I read the article late last night, and quickly, but my impression was that
it was hard to tell whether Smith objected primarily to the way the
exhibitions were conceived or the way they were executed.  Most of her text
seemed to focus on execution, but then some of her language, particularly in
her conclusion, seemed to offer a more general regret over exhibitions that
address historical and cultural themes rather than aesthetics.

I suspect the article will generate a bit of heat, but I'm reasonably
sympathetic with some of her criticism.  If the exhibitions she cites are
really poorly done, well, then it's hard to fault her on that.  (I haven't
been to any of the shows.)  There's been a lot of complaint before about
preachy labels and "commercial" shows.

On the other hand, if you read her article selectively, then it could read
as a defense of what I think is an old-world, largely discredited view of
art as existing somewhere apart and above the rest of culture.  It's hard to
subscribe to that if you're a lowly art historian -- especially if your
subject is anything other than high-status, formalist work.

History museums and art museums have different missions, I accept, but it's
not as easy to separate the two in practice as one might suppose.  The art
doesn't go away when a painting is shown in a historical exhibit; the
history is still attached when it's up at the Met.  I think there's a place
for both, but once the question turns into a political debate, we will
discuss this as if it's an either/or situation -- one right, one wrong.

Short version -- IMHO, the author offers what may turn out to be good
criticism of some specific exhibitions, but may have generalized from that
criticism a little too broadly to indict an entire class (or two) of
exhibition.  I think that, from Smith's descriptions, there's not much basis
for comparing the Armani and the Made in California exhibits except that she
didn't like either of them.  Assuming they're as bad as she says, they seem
to have committed very different sins.  Wonder what she thought of the
recent vernacular photography show at the Met, the one Michael Kimmelman
liked so much.

Funny that I would have so much to say about an article I read only once.  I
think that's because Smith hit some hot buttons and went right at some big
differences in how people see the proper role of museums.

Martha Hagood
Baltimore

----- Original Message -----
From: Katherine Khalife <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, December 03, 2000 9:22 AM
Subject: New York Times Article


> In a New York Times article today, "Memo to Art Museums: Don't Give Up on
> Art," Roberta Smith writes, "The lineup of fall shows suggests that museum
> professionals, driven by the desire to be financially secure, wildly
popular
> or socially relevant, opt for one of two alternatives: exhibitions that
look
> like upscale stores, or exhibitions that look like historical society
> displays."
>
> Your thoughts on it?
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/03/arts/03SMIT.html  (You may have to
register
> for a free NY Times password in order to read the article online.)
>
> --
> Katherine Khalife
> PO Box 68
> Bird in Hand, PA 17505
> http://www.museummarketingtips.com
> [log in to unmask]
>
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
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