Academia, Politics, Society

Brooklyn Museum Under Fire For Hiring White Curator For African Art Collection

imagesThere is an interesting controversy in New York where people are irate that Brooklyn Museum selected a distinguished academic as curator over its African art collection.  Kristen Windmuller-Luna, 31, holds a Ph.D. in African art history from Princeton University and has been a lecturer at Columbia University and Metropolitan Museum of Art. That is a pretty stellar resume but people are focused on one other aspect about Windmuller-Luna . . . she is white.  Rather than respond that it does not select curators or artists on the basis of the race, the Museum issued a pleading response that it is seeking to address the complaints.  However, the complaint is that, no matter how qualified Windmuller-Luna may be, she should have been barred due to her race from consideration.

Commentators had no qualms about objecting entirely on the basis of race — refusing to consider the qualifications of Windmuller-Luna are relevant.  The museum tweeted:

“We have been listening closely to the debate about our recent appointments to our curatorial team. We’re listening and we hear you. As we think about ways to engage in this conversation with the care it deserves, we want to assure you that you can count on us, as ever, to continue working deeply on equity within our institution and beyond.”

What precisely does that mean?  Is the museum saying that will make future appointments based on race?  African American art is precisely that: art.  It is a field of study and a genre that transcends race.  There is no reason why a white academic would not be the best candidate based on her publications and ideas on curating this collection.  Would these same critics object to an African-American being selected as curator over a Dutch art collection or school composed of Whites or Asians or other racial groups?  The beauty of art is its transcendence.  It joins us all in appreciating the visual expression.

73 thoughts on “Brooklyn Museum Under Fire For Hiring White Curator For African Art Collection”

  1. What a great way to start the week! My very first Kickstarter book came in the mail! Imagine, Squeeky Fromm, Girl Reporter, as a Patron of the Arts!

    Then, this wonderfully hilarious story! Because the overwhelming odds are, the Professor is a Democrat, and a Liberal, to boot! Now, she has gotten hoisted on her own petard! My GUESS is, that she went into African Art in the first place out of Negrophilia. African Art is pretty much Masks and wood carvings of people holding spears, as far as I can tell.

    And what else should she expect? The Democrats have been spewing race hatred against whites for decades now, and where do you think all that hatred and venom goes? Do they think it just evaporates into the stratosphere? No, Windmuller is getting back exactly what she, and people like her, have been sowing. If the Gods of Cosmic Justice are really on their game, she would have been one of the idiots who put on hoodies in solidarity with the Attempted Murderer Trayvon Martin!

    What I wonder is, will she now become a Conservative??? Or, will she have to mugged, carjacked, or knocked out in the Polar Bear Game by Blacks to get woken??? Or, would even that do the trick???

    Squeeky Fromm
    Girl Reporter

  2. “However, the complaint is that, no matter how qualified Windmuller-Luna may be, she should have been barred due to her race from consideration.” That is the racism inherent in identify politics…the idea that you can be less because of your race.

    Martin Luther King, Jr said in one of his famous speeches that he wanted his children to be judged on the basis of their character, and not by their skin. Such words would be blasphemy in the identity politics of today. But they are still a true and worthy goal.

    One of the best authors of modern times, Patrick O’Brian, grew up poor with very indifferent schooling. He was unable to join the British Navy due to health. And yet, he went on to pen world acclaimed literature. He was asked to tone down the many references in his works to the classics, Naval warfare strategy of the turn of the 18th century, sailing terms, international customs, obscure execution methods of a Pasha, the Blue Peter, medical references, dissection techniques, the weather gauge, the importance of the tide, psychology, dialect, bear costumes in Spain, detailed menus of officers and crew, and how everyone really does love a potto. These are laid out like hidden gems for his readers, to be picked up, polished, and studied…often with the use of a dictionary and internet searches, and a fan sourced cookbook. Now all O’Brian fans know about Spotted Dog and Lobscouse. All of us walked the longest stairs in the world holding the hand of an orangutan.

    Patrick O’Brian was not disqualified from writing about British Naval Warfare epics because he never served in the Navy. It didn’t matter. He may have known more about the history of the British Navy than any currently serving Admiral of the Royal Navy. When he died, tragically in the middle of his latest script, his publishers announced that they would not try to complete the book without him. They stated, and all of us fans agreed, that it would take a committee to approach Patrick O’Brian’s breadth of knowledge, and no good book was ever written by a committee.

    To bring this back around, we have no idea if Ms. Windmuller-Luna is the Patrick O’Brian of African art. But she could be. Her worth should be judged by the quality of her work and knowledge. I am no more an expert on Caucasian American art, merely because I am caucasian, than anyone plucked out of Namibia would be an expert on Africa art merely because they were African. Who cares about the dust jacket of a book? The good stuff is inside.

