Conference Committee Phone Conversation10/26/2011 3:01:00 PM
Participants:
Carol Eliel, LACMA, AAMC President
Julian Cox, Fine Art Museums of San Francisco
Daniel Finamore, Peabody Essex Museum
Rita Freed, Museum of Fine Art, Boston
Jack Hinton, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Norman Kleeblatt, Jewish Museum
Marina Pacini, Memphis Brooks Museum, co-chair
David Rubin, San Antonio Museum of Art
Jennifer Tonkovich, Morgan Library
Sylvia Yount, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, co-chair
Unavailable:
Cynthia Burlingham, Hammer Museum, AAMC VP, Programs
Helen Molesworth, Institute for Contemporary Art, Boston
11th ANNUAL CONFERENCE - Boston May 13 – 15 2012
 Still determining welcome location on Sunday 13 evening
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Possible member reception venues under consideration
o Museum other than MFA, Gardner or ICA
o Collectors home
o Tavern Club
 Monday: MFA Boston
 Tuesday: Gardner & ICA
Sally: need well rounded agenda that speaks to many people
Keynote ideas:
Comments: SY and MP—better to focus on sessions first, then back-into
selection of keynote speaker
Norman – keynote needs to present critical eye to field, less self serving
Suggestions:
 Malcolm Rogers, MFA
 João Ribas
 A person from an “alternative” art space (Ask Helen Molesworth)

Harvard thinkers
OTHER TOPICS:
Julian – think about 3 possibilities with the various institution hosts (given
that they are so different), each Boston venue could frame a different
discussion
Rita – blend of old and new spaces
In lieu of all of the new museum addition (ie. the MFA) how to make old
spaces interesting with limited budgets:
 Gardner Museum
 Re-installation at Williams College
New Museums of the 21st Century – (focus on non-contemporary)
 Alice Walton and Crystal Bridges
 Abu Dhabi and Arab Emirates museums
Artists
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Estates (see tab section 2 for notes on this topic)
Overly specialized topic
What aspect is curatorial?
Sylvia—possibly as break-out/simultaneous session? Expand to
include curatorial perspective
Curatorial Slam
 Sally – call for proposals from the membership have been
successful but it is difficult to vet speaks, important to offer
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opportunity, slam would be experimental but stringent in format
Carol- this would be too hard to manage
Rita – need a very strong moderator, guidelines
Julian – has a template to share that has been used in Atlanta
initiative, a slam would help with networking
Norman – need a focus to get good result, “thinking outside of box”
is a better way to frame the talks
Jack – call for papers – top 10?
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Dan – good opp. For a more dynamic conversational feel
Sylvia—organize by topic, i.e., exhibitions or acquisitions
Crisis and Disaster
 David – museums have no preparation for crisis, could be an
opportunity to share stories, NOMA, Phoenix
Administrative side of Curatorial work
 Blending of responsibilities
o Julian--Project management
o Delegating
o Sylvia--Time management
Technology
 Integration into galleries, how do you develop with limited funds
 High level of interest from audience
 Choose specific aspect
Shifting collection boundaries
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Sylvia--Divisions between curatorial departments are shifting (eg.,
American, Mod/Con, 21stc, Photography, Sculpture/Dec Arts); how
do we define gallery and acquisition parameters (MFA Art of
Americas Wing one model)? Is fluidity vs. demarcation a virtue?
Sally – would be a very important topic, want best speakers, draw a
diverse grouping, need to include a small museum here
Dan – want success stories
Past Meeting Notes & Member Ideas
10/26/2011 3:01:00 PM
AAMC Program Committee Meeting
New York Conference, May 17, 2011
in attendance:
Marina Pacini, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art
Jordana Pomeroy, National Museum of Women in the Arts
Jennifer Tonkovich, Morgan Library & Museum
Jason Busch, Carnegie Museum of Art
Lori J. Durante, Museum of Lifestyles & Fashion History
Jon Stuhlman, Mint Museum
David Rubin, San Antonio Museum of Art
Rita Freed, MFA Boston
Katharine Lochnan, Art Gallery of Ontario
Catherine Whitney, Philbrook Museum of Art
Dan Finamore, Peabody Essex Museum
Preamble: It is noteworthy that all the curators who attended the program
committee meeting work at small to mid-size museums. There was a
general consensus that the AAMC conference panels (as well as
publication/exhibition awards) have been weighted toward large museums—
or museums with sizeable budgets. A greater balance has to be felt in AAMC
programming among museums with varying budgets and resources.
