Arnold Lehman

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E. Long and M. Avino, C-3PO photograph from the exhibition "Star Wars: The Magic of Myth"

Photo courtesy Stefan T. Edlis Collection

Ron Mueck, "Dead Dad" (1996-1997)

Ron Mueck Living Large Shaq's Big Debut Anonymous Contemporary Art Red Hot at Phillips Student Shows, a New Art Club and Surprising Works from Superstars Crowds Fill Scottish Academy for Mueck Exhibition Report From Basel: Day 3

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In 1999, Lehman found himself engaged in a heated battle with then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was leading the charge to shut down the museum’s “Sensation” exhibition of Young British Artists. That show, which included Ron Mueck’s Dead Dad and Chris Ofili’s infamous The Holy Virgin Mary (you remember: the elephant dung), solidified Lehman’s reputation as a risk-taker.

In that same year, another seismic shift took place: The institution’s trustees signed a mission statement that altered the strategic direction of the museum, placing a greater focus on the visitor and visitor’s experience.

That led to a multimillion-dollar redesign of the museum’s exterior and entryways, as well as a new emphasis on exhibitions—such as the “Hip-Hop Nation” show in 2000 and “Star Wars” in 2002—that supporters saw as community-friendly and which detractors derided as populist shows unfit for a serious museum. (What is undisputed is that these exhibitions drew sizable and diverse crowds.)

The latest change at the Brooklyn Museum has been equally charged. This summer, the museum substantially reorganized its curatorial staff, eliminating traditional departments (European painting, Asian art, etc.) in favor of two teams: one dedicated to researching and displaying the museum’s storied permanent collection, the other to exhibitions.

Lehman has said the changes—made without the issue being voted on by the museum’s board—will lead to improved communication and more (and better) exhibitions. But since the change, two trustees and two curators have left the museum, and some observers in the museum field have been openly critical of the plan.

Lehman sat down with ArtInfo to discuss this most recent controversy—and his overarching vision for the future of one of the world’s top museums.

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Your critics in the museum world have reacted strongly to your curatorial reorganization plan? Why do you think that is?

I don’t know. The curators are more central to our purpose now, and they’re being better treated. They’re in better offices. They’re getting more support. But we have changed—I guess, psychologically—a certain aspect of their role.

But we made it very clear that as this evolves, we’re going to study how this works. Everybody here knows that this is not something that’s set in concrete; we are not determined to keep it this way for another 75 to 100 years.

One of the very interesting issues is while the American Curators Association is not happy with this—because for some truly unknown reason, they suggest the curators are being diminished, when it’s certainly the reverse—I’ve gotten calls from director colleagues all over the country, saying, “You know, maybe this is our answer to our issues.”

So what are the benefits of the new curatorial structure?

We did away with the departments, but all the curators maintain their specialization, they’re all still curator of European painting or curator of decorative arts—they didn’t lose their association with the collection. And they’ve been grouped into three collection [sub-] groups.

We’ve spent a lot of time, a lot of effort and a lot of money bringing our curators together rather than having them in these silos all over the building—both literally and figuratively—so they would have an opportunity to be with one another, talk with one another, share concerns, share issues. And they now have support staff who can really help them; we couldn’t afford to provide support to each one individually.

And besides the collections division, there is a second one dedicated to exhibitions. What is their role, and how will this new approach affect shows at the museum?