13.2.2013. 19:19 |
Nova direktorica Židovskog muzeja u New Yorku
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A Museum Broadens Its Identity
By ALLAN KOZINN
The Jewish Museum’s director, Claudia Gould, says one goal is to change the presentation of the permanent collection.
Coming to the museum after a dozen years as director of the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, following five at the helm of Artists Space, the SoHo organization devoted to the work of emerging artists, Ms. Gould, 56, was seen by some in the art world as likely to transform the museum into a haven for modern works, as it was briefly in the 1960s when it presented young Pop Art and Minimalist pioneers.
That prospect worried those who regard the museum’s Judaica collection as its principal focus, and who were wondering whether Ms. Gould — raised in an interfaith home, with a Jewish father and a Roman Catholic mother — had the background to deal with these materials.
For Robert A. Pruzan, the museum’s chairman, that appeared to be a nonissue.
“Claudia’s spirituality and thoughtfulness about the interplay of culture and religion, and the role of religion in one’s life and community, was very appealing to those of us on the search committee,”
Mr. Pruzan said. “We discussed her background, but in the end, the decision was that this was the right leader for the museum. And in a world of intermarriage and other trends, being able to communicate with a broad community was important to us.”
“We have 26,000 objects here,” she added, “and the exhibition includes only 800 of them. We have a lot more to show.”
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