After 48 years of operation, the Rose Art Museum announced that it would close by summer and sell off its collection, which is especially strong in twentieth century American art and includes over 6,000 works. According to sources, Brandeis University decided to close the museum in response to economic strains brought on by the recession, and the institution hopes the auction of their collection will help them out of a $10 million dollar budget deficit. I was unable to find a press release from the museum directly addressing the situation, but the news comes from the Boston Globe and the LA Times. The Rose Art Museum, directed by video art scholar Michael Rush since 2005, has hosted a number of wonderful exhibitions over the years, notably Balance and Power: Performance and Surveillance in Video Art which included artists such as Jill Magid, Jim Campbell, Kristin Lucas and Harun Farocki, whose work we've covered in some depth on Rhizome.
Subject: Artists Against Brandeis Art Liquidation
Protest the selling of art by Brandeis. What makes a University if there is no culture? Make a difference and help keep the collection together.
email your displeasure to the President Jehuda Reinharz: jreinharz@brandeis.edu
Send your letters here:
Office of the President | Irving Enclave 113, MS 100 | 415 South Street, Waltham, MA 02453 | (781) 736-3001
Let's stop the liquidation of artwork before it disappears!
Starting this week we also urge all members of PAM to start sending artwork addressed to the office of Jehudah Reinharz, President of Brandeis.
Please make sure to not include anything malicious or crass, it is important to be on the right side of this argument. Make sure to include NOT FOR SALE on the front or back of the piece.
Ari Jankelowitz started a flickr group with the same name as this one in order for us to document and share the art we are sending to the office.
The goal of the project is to demonstrate the power of art. Yes, art can be made into a commodity, but artist can also protest this. Let our voices be heard on the displeasure of Mr. Reinharz's decision to eliminate art from Brandeis.
Also if you are on facebook join the Artists Against Brandeis Art Liquidation Group <http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=78383226392>
Thanks Ari for being on top of this.