By: Chas

Chas — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 17:14:37 +0000

Thanks for covering this story. As an Iowa resident and occasional visitor to the Des Moines Art Center, I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I’m sympathetic to the artist’s desire to maintain her work in the long run. At the same time, DMAC’s concerns for the costs of maintenance and safety of visitors are certainly legitimate. Can any artist to expect that an outdoor installation will be maintained in a pristine state for all time? If so, there is a limited choice of materials and structural elements that can be expected to hold up. Iowa is visited by tornadoes, derechos, and other adverse climatic conditions, and given the trajectory of climate change, that’s not going to get any better. Is it reasonable to expect the museum to restore an outdoor installation, no matter the cost? How does that affect the overall operating budget of the museum and resulting limitations of what other art can be acquired and shown to the public? I hope the author would continue to explore these issues in the case of Miss vs. DMAC. There is likely much more here than is evident at first glance.

Comments on: Court Stops Iowa Art Center From Destroying Artist’s Land Installation

By: Chas