Go tell the Government

Enough complaining from the NYTimes already! Now it's my turn to rant.

Readers may have seen a little whiney article that criticized some major NYC
Museums for taking shows that had big corporate names attached to them last
week, and today they're going after us again for selling paintings to get cash.
And though I suppose I agree with the distaste and pinch of disapproval that
this sort of thing inspires, I must say in response to these articles: Welcome to
the real world. The federal and local governments of this country are shutting
the door on art museums and other institutions (like libraries), and if it takes a
little cozying up to big business, and selling some stuff (the decision to do so is
agonized over, by the way) to stay alive, then that's what we're going to do.

Museums, I would like to point out, are certainly for the public benefit, but do
not always rely on public funds for their annual expenses. Philadelphia, for
instance, counts on the city to maintain the Museum building and pay for
security guards, and guess what? The city doesn't even want to do that
anymore. Thanks to a lack of funding to repair holes in the roof, for instance
(which has leaked for years, okay?), staff have to be laid off, denied even a
cost-of-living raise, and are generally underpaid. This is probably the situation
in the NY Public Library, as we have seen Philadelphia libraries, too, cutting
their hours and laying off staff because they have no money. What good is the
Asher B. Durand if you can never SEE it because the library is closed?

So I think everyone should worry less about institutions being "transparent"
with art sales that fund their survival. Maybe you should think instead about
the institution's own priorities-- like staying OPEN. The "people's" government
has turned its back on us, and if you want to keep something where it hangs,
tell your city to put your tax money where your mouth is.

Posted by jvoris at May 18, 2005 09:57 AM