CAA News Today
Rose Art Museum Updates
posted by Christopher Howard — January 29, 2009
Ford W. Bell, president of the American Association of Museums, has issued a Statement on the Closure of the Rose Museum at Brandeis University. Read it at the Boston Globe’s Exhibitionist blog.
Artinfo.com has published the response from the Association of Art Museum Directors.
The Association of College and University Museums and Galleries, a CAA affiliated society, has published its statement, ACUMG Responds to the Closure of the Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University.
Also as reported in the Boston Globe, the president of Brandeis University, Jehuda Reinharz, said that while he would not reconsider closing the museum, he is entertaining the possibility that his school might not sell the Rose Art Museum’s art collection and reaffirmed that the museum building would become a “fine arts teaching center with studio space and an exhibition gallery.” CAA notes that the Rose Art Museum as it stands now is already this.
Other updates and articles can be found at Bloomberg.com, the New York Times, and Modern Art Notes, including a Q&A with Michael Rush, director of the Rose Art Museum. Time also interviewed Rush on Tuesday, and Lee Rosenbaum at CultureGrrl has additional information.
Donn Zaretsky at Art Law Blog is also writing about the Rose situation, with deaccessioning in mind.
CAA Protests Rose Art Museum Closing and Art Collection Sale
posted by Christopher Howard — January 29, 2009
The College Art Association (CAA) was shocked and dismayed to learn of the decision by Brandeis University to close the Rose Art Museum and sell its entire art collection for operating revenue.
CAA supports the Codes of Ethics of the American Association of Museums and the Association of Art Museum Directors, which clearly state that works of art in museum collections are held as a public trust and that any proceeds of sales must only support the acquisition of new works. However, perceiving an entire art collection as a disposable financial asset and then dismantling that collection wholesale to cover other university expenses is deeply troubling for all college and university collections.
The closing of the museum at Brandeis will be devastating to the academic community, not only affecting our colleagues at the museum and students and faculty in the Department of Fine Arts, which offers programs in both studio art and art history, but also depriving the entire arts-loving public in New England and around the world. 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.
According to news reports, neither Brandeis University nor the Rose Art Museum is on the brink of economic collapse, nor are they unable to maintain the collections. Given that no clear explanation has been offered on the school’s financial exigencies, the closure of the Rose Art Museum and the sale of its collection appear to be in violation of professional museum standards and of academic transparency and due process; the decision also demonstrates a lack of academic responsibility and fiduciary foresight. We appeal to the Trustees of Brandeis to revisit and reverse their decision.
Paul B. Jaskot
President, College Art Association
Professor of Art History
Department of the History of Art and Architecture
DePaul University
Linda Downs
Executive Director, College Art Association
Download a PDF of this letter from the CAA website.
Film Screenings at the Los Angeles Conference
posted by Christopher Howard — January 29, 2009
What would a trip to Tinseltown be without taking in a few films? During the upcoming CAA Annual Conference in Los Angeles, a pair of excellent documentaries on contemporary artists will be screened.
Join us at REDCAT: The Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT) in downtown Los Angeles for a screening of The Cool School, a documentary about how a few renegade artists built the Los Angeles art scene from scratch. The principal cast includes: Ed Ruscha, Dennis Hopper, Frank Gehry, Billy Al Bengston, Irving Blum, and Robert Irwin. The film’s director, Morgan Neville, will be on hand for a Q&A session after the film.
The screening of The Cool School will take place on Thursday, February 26, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. Tickets are $15; space is limited. Tickets can be purchased by calling CAA Member Services at 212-691-1051, ext 12., or in the registration area at the Los Angeles Convention Center only; they cannot be sold or purchased at REDCAT.
Produced and directed by Jeffrey Perkins, The Painter Sam Francis, a feature-length film portrait of the artist Sam Francis (1923–1994), portrays his entire life and professional career. Forty years in the making, the film shows the artist at work in his studios from 1969 to 1992; it also includes interviews with the artist, his family members, art historians, and artists such as Ed Ruscha, James Turrell, and Bruce Conner. The film is an intimate portrait of an important artist at work, as well as an personal view as told by the artist himself and those that knew him.