General thoughts:
--including educators on some of the panels
--consideration of game theory [jp notes: I have seen a presentation of this
at AAM and was completely unimpressed! It’s very trendy but not
convincing]
--alternate publications panel with technology panel; do we need to do
publications every year?
--panels need to be more nuts and bolts that focus on how project done and
what the
results were (good and bad), responding to funders demand for
outcomes.
--more smaller sessions/break out sessions that allow for cross-disciplinary
discussion, the conservation groups got high praise as a model.
--during awards ceremony, present PowerPoint of cover of book/article, or
installation shots to make the awards more visually interesting.
--the panels should all fulfill the mission statement: how will this
impact the curator?
Possible topics:
Engaging the community:
--how to use new technologies while encouraging engagement with object
--supporting experience of seeing vs. looking
--visitor surveys and focus groups
--are museums competing with Disney World? integrating art with
contemporary pop culture to make it more relevant to non-traditional
museum visitors.
--how do you take a serious exhibition and make it popular?
--how to enlist the local arts community, gain confidence of artists
New/Other Roles for Curators:
--curators being proactive in other areas such as audience development,
marketing, education etc.
--visitor surveys and focus groups
Technology panel:
--does it support or detract from viewer experience?
--what’s new?
--Milwaukee Art Museum: American Furniture / googled,
http://www.mam.org/exhibitions/details/americanFurniture.php
--funding costs and level of impact, what is possible and what is effective
Preparing for disasters:
--natural disasters
--controversies
“All Art Was Once Contemporary”:
--ways to address contemporary connection to art of the past
--Aphrodite exhibition in fall with x rated materials
Censorship vs. Self Censorship:
Canned Exhibitions / Exhibitions for Profit:
--do we work with them?
--what if your museum wants to do one?
--bring in one of the organizers of these kinds of shows.
Publications panel:
--is there scholarship without a publication?
How Do You Save the Integrity of Project if Your Budget is Cut? Case Studies
of Successful Downsizing of Museum Exhibitions:
Strength in Numbers: Successful Collaborating with Other Institutions:
New Member-generated ideas:
CURATORIAL “SLAM”
Members are given 5-7 minutes to present an exhibition, acquisition or new
curatorial project that they are working on. No discussion. Strict adherence
to the time. Allows curators to get a quick look at what is going on around
the country.
ARTIST ESTATE TOPIC (from new independent curator member Davira
Taragin)
As you may know, over the past year and a half I have served as curatorial
consultant to the Dennis Gallagher Estate after serving as curator at the
Detroit Institute of Arts and the Toledo Museum of Art and director of
exhibitions at the Racine Art Museum. My current work on this estate as well
as past work with the Artists' Legacy Foundation which handles the estate of
Viola Frey has made me aware of the paucity of information available to
assist with decision-making about the various approaches to artists' estates.
The panel could address the practical issues facing artists' estates and
foundations and answer basic questions such as:
--Which format is the most appropriate for the artist, an estate of a
foundation?
--What do those administering the estate or foundation do to regularly
maintain a balance between building the artist's legacy in the marketplace
and maintaining his reputation in the museum world? In fact, is such a
balance continually necessary?
-- What should be the five-, ten-, fifteen-year, and longterm goals of the
estate? the foundation?