    1. Martin Luther King, Jr said in one of his famous speeches that he wanted his children to be judged on the basis of their character, and not by their skin.

      Yes, he said that, but just about the only person in his camarilla who was a vociferous critic of AA in the years after King died was Bayard Rustin. I think Ralph David Abernathy may also have taken exception to some orthodoxies adhered to by black politicians; not sure about that one. Whitney Young, like King, died before that issue came to a head (though AA existed during his lifetime).

      Run down the list and tell me who was an opponent of AA: Roy Wilkins, Benjamin Hooks, Vernon Jordan, John Jacob, James Farmer, Floyd McKissick, Coretta King, Joseph Lowery, Hosea Williams, Thurgood Marshall, Jack Greenberg, Joseph Rauh, Marion Berry, James Foreman, John Lewis, Stokely Carmichael, Bueller, Bueller, Bueller….

    2. In addition, if a degree in any African topic will render the degree holder unemployable if they are Caucasian, then they should immediately stop offering such courses to Caucasians. It must be some form of cultural misappropriation for one race to learn anything from another, or to share fashion or ideas. Jim Crow has already enjoyed a revival in student housing, why not in the class offerings, as well? When you try to enroll using the automated system, perhaps you should have to give your race to gain admittance to certain classes.

      Clearly, the Spice Road was misappropriation, as is the use of gunpowder anywhere except China. So is makeup, especially Khol around a woman’s eyes. Oh, and only Indians can henna their hair or wear henna tattoos.

  3. What did the Iraqi ISIS members do to ancient Iraqi sites and artifacts?

  5. Would they actually be allowed, as a matter of employment discrimination law, to exclude applicants on the basis of race, or even to give preference to applicants of a particular race?

  6. This is sickening. People who qualify do jobs should be hired to do them regardless of their race or ethnic backgrounds. I grew up three blocks from the Brooklyn Museum and was a frequent visitor, shopper or student of art classes, as well as sleighing down its enormous back slope that abutted the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. The museum was a wonderful place to go.

    Why is it that everything under the sun, every breath we take practically ends up with a discussion like this? IT is such an enormous bore and so ridiculous. I am sure that this woman is completely qualified for her job. Quotas for everything. We will ready be the Socialist utopia pretty soon. I hope you are right, above here. Al Sharpton is the last thing that the Brooklyn Museum needs.

    1. Where’s your outrage when Whitehouse interns are almost exclusively of one race in a society where people of color are 40% of the population?

        1. The only offense is when Whites are discriminated against? Is that the Turley blog POV? No need for and answer, insufferable. My opinion on the subject is formed. It’s a question posed at large (rhetorical) or, narrowly, for Darren or Turley to answer.

          1. I have news for you, Linda. Patronage slots are generally distributed according to connections. You want patronage in a Republican administration, contributions and your time and talent are needed up front, or at least that of a family member’s. Same deal in Democratic Administrations. Blacks who contribute requisitely make it into the magic circle and receive patronage. Since blacks cast over 90% of their ballots for the Democratic Party, there aren’t that many slated in Republican administrations.

            This isn’t that difficult.

        2. DSS – have you noticed the number of black pages on the Senate and House floor?

                1. Linda – you are right. I remember. The Congressmen were abusing the pages, so they got rid of the pages rather than the Congressmen.

          2. IIRC, the pages lived in a dormitory and attended school from 6 – 10 am before going to work. Cannot recall what the wage scale was, if any. Their duties consisted of ferrying things around. I suspect most blacks think that if you’re going to work in personal service, it should come with a wage and fringes, so they’re working at the local nursing home. The page program is chump change.

      2. Linda:

        Skin color, hair color, and eye color are not job qualifications.

        Period.

          1. The overwhelming majority of interns under Obama were white. According to HuffPo, most Democratic Senate staffers are white. I remember seeing a photo of Obama giving a speech to his interns, and they were predominantly white.

            If staffers are turning down applicants based on race, then you have a problem. If most applicants are white, then that’s just where the interest lies.

            The expectation that any hiring practices exactly reflect the racial and ethnic and religious distribution of our entire population assumes an exactly equal interest and qualification across the population. Sometimes, however, there is more or less interest. For example, more women express an interest in becoming elementary school teachers then men do. Should the majority of female applicants be turned down, in order to assure a 50/50 split in men and women elementary school teachers in order to reflect our population? Of course not. It should be based on interest and qualifications alone. Superficial attributes should not impact employability. One must also consider that the majority of African Americans votes Democratic. Therefore why would anyone expect interns to reflect exactly the same percentage distribution of the population?

