John,
Salute!
VERY well said.....with one exception: I would take out the part about
European countries valuing art more than the US (OK, they might...but).  I
would point out that government levels of funding are decreasing rapidly in
Europe as well and many of their museums are being forced to find other
sources of funding without the tradition of philanthropy enjoyed by American
museums. Witness the new director of the Louvre who was hired for his
fundraising abilities.
Lori Allen,
Graduate Student, UMSL

"Well behaved women rarely make history."
                                  - Anonymous

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of John Suau
Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2002 5:45 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: McGuggenheim and Museums in the U.S.


OK, I have to send this response I sent the Village Voice.  I can't resist,
my thoughts about the Guggenheim are too intense!  This is it:

While the Guggenheim is facing some tough times ahead, I don't agree that it
is (necessarily) Tom Krens' fault.  September 11th and the economic
slowdown, combined with a very ambitious Krens--whose vision of a global
museum is only two or three continents shy of reality--have made for a very
difficult economic scenario for the museum chain.

The Guggenheim is not alone in this situation, but it is perhaps the most
vulnerable because of Krens' impatience to circle the globe with Modern art
and Gehry building extravaganzas. Similarly, the Smithsonian Institution is
on round three of layoffs (all Trust employees), with Federal layoffs
looming in the near future.

Washington, DC and New York City, for obvious reasons, have been hit hard by
the drop in tourism--most specifically "cultural tourism." Museums-- not
just art museums but zoos, arboreta, history museums, historic houses--all
depend upon the tourism industry for a large part of their annual income.

"Krens set out to reach more people, and make more money."
Reaching more people, Mr. Saltz, is what museums like the Guggenheim need to
do, especially if they are driven by a mission of education.  The facilities
Krens had when he took the job were big enough to display only 5% of the
collections.  Krens' "big idea" was to make the Guggenheim's enormous
collections available to more global communities.  This is the future of
business, no?  Making money is a necessity for any museum seeking to grow
and sustain itself. Making a lot of money is crucial for megamuseums like
the Smithsonian, Metropolitan, and Guggenheim.

"Unlike many European institutions, our museums aren't primarily government
funded..."
Yes, unlike many European institutions, U.S. museum do not benefit from
state funding at the levels that Spain, Italy, France, and England enjoy.
But then again, our society does not value art nearly as much as the
European Community does.  So, we have a different paradigm-one that includes
philanthropy and private support from corporations.

The Guggenheim has been criticized harshly, as has the Smithsonian's new
secretary, Larry Small, for the "quid pro quo" relationships with funders.
Unethical? Absolutely.  Understandable?  The costs of putting on a "good
show" in the museum world, like Broadway, are enormous.  And resources are
dwindling. I understand this reality of the museum world.

Krens has managed to establish a "constellation" of museums, building on the
inherited "global" presence the museum has had since 1969, when Peggy
Guggenheim donated her Venetian Palace and exquisite collection to the
Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.  Krens has constructed an even more
international empire of museums and museum affiliations and, like it or not,
I suspect there will more.

So far, his only failed attempt was in Salzburg. But that very failure
enabled the spectacular Bilbao deal, which, in turn, made Berlin's small but
important exhibit space viable.

Krens was then able to build a strategic alliance with the likes of the
Hermitage in Russia.  The great space in Las Vegas was a drastic shift from
his New York Gehry Project, but it has successfully drawn new (read=> not
usual) feet to Guggenheim floors, and, until September 11, the numbers
looked impressive.

So, the SoHo building closed. Krens builds the Guggenheim empire on  "the
total museum experience"--from the museum's architecture to the artwork
inside, and ending in the museum store. SoHo didn't work.  So close it and
rethink the space. Ironically, his vision for the new New York facility is
needed now more than ever, and with Gehry's spectacular vernacular, it will
(we hope) bring the droves back to the big Apple. And they will come to see
art.  As Martha Stewart says, "It's a good thing."

I wrote my graduate thesis on the Bilbao project, visited and toured the
museum before and after it was completed, and even interviewed Krens on two
occasions--at the Bilbao press opening and later, in his office in New York
City.

The Gehry building is breathtaking.  I can't imagine anyone ever having
visited and not having a "wow" experience, inside and out. I would return
for a fourth visit.  Admittedly, I had a "purer" experience architecturally
speaking in the building space before it was finished and filled with art.
But there are spaces around and inside the building that are one-of-a-kind
experiences, especially as a museum professional, an avid museum visitor,
and former resident of Spain.

Bilbao was, by far, the country's ugliest city before Gehry's building
landed. In the eight years that I lived in Madrid, I passed through Bilbao
once on my way to San Sebastian. Krens and Gehry, with substantial $ help
from the Basques, transformed a city's image and put Bilbao on the cultural
tourism map in Spain, in Europe, and (eh-hem) globally.  What a feat! The
Basques' heads are still reeling from the "Guggenheim Effect."

Krens may be slowing down, but the Guggenheim Empire has hardly folded.
Economic downturns affect all sectors of the economy and the largest
organizations are often the hardest hit.  The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
the Smithsonian Institution, MoMA, and the Guggenheim will all be struggling
to overcome the double whammy that came in the last quarter of 2001. But I
suspect these institutions will survive and thanks to visionaries like
Krens, they will expand the notion of how museums define themselves.

As far as the McDonaldization of the art world, I, personally, hope to see a
"Gehry Guggenheim" in Peoria, Illinois--the sooner, the better!


John Suau
The opinion expressed here is my own and is in no way a reflection of my
employer.

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