My colleague at the Gallagher Estate, Patricia "Trish" Bransten, the artist's
widow, has started to develop a list of the best individuals to contact to
constitute the panel. At this point we envision a panel consisting of an
economist who could discuss the short and long term requirements of an
artist's estate which is, by nature, a limited resource; a representative from
a leading auction house; a lawyer knowledgeable in the pros and cons of
establishing a foundation vs. an estate, and advisors/board members
representing one artist's estate as well as one foundation. At this time,
Patterson Sims who is a board member of the Joan Mitchell Foundation and
former member of the Artists' Legacy Foundation has expressed interest in
serving on the panel. We have identified three economists involved in the art
market, all of whom would be well-equipped to address these issues. Finally,
Christie's has agreed to have a member of its staff serve as a panelist and
provide financial assistance to the endeavor where appropriate. I possibly
could serve as moderator.
I hope that the AAMC might seriously consider hosting this project. I also
have just written to Andrew Perchuck, Deputy Director of the Getty
Research Institute, to see if his institution would be interested in such a
program since another audience that we believe critical to this discussion is,
of course, the artist community.
ART HANDLING (from Nadine Orenstein at the Met)
As I said when I gave my comments at the recent AAMC open session, there
seems to be an idea circulating among registrars (and as a result among
other museum staff) that curators do not know how to handle art.
A Print Council colleague recently spoke with a friend of hers at a major
museum where the curators have to go through the registrar to access their
collection and that registrar made the following preposterous and frightening
remarks which I think reflects the thinking of many registrars: “She said that
the curators really didn't want to go searching for the prints and then have
to put them back. And anyway, a curator can't be trusted to put the prints
away correctly or in the correct place. She also said that curators don't know
how to handle art and that we like to be served. She likes to have control
over where the works go and when they are put away.”
It occurred to me that to get on top of this issue and to follow in the AAMC
path of professional development, it might be useful to have some classes
on handling art at the next AAMC meeting or at a regional meeting.
Member Suggested Topics Held over from 2011:
Keynote Ideas:
Curators
Rita Freed, MFA (ancient art)
Malcolm Warner, Kimbell
Sheila Canby – MMA Islamic Dept
Denise Allen –Frick
Mike Hearn, MMA, Chinese
Thom Kren, Getty, Manuscripts and new Assoc. Director
Jen Mergel, MFA (contemporary)
Maria Lind –http://www.e-flux.com/shows/view/6285
Lori Waxman –http://60wrdmin.org/news.html
Paul Chaat Smith – http://www.paulchaatsmith.com/
Journalists
Jerry Saltz
Nina Simon, author, The Participatory
Museum. http://museumtwo.tumblr.com/
Ariana Huffington
Anthony Huberman
Directors
Ann Pasternak
Dealers
Sam Fogg
Jay Jopling (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Jopling)
David Zwirner (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Zwirner_Gallery)
Karston Shubert (http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Karsten_Schubert)
Others
Rita Ahoun-Abdo
http://www.symposiumgreatexpectations.com/speakersaoun-abdo.html
Lawrence Weschler
(http://nyih.as.nyu.edu/object/LawrenceWeschler.html)
Laurence des Cars
(http://www.archimuse.com/ichim2001/bios/au_155012603.html)
Jeffery Hamburger (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_F._Hamburger)
Richard Sandell, head of the museum studies program at the University or
Leicester (http://www.le.ac.uk/ms/contactus/richardsandell.html)
Selma Holo, Director of the USC International Museum Institute for
Advanced Studies and Practice:
(http://www.usc.edu/about/people/holo.html)
Edward Sullivan (http://as.nyu.edu/object/EdwardSullivan.html)
Panel Ideas:
Crisis Management
natural disaster and national controversy
Potential Speakers and/or Moderators:
Valerie Leeds
Jackie Sullivan (NOLA response to natural disasters)
Norton Museum to speak to natural disaster
Jim Ballinger – Phoenix Art Museum – Old Glory controversy
Exhibition planning process
how museums choose what they choose, is it fundable? What are your
contingency plans? How to trim the shows budgets ,dealing with loan
negotiations & fees, staffing
Disenfranchisement of curators
who now may be managed by other departments (conservators, etc.) The
perception that the curator is “the other” or “difficult to understand” How do
we begin to build bridges and reduce feeling of alienation?
