Almost two months after the FBI seized the art from its purported Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibition, Orlando Museum of Art has broken its near silence and stepped up efforts to repair relationships in the community.
A new TV commercial boasts that the museum is “re-imagined,” board chair Cynthia Brumback asked for the community’s “understanding” and for the first time publicly acknowledged the museum’s embarrassment over the situation, a statement from the task force looking into OMA’s procedures revealed an outside law firm was examining how exhibitions are approved, and interim director Luder Whitlock has been meeting one-on-one with public officials and others in a goodwill tour.
During one of those meetings, Whitlock expressed regret over the exhibit, formally titled “Heroes and Monsters,” according to Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings.
“I am pleased that Dr. Luder Whitlock, interim executive director of the Orlando Museum of Art, took the time to personally meet with me and my staff to apologize for the Basquiat Exhibit,” Demings wrote in a statement. “Orange County is committed to innovation, collaboration and inclusion and we were excited to see the Orlando Museum of Art feature a Black artist. Unfortunately, the authenticity of the artwork is now in question and has cast a cloud over the museum.”
Demings was personally involved in the exhibit, hosting an opening reception in February at the museum’s invitation.
Whitlock did not oversee “Heroes and Monsters,” which was championed by previous director Aaron de Groft. He was fired from the museum after the FBI raided the exhibition and revealed that the law-enforcement agency had first notified the museum it was investigating the works months before the exhibit opened.
In a guest column published this week in the Orlando Sentinel, Brumback wrote that despite an FBI subpoena, the board was convinced by De Groft that the artworks were authentic.
“At that time, our then-director repeatedly assured us — through the presentation of documentary evidence — that highly qualified art experts had vetted the authenticity of the pieces in the ‘Heroes and Monsters’ exhibition,” Brumback wrote. “Our director reassured us that everything was in order.”
The column was the first time Brumback gave insight into what happened behind the scenes before “Heroes and Monsters” opened.
In her column, she also described for the first time how the scandal has affected those at the museum.
“The OMA Board and staff continue to feel the embarrassment from the FBI’s seizure of the works in the ‘Heroes and Monsters’ exhibition and subsequent negative attention,” she wrote. “We are continuing to process and grapple with the notion that something we were so happy about has become the source of ill will within the museum family and our beloved community.”
In his statement, Demings urged the museum to be candid with the public as it seeks to restore its reputation.
“Dr. Whitlock assured me that he and the board are committed to rebuilding trust in the museum,” he wrote, “and I encourage them to be as transparent as possible with the community.”
A crisis-management public-relations firm hired by the museum has never responded to Orlando Sentinel requests for comment, or requests to make Whitlock available for an interview, including for this article.
In Whitlock’s talk with Orlando Mayor Dyer, described as a “high-level meeting” by a city spokeswoman, re-establishing the museum’s integrity was discussed.
“It was a high-level meeting for them to get to know each other better and to start a working relationship,” wrote spokeswoman Ashley Papagni. “He shared a key focus of OMA would be working to repair relations with the community and among their museum peers. He also expressed that the OMA board and staff are aligned and supportive of this effort.”
A board statement this week said a task force led by trustees Mark Elliott and Nancy Wolf was reviewing museum policies and procedures related to the vetting of exhibitions.
“The task force has engaged an independent outside law firm to assist with examining oversight procedures for the review and approval process of exhibitions,” Elliott said in the statement. “We will also seek to identify ways to strengthen stewardship of OMA’s expanding permanent collection.”
The statement also quoted Whitlock: “We are taking some pretty definite steps,” he said. “We want to put the past behind us.”
The TV ad, which has run on Spectrum News 13, also turns its back on the past.
“Reframe your shot at the re-imagined Orlando Museum of Art,” a female voice-over artist states as the ad touts a “brand-new interactive experience” that encourages visitors to take selfies.
But not everyone is ready to forget the past.
Sam Flax, who took the museum to task in a scathing open letter published in Orlando Weekly, met with Whitlock after emailing the interim director.
“I thanked him profusely,” said Flax, who previously managed the Orlando branch of his family’s art-supplies chain but is no longer affiliated with the company. “If I were in his position I don’t know if I would meet with me.”
Flax said Whitlock listened to what he had to say.
“He was very pleasant to have lunch with — if we weren’t talking about this catastrophe,” Flax said, “and I think it is a catastrophe.”
Flax said he urged Whitlock to move quickly to repair the museum’s reputation and take responsibility for letting the community down.
“Why would anyone continue to support this museum if they can’t admit they made a mistake?” he said.
Although Flax got the impression that Whitlock wouldn’t be directly involved in major decisions such as hiring a new director or picking future exhibitions, “he said all the right things about being willing to listen.”
And Flax drove home the point that a reboot of the museum offered a chance to make meaningful change that boosted its connection with the community.
“You have an opportunity here to really reinvent the museum,” Flax said he told Whitlock. “I hope you take advantage of that opportunity.”
The future was also part of Whitlock’s discussion with Dyer, according to the city spokeswoman. She said Whitlock asked for the mayor’s support in rebuilding trust in the museum — support that “as an advocate for our arts and cultural community, [Dyer] believes is an appropriate direction at this time.”
In her column, Brumback made a personal plea to Central Floridians.
“We ask for understanding and call on the collective goodwill of the Orlando community as we continue to reorganize and rebuild,” she wrote. “We extend our deepest thanks to our supporters and ask the community to continue to stand by us as we work to rebuild a solid future.”
Find me on Twitter @matt_on_arts, facebook.com/matthew.j.palm or email me at mpalm@orlandosentinel.com. Want more theater and arts news and reviews? Go to orlandosentinel.com/arts.
