Indianapolis Museum of Art Blog

So, a few months ago, I wrote a blog listing my “art crushes.” From art critics to museum directors, I bared my soul to the arts world. Michael Kimmelman, Tyler Green, Will Gompertz, Kathy Halbreich, and Phillippe de Montebello, I still love you all, but I’m afraid I’ve forever ruined my chances of being cool. It’s pretty difficult looking hip when you’re admitting you’ve got a massive crush on the Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. So this summer, I’m making an attempt to overcome my innate dorkiness. I’m going to spend the next few months visiting some of the hippest museums in the US. Here’s my plan to stay cool this summer.

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I’ve been reading the same book for 2 years. Yep, that’s right. I may have all kinds of other commitment issues in my life, but when it comes to books, I’m in it for the long haul. Sure I’ve read other books along the way. Books that are way more entertaining. Books that are a lot more interesting. But I’m devoted to Art in Theory: 1900-2000, An Anthology of Changing Ideas and I’m not going to stop until I’ve read every page.

Let me state for the record that a page in this book is like 20 pages in any other. It’s dense. Really dense. Check out this quote from page 817: “The articulation of Structuralism and semiotics to a Lacanian psychoanalysis wherin the human subject was understood as formed in the play of gender difference contained far-reaching implications for the avant-garde.” Huh? Try reading that before bedtime. Rather than Chamomile Tea or sleeping pills, Art in Theory is what I use when I have insomnia. I labor through 2 pages and I’m exhausted.

I know I sound like I’m complaining, but I’m not. I love this book. I love all 1376 pages. I love it because I am a self-proclaimed art geek, and this is the book for art geeks. It tells the story of 20th-century art from the first-hand perspectives of artists, critics and philosophers. It’s not distilled down art history in some art appreciation text book. This is art history straight from the horse’s mouth. From Sigmund Freud to Donald Judd, there’s a little something for everyone and a whole heck of a lot just for me!

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Some girls have crushes on rock stars or actors; I crush on art critics and museum directors. Yes, I know, I’m a huge geek…but since it is Valentine’s Day, I thought I would profess my undying love to my top 5 crushes in the art world. (In no particular order.)

Michael Kimmelman– Rocked my world in 2007! Last year I read his book The Accidental Masterpiece: On the Art of Life and Vice Versa and it changed the way I think about art, my job and my life. I’m also pretty sure he may have one of the coolest gigs in the world, as the chief art critic for the New York Times.

Tyler Green – First of all, he’s all MAN. I’m in awe of Tyler’s authoritative and often humorous blog postings for Artjournal’s Modern Art Notes (MAN). He keeps me in the know and constantly brightens my days with his prolific musings on the art world. I’m also completely in love with him because he just added the IMA to his blog roll. Read the rest of this entry »