Comments on: How The New Museum Committed Suicide With Banality http://www.artfagcity.com/2009/11/03/how-the-new-museum-committed-suicide-with-banality/ New York art news and reviews. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 04:20:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: clownfarthttp://www.artfagcity.com/2009/11/03/how-the-new-museum-committed-suicide-with-banality/comment-page-1/#comment-194721 clownfart Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:45:46 +0000 http://www.artfagcity.com/?p=11083#comment-194721 Was this intended as the cover of the October issue? I want to plaster it all over the place, but so far have only been able to appreciate it in the blogosphere.I second the A fucking plus to William Powhida! Was this intended as the cover of the October issue? I want to plaster it all over the place, but so far have only been able to appreciate it in the blogosphere.I second the A fucking plus to William Powhida!

]]> By: clownfarthttp://www.artfagcity.com/2009/11/03/how-the-new-museum-committed-suicide-with-banality/comment-page-1/#comment-317619 clownfart Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:45:00 +0000 http://www.artfagcity.com/?p=11083#comment-317619 Was this intended as the cover of the October issue? I want to plaster it all over the place, but so far have only been able to appreciate it in the blogosphere.I second the A fucking plus to William Powhida! Was this intended as the cover of the October issue? I want to plaster it all over the place, but so far have only been able to appreciate it in the blogosphere.I second the A fucking plus to William Powhida!

]]> By: mikehttp://www.artfagcity.com/2009/11/03/how-the-new-museum-committed-suicide-with-banality/comment-page-1/#comment-194673 mike Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:08:47 +0000 http://www.artfagcity.com/?p=11083#comment-194673 A-Fucking-Plus, William Powhida A-Fucking-Plus, William Powhida

]]> By: mikehttp://www.artfagcity.com/2009/11/03/how-the-new-museum-committed-suicide-with-banality/comment-page-1/#comment-317618 mike Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:08:00 +0000 http://www.artfagcity.com/?p=11083#comment-317618 A-Fucking-Plus, William Powhida A-Fucking-Plus, William Powhida

]]> By: claflechehttp://www.artfagcity.com/2009/11/03/how-the-new-museum-committed-suicide-with-banality/comment-page-1/#comment-194338 clafleche Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:03:30 +0000 http://www.artfagcity.com/?p=11083#comment-194338 Maybe this has been said or is completely wrong but I honestly believe the main problem with the New Museum is it's architecture. The ground-floor glass room hidden behind the bookstore and cafeteria tables is a good example but I think it extends to the rest of the building. It's well-understood that the N.M. cannot be and is not the Met--sprawling and web-like rather than vertically directed--but the New Museum spaces are so confined that you can't do much other than large installations of single artists or giant group shows with too much going on (or, at least, that's all they've seen to do so far). Because of the elevator restrictions you can't really separate spaces within each floor and I think the shows suffer from that. I also hate the staircases with the little side rooms that get crowded and make the experience of walking through the shows a pain.These limitations make it too risky to put up, well, risky shows. They're so short on space that if they handed over the museum to someone totally 'New' and it turned out to be a flop (which could either be because the work was bad or simply because nobody knew who the person was and therefore under-judged it--and, a sidenote: when they put up shows of 'new, young' artists and these artists are culled by polling a group of leading curators, critics, and artists, you're not really going to get 'new' work, are you? You're going to get semi-established artists... but anyways...) they'd lose a lot of credibility in the other direction. They're between a rock and a hard place. Maybe this has been said or is completely wrong but I honestly believe the main problem with the New Museum is it’s architecture. The ground-floor glass room hidden behind the bookstore and cafeteria tables is a good example but I think it extends to the rest of the building. It’s well-understood that the N.M. cannot be and is not the Met–sprawling and web-like rather than vertically directed–but the New Museum spaces are so confined that you can’t do much other than large installations of single artists or giant group shows with too much going on (or, at least, that’s all they’ve seen to do so far). Because of the elevator restrictions you can’t really separate spaces within each floor and I think the shows suffer from that. I also hate the staircases with the little side rooms that get crowded and make the experience of walking through the shows a pain.

These limitations make it too risky to put up, well, risky shows. They’re so short on space that if they handed over the museum to someone totally ‘New’ and it turned out to be a flop (which could either be because the work was bad or simply because nobody knew who the person was and therefore under-judged it–and, a sidenote: when they put up shows of ‘new, young’ artists and these artists are culled by polling a group of leading curators, critics, and artists, you’re not really going to get ‘new’ work, are you? You’re going to get semi-established artists… but anyways…) they’d lose a lot of credibility in the other direction. They’re between a rock and a hard place.

