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A trustee of the Art Gallery of Ontario has advised the museum’s acquisitions committee not to purchase a work by Nan Goldin because of the artist’s comments on Israel’s war in Gaza, according to a new report from the Art Gallery of Ontario. globe and mail.
The publication previously reported that the museum had sought to acquire Stendhal syndromea video installation from 2024 that makes no reference to the Israeli, Palestinian or Gaza conflicts. The plan was initially to purchase the work in conjunction with the Vancouver Art Gallery and Walker Art Centre, which did complete the acquisition, but the AGO abandoned the plan after the collections committee raised concerns about Goldin’s politics.
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The photographer is an outspoken advocate for pro-Palestinian causes and called Israel’s war in Gaza “genocide” during the 2024 opening of Berlin’s Neues Nationalgalerie. Goldin, who is Jewish, said the definition of anti-Semitism has been “weaponized” and said that “declaring all criticism of Israel as anti-Semitic makes it more difficult to define and stop violent hatred against Jews.” In response, museum director Klaus Biesenbach called the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack a “brutal act of terror” and said, “Israel’s right to exist is unquestionable for us.”
Proposal to acquire Goldin Stendhal syndrome What appears to have split the collections committee and raised concerns internally has led to the resignations of two members of the group and one curator: John Zeppetelli, who previously worked in the modern and contemporary art department and remains a guest curator. Some critics on the committee reportedly called the potential acquisition “offensive” and Golding “anti-Semitic,” and the museum promised a review.
An AGO spokesman previously said: “Personal political views were woven into the conversation. “That was not part of the process.”
on Monday, globe and mail The report said it obtained documents from a meeting showing that museum trustee Judy Schulich drove the decision not to purchase the work. Schulich, who was also a member of the committee, “characterized the artist as a liar and a propagandist,” according to the committee. globe and mailand raised quality issues Stendhal syndrome. In addition, explain the meeting document, globe and mail She reportedly “expressed concern that the Ontario government could cut off funding if the AGO purchased a piece of American art.”
In addition, according to globe and mail In the report, an internal memo states that an unnamed committee member compared Golding to Leni Riefenstahl, a photographer and documentary filmmaker who worked on propaganda for the Nazi regime.
The Art Gallery of Ontario and the Schulich Foundation, of which Schulich is vice-president, did not respond. art newsRequest for comment.