The Painter Sam Francis will be screened on Friday, February 27, and Saturday, Febru-ary 28, 12:30–2:00 PM, in the Ahmanson Auditorium at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; admission if free.
Rose Art Museum Updates
posted by Christopher Howard — January 29, 2009
Ford W. Bell, president of the American Association of Museums, has issued a Statement on the Closure of the Rose Museum at Brandeis University. Read it at the Boston Globe’s Exhibitionist blog.
Artinfo.com has published the response from the Association of Art Museum Directors.
The Association of College and University Museums and Galleries, a CAA affiliated society, has published its statement, ACUMG Responds to the Closure of the Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University.
Also as reported in the Boston Globe, the president of Brandeis University, Jehuda Reinharz, said that while he would not reconsider closing the museum, he is entertaining the possibility that his school might not sell the Rose Art Museum’s art collection and reaffirmed that the museum building would become a “fine arts teaching center with studio space and an exhibition gallery.” CAA notes that the Rose Art Museum as it stands now is already this.
Other updates and articles can be found at Bloomberg.com, the New York Times, and Modern Art Notes, including a Q&A with Michael Rush, director of the Rose Art Museum. Time also interviewed Rush on Tuesday, and Lee Rosenbaum at CultureGrrl has additional information.
Donn Zaretsky at Art Law Blog is also writing about the Rose situation, with deaccessioning in mind.
CAA Protests Rose Art Museum Closing and Art Collection Sale
posted by Christopher Howard — January 29, 2009
The College Art Association (CAA) was shocked and dismayed to learn of the decision by Brandeis University to close the Rose Art Museum and sell its entire art collection for operating revenue.
CAA supports the Codes of Ethics of the American Association of Museums and the Association of Art Museum Directors, which clearly state that works of art in museum collections are held as a public trust and that any proceeds of sales must only support the acquisition of new works. However, perceiving an entire art collection as a disposable financial asset and then dismantling that collection wholesale to cover other university expenses is deeply troubling for all college and university collections.
The closing of the museum at Brandeis will be devastating to the academic community, not only affecting our colleagues at the museum and students and faculty in the Department of Fine Arts, which offers programs in both studio art and art history, but also depriving the entire arts-loving public in New England and around the world. 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.
According to news reports, neither Brandeis University nor the Rose Art Museum is on the brink of economic collapse, nor are they unable to maintain the collections. Given that no clear explanation has been offered on the school’s financial exigencies, the closure of the Rose Art Museum and the sale of its collection appear to be in violation of professional museum standards and of academic transparency and due process; the decision also demonstrates a lack of academic responsibility and fiduciary foresight. We appeal to the Trustees of Brandeis to revisit and reverse their decision.
Paul B. Jaskot
President, College Art Association
Professor of Art History
Department of the History of Art and Architecture
DePaul University
Linda Downs
Executive Director, College Art Association
Download a PDF of this letter from the CAA website.
Brandeis University to Close Rose Art Museum and Sell Collection
posted by Christopher Howard — January 27, 2009
Geoff Edgers and Peter Schworm of the Boston Globe reported yesterday that Brandeis University, a private research university in Waltham, Massachussets, plans to close the Rose Art Museum and sell its collection of modern and contemporary masterworks. The measure to shutter the museum, which was founded in 1961, in late summer 2009 is one of several drastic decisions the school is making as it faces a budget deficit of several million over the next couple years.
The school’s website boasts that the museum “houses what is widely recognized as the finest collection of modern and contemporary art in New England. With more than 6,000 objects—paintings, sculptures, works on paper and new media—the Rose collection has particular strengths in American Modernism, American Social Realism, post-War American, Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, Surrealism and Photorealism.”
“The decision to shut the museum,” writes Scott Jaschik of Inside Higher Ed, “runs directly counter to the ethics codes of art and museum associations, which permit the sale of art donated for a museum only for the purchase of additional art, not to be shifted to other purposes.” The Association of College and University Museums and Galleries, a CAA affilated society, has already spoken out opposing the closure.
Relatedly, Inside Higher Ed also reports on shrinking college and university endowments.
