Notes from the field

Afterimage, July-August, 2003 by Betsy Phillips, Nathan Hogan

Tim Griffin has been appointed the new Editor-in-Chief of Artforum International magazine. Griffin, 33, joined Artforum in 2002; he worked briefly as US Reviews Editor and was promoted in February to Senior Editor. Before coming to Artforum, Griffin was Art Editor of Time Out New York from 2000 to 2002. He has also served as Editor of ArtByte magazine and as Senior Editor of Art on Paper. A visiting critic in the painting department of the Yale Graduate School of Art in 2003, Griffin has written for numerous publications, including Vogue, artext, Art in America, Index., and artpress. For Artforum, he recently reviewed Matthew Barney's Cremaster exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Modern Art's Drawing Now. Griffin succeeds Jack Bankowsky, who will become Editor-at-Large for Special Products upon completing the September issue.

Maxwell L. Anderson will step down as director of the Whitney Museum of American Art in the fall. Anderson., who has led the institution since 1998, has accepted a position as a Leadership Fellow at the Chief Executive Leadership Institute at the Yale School of Management. "I am grateful for everything that the staff has accomplished," says Anderson, "and that the board has supported, across all aspects of the museum--from the collection to education to audience-building to programming." Anderson built the Whitney's collection in several ways, chiefly by establishing acquisition committees in previously unsupported areas (film and video, architecture, new media) and, most recently, by securing a landmark gift of postwar art from members of the Board of Trustees. Anderson begins his fellowship in the fall at the Yale School of Management, where he will advise on emerging leadership and governance challenges for public organizations.

The Public Art Program of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs has invited 12 artists to occupy a vacant storefront in the Page Brothers Building, 177 N. State Street, in a series of brief open projects running through September. The project will allow the public to see the art-making process as it happens, with artists working in a variety of media. Artists in the program include: Rashid Johnson., whose past works examine the effects of slavery on African-American culture; Brooke Williams, a New York photographer who makes collections of images through Polaroid photography; and Donald Stahlke, who works in a variety of media exploring the myth of the "Wildman" through sculpture, painting, and dioramas, and who also creates a series of tattooed fruits and vegetables whose aging process is fascinating to observe. The artists will work in the space from approximately noon to 6 p.m., Monday - Friday, as the public observes through the windows.

The Chrysler Museum of Art and Historic Houses in Norfolk, VA is the recipient of a $350,000 grant from the Norfolk Foundation. The grant will assist in the creation of the Norfolk Foundation Art Education Center, and a portion will provide for new easels, work tables, computers, and audio-visual and digital projection equipment. The Norfolk Foundation has been a frequent contributor to the Chrysler in an effort to improve the Museum's computer systems and expand its galleries. This particular grant supports the Foundation's interest in improving education throughout Hampton Roads.

Roy R. Neuberger, the founding patron of the Neuberger Museum of Art at SUNY Purchase, will be 100 years old this July. The Museum is marking the event with a celebration in Neuberger's honor, to be held on Thursday, July 17 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Neuberger began collecting art in 1937, and has since amassed an extensive collection, much of which he has donated to museums and other institutions. In 1965, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller offered to create a museum to house Neuberger's works, and Neuberger agreed to donate to the proposed SUNY Purchase Museum. At 100 years of age, Neuberger continues to be a passionate patron of the arts. His second biography, The Passionate Collector, is available through the Neuberger Museum.

The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California is set to commence with the construction of a 16,000-square-foot addition to its American Art Gallery. Los Angeles-based architect Frederick Fisher and Partners designed the $6 million building which will nearly double the size of the current Virginia Steele Scott Gallery, providing for more gallery and storage space. The new building will adjoin the west side of the 1984 Paul Grey building, currently housing the Huntington's collection of American paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts, and will also serve as exhibition space during future renovation of the Huntington Gallery. Construction will begin this fall.

James Hunkin, former secretary of the Camera Club in south London, has announced plans to create a new international profile photographic centre in the U.K. The International Photographic Centre will focus on photographic practice and affordable education and training. Hunkin realized the need for professionally run photographic facilities in the wake of widespread darkroom closures. His is one of at least eight new U.K. photographic centers that are currently in the works.