Details of a Selection
Process and the Highly Prestigious
Dear Ms. Weinberg,
I sincerely enjoyed your
article on the Cintas Finalists Exhibition [“Art, “The
Finality of Five,” published July 3]. However, I write to
you to correct a factual statement. Your opening sentence
reads: “Florida International University has been involved
with the selection of finalists and the disbursement of the
generous Cintas Foundation Fellowships in Visual Arts grants
since 1993.” This is factually incorrect. The selection
process and the disbursement of the grants have been carried
out by the highly prestigious International Institute of
Education of New York City since 1963 – 2005. FIU has only
been involved in the selection process in these last two
years: 2006 and 2007. I do not know if you have the ability
to correct said statement, but it would be sincerely
appreciated if that were to be possible.
Please feel free to
contact me for any questions you may have about the Cintas
Foundation, the Cintas Fellows Collection or the Cintas
Selection Process. Also, factual information is also
available at our Web site www.Cintasfoundation.org.
Sincerely,
Hortensia Sampedro
President, Cintas
Foundation
[Weinberg responds: The
statement came from the exhibition’s brochure.]
MAM: Owing Miami an
Apology for Its Arrogance and Misinformation
Dear SunPost
Editor,
Terry Riley, the new
director of the Miami Art Museum, is no doubt celebrating
the Miami City Commission’s approval, albeit conditioned
approval, to spend millions of dollars of taxpayer money on
another grandiose public/private project, this time a
$200-plus million art museum to be constructed in
Bicentennial Park [News, “Sarnoff: To Save Park, We Must
Build On It,” published June 21]. He may have won the
battle, but unwittingly lost the war, however, in slandering
his opponents, demeaning his museum counterparts and
disparaging the city he claims is (or should be) on his
side.
Mr. Riley accuses me
publicly of “misrepresentations” in my opposition to this
ill-conceived project for having cited statistics published
in the 2006 Directory of the American Association of Museum
Directors (for Year Ending 2005) demonstrating that MAM
lacks the type of art collection, membership and visitor
attendance which would justify this extraordinary commitment
of public funds. In his place, I must confess that I would
be equally loathe to have such facts come to light,
particularly because this information is compiled by the
Museum Association directly from reports submitted by the
museums, including MAM before its latest attempt to re-write
history. Mr. Riley’s claims sudden surges in donated art
works, attendance and membership since the publication of
the directory to which I cited. I am not privy to such
information which is as yet unpublished, and simply stated
the facts cited in the report. Moreover, even if his claims
prove out, MAM will still rank near or close to last
nationally in the size of its art collection and membership.
No amount of spin by Mr. Riley can rewrite the facts
reported just a year and a half ago, and calling me a liar
doesn’t change the inconvenient truth.
In his battle for MAM,
Mr. Riley’s cavalier disregard for the reputation of others
did not stop with improper allegations against me or other
opponents to this project. Inexplicably, he publicly
demeaned his counterpart museum colleagues (many of whom
embraced him with open arms upon his recent arrival) by
pronouncing that MAM’s new project was essential because
Miami doesn’t even have a third-rate museum [Wakefield,
“Jammed at MAM,” published June 6]. Museums such as the
Wolfsonian, Museum of Contemporary Art and U of M’s Lowe all
enjoy fine reputations built through many years of
dedication, private donations and hard work of so many
citizens, collectors and donors and notably, unlike MAM, did
not seek a government hand-out to support their efforts.
Adding insult to injury,
Mr. Riley casts an even wider net in his battle to secure
approval for his new project by accusing Miami of being a
“confused adolescent” who needs to “grow up.” Those of us
who have lived and worked in Miami for many years know
firsthand the suffering felt by our children, sick, disabled
and elderly, our homeless, poor and working classes, and
others in need in this community because we have failed to
address more urgent civic priorities like health care,
education, affordable housing, homelessness, transportation
and needed infrastructure. In reality, it is the
self-absorbed pursuit of this grandiose project by an elite
few in the poorest large city in the nation that lacks
maturity and wisdom. The hallmark of a great city is not in
the grandeur of the monuments it builds, but depths of its
compassion and enlightened support for those most in need.
