Artist. BY DONNA IADIPAOLO Museums have become public relations agents for the interests of big business and its ideological allies, photographer and art critic Deborah Bright yesterday said to about 100 students and faculty at the Art and Architecture Building. In her presentation titled "Wait 'Till Donald Trump Buys the Whitney," Bright discussed how the art market has been transformed by the demands of corporate investment and sponsorship. "The market mentality that pervades the culture industry these days is actually the result of over two decades' worth of changes that have taken place in the inner sanctums of museum boardrooms as well as in the more public arenas fo the galleries and auction houses," said Bright. Culture suffers fro Topping $600 million in 1984, accord- ing to the Business Committee on the Arts, Bright said corporate donations to museums such as the Metropolitan and the Whitney have had a detrimental impact of the state of our culture industry. In a slide presentation of advertisers' use of art, Bright demonstrated the allure social status to draw on and create popular mar- kets for certain art and its consumption. Corporations "tapped and groomed through sophisticated marketing techniques and popular education," she said, making art accessible for "family fun entertainment." As an example, she said more than_300 museum trustees convened last October in Florida at Walt Disney World, where they attended a session titled, "Creating Museum Magic Through Quality Service Disney Style." "Distinctions between museums and Disney have become increasingly blurred," said Bright. "The Metropolitan Museum of Art has replicated a Ming Dynasty Scholar's courtyard and Disney has built a half-scale replica of Beijing's Temple of Heaven; the Smithsonian Institution has built an IMAX theater and Disney presents 'quality art exhibitions.' No wonder muse- ums are looking to Disney for new ways of dealing with audiences without boring them." But Bright also acknowledged our coun- try's emphasis on the possession of ob- jects, ownership, and "connoisseurship," which she said has brought art into its commercial existence. "The Art lends its aura to the owners," she said. "That the The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 9, 1989 - Page 5 m corporations museum functions to valorize the accumu- $25,000. At the Art Institute of Chicago, lation of wealth has been true since its ori- for instance, the total of donated art plunged gins." from 3,000 gifts in fiscal year 1987 to 755 One art dealer told her that "as soon as in fiscal year 1988, said Larry Ter Molen, people have money today they start director of the La Jolla Museum of Con- collecting," Bright said. "Art comes right temporary Art. after the mink and the Mercedes." Bright, who teaches at the Rhode Island The new tax laws have added to the di- School of Design and has published nu- mension of art's uses and the deterioration merous critiques in art and photography of donated art, Bright said. journals, also discussed the racism and sex- "Art is now a pure investment, often ism which is reflected in art culture. reappearing at auctions within a year or two "Patently obvious to anyone who looks of purchase," she said. at the statistics of who and what is traded as Bright explained that under the new tax Art in this commodity market, is the sys- laws, high-income donors can deduct only tematic and continued lack of access to the the purchase price of gifts to museums, but, market of women, racial minorities, and not the appreciated value. The immediate work that unambiguously critiques the effect, she said, has been a drop of about 50 passively accepted values and beliefs of percent in gifts of art valued at more than capitalist liberalism," she said. 22nd Women's Weekend to celebrate women and art BY KATHLEEN GRIEM East Quad's 22nd annual "Women's Weekend" will begin tonight when internationally renowned artist Terry Braunstein de- livers a keynote speech on her life as a woman artist. Braunstein's speech, at 7 p.m. tonight in East Quad's RC Audito- rium, will kick off a weekend of events celebrating the impact of women in the art world. "We chose the theme 'Women in Art' to take advantage of our re- sources - mainly, all of the excep- tional female artistic talent here at the University," said Jane Wilson, a Residential College first-year student and chair of the event. "We also felt that a greater variety of people, including men, would feel more comfortable attending the event if we chose a celebratory theme such as this one, instead of a more con- troversial women's issue," Wilson said. A 1964 graduate of the University Art School, Braunstein received her Masters' degree at the Maryland In- stitute of Art. She is currently a professor of fine arts at California State University. Braunstein's collages, which combine old photographs with a va- riety of other mediums, have been exhibited in the Center Pompidou in Paris, the Gallery Miyazaki in Japan, and the Tartt Gallery in Washington, D.C. Braunstein is a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Award. An art exhibit will be on display tomorrow from 12 to 5 p.m. in 124 East Quad. The exhibit will show- case works by Braunstein - includ- ing her 1982 photo montage book, Windows - and various women student artists. A coffee house featuring female performing artists will be held on Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m. in the I- Halfway Inn in East Quad. All women at the University can exhibit their artwork, or read or sing their own pieces at the coffee house, said Megan Barber, RC junior and art exhibit coordinator. RESERVE OFFICERS' TRAINING CORPS T New Hop-In fuels local competition Play Your Cards Right... Be A Blackjack Dealer at: Michigras 1989 BY BRADLEY KEYWELL Ann Arbor's new Hop-In convenience store opened its doors last week to a student body that is "aching for a convience store that caters to them," said Manager Dan DePiew. The store, on S. University and S. Forest Sts., will be geared toward student needs, said .DiPiew. Open 24 hours, the store will offer fast foods, copy and fax machines, public restrooms, and, eventually, a money machine and video rentals. A store suggestion box will solicit students' input, he said. The Hop-In represents new competition for the Stop-N-Go, around the block on E. University St., and Village Corner, across the street on S. Forest. "The competition seems very nervous about our appearance. They are in here three to four times a day checking us out," DiPiew said. But Jim Flack, manager of the Village Corner,. said, "We plan to beat them at every price and pound them into the ground as soon as possible," he said. Conference Continued from Page 3 campaigns - 25 years ago. LSA junior Pam Nadasen, the panel's moderator and a member of UCAR, said SNCC developed from the student sit-ins in the '60s. "It became a pivotal force within the civil rights movement providing an CLASSIFIED ADS! Call 764-0557 A recent price check proved that, so far, Flack is keeping his word. While candy bars at Hop-In are 55 cents, Stop-N-Go stocks them for 45 cents, and Village Corner has them for 40 cents. Another convenience item, Nabisco crackers, are 40 cents cheaper at Village Corner than at Stop-N-Go and Hop-In. "By matching or beating their prices, we are only acting in the first phase of our plan. There is more to come," Flack said. DiPiew, however, said he is confident because of Hop-In's early "outstanding" reception. "We are very well respected at this point by both the students and our fellow store-owners on South U," he said. Students' responses to the new Hop-In were generally positive. "It's clean, it's cheap, and it's in the right location," said LSA sophomore Lisa Roth. With store windows on both S. University and S. Forest, DiPiew said the Hop-In will place a great emphasis on cleanliness to win business. "We're much more visible than our competitors," says DiPiew. alternative to the male-dominated, hierarchical forces at that time," she said. Nadasen said SNCC achieved many victories which young ac- tivists can build upon, it is nevertheless "not a blueprint for students organizing today. They made mistakes we need to recog- nize." For example, she said, sexism within the organization was a de- structive problem that was not dealt with adequately. Gambling, Games, and a Good Time" 11 YOUR FIRST STEP TOWARD SUCCESS IS THE ONE YOU COULD TAKE THIS SUMMER. Army ROTC Camp Challenge. It's exciting and itmay be your last opportunity to grad- uate with an Army Officer's commission. LEAERS~ip ARMY ROTC THE SMARTEST COLLEGE COURSE YOU CAN TAKE. Find out more. Call Captain O'Rourke: visit 131 North Hall or call 764-2400. 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