Winter Obituaries in the Arts
posted by Christopher Howard — January 26, 2009
CAA recognizes the lives and achievements of the following artists, scholars, designers, architects, philanthropists, and collectors.
- Joan Abelló, a Spanish painter who lived in Barcelona, died on December 25, 2008, one day before he would have turned 86
- Leonard E. B. Andrews, a collector of Andrew Wyeth’s “Helga Pictures” and an arts philanthropist, died on January 2, 2009, in Malvern, Pennsylvania. He was 83
- Manjit Bawa, an Indian figurative painter of mythological and Sufi spiritual themes, died on December 29, 2008, in New Delhi. He was 67
- Aldo Crommelynck, an artist and master printer who worked with artists ranging from Matisse, Picasso, and Miró to Jim Dine, Chuck Close, and Terry Winters, died on December 22, 2008, in Paris, France. He was 77
- Hannah Frank, a Scottish artist and sculptor, died on December 18, 2008. She was 100
- Betty Freeman, an art collector and supporter of twentieth-century music, died on January 3, 2009, at the age of 97
- Shigeo Fukuda, a graphic designer and poster artist, died on January 11, 2009, in Tokyo, Japan. He was 76
- Betty Goodwin, a highly acclaimed Canadian artist, died on December 1, 2008, at the age of 85
- Robert Graham, a Los Angeles–based artist who focused on monumental public bronze sculpture, including those depicting Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Joe Louis, and Charlie Parker, died on December 27, 2008. He was 70
- Robert Gumbiner, a physician, healthcare innovator, and founder of the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, California, died on January 20, 2009. He was 85
- Jan Kaplický, a Czech architect whose radical, organic building forms can be seen across Europe and the UK, died on January 14, 2009, at the age of 71
- Michael Levy, an art historian and director of the National Gallery in London from 1973 to 1987, died on December 28, 2008, at the age of 81
- Pierre Mendell, a graphic designer and poster artist who worked on the visual identity of the International Design Museum in Munich, Germany, died on December 19, 2008. He was 79
- Govinder Nazran, an illustrator and designer turned fine artist, died on December 30, 2008, at the age of 44
- Ann Sperry, a New York–based sculptor and feminist whose work was collected by art institutions nationwide, died on November 27, 2008
- Coosje van Bruggen, an art historian, critic, and artist who collaborated with her husband Claes Oldenburg, died on January 10, 2009, in Los Angeles. She was 66
- Andrew Wyeth, a respected and reviled American realist painter, died on January 16, 2009, at his home in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. He was 91
- Ray Yoshida, a painter and collage artist who taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for many years, died on January 10, 2009, in Kauai, Hawai‘i. He was 78
Read all past obituaries in the arts on the CAA website.
CAA Publishes Its Directories of Graduate Programs in the Arts
posted by Christopher Howard — January 26, 2009
New editions of CAA’s two Directories of Graduate Programs in the Arts are now available for purchase. Listing more than six hundred programs in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere worldwide, the guides are the most comprehensive resources available for prospective graduate students in the visual arts. Colleges, universities, and independent art schools are all included.
The first volume, Graduate Programs in Art History: The CAA Directory, includes over 260 programs that offer a master’s, doctoral, or related degrees in art and architectural history, visual studies, museum and curatorial studies, arts administration, library science, and more.
The second book, Graduate Programs in the Visual Arts: The CAA Directory, describes 350-plus programs that offer a master’s or other advanced degree in in studio art, graphic and web design, art education, film production, conservation, heritage preservation, and more.
Compiled in 2008 and conveniently divided into two separate volumes, these easy-to-use directories present detailed information on: descriptions of special courses; numbers, names, and specializations of faculty; facilities such as libraries, studios, and labs; student opportunities for research and work; information on financial aid, fellowships, and assistantships; and details on housing, health insurance, and other practical matters.
An index lists schools alphabetically and by state and country for quick reference. An introductory essay presents a detailed description of the elements of a program entry, including explanations of the various kinds of programs and degrees offered, placing the search and selection process in context.
Although these invaluable books are designed primarily for students who are considering graduate study in the arts, they also provide a wealth of data for academic departments and programs, researchers, publishers, and funders.