How do we work together? Add conservators to this discussion
Investing in new territories for GLOBAL museum interaction.
How do you engage in curatorial collaborations that may not be exhibition
driven? How do you help people in other countries who need training (and
also helps you in loan negotiations).
SPECIFIC IDEAS: MoMA example of penetrating different cultures. Fluxes in
Central Europe and Japan. A session on exchanges between art, peers,
helping people, etc.
An Open Call to AAMC members might work the best for this. Also the Terra
Foundation.
A panel on Independent Curators. How they work? Get a good crosssection of new members. How many people are independent by choice?
How do independents support themselves?
You might want to see if Mark Rosenthal would be willing to talk since he's
gone back and forth in those worlds. You could also think about
incorporating an artist who has served as a curator. Jeff Koons?
Panel of retired directors/curators
Skills-based workshops or sessions
Negotiating loans – targeting younger curators who might be interested in
this topic
Especially in hard-to-reach areas (Russia, etc.). How do curators help one
another in this process?
Turn the “Reinvigorating the Permanent Collection” into a more
brainstorming/skills-based session. Create break-out sessions.
Past Keynote Speakers (solo):
Philippe de Montebello (2001)
Maxwell Anderson (2003)
Michael Kimmelman (2004)
Axel Rüger (2007)
Michael Brand (2008)
Kathy Halbreich (2009)
David C. Hilliard (2010)
Past Keynote Panelists:
James Cuno
Anne d’Harnoncourt (2002)
Glenn Lowery (2002)
Philippe de Montebello (2002)
John Walsh (2002)
James N. Wood (2002)
Agnes Gund (2002 & 2005)
Susan Paine (2005)
Leonard Lauder (2005)
Elizabeth Sackler (2005)
Neil Rudenstine (2005)
Michael Horvitz (2005)
George Shackelford (2006)
Lowery Sims (2006)
Cindi Strauss (2006)
Paola Antonelli (2011)
Anthony Appiah (2011)
Linda Shearer (2011)
Past Panel Topics (by year):
Curators Roundtable (2002)
The Role of the Curator in Museums Today (2002)
Cultural Heritage in Iraq (2003)
Animating the Permanent Collection (2003)
The Curator and Scholarship (2004)
The Curator and the Architect (2004)
Trustees and the Curator (2005)
The Curator and Society (2005)
The Curator and the Audience (2005)
The State of the Curator (2006)
Met Museum Curatorial Forum: Lessons Learned (2006)
The Junior Curator (2006)
Deaccessioning: The Philosophical Issues (2006)
Training the Next Generation (2007)
The Artist and the Curator (2007)
Creating a Legacy (on Legacy Museums) (2007)
Fundraising Collaborations: Lessons Learned (2007)
Dynamic Duos: Teaming up with Education to Create Dynamic
Exhibitions (2007)
Views from Outside the Curatorial Profession (2008)
Curatorial Longevity (2008)
Conservation, Reconstruction and Question of Intent (2008)
Whither the Collections Catalogue (2008)
Curatorial Advocacy (2008)
The University Art Museum Curator (2008)
The Curator and the Art Market (2009)
Collaborative Curating (2009)
Exhibition Planning (2009)
The Exhibition Catalogue (2009)
Negotiation (facilitated by Columbia Business School faculty) (2009)
Curatorial Practice and the Geopolitical Landscape (2010)
International Dateline: A Primer for Partnerships (2010)
Reinvigorating the Permanent Collection (2010)
Museums and the Academy: Career Choices (2010)
Career Transitions: What you should know (2010)
The Future of Museum Publishing (2010)
Looking forward 10 years: What is the museum of 2021? (2011)
Innovative Conservation (2011)
Cultural Property: Where are we now? (2011)
Collaborative Curating (2011)
Developing Donor Cultivation Confidence/Donor Support Groups
(2011)
Publishing in the Digital Age (2011)
Clifford Ackley
Maryan Ainsworth
Selma Al-Radi
Darsie Alexander
Daniel Ames
Jeff Anderson
Lee Ann Daffner
Michael Auping
Colin Bailey
Hilary Ballon
Andrea Bayer
Kathleen Berrin
Kathleen Bickford
Berzock
Barbara Bloemink
Graham Boettcher
David Brenneman
Richard Burger
Cynthia Burlingham
Teresa Carbone
Stefano Carboni
Bertha Cea
Julien Chapuis
Alan Chong
Robin Clark
John Coffey
Arthur Cohen
Philip Conisbee
Sharon Cott
Elizabeth Cropper
Malcolm Daniel
Lisa Dennison
Leah Dickerman
Douglas Druick
Elizabeth Easton
John Elderfield
Carol Eliel
Adrian Ellis
Margaret Ellis
Geoff Emberling
Helen Evans
Charlotte Eyerman
Kathleen Foster
Kate Fowle
Rita Freed
Peter Galassi
Dan Giles
Christine Giviskos
Richard Gluckman
Thelma Golden
Michael Govan
Alison Greene
Vivien Greene
Gloria Groom
Rui Guerra
Stephen H.
