AAMD The Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) has a current membership (2008) consists of 190 active members, 40 emeritus and 20 honorary members. The requirements for membership include the qualifications and experience of the director and the purpose, size, standards and budget of the art museum. Members are elected to AAMD, on recommendation of the membership committee, by the Board of Trustees. In 1975, I was elected to AAMD when Director of the Corcoran Gallery of Art. As a practicing artist and coming from academia, I understand there may have been concerns over my nomination? Nevertheless, I was elected and continued as a member during my tenure at Cranbrook Art Museum; I was active in the Association for twenty years. After retirement, I received a letter, June 1995, saying that I had been elected an honorary member of AAMD. I was surprised and proud for, as stated in the letter, “an honorary membership is intended as an honor toward those who have contributed distinguished and devoted service to our cause and to AAMD, and there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that your contributions have been precisely of that nature.”
Mission
“The purpose of the Association of Art Museum Directors is to support its members in increasing the contribution of art museums to society. The AAMD accomplishes this mission by establishing and maintaining the highest standards of professional practice; serving as a forum for the exchange of information and ideas; acting as an advocate for its member museums; and being a leader in shaping public discourse about the arts community and the role of art in society.”
Education
The Association meets twice a year. The first meeting that I attended was, ironically, held in Washington DC; at the F Street Club, a few blocks from the Corcoran. I was introduced to the members by Carter Brown, director of the National Gallery of Art. The meetings are an invaluable way of meeting fellow directors and sharing not only information but exhibitions. The discussions cover relevant topics; the consistent issues being funding and dealing with the board of trustees! I am an ardent advocate of the educational mission of art museums; I chaired the Education Committee for many years. The AAMD has other committees that deal with relevant issues such as Ethics and Professional Practices; Government Relations; Cultural Properties; Community Issues; Public Affairs; Professional Practices; Program; and Membership. Over the years, committee names change but the issues remain with new problems arising. The Association continues to support its members and to act as an advocate for art museums.
Founded in 1916, AAMD has grown and, in 1992, published a review of its first 75 years. The report, a history of the association, was the result of research and study by Peter Trippi. Obviously, I was particularly interesting in the section on ‘Education’. A disparaging quote, made in 1938, by the Director of the Corcoran precedes the topic of education; he was concerned about “the busloads of undisciplined children of high school age” coming to the museum. The following are extracts from the Trippi review, starting with the first paragraph.
“Even if some directors have been hesitant to welcome young visitors, the interrelationship of art museums and education has been recognized throughout the Association’s history. Although most American art museums identified themselves as educational in their original charters, debate has constantly returned to the ongoing struggle between curators and educators for attention and funds. AAMD’s major contribution in this area has been its organization of three conferences that increased the directors’ understanding of needs and issues in museum education.”
I am proud to say that I was involved with preparing two of those three conferences. In 1982, I organized an AAMD conference on education: “Art Museums, Museum Schools & Studio Related Programs”. The meeting took place at the Art Institute of Chicago that November. I arranged for twenty five individuals representing fifteen institutions to attend; present were directors and curators from art museums and presidents and deans from art schools. As a dean, I had been involved as a member with the National Association of Schools of Art and Design; the association cooperated by giving stats that showed a third of its members reported affiliations with an art museum. The conference proceedings were documented by Cranbrook staff and published as an AAMD report the following year. In June 1989, the AAMD meeting in Rhode Island devoted one day to museum education; the program explored new strategies and technologies for interpretation, planning, evaluation and audience research. Among the distinguished speakers were the artist Robert Irwin and historian, Neil Harris. (Harris had written the introduction to the Design in America book). Peter Trippi concludes the education section with an extract from my 1990 letter to AAMD on the education committee trying “to further the momentum that was engendered at the annual meeting in Rhode Island. Education remains one of the prime missions of art museums and this is the decade of education.”
NEA
The National Endowment for the Arts, dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, was established by Congress in 1965. This independent agency of the federal government funds the arts and promotes arts education throughout the nation. I share the beliefs and commitments of NEA; I was actively involved and served on various panels. When I became Director of Cranbrook Art Museum, I was even more involved. At the Corcoran, I was “inside the beltway”, but now I was in Michigan. I had knowledge of DC and its politicians but now I represented the Midwest. Of course, I was delighted to return often to the nation’s capitol, my friends and colleagues.
Nancy Hanks was one of those friends. On the night before I left for Cranbrook, she gave a small dinner party in my honor at her club. I admired her leadership and skills; Nancy was the second chairman of the Endowment and, by far, its most effective leader! Nancy, born 1927, was named after her distant cousin, mother of Abraham Lincoln. She was appointed by President Nixon and served from 1969 to1977. She died in 1983; by a 1986 act of Congress, in recognition of her considerable contributions to the arts, the renovated Old Post Office building was named The Nancy Hanks Center. I have the greatest admiration for Nancy; her political skills were mixed with good judgment, intelligence, humor and charm. She was a champion of the visual and performing arts; politically astute, she formed a coalition of Democrats and Republicans and corporate leaders and artists. Over her eight year tenure, government funding rose from $8 to $114 million. She did not live to see some of the artistic controversies that were to be detrimental, and reduce, that funding.
Over the years, I served on various NEA panels: visual arts; design; architecture; museum; and challenge grants. I chaired the NEA Museum Program Overview Panel at the time of the Mapplethorpe debacle at the Corcoran. “The Perfect Moment” was a travelling exhibition, funded by the NEA, that presented the photographs of Robert Mapplethorpe. The photographs were regarded as sexual and controversial by many, particularly conservative politicians. The installation at the Contemporary Arts Center of Cincinnati resulted in the unsuccessful prosecution of director Dennis Barrie on charges of obscenity. The show was to be presented at the Corcoran; the controversy was such that the museum refused to go forward with the exhibit. The art world was outraged; artists felt their freedom of expression was being challenged and undermined.