In a follow-up letter to the editor, Mr. Riley thinks
readers “might misinterpret” his comments about the city
being in its “teenage” phase. No amount of spin can hide his
arrogance.
Miamians are not stupid
and don’t need a lecture from Terry Riley about how to
behave. Though Mr. Riley may have won his latest battle with
high-priced lobbyists, his board’s political connections,
and a questionable bond issue labeled Homeland Defense, time
may prove they lost the war by alienating not only their
opponents with such arrogance, but museum colleagues,
would-be supporters, donors and the taxpaying public. He and
MAM truly owe each of us a public apology.
Sincerely,
Martin Z. Margulies
Key Biscayne
Miami: The City of Walls
Dear Rebecca:
I see that the issue
concerning Miami Art Museum lingers on. I do not oppose a
new grandiose building (although a building does not build a
museum), but my concern is: Why just in the waterfront? It
seems that everybody wants a piece of the few remaining
public and semi-private waterfront areas in our city. Mr.
Riley wants the only remaining park abutting the bay, Jorge
Perez wants the open space next to Vizcaya. When you drive
along the streets bordering the ocean you can hardly see the
water and we live in a city on the water.
All started with Bayside,
then the American Airlines Arena and now they want the only
remaining space open to the sea in downtown Miami.
Why not place the new
museum building farther inland and contribute to the
redevelopment of Overtown? And why did the city of Miami
allow a zoning change favoring the developers for building
high rises in the land next to Vizcaya? If the public does
not get involved in fighting these issues, we will end
living in a city walled up around the waterfront.
Julio J. Baladron
Surfside
New York City: Where
Mayors Care and the Corruption Is Mediocre (Compared to
Miami-Dade, That Is)
Dear Ms. Wakefield,
It is with both amazement
and sadness that I read your story “The Firm Within the
Firm” from the Miami SunPost June 28 edition. I am
grateful to have a watchdog newspaper with the intelligence
and ability to dig and uncover the neverending stories of
corruption, nepotism, greed and incomprehensible ineptitude
of local government. Your own “personal and wild-eyed
theories” are probably right on the money. Your use of the
term “thieving bunch of jackals” couldn’t have been more
appropriate. I shake my head in amazement that this
government in Miami-Dade is so thoroughly permeated with
dishonor.
I relocated to
Miami-Dade, Aventura specifically, in October 2005. I
previously lived in New York City and Long Island for nearly
23 years. In my 23 years I cannot recall anything close to
the level of deceit and misrepresentation that I read about
almost daily in your newspaper. It feels like I am living in
a Third World country! Other than the parking violations
bureau scandal under [former New York Mayor Ed] Koch, in
which Donald Manes committed suicide rather than face the
consequences, most corruption involves the unions and their
cronies. Sure there are stories of bad behavior of public
officials such as former Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik
(under Mayor Giuliani) or the head of the Department of
Corrections who used city employees to refurbish his house
and hand out political papers on city time. But this type of
malfeasance does not even come close to the misappropriation
of tax dollars that are gouged out from working-class
families in this city to feed the furnace of the politicos
here in Miami. I believe the mayors of NYC such as Giuliani
and Bloomberg are honest and have the best interest of the
city at heart. Why not here?
My hat, if I wore one, is
off to you, Rebecca Wakefield, for providing us with your
investigative observations and facts related to this story
of “The Firm Within the Firm.” I am grateful for the Miami
SunPost and its hard-working investigative team of
reporters who are not afraid to get down to the
“nitty-gritty” dark side of Miami politics.
Sincerely,
Robert Kurtzer
Aventura
And Now, Something
Nice to Say About Miami’s Elected Officials
To Our Commissioners -
Bravo Gentlemen!
It was a pleasure to see
reason triumph over expediency [“Hours and Hours of Talk,”
published July 3]. The public proffered irrefutable logic,
the commissioners showed wisdom and sound judgment, and our
city was well served.
