The Sackler reputation washing experiment
The Sackler reputation washing experiment
It's bigger than Pablo and bigger than feminism, although feminism plays an embarrassing role here
I was going to write about Hannah Gadsby, the Brooklyn Museum’s show “It’s Pablo-matic” but I just watched Gadsby’s Netflix special, Nanette and it is based on Gadsby’s unworked through rage about being beaten up and raped in her youth. Her hatred for Picasso seems to be directly related to her traumatic experiences. She admits to being unwell and that is brave of her I guess. She agreed to curate a show about an artist she hates because the Brooklyn Museum probably offered her a nice Sackler funded paycheck.
The Brooklyn Museum’s Sackler sponsored curator Catherine Morris and Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art allow Gadsby’s pain and Feminist art history to be used as tools of reputation washing for the obscene wealth of billionaire drug dealers.
The bad reviews the show received kind of miss the point. What a world the art world is.
Was thinking about the Gurenica as well during the Gadsby/Picasso dustup. And while I feel for Gadsby's personal suffering and may be slightly repulsed by Pablo's satyrism, I don't think we have to think hard about who is the more important artist...