MAM:
Going Strong in Spite of What Marty Says
Dear Editor:
While Rebecca Wakefield’s
article of June 6, “Jammed at MAM,” captured some of the
frustration I feel about the misinformation being circulated
regarding Miami Art Museum, I am sorry my responses
regarding Mr. Margulies’ misleading characterizations of MAM
were perceived as “quibbling.” I would like to address three
of his misrepresentations more clearly:
1. Mr. Margulies
accurately portrayed MAM’s position as a collecting
institution in 2005: last amongst the list of 147 major U.S.
art museums surveyed by the American Association of Museum
Directors. What he didn’t mention in his letter was that the
size of the collection has doubled since then, and last year
alone we received $8 million in gifts from Miami and New
York collectors. That puts MAM equal to the 14th position
amongst the same museums for rate of collection growth in
dollar value.
2. Mr. Margulies quoted
other figures from the AAMD 2005 Statistical Survey
selectively, particularly his citation of paid attendance
without mentioning total attendance. During the last fiscal
year (October 2005 – September 2006), the total attendance
at MAM was 52,103. The fact that more than 30,000 of these
people attended free of charge is a sign of our commitment
to make sure everyone in Miami-Dade County can enjoy and
learn about art. It is also important to note that this
attendance figure represents only a portion of the audience
served by MAM, as off-site programs add several thousand
more per year. For example, approximately 2,000 young people
are served each summer through the MAM in the Neighborhood
outreach program, and approximately 1,000 young people are
served each school year through the MAM Art Caravan.
Programs are expressly designed to strengthen the
development of young people’s visual literacy and encourage
self-expression and critical thinking skills. MAM’s
educational program, with offerings for teachers and
students from kindergarten through 12th grade, is the
largest art-museum education program in Miami-Dade County.
The new and larger museum will attract 200,000 visitors each
year, according to expert consultants, and our commitment to
making it accessible to all will not change. While wealthy
people can travel the globe to see art exhibitions and
collections, the people of South Florida deserve a public
museum at home.
3. Miami Art Museum is
currently in the midst of a membership drive and we are
happy to share the newest figures, which show great
improvement. During the past year alone, the number of
active members has nearly doubled to 1,579 active members.
Finally, I think your
readers might misinterpret my comments about our city being
in its “teenage” phase. When I discussed the new Miami Art
Museum with your reporter, I favorably compared relatively
youthful cities with older, more established ones. In that
context I pointed out that both Los Angeles and Miami were
becoming more metropolitan, more urban than many people ever
expected. Some Miamians, like the Los Angeles citizens that
actually resisted the construction of Frank Gehry’s
incredible new concert hall, find this process unsettling
despite its evident benefits. Change is always difficult,
but the world is looking to Miami as a new city. Despite Mr.
Margulies’ focus on the past, the future is an open book and
this city deserves the chance to write its own story in the
21st century.
Sincerely,
Terence Riley
Director, Miami Art
Museum
Miami
Who You Calling
Third-Rate, Newcomer?
As an active member of
the Miami art community, chairing the board of trustees of
the Museum of Contemporary Art and with my husband
co-chairing the host committee of Art Basel [Miami Beach]
since its inception, I very much resent Terence Riley’s
remarks describing the Miami museums as third-rate
institutions and the community being anti-cosmopolitan,
anti-urban, and provincial [Wakefield, “Jammed at MAM,”
published June 6]. Does he really think Art Basel came here
for those reasons? Only a first-rate community with
first-rate collectors and viable museums could have
attracted them.
Mr. Riley’s statements
describing our local museums (including his own Miami Art
Museum) as third-rate are both untrue and insulting to all
who have worked so diligently over the years to create a
vibrant art culture.
We at the Museum of
Contemporary Art are very proud of our accomplishments,
exhibitions, collection, educational programs, community
outreach and reputation as an internationally acclaimed
museum.
As a newcomer to the
Miami art scene, he obviously knows little about what we as
a community have accomplished and hold dear. Is this a way
to make friends and forge cohesiveness with other cultural
institutions? I think not!
