Brooklyn Museum Won’t Host ‘Art in the Streets’ Exhibit - BlackBook
The Brooklyn Museum was until yesterday set to host the traveling "Art in the Streets" exhibit fresh from its controversial run at LA MOCA. Not anymore -- the museum is canceling the show, citing financial pressures. But is that the full story?
As per the press release:
This is an exhibition about which we were tremendously enthusiastic, and which would follow appropriately in the path of our Basquiat and graffiti exhibitions in 2005 and 2006, respectively. It is with regret, therefore, that the cancellation became necessary due to the current financial climate. As with most arts organizations throughout the country, we have had to make several difficult choices since the beginning of the economic downturn three years ago.
Hmm. Is this really a financial issue, or has the museum been pressured to cancel the show because of what happened in L.A., where authorities accused the exhibit of encouraging vandalism? “Art in the Streets” was a big coup for Jeffrey Deitch in L.A., despite conflicts with the police; it touted itself as the first major historical survey of the street art movement, pulling in artists from all over the world. Given that I’m not familiar with the Brooklyn Museum’s finances, it’s a tough call, but it does seem odd that they would decide so late in the game to drop a popular exhibit.
The Daily News reports that “Critics - including City Councilman Peter Vallone(D-Queens), head of the Public Safety Committee - began pressuring the Brooklyn Museum to drop the exhibit after reports came out of L.A. about increased tagging.” Makes it seem as though the financial reasons given by the museum might not be the full story.