The Museum Program Overview Panel met in 1989 at the Nancy Hanks Center to discuss this controversial issue; I was also a former Corcoran director and knew Dennis Barrie well. The members of the panel included respected directors of contemporary art museums; they were outraged, as was I. The panel wanted to vent its anger; walk out; condemn the NEA and make a public statement. As chairman, I used all my persuasive skills to avoid such a confrontation; harmful and detrimental to the NEA and any hope of future funding. I will not say more except that, after lengthy and heated discussion, a public protest was avoided and a statement made; the NEA was grateful, as was AAMD.
Later that year, I appeared before The National Council for the Arts to discuss the issue of controversy in art. I made an impassioned presentation; starting by saying that this was not the first time that nudity in art had been controversial in the nation’s capitol. I went on to recount the tale of W. W. Corcoran and his prize acquisition Hiram Powers’ “The Greek Slave” a marble carved in 1846. Placed on view in his house for the first time in December 1851 the nude figure shocked many of the guests at his annual Christmas party. This dismay was soon overcome when all the partygoers agreed with one gentleman's comment that Mr. Corcoran was a righteous man and a true critic of art, who would never purchase a work of art that was of “inferior quality or in poor taste.” I defended the freedom of expression that is the pillar of our democracy; artists have the right to create and challenge our sensibilities. After my words, members of the council were congratulatory.
AAMD Meetings
The Association meets twice a year; usually in late January with the annual meeting in early June. Member museums, with their art communities, host the meetings. Meetings are for directors only; and spouses or ‘significant others’. Agnes and I have attended meetings in places such as Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, San Francisco, Atlanta, Williamsburg, Sarasota, Chicago, Honolulu and San Juan. As an honorary member, Agnes and I can attend meetings; on occasion, we do so. We have many happy memories of meetings; friendships were made that last to this day. Some of these friends are in the Sarasota/Tampa Bay area, where eight former AAMD members live. Nowadays, we spend time together with Nancy and George Ellis, former director of the Honolulu Academy of Arts; they live in nearby St Petersburg. The former director of Tampa Art Museum, Andy Maass lives in Longboat Key; he and wife Ruth have an annual dinner party for directors, both retired and active. Always enjoyable to get together and AAMD meetings are that too; fun to be with fellow directors. We joke that “misery loves company” and that to find others “up a creek without a paddle” is reassuring?! As we share many of the same experiences and problems, there is immediate affinity and lots of laughter. Of course, there is much, much more to these meetings than camaraderie.
The committee meetings and business meeting deal with serious issues and set policies for the museum profession. The AAMD has produced publications and papers on many topics relevant to art museums. “Professional Practices in Art Museums” is the most important of these, along with guidelines on issues including Deaccession; Reinstitution of Works stolen by the Nazis; Corporate Sponsors; Private Collectors; Non-Profit Integrity; International Exchange of Cultural Artifacts; and Exhibition Collaborations. These issues and many more are discussed at AAMD meetings and through ongoing contact between members; papers are published and information shared. Members work hard to advance the ideals of the Association through constant correspondence, conversations and meetings. The AAMD does a remarkable job in improving art museums and supporting museum directors. The work of Mimi Gaudieri is invaluable; her dedication and hard work admirable. She was the Executive Director through my years of membership; always helpful and supporting. Agnes and I regard her as a friend; Mimi leaves AAMD at the end of 2008, she will be missed and we wish her well. I benefitted considerably and learned so much by knowing her and by my involvement with the Association. The AAMD mission is fulfilled through the ongoing commitment and shared expertise of its members, directors of major art museums in our country. I am proud to be a member.
Other than the hard work and lengthy discussion that go into committee meetings, there are the countless informal meetings amongst colleagues. Travelling exhibitions offered; collections shared; lectures arranged; resources made available; ideas and information given. The opportunity to visit the host museum and other art museums in the area is most beneficial; seeing the collections, exhibitions, galleries, gift shop, service areas and facilities. Staff and volunteers welcome us; the visits give insights and ideas that are most useful and appreciated. Of equal importance, local collectors are most gracious in opening up their homes and sharing their collections. Agnes and I have had many memorable moments in seeing extraordinary works of art in private collections. Cocktails and hors oeuvres are served but the art is what fascinates us; to see such great original works of art is a unique opportunity. The art may be from different periods and cultures but all are masterpieces of painting and sculpture. Of particular interest to us is contemporary art; we have seen enormous outdoor sculptures on the grounds and huge colorful paintings inside the vast homes of collectors. Thanks to them for their patronage of art and, to us, their generous hospitality. To respect their privacy, no more will be written describing their collections; suffice to say, we do appreciate! The members and spouses, often an attendance of 200, travel in buses to the museums and homes. The buses are another opportunity to meet and talk with colleagues; at times, bus rides lengthy yet always plenty of conversation. The private collections are usually visited in the evening, although there is a ‘spouse program’ of separate and special visits during the day. The directors remain jealous as they sit and endlessly meet in committee rooms. As an Honorary Member, I am happy to join Agnes on the spouse tours, leaving the meetings to active directors; been there, done that!
The evening events and dinners are hosted in museums; always elegant affairs. When I joined, the dinners were black tie and formal affairs; now business attire will suffice but the evenings remain elegant and entertaining. My last meeting as an active member was 1995 in San Antonio at The Museum of Art. Much to my astonishment, that evening at the dinner, I was given a standing round of applause by my colleagues and guests. Overwhelmed by this spontaneous ovation, I could not stand, leave alone speak. For once, I was speechless; now, to my colleagues and friends of AAMD, I can say “Thank you!”
(RS 11/12/08)