The Art World: What If...?! – Details, episodes & analysis

In this bonus episode, we’re joined by the newly appointed director and CEO of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, Dr. Mariët Westermann, who is the first female appointed to the role. Mariët oversees the “constellation” of museums—four over three continents united, she says, in one mission, “to create opportunities for anyone to engage with the transformative and connective power of art and artists”. Mariët is inheriting opportunities and challenges, and we delve into some of those, from the back histories to the budgets. She talks to us about the future of the museum—from plans for the opening of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi to the nuts and bolts of balancing the books. One of the key changes Mariët advocates for is a shift in the institutional mindset. Rather than taking a defensive stance, where the museum might try to address gaps or criticisms reactively, she hopes for a move towards a more open approach. "We are learning communities," she says. "We're full of curious people. Artists are curious." All this and much more in this special episode, which brings to an end our second season.

Legendary art dealer Barbara Gladstone joins us for a very rare interview from the studio in New York. What would she do differently if she started a gallery today? “I probably wouldn't do it,” she says. 

Barbara has been at the top of the business since the 1980s and now represents more than 70 artists and estates. She tells us how she started out with a small print business, and how things developed from there. We talk about art now, the future of the gallery, and what she would change about the art market, including the “idea that collecting is shopping, because I think that there is something that art adds to life,” she says. “What is really interesting is that it's not over,” she says. “It's not even over when the artist dies because there's constant evaluation and re-thinking going on. And when you put one work in proximity to another work 50 years later, something new can happen. I mean, I think that's why it's important.”

More than $2B was spent on Impressionist, Modern and contemporary art during the recent round of auctions in New York. On today’s podcast, Nicholas Maclean (of the London and New York dealership Eykyn Maclean) and Allan Schwartzman (co-founder of AAP) discuss with our host Charlotte Burns (editor of In Other Words) what happened. They talk about the successes and the surprises of the sales, as well as the key trends to emerge—and what this means about the market.

For this and more, tune in today.

Transcript: http://www.artagencypartners.com/transcript-auctions-november-2018/

“In Other Words” is a presentation of AAP and Sotheby’s, produced by Audiation.fm.

In this episode, we go down the rabbit hole with Ian Alteveer and Doug Eklund, the co-curators of “Everything is Connected: Art and Conspiracy” at the Met Breuer (until 6 January 2019).

The show deals with the ways artists have imagined the forces that control their lives, presenting 70 works created between 1969 and 2016 by around 30 artists and artist collectives. It is the first major exhibition on the topic.

The beginning half of the show focuses on art that uncovers corporate and political malfeasance through public records, dealing with scandals from Watergate to the assassination of JFK and the US government’s handling of the AIDS crisis. It includes work by artists intent on unveiling deceptions, from shell corporations to the networks linking politicians, business people and arms dealers. The second part of the show moves into the realm of the fantastical, presenting works that are often dark or troubled—whether doll houses, LSD-inspired visions or other kinds of alternate realities. 

Transcript: http://www.artagencypartners.com/transcript-art-and-conspiracy/

“In Other Words” is a presentation of AAP and Sotheby’s, produced by Audiation.fm.

How do curators find art, and decide to show it? Joining our host Charlotte Burns for a conversation about the future of biennials, triennials and other group shows are Cecilia Alemani (director and chief curator of High Line Art and the artistic director of Art Basel Cities) and Ingrid Schaffner (curator of the 57th Carnegie International, which recently opened in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). They talk about how they view the role of the curator, and about getting off the beaten track. They discuss topics including the intersection of politics and art, and reveal the best art they’ve recently seen.

For this and more, tune in today.

Transcript: http://www.artagencypartners.com/transcript-ingrid-schaffner-and-cecilia-alemani/

“In Other Words” is a presentation of AAP and Sotheby’s, produced by Audiation.fm.

In today’s episode of In Other Words, we are joined by Richard Armstrong, who has been the director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation since 2008. A frank and insightful thinker who once considered a career in politics before entering the arts, Armstrong shares his thoughts on topics from censorship to deaccessioning.

He also talks about how museums can cope with being the targets of digital swarming and reveals an update on plans for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi: “We’re looking forward to a real opening date at this point.”

For this and more, tune in today.

Transcript:

http://www.artagencypartners.com/transcript-richard-armstrong/

“In Other Words” is a presentation of AAP and Sotheby’s, produced by Audiation.fm.

The first major survey show of the 75-year-old artist Howardena Pindell opened earlier this year at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and is now on show at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (“Howardena Pindell: What Remains To Be Seen” until 25 November). Pindell was one of the first black curators at the Museum of Modern Art and a cofounder of pioneering feminist gallery A.I.R. She worked in a mainly abstract style until an almost-fatal car accident in 1979 caused a shift in her art, which became more political and personal. 

In the late 1980s, Pindell began researching the demographics of artists represented in New York museums and commercial galleries, presenting her findings in a 1987 paper called Statistics, Testimony and Supporting Documentation and then in a follow-up paper Commentary and Update of Gallery and Museum Statistics 1986-1997.

In many ways, this work was a precursor to the research In Other Words recently published with artnet News, so we invited Pindell onto the show to talk about what—if anything—has changed.

Transcript:

http://www.artagencypartners.com/transcript-howardena-pindell/

“In Other Words” is a presentation of AAP and Sotheby’s, produced by Audiation.fm.

Just 2.3% of all purchases and gifts at 30 prominent US museums over the past ten years have been of work by African American artists, according to a joint investigation by In Other Words and artnet News.

Meanwhile, the total auction value of work by African American artists over the same period represents a mere 1.2% of global auction sales.

Working together in an unprecedented three-month partnership, Charlotte Burns (executive editor, In Other Words) and Julia Halperin (executive editor, artnet News) have captured and analyzed market and museum data which, coupled with conversations with more than 30 prominent curators, collectors, dealers, museum directors, academics and philanthropists, reveals that progress is much more recent—and benefits far fewer artists—than popularly perceived.

In today's podcast, they discuss the data and its implications with Allan Schwartzman (co-founder, Art Agency, Partners) and Valentino Carlotti (global head of business development at Sotheby’s; board member of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia and previously of the Guggenheim and the Studio Museum in Harlem).

Transcript: http://www.artagencypartners.com/transcript-20-september-2018-podcast/

“In Other Words” is a presentation of AAP and Sotheby’s, produced by Audiation.fm.

Joining us for our 38th episode is Jessica Morgan, the director of the Dia Art Foundation—that much beloved organization so associated with the great land artists of the 1960s and 1970s. Pilgrimage, place and change of pace are important aspects of any visit to Dia—which has 11 sites in places as diverse as Utah, Bridgehampton, Beacon, New Mexico and New York City.

Morgan talks to host Charlotte Burns about fundraising—since joining in 2015 she has launched a $78m capital campaign to renovate and expand Dia’s existing spaces, raising around $60m already. She also discusses the problems with judging museums’ success by attendance figures, and reveals her future plans for Dia.

Transcript:

http://www.artagencypartners.com/transcript-jessica-morgan/

“In Other Words” is a presentation of AAP and Sotheby’s, produced by Audiation.fm.