Each directory is available for $39.95 for members and $49.95 for nonmembers, plus shipping and handling. Please visit CAA’s online store to get your copies of the directories today!
Please note: If you are ordering on behalf of an institution of department within a university, please use this special order form (or request one from Anitra Haendel, CAA office services and purchasing coordinator) and submit it via fax or post. At this time, online purchases can only be processed for individuals.
Katy Siegel Named Art Journal Editor
posted by Christopher Howard — January 16, 2009
Katy Siegel, associate professor of art history at Hunter College in New York, is the new editor-in-chief of Art Journal. She will begin her three-year term on July 1, 2009, and her first issue will appear in spring 2010. Siegel succeeds Judith Rodenbeck of Sarah Lawrence College, who has led the journal since July 2006.
In addition to her work in the City University of New York system, teaching at both Hunter and the Graduate Center, Siegel has also been a senior critic in the Yale University School of Art and was a visiting associate professor at Princeton University from 2007 to 2009. She earned her PhD at the University of Texas at Austin in 1995.
Siegel has published widely on modern and contemporary art, with essays in books and catalogues for Richard Tuttle, Dana Schutz, Takashi Murakami, Lisa Yuskavage, Bernard Frize, and more. Among her own books are Abstract Expressionism (forthcoming from Phaidon, 2010) and Art Works: Money (with Paul Mattick; New York: Thames and Hudson, 2004). She wrote the primary essay for Jeff Koons (Berlin: Taschen, 2008), and Reaktion Books will publish her latest project, ‘Since ’45’: Contemporary Art in the Age of Extremes.
A contributing editor to Artforum, she has written criticism, essays, and reviews for the magazine since 1998. Siegel also maintains a public face, participating in panels and delivering lectures and papers nationwide. At the 2009 CAA Annual Conference in Los Angeles, she is chairing a session entitled “The Age of Extremes.”
Her recent guest-curated exhibition, High Times, Hard Times: New York Painting, 1967–75, with the artist David Reed as advisor, traveled internationally from 2006 to 2008 to great critical acclaim.
CAA Letter to Barack Obama
posted by Christopher Howard — January 15, 2009
On January 14, 2009, CAA President Paul Jaskot and CAA Executive Director Linda Downs sent a letter to Bill Ivey of President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team, discussing the needs of artists and scholars in the coming years.
CAA has signed onto letters with many other nonprofit organizations urging full funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Institute for Library and Museum Services (IMLS). However, CAA felt that it was necessary to have a separate voice on issues of importance to its members.
CAA will have a presence in Washington, DC, in March 2009 at the Humanities Advocacy Day and Arts Advocacy Day. Jaskot and Downs will be making separate appointments to visit the new chairs of the NEA, NEH and IMLS once they have been appointed.
CAA Letter to President-elect Barack Obama
January 14, 2009
President-elect Barack Obama
President-elect Transition Team
Dear President-elect Barack Obama:
College Art Association, representing over 16,000 artists, art historians, scholars, curators, collectors, art publishers, universities, and libraries, looks forward to working with you and your administration to ensure the revitalization of support for professional artists and art historians in America.
College Art Association:
- Promotes excellence in scholarship and teaching in the history and criticism of the visual arts and in creativity and technical skill in the teaching and practices of art;
- Facilitates the exchange of ideas and information among all people interested in art and the history of art;
- Advocates comprehensive and inclusive education in the visual arts;
- Speaks for its membership on issues affecting the visual arts and humanities;
- Publishes scholarly journals, art criticism, and artists’ writings;
- Fosters career development and professional advancement;
- Identifies and develops sources of funding for the practice of art and for scholarship in the arts and humanities;
- Supports and honors the accomplishments of artists, art historians, and critics; and
- Articulates and affirms the highest ethical standards in the conduct of the profession.
As the leading association in the world that represents professional visual-arts practitioners, CAA endorses your campaign platform’s support of the arts. We strongly agree that in order to remain competitive in the global economy America must reinvigorate the creativity and innovation that has made this country great.
CAA would like your Administration to include not only community arts organizations in its arts program of support but, also, to give greater focus to professional artists and art historians in academia, art museums, and independent professional visual-arts practitioners. Visual art must be reinstated as a respected and esteemed profession in America.
