"The biggest music destination in the world" is quite an absurd stretch. That's both arrogant and delusional.
--- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, marioa...@... wrote: > > I missed this from Aug 17. Maybe others had too. Hoping Gary Mottola is > not always as difficult and as quick to take umbrage as he appears in this > write up: > > Robin Parness Lipson Works for New Jersey Art Museum - NYTimes.com > http://nyti.ms/9xrqRL > http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/18/arts/design/18dream.html?_r=1 > > Excerpts: > > August 17, 2010 > A Dream of a Contemporary Art Museum on the Jersey Shore > > ASBURY PARK, N.J. â¦. What she sees are the bustling new restaurants and > gift shops and the energy of a bright future being shaped. And as part of > that future, she sees her baby, her dream, the New Jersey Museum of > Contemporary Art: a glittering monument to the idea that New Jersey is not > just the > home of Snooki and the Situation, or feuding housewives, or the Bada Bing > Club, but a place where cultured, philanthropic people can build something > that makes a difference. > > Ms. Lipson has not yet raised any of the $5 million it is projected that > she will need to open the museum, nor does she have a lock on the boardwalk > real estate she covets, or a team of slick consultants armed with surveys > and statistics. But she is a bona fide expert at using charm, guileless > candor, boundless energy and terms of endearment to bring home what she > wants: a > new museum on the Jersey Shore devoted to emerging artists. ⦠> > ⦠But she does have the support of wealthy friends with a major art > collection: Michael and Susan Hort. The Horts, who appear annually on > ARTnewsâs > list of the worldâs 200 top collectors, host a popular art party, a brunch > at their TriBeCa loft, during the annual Armory Show. > > Ms. Lipson also has a dozen young artists, curators, event planners and > others who are part of her dream. These volunteers have done everything from > build a Web site, njmoca.org, to plan an inaugural exhibition and gala on > Oct. 23. ⦠> The building of her dreams is a 1920s power plant, designed by Warren & > Wetmore, whose work includes Grand Central Terminal. Abandoned for 30 years, > the plant is owned by the development company Madison Marquette, which owns > much of the property on the boardwalk here. > > Ms. Lipson tried to get a meeting with Madison Marquetteâs president, Gary > Mottola, for weeks to make her pitch. She finally got it on a recent > morning in a sunbaked conference room. Ms. Lipson was in a black skirt and > sleeveless top and big sunglasses, Mr. Mottola in a Stone PonyT-shirt; a > reporter > attended. > > Ms. Lipson noted that while New Jersey had many regional museums, it had > nothing that drew international tourism. > âExcept Madam Marie,â Mr. Mottola interjected, referring to the stand of > a former boardwalk fortuneteller made famous by Bruce Springsteen in his â > 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy).â > Ms. Lipson said the museum would be an economic catalyst in the way that > Mass MoCA, a contemporary art museum that opened in 1999, has been in North > Adams, Mass. âIt was blighted; there was a high crime rate,â she said. > > Mr. Mottola appeared to take umbrage. Asbury Park, he said, was âthe > biggest music destination in the world.â The D.J. Tiësto had recently > played at > the Convention Center. And celebrity glamour? What about the New Jersey Hall > of Fame, which has Jack Nicholsonâs second-grade report card and Susan > Sarandonâs cheerleading jacket in its temporary space on the boardwalk? > > He might be interested in having an art museum, he said, but ânot in the > context of âWeâre blighted, this is going to make us unblighted,â â > he > said. âWeâre already way past that.â > > Reflecting later, Ms. Lipson said it had been a learning experience. âI > didnât mean to denigrate what heâs done with the music; that was my > mistake,â > she said. > > But she didnât feel defeated. She was able to interest Mr. Mottola in > hosting the inaugural gala in another one of the companyâs buildings, the > Paramount Theater, and she saw that as progress. > ⦠> > > See also the web site, njmoca.org for the proposed NJ MUseum of > Contemporary Art. > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: asburypark-dig...@yahoogroups.com asburypark-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: asburypark-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
