Floor Scrapers, 1876
31 1/2 x 39 1/2 inches,
Oil on canvas
I really enjoyed the exhibition even if it's not my usual area of interest. Sometimes you just need to see a room full of beautifully painted canvases.
I wandered around the museum for a little while and was, as usual, taken aback but how strange this institution is. I've been several times but it always gets me. (Don't get me started on the insane wall colors). The Brooklyn Museum strives to be a teaching institution, which I'm all for in theory. The way they try to achieve this, though, is kinda wacky. Rather than use a strictly chronological or geographical curatorial approach (which has its own flaws, I admit), they group works together by themes. Or something. I'm not sure. Sometimes it works out just fine, like this area of what they are now calling "plain art."
(The Brooklyn Museum has very low lights in some areas, so I apologize that my pictures are a little fuzzy)
I'm not going to go into the long, complex history art has had with this genre or the social implications of calling something "primitive," but I will say I'm not sure deeming it "plain art" really changes anything. However, it made me think. So, success!
But then you get things like this:
Late 19th century portrait on the left, check. Early 20th century portrait, check. Uh, 1960s photograph of a naked lady stuffed in a box? Check? Something tells me the photographer, Ruth Bernhard, would not have appreciated being so literally shoved into an area devoted to women and interiors. I sure didn't appreciate it.
One thing I really did appreciate, though, was a new project installed at the museum to show off some of the permanent collection not generally seen.
There's a big ol' problem in the art world of the ethical implications of an institution selling off works in the permanent collection to fund anything other than more collecting. I understand the problem because it requires people to be smart in how they handle deaccessioning and no one will ever agree on what that means. I also have a problem with institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art being stuffed to the gills with, well, stuff but only showing 5% of its permanent collection. And they are still buying. AND they "suggest" that people pay $20 to get in because the museum has problems paying for maintenance and they pay their staff a pittance. SELL SOMETHING SITTING ON A SHELF SO OTHER PEOPLE CAN SEE IT AND YOU CAN PAY YOUR STAFF ADEQUATE, LIVABLE SALARIES.
Sigh.
Where was I? Oh yeah, the storage. The Brooklyn Museum received a grant to fund this room, which I think is wonderful. It's not the whole collection but it's a start. And I got to see this amazing bike:
I also really like how the Brooklyn Museum collects contemporary art despite having a varied permanent collection. This new acquisition was pretty cool:
Yoram Wolberger, Red Indian #4 (Spearman), 2008
3-d digital scanning, CNC digital sculpting, reinforced fiberglass composites, urethane paint
There's something wonderful about supersizing something originally so small. It makes you look at it differently. I don't pretend to know the deeper implications of this work because I'm not familiar with the artist, but I'm sure it didn't involve this unfortunate curatorial decision, which I assure you was deliberate:
Yes, making the Native American look like he is about to attack the sweet lady in that painting is a great idea. Great.
Even weirder? These works are crammed in a little corner with a great Dana Schutz painting.
When I moved to New York, Dana Schutz was the art world's new golden child. I imagine the wait list for buying one of her works is still a mile long, even in this economy. And the Brooklyn Museum, in a very smart move, acquired a great painting. And promptly stuck it in a corner. With a toy Indian. Attacking another painting.
Sigh. It's a thin line between playful and ridiculous.
When it comes down to it, I like the Brooklyn Museum. I always want to go when I'm here because like I said above, it's wacky. I may have some real problems with how they do things but it never fails to be interesting. And they put on some incredible exhibitions. Maybe the Brooklyn Museum is like that friend everyone has that is so awesome but has a few personality quirks that are almost unforgivable. Almost.
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