Current:Home > MyMeet the eye-opening curator behind hundreds of modern art exhibitions -ProfitLogic
Meet the eye-opening curator behind hundreds of modern art exhibitions
View
Date:2025-04-17 20:42:53
I wish I'd known Walter Hopps. I was in Washington when he was director of the Corcoran Museum from 1967 to 1972. He clearly was a fascinating visionary, who garnered many adjectives in life and death. When he died in 2005, the Washington Post obituary said that he was "sort of a gonzo museum director —elusive, unpredictable, outlandish in his range, jagged in his vision, heedless of rules." I tend to like people like that. When they're not making me crazy.
Alas, I never met him.
Rebecca Rabinow, director of Houston's Menil Collection, which Walter Hopps helped to found in 1980, says he was a force in art — ahead of the trends. "He had an amazing eye." Younger artists intrigued Hopps. She says that he had "an amazing ability to look at what artists were creating."
Since late March, the Menil Collection has been showing works by 70 artists Hopps spotted, acquired, encouraged or enabled as a curator. I see a palm tree in that Joe Goode piece above. And growing up in palm-land Los Angeles may have been part of Hopps' attraction to the work.
Sculptor John Chamberlain is in this exhibition. He's in lots of major museums. I first saw a Chamberlain at the Dia Beacon galleries in upstate New York. It looked as if he'd shredded an automobile and welded the shreds together. I shook my head over it for years. Had the same reaction to my first Jackson Pollack. And Andy Warhol's soup cans. What in the world!? How is that art?
Then, someone said all Warhol's soup cans were his still lifes for the 20th century. Which helped me think Chamberlain was taking on American traffic and traffic jams, and our obsession with cars. And maybe destruction. It took a long time to puzzle that out. Truth to tell, I often have such takes-awhile reactions.
Walter Hopps had a much quicker eye, made faster connections and brought challenging works into museums. Today, we'd call him an influencer. Menil director Rebecca Rabinow says others caught on — quickly or over time — because Hopps got it.
"He was an influential curator through the 20th century," she says. He's still influencing today's artists.
Keep scrolling to see more of the works currently on view at The Menil Collection:
veryGood! (4323)
Related
- 'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
- Voodoo doll, whoopie cushion, denture powder among bizarre trash plucked from New Jersey beaches
- More than 1 in 8 people feel mistreated during childbirth, new study finds
- The US has more 'million-dollar cities' than ever, Zillow says. Here's what that means.
- Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
- Reese Witherspoon Making Legally Blonde Spinoff TV Show With Gossip Girl Creators
- 'Monkey Man' review: Underestimate Dev Patel at your own peril after this action movie
- Drake Bell maintains innocence in child endangerment case, says he pleaded guilty due to finances
- Tom Holland's New Venture Revealed
- 2 million Black & Decker clothing steamers are under recall after dozens of burn injuries
Ranking
- A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
- Jesse Metcalfe Reveals How the John Tucker Must Die Sequel Will Differ From the Original
- 6 inmates who sued New York over its prison lockdown order will get to view solar eclipse after all
- Jesse Metcalfe Reveals How the John Tucker Must Die Sequel Will Differ From the Original
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- The Rock at WrestleMania 40: What to know about return to WWE for 'The People's Champion'
- Powerball winning numbers for April 3 drawing: Did anyone win $1.09 billion jackpot?
- New York can take legal action against county’s ban on female transgender athletes, judge says
Recommendation
Macy's says employee who allegedly hid $150 million in expenses had no major 'impact'
The Rock at WrestleMania 40: What to know about return to WWE for 'The People's Champion'
Judge denies Trump bid to dismiss classified documents prosecution
Everything You Need To Get Your Feet Toe-tally Ready for Sandal Season
EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
Another endangered right whale dies after a collision with a ship off the East Coast
Rudy Giuliani can remain in Florida condo, despite judge’s concern with his spending habits
Watch California thief disguised as garbage bag steal package in doorbell cam footage