The Miami21 initiative is
a bold attempt to design a better blueprint for growth for
our unique city. A premature birth would be the surest way
to undermine its potential.
Paul Mann
Miami
SunPost Editor
Must Receive Headline Sensitivity Training
Letters to the Editor:
To say I’m upset is to
put it mildly. Your publication of my letter on May 31 with
the title “You Can Leave Your Anti-Religious Material in My
Building Anytime” was not only poorly conceived by your
editor as the headline for my letter, and had nothing to do
with its content, but it brought the wrath of one of your
readers (Rosalynn Ardiles) to accuse me of being anti-Christ
and even Satan himself [Letters, “Hey, You Anti-Christ
Atheist! God Saved My Life and Cured My Addiction,”
published June 28].
If Mrs. Ardiles got by
your headline and read the letter itself, she would see that
I just questioned the Abraham story in the Old Testament and
agreed with Christopher Hitchens on this one point.
My request for your paper
to be delivered to my condo was because it is a good paper,
NOT because you support anti-religious material. If Mrs.
Ardiles’ belief in God gives her strength and hope, I’m all
for it, but to call me Satan, when at most I could be
accused of being an agnostic, is beyond the pale.
Respectfully submitted,
Roger Shatanof
Coral Gables
Wasting Away in
Margaritaville: Down to Last Working Satellite
Dear Erik B.:
Regarding your “Mad, Mad
Hurricane World” article in the June 28 edition:
You wrote that some of
the older weather forecasting satellites “...are expected to
conch out soon...”
From that may I infer
that those particular satellites were originally launched
from Key West (aka The Conch Republic?).
Marty Monroe
Bay Harbor Islands
Angie Hargot: Hero of
South Beach Doggies
Your July 3 article in
the SunPost “Where Will the Doggies Go?” is amazing.
You should feel really proud of yourself, since whatever is
the outcome of this coming Wednesday [July 11] Commission’s
meeting, you have told the truth and in doing so help our
cause big time.
Thank you, thank you,
thank you!
Take care and kisses,
Lucia Greer, president
Responsible Dog Owners of
Miami Beach
Communal Studio
Reality Check: Good Art Comes of Solitude
Dear Ms. Michelle
Weinberg:
This letter is in
reference to the June 28 SunPost article, titled
“Wynwood Reality Check.” I moved from New York to Florida at
the end of 1991. At that time, I was looking for an artistic
Bohemia in which I could have both an art studio and
community of fellow artists. I settled in South Beach and
took a studio at the South Florida Art Center on Lincoln
Road in Miami Beach. We were a tightly knit artistic
community at the Art Center in those early days when most of
us lived in the neighborhood. The rents were still extremely
reasonable, and artists could easily afford an art studio as
well. A combination of elements changed that for us artistic
pioneers. Firstly, the then-director of the center, Jane
Gilbert, decided to change the studio policy and restrict
the duration within which one could rent at the Art Center.
A political battle ensued between the artists wanting to
continue to stay and the administration forcing us out.
Gradually, most of the artists felt defeated and moved on to
other studio options. There were some, however, who were
more politically astute and managed to remain in their Art
Center studios long past the newly established time
limitations. Another element that changed the Art Center’s
appeal for many of us who were there in the early days is
the shift of Lincoln Road, from the atmosphere of a
neighborhood creative hub to the evolution into suburban
shopping mall. We went from having 16 fantastic galleries on
the road, along with a monthly gallery walk, to the
dissolution of the dream of South Beach becoming a great art
community.
After being at the Art
Center for six years, I took studios at numerous other
locations. This included a large space in Overtown, a year
at the Bakehouse Art Complex in Wynwood and Damien B. Art
Center, also in Wynwood. Four years ago, after needing to
vacate my inexpensive South Beach apartment, I moved to
another South Beach location, but no longer had the benefit
of pregentrification rent. At that point, I made the
difficult decision to give up my studio at Damien B. and
began to work in my apartment. The opening of Damien’s
warehouse presaged the notion of Wynwood becoming the next
great hope. A year ago, I bought a one-bedroom condominium
on Normandy Island, where I continue to work at home.
