CAA News

Several university art museums or their school administrations have recently sold, or have attempted to sell, artworks and objects in their collections to offset operating costs. In response to this, CAA has joined a task force supporting the educational importance of preserving collections at university museums and galleries. The task force—which includes representatives from the American Association of Museums, the Association of Art Museum Directors, the Association of College and University Museums and Galleries, and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation—has established a two-pronged effort: 1) to recognize museums as integral educational resources in the university accreditation process; and 2) to heighten public awareness of the educational value of art museum collections.

Members of the task force are meeting with accreditation organizations throughout the country to enlist their support for the recognition of art museums as integral educational resources.

A petition has been prepared that reaffirms the integrity and value of university and college museums.

Please show support for our efforts by adding your name and affiliation to this petition, which will be published in the Chronicle of Higher Education this fall. Please encourage your university, college, or museum to sign it as well.

Thank you for your support on this critical issue.

Paul B. Jaskot, President, and Linda Downs, Executive Director

Paul Jaskot, president of the CAA Board of Directors, has made new appointments to CAA’s three scholarly journals.

Karen Lang, associate professor of art history at the University of Southern California, has been appointed the next editor-in-chief of The Art Bulletin, succeeding Richard J. Powell of Duke University. Lang begins her three-year term on July 1, 2010, with the preceding year as editor designate.

Michael Cole is the new reviews editor for The Art Bulletin, succeeding David J. Roxburgh of Harvard University, who served the journal for three years. Cole became reviews editor designate in February and took over from Roxburgh this month.

Joining the Art Bulletin Editorial Board for four-year terms beginning July 1, 2009, are: Linda Komaroff, Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Thelma K. Thomas, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University; and Eugene Wang, Harvard University. The newly selected editorial-board chair is Natalie Kampen of Barnard College, who will serve for two years.

At Art Journal, Howard Singerman of the University of Virginia has been appointed the new reviews editor; he will take over from Liz Kotz of the University of California, Riverside, and serve from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2013, with a year as reviews editor designate starting this month.

Also at Art Journal, Rachel Weiss of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Constance DeJong of Hunter College, City University of New York, have joined the Art Journal Editorial Board for the next four years.

Now on the caa.reviews Editorial Board is Michael Ann Holly of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, who will serve for four years. In addition, seven new field editors for books and related media have been chosen:

• Molly Emma Aitken, City College, City University of New York, South and Southeast Asian art
• Darby English, University of Chicago, contemporary art
• Jonathan Massey, Syracuse University, architecture and urbanism, 1800–present
• Adelheid Mers, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, arts administration and museum studies (a new field-editor position)
• Tanya Sheehan, Rutgers University, photography
• Janis Tomlinson, University Museums at the University of Delaware, Spanish art
• Tony White, Indiana University, Bloomington, artist’s books and books for artists (a new field-editor position)

Field editors work with the journal for three years, starting on July 1, 2009.

All editors and editorial-board members are chosen from an open call for nominations and self-nominations, published in at least two issues of CAA News (usually January and March) and on the CAA website.

The J. Paul Getty Trust in Los Angeles has returned full ownership of the Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals to Columbia University in New York. Produced since 1934 at Columbia’s Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, the internet-based index has been operated by both institutions for twenty-six years, with the Getty providing funding and technical and administrative support while Columbia managed its production.

An essential research tool, the Avery Index provides a comprehensive listing of journal articles published worldwide on architecture and design, city planning, interior design, landscape architecture, and historic preservation. At present, about 225 institutions are subscribers, which comprise nearly all major academic institutions internationally who support research in architecture.

Last spring, in connection with Getty-wide budget reductions, the Getty Research Institute (GRI) announced its intention to transfer the index back to Columbia. Moreover, says GRI director Thomas Gaehtgens, the index has become increasingly self-supporting.

Columbia and the Getty will ensure a seamless transition for users of the index, coordinating continuing distribution agreements as they have in the past. The Getty will continue providing administrative and technical support during the transition period from July 1, 2009 until December 31, 2009.

In addition to yesterday’s grant announcement, CAA is proud to report a second grant received from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). As part of the Access to Artistic Excellence program, the NEA awarded $20,000 to CAA in May 2009 to support ARTspace at the 2010 Annual Conference in Chicago. Designed to engage artist members, ARTspace sessions are offered free of charge and include live interviews with prominent artists; film, video, and multimedia screenings; performances; and presentations.

The NEA website has posted a list of all recipients of the Access to Artistic Excellence grant in the category of visual arts.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has awarded $50,000 to CAA as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The grant will support the preservation of jobs that are threatened by declines in philanthropic and other support during the current economic downturn.

CAA was among 631 nonprofit organizations, including numerous art museums and organizations nationwide, that received a total of nearly $29.8 million. To read the full list of grantees, please visit the NEA website.

Passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama in February 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is a $787 billion stimulus bill that provided $50 million to the NEA for distribution to arts groups.

Part-time faculty in the state of Oregon scored a victory late last month, when their state legislature overwhelmingly approved the Oregon Faculty and College Excellence (FACE) Act. The bill will provide access to healthcare insurance to part-time faculty at community colleges and universities through the Oregon Educator’s Benefit Board plan. The bill also requires schools to track and annually report on faculty staffing and salary ratios, to be reviewed by the legislature and governor.

The Senate vote was unanimous: 30-0; the House passed the bill 54 to 1. The FACE Act now goes to Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski for his signature. Jillian Smith and Rob Wagner from AFT Oregon have the complete story.

Faculty and College Excellence (FACE), a branch of the American Federation of Teachers, is a national campaign that advocates for equity in pay and benefits for contingent faculty members through organizing, legislative advocacy, and collective bargaining. Another goal is to ensure that three-quarters of undergraduate courses are taught by full-time tenure and tenure-track faculty, and that qualified contingent faculty have the opportunity to move into such positions when they become available. The Oregon legislation is the first time that elements of FACE have been adopted by a state.

CAA has 135 individual and 21 institutional members in Oregon.

Individual CAA members may submit a session proposal for the centennial Annual Conference, taking place February 9–12, 2011, in New York. Proposals should cover the breadth of current thought and research in art, art and architectural history, theory and criticism, pedagogical issues, museum and curatorial practice, conservation, and developments in technology.

The Annual Conference Committee welcomes session proposals that include the work of established artists and scholars, along with that of younger scholars, emerging and midcareer artists, and graduate students. Particularly welcome are those sessions that highlight interdisciplinary work. Artists are especially encouraged to propose sessions appropriate to dialogue and information exchange relevant to artists.

Session proposals are only accepted online; paper forms and postal mailings are not required. To set up an account, please email Lauren Stark, CAA manager of programs, who will register your email address and provide you with a password. For full details on the submission process, please visit Chair a Conference Session. Deadline: September 1, 2009; no late applications are accepted.