H. de Roos - The critique of the toronto exhibition |
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Introduction The Rodin Symposium at the R.O.M. took place in a highly charged atmosphere due to the questions the Musée Rodin had raised about the quality of the exhibited plasters and the bronze casts made from them. In June 2001, MacLaren Director William Moore wrote to me, maybe we need a political scientist in this debate. And as a political scientist, I found it necessary to try and examine if this critique by the Musée Rodin was justified by the facts, or if it was rather motivated by institutional interests, - as claimed by the MacLaren Art Centre. In other words: Is this controversy about the quality of art, or is this just a struggle for power, prestige and money? And can we discern any institutional strategy, or is this confrontation just triggered by plain confusion, lack of information, misrepresentations by the press? Or could we even say, the shocking vagueness in this debate is an essential element of such strategies? To prepare for the Toronto Symposium, I have taken up my correspondence with the MacLaren staff again and also have contacted Musée Rodin Director Jacques Vilain and the Gruppo Mondiale Est. in Italy - a pre-owner of the donated works and issuer of the 1999/2000 bronze casts. From this, an intensive communication developed regarding the backgrounds of this new collection. Before conclusions from this correspondence can be presented, we the should take a close look at the press release by the Musée Rodin - as a starting point for public discussion.
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