from CAAH:

At 01:05 PM 9/24/99 -0400, Diana Louise Linden wrote [on CAAH]:
>I'm sure most of you have heard about NYC Mayor Rudy Guiliani and the
>Brooklyn Museum. If not, the NYTimes is covering the issue daily.
>Guiliani has vowed to cut subsidies to the Museum, and also, to evit the
>Museum, because of its upcoming exhibition "Sensation: Young British
>Artists from the Saactchi Collection".

It seems quite transparent to me that Giuliani is taking this stance in
order to establish a set of conservative credentials to serve his current
and future political ambitions. Is he really willing to sacrifice a great
art institution for his personal purposes. Does he hold New York City and
our cultural life is so little regard? Does he believe that what happens
in NYC must occur only at his pleasure? Why is there no a great outpouring
of protest on this. He has never been a friend of the visual arts and even
has tried to claim that the visual arts are not due the same protections
under the first amendment as other forms of expression.

Giuliani's critique of the Brooklyn Museum exhibit is not central to the
issue. Nobody really cares if he likes it or not. Rather, it is his use
(misuse) of power to control cultural content that must be the focus of
opposition.

What are our professional institutions doing to counteract this
ego-maniacal monster?

Robert Baron

===========================
Robert A. Baron
mailto:[log in to unmask]
http://www.pipeline.com/~rabaron/

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ museum-l.html. You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] The body of the message should read "Signoff
Museum-L" (without the quotes).