tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post2167503640644012175..comments2024-03-27T00:32:29.877-07:00Comments on Photos and Stuff: "Deaccession"amolitorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743439184763617516noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-41572697640401045532020-10-23T03:45:37.027-07:002020-10-23T03:45:37.027-07:00The art market works like bitcoin, or tulipomania....The art market works like bitcoin, or tulipomania.David Smithhttp://designartcraft.com/photo/afbp.htmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-76122344313117710972020-10-22T10:04:07.661-07:002020-10-22T10:04:07.661-07:00Beats me, really. I don't know if we ought to ...Beats me, really. I don't know if we ought to be piling up "culture" in archives. I don't know how much of it we should be heaping up, if we ought to. I don't know which bits to throw out.<br /><br />It does seem that a change in the role of the art museum is afoot, though! And I don't think there's any stopping it.<br />amolitorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15743439184763617516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-78735490891343361162020-10-22T07:59:18.420-07:002020-10-22T07:59:18.420-07:00There is a very good podcast episode about this ve...There is a very good podcast episode about this very topic in Episode One of the 5th season of Revisionist History by Malcom Gladwell. The title of the episode is Dragon Psychology 101 (http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/42-dragon-psychology-101). The reference to dragons refers to them being world-class hoarders, which is what he accuses museums of being. Along the way he provides some unexpected info about how museum inventory is handled by accountants, which will probably surprise people.<br /><br />The former Director of the National Museum here in Ottawa got into trouble (and lost his job) when he wanted to sell off a lesser Chagall work to fund other purchases. The Museum also owns another more important Chagall work. <br />This is all very complicated. Maybe there's nothing wrong with selling off a Monet. Are his paintings all equally important? What if you have more of them than you can show, wouldn't it be better for other museums to have a chance of owning one? OTOH, buying contemporary work is always a bit risky. How do you know it's important unless sufficient time has gone by. What is "sufficient"? I have been saying for years that we should not erect statues of politicians until 50-75 years after their death, takes that long for all the skeletons in the closet to shake out.Robert Roaldihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04887600184257979094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-59415564841699405812020-10-22T06:48:34.983-07:002020-10-22T06:48:34.983-07:00"The wealthy will cease to donate their Picas..."The wealthy will cease to donate their Picassos"<br /><br />Tax break.David Smithhttp://designartcraft.com/photo/afbp.htmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-63786801915891744132020-10-21T10:22:52.130-07:002020-10-21T10:22:52.130-07:00Thank you for sharing Knight's article. What a...Thank you for sharing Knight's article. What a fascinating topic. I've read about deaccession controversies in the past, but never such good reporting as this.<br />It occurs to me that public art museums are a fairly new thing, and maybe we're still working out how to run them properly, ethically, get the category straight.<br /> Matt Kalliohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00051484131679998977noreply@blogger.com