The noted art historian, Dean of Yale’s School of Art, and important curator in his own right, Robert Storr has some harsh words for Eli Broad:
Broad and his enabler Jeffrey Deitch are in the process of undoing the work of many committed and knowledgeable people and thereby depriving the public of Los Angeles of a great art institution. Why? Simply because they won’t listen to professionals — the curators, fundraisers and trustees with long service who are now bailing out or being driven out, men and women who actually know more about museums and have more experience running them than either Broad or Deitch, and who have proven over the last 20 years that they are capable of building a world class museum. Moroever, Broad and Deitch have botched the public relations aspects of their bad decisions in ways that make you wonder how they were so successful in other contexts.
Is it any wonder that MOCA can’t even raise the money that Broad has promised to match and so can’t meet its budget without slashing workers? The business model that Broad and Deitch have brought to MOCA isn’t the wave of the future, it is the wave of the recent past and the cause for the economic disaster were are mired in nationally. Dismissing Paul Schimmel in favor of Deitch is like cashing in all your value stocks and doubling down on junk bonds for the sake of a long-shot windfall. Well, the verdict is already in: the future is here and it is grim from every angle.
MOCA and the Art of Being Unreasonable (Huffington Post)