The Art Institute Blog

On October 26, 2009 the Art Institute began
it's own blog
and announced that :


We’re looking forward to using this space to give you behind-the-scenes access to the museum. Think of it as the deepest, darkest secrets of the Art Institute. Kidding of course, but we’re really excited to tell you all the stories that—quite simply put—don’t have a place in our other communications. And it’s certainly a work in progress, so we look forward to your feedback along the way.




Well, that's exciting!

A chance to interact with museum personnell
concerning things that interest me.


But will they -- or can they --
really answer any questions?

Or.... is this just
a very cost effective
promotional tool
written, on demand,
by staffers who hope
nobody pesters them?

Below are the comments
I have posted to date:


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What our Director is Reading June 8, 2010

Wow!
This is the most fascinating entry, yet,
since it's done by James Cuno, the director,
as he discusses the Enlightenment
and the notion of an
"encyclopedic museum"

Jim C. (as he signs himself)
is a rather game fellow
who has always responded
to the various letters
I have sent him over the past four years,
usually asking why the inclusivity
that is applied to the encylopedic collections of historic art
does not apply to contemporary paintings and sculpture
(where all traditional portraits and landscapes are
categorically excluded)


To this post of his,
I query whether reason
can be applied to the vetting of art works
and ask why the democratic ideals
of the Enlightenment
have not been extended to
American cultural institutions, like his own,
that are invariably run
by self-selecting boards of directors
drawn from the social and economic elite.


And as always,
he graciously and carefully
responds to my query,
while side-stepping
my questions.

BTW, this is a ground-breaking post
in a couple of ways.


It's the first entry on the AIC blog
that actually invites discussion
about important issues,
and it may be the first time
that the director a top ranked museum
has made himself available for interaction
on the internet.

And it's way - way more serious
than the chit-chat on the Indianapolis Museum of Art blog
which is mostly about their damn garden.


But so far, there
have only been two responses
other than my own -
one of which was an "attaboy"
and the other a "oh, this is so exciting"

Looks like hardly anyone
really cares about what their museum is doing.

Because, of course, everyone (except me)
knows that it's not their museum.



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On-line Sleuthing April 23, 2010

In this post, Sam Quigley
Vice President for Collections Management,
Imaging, and Information Technology /
Museum Chief Information Officer,
proudly announces how much additional
information is now being added
to entries in the museum's online collection.

So, I asked him why the images are so small.

It's not like publishing a book
where it costs more to make
the pictures really big.

And his response to this question
was to ignore it
and then turn the comments off
for his post.

Guess he didn't want to answer me
(or anyone else)

But this is a very important issue,
especially to those interested
in what the museum keeps off view
-- because the online image is often the way
it will ever be seen.

For example, last year the A.I.C.
showed many of its tapestries
for the first time in over 50 years,
and now, once again, they are all off view.
The details on those objects
are wonderful and delicious,
but few will be able to see
them again in their lifetime.


And then there are those around the world
who will never visit Chicago,
but may wish to see a work
which is discussed by art historians,
as I have been doing in my reading
of Norris Kelly Smith.

Since his primary aesthetic interest
is in music,
perhaps Mr. Quigley
simply does not agree that the
most important information
about a work of visual art
is how it looks.

Which is a real problem.

Not that the A.I.C. is the very worst
in this regard,
but it certainly is not among the best.
Here's a run-down of various other museum web sites.





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Behind the Paint March 3, 2010

Whatever happened to this statue?
I vaguely remember
seeing it decades ago,
but when will it ever go
on display again?

Apparently, the blogger
has no idea.

BTW - most of the posters on this blog
remain anonymous to everyone
except each other,
since they don't share their last names
and there is no such thing
as an online personnell directory.

Why is there such a corporate culture
of secrecy at the A.I.C. ?




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Coming Soon January 12, 2010

Why can't this blogger tell us
where the Chinese art
will be located
when the AIC reopens
it's Asian rooms next Fall?

Will the new space
have room for more than one
horizontal scroll display case?

Does the A.I.C. staff assume
that nobody cares?