Viewing page 25 of 55
This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.
NEWSLETTER ARTISTS EQUITY ASSOCIATION 625 MADISON AVENUE NEW YORK 22, N. Y. [---] Vol. 3, No. 3 OCTOBER 15, 1950 [---] THE THIRD WOODSTOCK ART CONFERENCE THE ARTIST AND THE MUSEUM As you probably already know, there was a conference in Woodstock, New York, on September 1 and 2 to discuss the relationship of the artist to the museum and the museum to the artist. Judging from the speeches made and the resolutions drawn up, the subject was discussed—but thoroughly—without rancor or inhibition. Specific problems were discussed carefully, and the larger themes of education, culture and the plight of the world, though they found their reflection in the various points of view expressed around the panel tables, never confused or side-tracked the main line of inquiry. It was in these panel discussions that the conferees really got down t business and explained with admirable candor where their interests lay. For the most part there was no show of power on either side, but the symbols were exchanged and passed from hand to hand and examined carefully by those attending. This took the form on one side, in the open and unchallenged admission that artists' reputations rested in the hands of museums and, on the other, that the exhibition and purchase of American Art was one of the most vital and popular activities that museums engaged in. This meeting of artists and museum executives was sponsored by the Woodstock Artists Association and Artists Equity. For more than a year the Conference Committee, headed by Sidney Laufman and Edward Millman, planned and organized the two-day session. They decided on the policy, aims and purposes of such a conference. After analyzing the problems of the day to day relationship of artists and museums and organizing these under three main headings: (1) exhibitions and juries; (2) artists' participation in museum activities; (3) education and community relations; they drew up their plans for the three panel discussions and worked out the agenda for the two-day meeting. From every point of view, the Conference Committee put on a show that would have aroused the envy of the most seasoned organizer of conventions. After all, this was a lot more than just getting together for a good time. A great many points of view had to be tactfully held in balance, but given complete freedom of expression, and, last and hardest of all, these various exchanges had to be put into the form of clear, practical recommendations. The Conference Committee carried this off with easy, gracious determination. They certainly deserve the thanks, not only of artists, but of museum people throughout the country. Only the Fourth Session, Saturday afternoon, was open to the general public, and the two morning meetings were for registrants. The real work of the conference was done on Friday afternoon in three large studios of the Art Students League buildings, situated a little more than a mile east of the village on the Saugerties road. Easels and studio equipment had been pushed aside, large tables had been set up, and each panel began its deliberations under the careful guidance of its two chairmen, one an artist, the other a museum executive. The Conference Committee had very wisely drawn up a list of suggested topics for each panel and, in each of the three studios, the panel members concentrated all afternoon on their allotted problems. This became a question of boiling things down to terms, or, more accurately, "rendering" the points of view, so that they were free of misunderstanding, equivocation, or just plain impractical suggestions. Every so often, the two chairmen would skim off the residue of the argument and another resolution would be formulated. The recommendations of each panel are printed in this newsletter, and though they now appear simple and easy, the actual conception was tough and painful. Friday morning was given over to opening the conference, welcoming the registrants, delegates and panel members, and defining the purposes and aims of the meetings. Sidney Laufman, as chairman, opened the conference, and Fletcher Martin and Yasuo Kuniyoshi made introductory speeches, welcoming those attending. In a very clear and forceful manner, Lloyd Goodrich of the Whitney Museum outline the hopes and defined the aims of the conference. He described the economic hazards that beset the artist and then explained why museums, though perfectly aware of this condition, were often forced into a defensive attitude toward it, by the very conditions under which they operated. He gave the keynote to the proceedings when he said: "Museums today are institutions not just for collecting and exhibiting works of art, but educational institutions, devoted to increasing public knowledge of art, improving public taste, and fostering creative activity. It is with this last function, that of fostering creative activity, that we are concerned at this conference." Later, "We museum people need to remind ourselves every now and then that it is the artist who is the prime mover, and that all the works we collect and study were produced by living men." He pointed out
