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.