]]> By: claflechehttp://www.artfagcity.com/2009/11/03/how-the-new-museum-committed-suicide-with-banality/comment-page-1/#comment-317617 clafleche Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:03:00 +0000 http://www.artfagcity.com/?p=11083#comment-317617 Maybe this has been said or is completely wrong but I honestly believe the main problem with the New Museum is it's architecture. The ground-floor glass room hidden behind the bookstore and cafeteria tables is a good example but I think it extends to the rest of the building. It's well-understood that the N.M. cannot be and is not the Met--sprawling and web-like rather than vertically directed--but the New Museum spaces are so confined that you can't do much other than large installations of single artists or giant group shows with too much going on (or, at least, that's all they've seen to do so far). Because of the elevator restrictions you can't really separate spaces within each floor and I think the shows suffer from that. I also hate the staircases with the little side rooms that get crowded and make the experience of walking through the shows a pain.These limitations make it too risky to put up, well, risky shows. They're so short on space that if they handed over the museum to someone totally 'New' and it turned out to be a flop (which could either be because the work was bad or simply because nobody knew who the person was and therefore under-judged it--and, a sidenote: when they put up shows of 'new, young' artists and these artists are culled by polling a group of leading curators, critics, and artists, you're not really going to get 'new' work, are you? You're going to get semi-established artists... but anyways...) they'd lose a lot of credibility in the other direction. They're between a rock and a hard place. Maybe this has been said or is completely wrong but I honestly believe the main problem with the New Museum is it’s architecture. The ground-floor glass room hidden behind the bookstore and cafeteria tables is a good example but I think it extends to the rest of the building. It’s well-understood that the N.M. cannot be and is not the Met–sprawling and web-like rather than vertically directed–but the New Museum spaces are so confined that you can’t do much other than large installations of single artists or giant group shows with too much going on (or, at least, that’s all they’ve seen to do so far). Because of the elevator restrictions you can’t really separate spaces within each floor and I think the shows suffer from that. I also hate the staircases with the little side rooms that get crowded and make the experience of walking through the shows a pain.

These limitations make it too risky to put up, well, risky shows. They’re so short on space that if they handed over the museum to someone totally ‘New’ and it turned out to be a flop (which could either be because the work was bad or simply because nobody knew who the person was and therefore under-judged it–and, a sidenote: when they put up shows of ‘new, young’ artists and these artists are culled by polling a group of leading curators, critics, and artists, you’re not really going to get ‘new’ work, are you? You’re going to get semi-established artists… but anyways…) they’d lose a lot of credibility in the other direction. They’re between a rock and a hard place.

]]> By: Tyler Greenhttp://www.artfagcity.com/2009/11/03/how-the-new-museum-committed-suicide-with-banality/comment-page-1/#comment-194270 Tyler Green Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:23:04 +0000 http://www.artfagcity.com/?p=11083#comment-194270 FWIW, I didn't mention it either for the same reasons. FWIW, I didn’t mention it either for the same reasons.

]]> By: Tyler Greenhttp://www.artfagcity.com/2009/11/03/how-the-new-museum-committed-suicide-with-banality/comment-page-1/#comment-317616 Tyler Green Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:23:00 +0000 http://www.artfagcity.com/?p=11083#comment-317616 FWIW, I didn't mention it either for the same reasons. FWIW, I didn’t mention it either for the same reasons.

]]> By: Some Painterhttp://www.artfagcity.com/2009/11/03/how-the-new-museum-committed-suicide-with-banality/comment-page-1/#comment-194181 Some Painter Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:39:32 +0000 http://www.artfagcity.com/?p=11083#comment-194181 Gee, the art world is a game of who you know and not a democratic proces? I'd have never guessed.When is the last time a major museum in New York, or even the new Museum had a show of a truly "emerging artist." The New Museum was never supposed to be Artists Space.Even P.S.1's Greater New York show had lazy and bullshit curating. Many of the artists visited by the curators were recent grads of Columbia's MFA program or whatnot, who then recommended other friends to the curators. That is no less democratic.As a side note, the publisher of the Brooklyn Rail, Phong Bui, did an interview with Frank Stella in the May 2007 issue of Art+Auction magazine and what was Stella holding in a photo in the contents page? A copy of The Brooklyn Rail, published by Bui! Gee, the art world is a game of who you know and not a democratic proces? I’d have never guessed.

When is the last time a major museum in New York, or even the new Museum had a show of a truly “emerging artist.” The New Museum was never supposed to be Artists Space.

Even P.S.1′s Greater New York show had lazy and bullshit curating. Many of the artists visited by the curators were recent grads of Columbia’s MFA program or whatnot, who then recommended other friends to the curators. That is no less democratic.

As a side note, the publisher of the Brooklyn Rail, Phong Bui, did an interview with Frank Stella in the May 2007 issue of Art+Auction magazine and what was Stella holding in a photo in the contents page? A copy of The Brooklyn Rail, published by Bui!

]]> By: Some Painterhttp://www.artfagcity.com/2009/11/03/how-the-new-museum-committed-suicide-with-banality/comment-page-1/#comment-317615 Some Painter Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:39:00 +0000 http://www.artfagcity.com/?p=11083#comment-317615 Gee, the art world is a game of who you know and not a democratic proces? I'd have never guessed.When is the last time a major museum in New York, or even the new Museum had a show of a truly "emerging artist." The New Museum was never supposed to be Artists Space.Even P.S.1's Greater New York show had lazy and bullshit curating. Many of the artists visited by the curators were recent grads of Columbia's MFA program or whatnot, who then recommended other friends to the curators. That is no less democratic.As a side note, the publisher of the Brooklyn Rail, Phong Bui, did an interview with Frank Stella in the May 2007 issue of Art+Auction magazine and what was Stella holding in a photo in the contents page? A copy of The Brooklyn Rail, published by Bui! Gee, the art world is a game of who you know and not a democratic proces? I’d have never guessed.

When is the last time a major museum in New York, or even the new Museum had a show of a truly “emerging artist.” The New Museum was never supposed to be Artists Space.

Even P.S.1′s Greater New York show had lazy and bullshit curating. Many of the artists visited by the curators were recent grads of Columbia’s MFA program or whatnot, who then recommended other friends to the curators. That is no less democratic.

As a side note, the publisher of the Brooklyn Rail, Phong Bui, did an interview with Frank Stella in the May 2007 issue of Art+Auction magazine and what was Stella holding in a photo in the contents page? A copy of The Brooklyn Rail, published by Bui!

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