations in town with the Distillery or FPAC that have local members to serve, but always take proposals. Are there other places? Does the BCA counts as other and how does it take proposals? I'm running out of "other" here. And that I think is the problem. If you are not a prof/student or a member of a commercial gallery the next best thing is for you to start your own space?

If there is a lack of space, and this is something that people truly care about, than our goal should be to find each other and make something happen. Similar to Pure from 2006. To use an example from history, we are in the same place that Bambaataa was before he created the Zulu Nation. No one really cares about what artists are doing in Boston, so let's make it happen on our own. Let's put our time to good use and work together. I'll let you know when I have a good idea. For now, just taking stock is a good start.