Can a museum be considered just an economic resource?

As Detroit files for bankruptcy — the largest American city ever to do so — the impressive collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts has become a political bargaining chip in a fight that could drag on for years between the city and its army of creditors, who have said in no uncertain terms that the artworks must be considered a saleable asset.

 

Yesterday, the museum, which has vowed to go to court to oppose any attempt to sell its art to raise money for to the city, said in a statement that it “recognizes the city’s severe financial distress and its need for the protection and powers of the bankruptcy court” to help get the city back on its feet. But it added that the city should not “undercut those goals by jeopardizing Detroit’s most important cultural institution and the economic, educational and other significant benefits it brings to the city and the region.”

 

In the picture, The Detroit Industry fresco cycle. It was conceived by Mexican muralist Diego Rivera (1886–1957) as a tribute to the city’s manufacturing base and labor force of the 1930s. Rivera completed the twenty-seven panel work in eleven months, from April 1932 to March 1933. It was commissioned by the Ford, and it is considered the finest example of Mexican mural art in the United States, and the artist thought it the best work of his career.

July 15, 2015