A question of art
Former museum director to give talk to help art students
High-powered museum expert offers advice.
David A. Ross comes to NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale on Saturday with impeccable bona fides as the former director of globally relevant museums in New York, San Francisco and Boston. But don’t look to him to solve the “incredibly confusing” state of the art world these days.
The answers to the most vexing cultural questions of the day, he says, are more likely to come from you.
“I am not the ‘answer man.’ I don’t think that’s the role of anyone in the arts,” Ross says. “It’s to provoke people to explore questions on their own. I don’t believe, even though I have 40 years of experience, that I know more. I have my own opinions. But a 25-year-old can have better opinions and a better understanding of today ... I always see these opportunities as a chance to share my opinions and get feedback from others.”
Currently the chairman of the MFA program in Art Practice at New York’s School of Visual Arts, Ross’ 2 p.m. talk on Saturday is the inaugural event for NSU Art Museum’s the Art of Teaching Art conference on creativity and innovation in art education, which will take place this fall at the museum.
Ross is the former director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston.
The 66-year-old Ross calls his current position at the School of Visual Arts “give-back time,” helping prepare a new generation of artists for the next step, after he spent so many years learning in the studios of their predecessors. As the name of the course implies, its focus is on real-world, practical information.
“People should revel in the complexity of what’s happening in the world of art and architecture and film and music and dance” he says. “It’s just an amazing time to be alive.”
David A. Ross will speak 2 p.m. Saturday,at NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, 1 E. Las Olas Blvd. Entry is free with museum admission ($12, $8 seniors/ military, $5 students) and free for teachers with educator ID. Call 954-525-5500 or visit NSUArtMuseum. org.