The Privates

In this recent article, we find that museums are, more and more often, turning to private collections for large exhibits and there seems to be a few problems. First of all, who is curating the show? is it the museum which usually desire to show the important, interesting and rare? Is it the collector who is trying to showcase his work for future sales? Is it the trustees who seek to raise the value of the pieces by having them on a big, nation-wide tour? It's hard to say, and when there are incentives for each party involved, say a sale to the museum, a donation, or free publicity for the future of the collection, the lines become even more hazy. Is the public being shown less and less exceptional shows? Work that would not meet the normal museum level of proficiency?

While it is definitely important not to over inflate what we consider "great art," I find it hard to believe that work by great masters, collected by the revolutionary eyes of their time is not worth seeing as a whole. I mean, sure, there is probably a number of works that even the artists would admit are average or worse; pieces that didn't quite break the mold as they had expected. But are the steps in between any less important than the monumental masterpieces? I believe that, even with the "corruption" or outside interest possible, seeing a body of work from a specific period is invaluable to a growing artist. To see the masterpieces is necessary, but also to understand that Picasso didn't grow up making cubist paintings is just as, if not more, important. Process is a piece of art that is largely lost in the gallery setting, and especially over the sands of time. Pollock didn't start his drips at the age of 10, Picasso didn't grow up seeing the world as a cubist wonderland, and even andy warhol didn't have a shrine to coca cola in his closet growing up. Their breakthroughs came from years and years of work that we don't recognize, and every one of those pieces brings you one step closer to the piece your heart desires. So yes, there may be alternative motives. The selection might not come from the 100 greatest pieces of all-time, but if it's a step toward anything close to a masterpiece, it is invaluable to understand where in the career process it came from. You don't make it to the top of a staircase going from landing to landing.

full article below:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/arts/design/a-growing-use-of-private-art-in-public-spaces.html?_r=1&ref=artsspecial