Goddard
Lynda Hartigan
Maxwell Hearn
Nik Honeysett
Wu Hung
Chiyo Ishikawa
Colta Ives
Joseph Jacobs
Sarah James
Paul Johnson
Barbara Jones
Sarah Kianovsky
Kara Kirk
Norman Kleeblatt
Christopher Knight
Kinda Komaroff
Christine
Kondoleon
Dorothy Kosinski
Gloria Kury
Shelley Langdale
Patrice Marandel
Max Marmor
Ed Marquand
Edgar Marx
Andrew McClellan
Jenny McComas
James McKean
Judy Metro
Lisa MIddag
Charles Moffett
Mary Morton
Linda Muehlig
Alexandra Munroe
Larry Nichols
Robin Nicholson
Phil Nowlen
Jeannine O’Grody
Kim Orcutt
Saul Ostrow
James Peck
Marilyn Perry
Joanna Phillips
Lari Pittman
Larry Price
Andriana Proser
Emily Pulitzer
Richard Rand
David Rau
John Ravenal
Carrie Rebora
Barratt
Terence Riley
Joe Rishel
Malcolm Rogers
Angelica
Rudenstine
William Rudolph
Jennifer Russell
Lynne Rutkin
Pauline Saliga
Laurent Salomé
Tom Savage
Mark Scala
Scott Schaefer
Paul Schimmel
Sarah Scroth
Franklin Sirmans
Joaneath Spicer
Ron Spronk
Jill Sterrett
Robert Storr
Donna Sutton
Ann Temkin
Gary Tinterow
Nancy Troy
Georgiana Uhlyarik
Kristina Van Dyke
Karin Victoria
Kara Walker
Malcolm Warner
Joan Weinstein
Mariet Westermann
Ray Williams
Kim Kanatani
Sylvia Wolf
Joan Young
Margaret YoungSanchez
Lynn Zelevansky
10/26/2011 3:01:00 PM
Past CAA Topics or non-AAMC conference topics:
Managing Change (St. Louis, 2008)
Museum Expansion (St. Louis, 2008)
Curricular Connection: The College Art Museum As Site for Teaching and
Learning (2006)
The Curator of the 21st Century (2006)
Curators' War IV: The Return to the Object (2007)
What makes a Collector a Philanthropist: Lessons Learned from the Miracle
in Dallas (2008)
The Gallery and the Classroom (2008)
Historicizing the Present: Scholarship in Contemporary Art (2009)
Contemporary Art in the Global Age: Challenges for the Curator (2009)
Expanding Museums: Spaces and Choices (2010)
The Museum as Career: Identifying New Talent and Broadening the Field
(2011)
Inspiration and Opportunity: Art History Reflects on its Past to Determine its
Future (2011)
Mapping Cultural Authority: Revisionism, Provincialism, Marginalization (will
be 2012)