The Council for Artists Rights, an advocacy group based in Chicago led by John Viramontes, has launched a campaign to censure the Dallas Museum of Art and the Ft. Worth Modern Art Museum for "letting its employees spend significant amounts of their time [managing] the Dallas Cowboys Art Program." Curators Michael Auping and Charles Wylie, along with collectors Howard Rachofsky and Gayle Stoffel, were involved in suggesting artists for massive projects in the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium. In an email to Glasstire, Viramontes claims to have sent an open letter on March 30 to the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram asking the question, "Is it not the purview of art dealers, independent curators and artists to earn their bread and butter from commercial ventures like the DCAP?" and further opining that "if Auping and Wylie do not have enough work to keep them occupied at the museum, perhaps the museums’ board of trustees needs to take a hard look at those positions and consider making them part-time jobs with the commensurate reduction in salary and employee benefits." Stay tuned to see if the hothead ignites any fireworks!