CAA advocates that professionally educated artists and art historians teach K–16 students. To meet this end we must offer all students, K–16, equal access to visual-arts education taught by professionally trained instructors in studio art and art history.
We also believe that public/private partnerships should expand not only between schools and communities but also among the academic community within colleges, universities, and art schools.
We endorse the creation of an art corps comprised of professionally educated artists and art historians who will work with students in urban schools on community-based projects that raise the awareness of the importance of creativity and professional artists. CAA would also like to see an emphasis on visual arts in government-sponsored projects such as AmeriCorps, in both urban and rural areas that address job preparation as well as environmental issues. Professional artists are eager to work on environmental programs that involve community-organized design projects.
CAA would like to emphasize that, in order to publicly champion the importance of arts education, America needs to support the proper preparation and training of artists and art historians who teach at the primary, secondary, and college/university levels. Visual arts need to become part of the core curriculum in each grade and at every stage of education.
CAA fully supports increased funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute for Library and Museum Services. Specifically, professional artists need to be supported on an individual basis, and we strongly recommend reinstatement of the Individual Artist Fellowship program to enable our best artists to pursue and develop their work. We have found that grants to other areas of the arts and humanities far exceed federal and private foundation grants to professional visual artists. It would be an outstanding legacy of this administration to again make federal support of the arts a priority in defending the promotion of our nation’s cultural heritage.
CAA supports legislation that will allow scholars to publish so-called orphan works, which are copyrighted works—such as books, pictures, music, recordings, or films—whose copyright owners cannot be identified or located. This legislation has been introduced in prior Congresses, and we hope it will be passed during the new Congress. Due to the risks of publishing copyrighted material without obtaining permission, many art historians and scholars are unable to publish orphan works, thereby causing great detriment to scholarly publishing, research and public access to these works. At the same time, orphan works legislation must be carefully crafted in respect to the legitimate interests and concerns of visual artists, including photographers.
CAA supports your platform for cultural diplomacy by enhancing international opportunities offered through agencies, such as the United States Information Agency, for exhibitions, teaching, research, and lecture tours by professional visual artists and art historians. CAA’s international membership testifies to the promotion of cultural understanding that occurs through international cultural exchange. Every year CAA seeks funding to support travel of international artists and art historians to its Annual Conference. Current Homeland Security laws and a lack of government funding make it difficult for foreign artists and scholars to present their work and research at conferences of their peers. CAA endorses streamlining the visa process and providing government support for international exchanges of graduate students and professional artists and art historians.
CAA supports providing health care to professional artists and art historians. This is a major concern for professional artists and art historians who are not associated with a college, university, or art museum and attempt to work independently to support themselves. As you are aware, each state has its own laws on insurance. Professional organizations such as CAA would like to offer national healthcare coverage for artists but are prohibited from offering insurance to its members due to differences in state laws. CAA endorses the creation of a National Health Insurance Exchange as one step in the direction of coverage for artists. In the meantime, we encourage you to press for government reforms of insurance laws so that professional organizations such as CAA will be in a position to assist its members to obtain universal coverage.
CAA endorses tax fairness for artists. We have worked hard—and will continue to work hard—to support the Artist-Museum Partnership Act, which was introduced in the prior Congress by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The Act amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow artists to deduct the fair market value of their work, rather than just the costs of the materials, when they make charitable contributions of that work. Not only has the current tax law been harmful to artists, the creative legacy of a whole generation of professional visual artists has not been donated to our great public institutions because of disincentives to donate created by the current tax laws.
CAA realizes that change takes the support and involvement of every member of society. CAA is committed to promoting the support of professional visual artists and art historians in all areas of American society. We stand ready to help provide information on visual arts professionals, suggestions for specific programs, or any other aid that you may find helpful in promoting a better world for artists and art historians in America.
With your leadership and the groundswell of support for activism, we can reestablish the professional visual-arts practitioner as a contributor to positive cultural change in America.
Sincerely yours,
Paul Jaskot, President, CAA, and Professor of Art and Art History, DePaul University; and Linda Downs, Executive Director, CAA