Sincerely,
Irma Braman, chair
Museum of Contemporary
Art’s Board of Trustees
North Miami
MAM: A Growth-Friendly
Alternative to a Neglected Park
This is an exciting time
for Miami’s growth. The development of Museum Park will
enhance the park land, which is now neglected and unused
[Wakefield, “Jammed at MAM,” published June 6]. Having
visited other cities with major parks in which museums are
sited, I have seen how the museums have brought programs and
activities and improved the people spaces. That is my
vision, and I am encouraged that such energy and vitality
will happen in Miami too, for the benefit of the community,
when the two museums are built. The citizens of Miami
already voiced their support by voting to provide funds to
create Museum Park. Any delays of this voter-approved
support will only serve to increase the cost of the project,
which the Miami Art Museum intends to bring in on time and
at budget.
This is an exciting time
for Miami’s growth and an important time for citizens of
Miami to show their support of this vision.
Sincerely,
Deborah Hoffman, vice
president
Miami Art Museum’s Board
of Trustees
Miami
When It Comes to Bass, You Gotta Fish Deeper
Dear
Omar:
Thank
you for bringing the issue to the reader but the piece was a
half-ass attempt [“Bass Exodus,” published May 31].
You
miss the core of the complaint: Ms. Diane Camber proceeded
to do the show without board approval or discussion (you
obviously did not read the minutes of the board of
directors). She did not even raise the possibility with the
board of a conflict of interest situation. Secondly, Ms.
Camber is not an Asian art expert. There were signs on
opening night that told the story of a meeting in
1812 between Louis XVI (guillotined in 1793) and a
Vietnamese ancestor of the alleged Princess Mrs. Goldman.
Thirdly, and more important for the community, the Bass has
no documentation regarding the provenance of the articles in
question: How did they enter the U.S.? Did Thi-Nga pay U.S.
customs? Where did she get them? Are they legitimate? Do
they have historical or aesthetic value? Did experts see and
vet these items? Miami Beach taxpayers don't know. Fourthly,
and your article does not address this, in conjunction with
the show, Ms. Camber had flags flying all over Miami Beach
“The Jade Collection of HIH Princess Thi-Nga.” That is a
misrepresentation. No museum and no city should fly flags
with inaccurate information. Thi-Nga Goldman is not an
imperial princess from Vietnam. Check the royal tree at:
http://www.4dw.net/royalark/Vietnam/annam.htm.
The
Celia Cruz paragraph is a gratuitous editorial. Get an
expert to say that!
Were
you afraid to get into the false imperial claims of Princess
Thi-Nga?
Had you read the
board minutes, you would have found out that the retirement
drama was just in time to get Dr. Jaffe to approve a $50K
salary increase for her. Had you done your homework reading
the board minutes, you would have found out that the
strategic planning was hiring an acquaintance of Ms. Camber,
Rena Zurofsky, to do “facilitating” and meetings with board
members for lofty ideals. Had you done your homework, you
would have asked how much they paid Ms. Zurofsky for her
intervention at the Bass.
C’mon, do a second part of the story! You left all the
important stuff out! What museum does an exhibit and does
not consult with experts and has no clue about the owner?
What museum does not get documentation about the pieces it
is going to show? What museum prints flags to display all
over the city with wrong information about the chairman of
its board of directors?
Justo J. Sanchez
Coral Gables
What About President
Bush, Your Honor?
The SunPost
editorialized last week praising Mayor David Dermer of Miami
Beach for suing Miami-Dade County [Editorial, “Free Speech
Means Never Having to Fear Fine or Imprisonment,” published
May 31]. Objective? To overturn a local law passed by the
County Commission to restrict the rights of people
seeking signatures to amend the state constitution,
county/municipal charters, or to recall an elected official.
This new law allows a political operative to convince just
one policeman that a petition gatherer was not telling the
truth to cause an arrest. Quoting the mayor: “The first step
toward totalitarianism is when the government criminalizes
political free speech.”
Bravo. Perhaps this loyal
Democrat would extend his remarks to condemn the suspension
of habeas corpus and the installation of illegal wiretaps by
his patrons in the Bush Administration.
Mike Burke
Miami Beach
Comedy Ain’t So Hard
With Nice Articles About Comedians
Angie:
I just now came
across your article on the Internet [“Stand Up Comedy,”
published Jan. 18]. I had no idea it was even out there. I
just wanted to say thank you. It was very nice. It was
positive about all of the comics, and that's refreshing to
see. You should come out to more shows! Take care!
My Best,
Lisa Corrao
Fort Lauderdale
[Editor’s Note: Lisa
Corrao is a local comedian.]
