My Word Summer 2024

We definitely live in interesting and complicated times. As Summer ends, the election season is upon us, and the art market is seeing instability. In this issue, we take a look at just that and try to figure out what’s happening, and what the ‘art world’ is doing to adjust.

This Autumn, we shall see some interns depart for new opportunities, and we welcome some new interns on board. After a recent visit with two former interns, Ana and Francesca Norman, I have decided we need a Christmas follow-up of where some of the former interns are now, and what they are doing.

Francesca Norman is off to Florence to study painting in a three-year art program, while Ana Norman has formed her own jewelry company in Chicago (luckybanananugget.etsy.com) Very cool stuff! More on that later.

The Noh Japanese Theater Mask show is set for this Autumn. We have been pulled in many directions, so the auction platform has not been completed, but it will happen. Our main focus has been directed toward the ArtTrak-YouTube channel, which will debut this Autumn. Already booked are some fascinating one-on-one interviews. The ‘Art Panels’ will be part of our YouTube endeavor in which experts in their given field will discuss in a roundtable setting the challenges in our ever-evolving Indigenous Art world.

Regardless of who becomes president January 2025, it will bring some substantial challenges to collectors, dealers, curators, auction houses, and museums. Change is directly related to what is perceived to be of value. As generationally-opposing views clash, we ultimately will find answers and solutions that may well be permanent. By not placing value on the past and the important educational mission our museums fulfill, the future may lose knowledge that may not be recovered.

Like a good conservator, understanding the principle of reversibility might be a prudent move for the Art World. I fear that destruction, in the name of change, may eliminate that option.