The irony is that since I
have been working in my home for the last four years, my art
has matured further than any other time. I don’t know if I
was limited by the distractions of having other people
around, the exhausting politics one often had to deal with
or numerous other diversions. In the end, my ideal studio
has yet to come, but I can now work without being disturbed.
As an artist, this is crucial for one’s freedom of
expression. Furthermore, as an artist matures, it becomes
necessary to work in a certain isolation.
An affordable work/living
space for an artist can be a detriment as much as it might
be a benefit. I have recently come to realize that a
communal studio environment works most successfully for an
artist when they are young. Several years ago, I began to
look beyond the local art market to sustain me. I could not
wait for Miami to grow up. Perhaps in a few years we will
have a fantastic new art museum. After being here for 16
years, however, I have learned that one cannot depend upon
the outside community to get me where I want to be. The
creation of an authentic and sustainable art community is
still on the drawing board, neatly housed in our artistic
imaginations, where perhaps it is best served.
Sincerely,
Asandra
Miami Beach
Her Majesty Warren:
Decreeing What Is and Is Not Public
Dear Editor,
As someone who
inadvertently attended a board meeting of UEMC thinking it
was a regular meeting, I witnessed the mean-spirited
dismissal of Frank Rollason as the representative from Belle
Meade [Murmurs, “More Drama,” published June 21]. That
incident happened right after I walked into the Community
Center and was ordered by Allyson Warren to leave; not once,
but several times. I refused and was then told by her to go
sit in the back of the room. I guess the brains behind the
resolution to oust him didn’t want anyone to witness the
attack on Frank, which came as a shock to me and obviously
blindsided him.
You quote Miss Warren,
president of the UEMC, extensively in your article, and I
have to say that she is a big part of the problem and not
part of the solution. She is also the president of the
Shorecrest Homeowners Association, of which I’m a member,
and as such she continually misrepresents the views of
Shorecrest residents to the city. Now Miami 21, the city’s
ambitious rezoning plan, is the focus of her attention;
specifically regarding height limits along 79th Street and
Biscayne Boulevard.
No SHOA meeting has ever
involved discussion of Miami 21, and yet, she has stated
that residents of Shorecrest have no problem with heights of
up to eight stories, with developer capability of buying
rights for up to 12 stories, along NE 79th Street and
Biscayne Boulevard from NE 79th Street to NE 87th Street.
This comment, a gross misrepresentation, was made in
Commissioner Marc Sarnoff’s office to the surprise of
several others in attendance.
Since Miss Warren has not
enlightened the residents about the proposed zoning changes
nor asked for their opinions, what she is voicing is her own
opinion, not theirs. In fact, a charrette held a number of
years ago, as well as Commissioner Sarnoff’s campaign pledge
to maintain a three-story height limit on these significant
corridors, represent the overwhelming wishes of the
residents of Shorecrest.
What we need is
development that respects and maintains the unique character
of the Upper Eastside, all the way to NE 87th Street, in
keeping with the new MiMo Historic District, and not
high-rises that belong downtown.
Sincerely,
Ginger Vela
Upper Eastside
Preservation Coalition
Hard Riders: How Air
Power Could Help Stop the Carnage
[RE: “A Tale of Two
Crashes,” published June 14]
Since moving back to
Miami four years ago, I’ve seen cyclists pulling wheelies on
I-95; passing my car on the shoulder as if 70 mph were
standing still; forcing their way between moving lanes of
traffic on US1; and pulling tricks — like using their seats
as a gymnast’s pummel horse — while tooling down the
Palmetto. Luckily I have never witnessed the carnage that
seems to come along with such thoughtless risk-taking.
Maybe it is time for some
aerial photos of license plates of cycles that break the law
accompanied with motorcycling school, steep fines and even
cycle confiscations.
Walter G. Secada
Coconut Grove