            Who cares about skin color or gender? Get the best people. Period. The Left is becoming increasingly racist. Considering anyone less due to race is racist. Denying employment based on race is racist. Granting employment preferentially to a specific race, unless it is a requirement of the job, such as portraying a black character, is racist.

    1. Note to Whitehouse about interns- EOE laws
      Or, are interns just padding their resumes with unpaid opportunities gained by connections based on race and income bracket?

  8. The directors have made their decision, and critic should just shut up and move over.

    The U.S. is predominantly a white country, so an African-American, much less any minority, has no business as president?

    Grousing critics are attempting to do nothing more than advance their agenda by misplacing affirmative action, which has already destroyed enough fabric of the workplace, a failed experiment where an inch is given and a mile demanded.

    Agendas are motivated by power. It was never about the color of skin and character. Everyone today wants the impossible: to be in charge.

  9. African American art is precisely that: art.

    She was hired to curate an exhibition of African art, not black American art. Art historians are not that numerous and those specializing in this niche are even less so. It’s a reasonable wager that scholars of African art with her depth are numbered in two digits and the blacks among them in one digit.

    It should be noted that black Americans are derived from West African populations. They have no particular relationship with the rest of Africa bar general phenotype. And, of course, black American culture, like West Indian culture and Brazilian culture, is its own thing. It is not a West African derivative. It was cultivated in this country.

  10. I have white friends who have an incredible collection of African art, probably 2000 pieces or more and they are not small. They would be considered experts. Their problem right now is finding a museum to will their collection to when they die since their daughter is not interested in it.

    1. BTW- a national company that conducts on-line auctions of collections, decided recently to refuse to sell Nazi memorabilia -possibly a principled position or, they thought it hurt the brand.

        1. More evidence that “Linda” is a bot – just responding to key words in the thread.

        2. “finding a museum” to take the collection. .. your friends are “experts” by virtue of owning the art.
          Finding takers for Nazi memorabilia- not easy- and, their owners may not be “experts”.

    2. Paul – I am so glad that they are planning to preserve the collection. You are so lucky to have been able to see it. I hope it goes to a reputable museum that does not succumb to the nonsense that is the topic of today’s post. Politics should not encroach into art or the public education system.

  11. Wha”s Israel got to do with it? Nothing. It’s called Extremist Reverse Racism being installed as if it was something normal instead of something perverse. Or do they consider Brooklyn to be a concentration camp or ghetto that can be cleansed by racial purfication of their own kind?

    Israel by the way is a haven for those of ‘other’ religions being persecuted. Certain placed within the USA are seemingly being turned into ‘residence by race and by choice.’

    So why not just hire regardless of qualifications except race and give the job to Maxine Waters?

    1. Butt: He will be in Brokklyn. He must be able to prounce 33rd street and 3rd avenue correctly: Turdy turd and a turd.

  14. “Commentators had no qualms…”

    The qualifications of persons making comments should be evaluated just as much as the persons being commented upon. Are they informed and objective or merely calling attention to themselves? Something to keep in mind when writing for, or commenting upon, this blog.

    1. A man marries a woman and that confers upon him, the public’s perception that he brings the authority on women’s literature that will enhance an organization’s reputation. hmmm.

  16. I thought multiculturalism and diversity were supposed to bring unity to our society. Doesn’t seem to be happening. It has only brought us a never ending demands from aggrieved minorities. Demands which will never be satisfied. I want a divorce!!

  17. Turley’s meat for the base today, while he remains silent about the racial preference shown in the roster of interns in Trump’s administration.

    1. What need? He has you to make up stories without foundation and attempt to spread them. What’s next ahhh yes… A Nobel Laureate for Allison based on race and on his desire to become an economic Hitler? Not pure enough for you OK Stalin?

  18. Just reverse the races, and see if that makes one feel a little bit more uncomfortable.
    A black curator is hired to administer an art collection of Viking ornamental metalwork.
    A protest and complaint goes up against the hiring of that curator because, well he’s black, and obviously a black man is unqualified to know anything about ancient Viking culture.

  19. The official response is just an effort to say nothing concrete but inject the notion of equality (which is of course important) in a slight nudge so that they can later use it as a hammer against those who persist in voicing their racist complaints against this woman’s appointment. All this is done in the hope the anger will fall away when the race baiters find another cause célèbre.

    Hopefully this matter will subside before opportunists such as Al Sharpton come along to inject themselves into the arena.

  20. You’re either qualified or you isn’t. Ain’t that what ya’ll been fighting for? You’re either a racist or you ain’t. Or is it all about payback? We already got one Israel.

    1. You said that and it had the same ethnic-racist remark as the first time.

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