Until last week, Gary Garrels was senior curator of painting and sculpture at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). He resigned his position after museum employees circulated a petition that accused him of racism and demanded his immediate ouster.
"Gary's removal from SFMOMA is non-negotiable," read the petition. "Considering his lengthy tenure at this institution, we ask just how long have his toxic white supremacist beliefs regarding race and equity directed his position curating the content of the museum?"
This accusation—that Garrels' choices as an art curator are guided by white supremacist beliefs—is a very serious one. Unsurprisingly, it does not stand up to even minimal scrutiny.
The petitioners cite few examples of anything even approaching bad behavior from Garrels. Their sole complaint is that he allegedly concluded a presentation on how to diversify the museum's holdings by saying, "don't worry, we will definitely still continue to collect white artists."
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
Another resignation: Gary Garrels because RAAAAcist!
This is no longer amazing. It still seems completely whack to me, but this is happening so much now I can only look and munch my popcorn. Another artsy Leftist in San Francisco gets hounded out of his sinecure for being insufficiently Woke(TM). Because the crocodile will eventually get around to eating you.
Well, that was it for him. Saying that the museum would still countenance the inclusion of work from White male artists (Not actually doing it, mind you, just saying it) is equivalent to a lynching in front of a burning cross in 2020.
Mm, boy, this is good popcorn. ~:D
I saw that. I got a guideline from my senior management of what authors to include in the out-going curated "genre kits".
ReplyDeleteThe listing went like this:
Name, genre, BIPOC.
Some had "own voices" or LGBTQ+ added to the descriptor. One replaced the BIPOC with mentally challenged, one with mentally ill. Neither were straight white males.
No shirt, no shoes, no melanin, no service
Sounds like senior management is trying to go broke. Time to polish the resume?
Delete"Museums are the invention of a mankind that has no place for works of art, either in its home, or in its life."
ReplyDeleteNo, museums are for the people who appreciate art but can't afford to own it themselves. The man who wrote that must have been rich enough to have no clue how the middle class lives. (Looks him up)... Yep. "Nicolás Gómez Dávila was born in Cajicá, Colombia (near Bogotá), on May 18, 1913, into a wealthy bourgeois family..." (emphasis mine).
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing the pronouncements that come out of old Marxists like that, eh?
ReplyDeleteMuseums are the invention of generous men who want -everybody- to be able to see the Mona Lisa, not just some rich bastard who hangs it in his front hallway.
[spit]
Heck, it's the invention of people who actually like stuff, and want to share it.
ReplyDeleteWhy? Because it's really, really cool!