Jackson Free Press

I have to say, I haven't gotten the impression that the exhibit's organizers are very interested in promoting the show to actual Jacksonians. I don't think I've gotten a notice on it, yet, to tell my readers about, and our writers weren't even invited to the exhibit's opening. Meantime, other cultural events fall over themselves to reach active JFP readers. Meantime, the exhibit is being advertised in papers in other cities. It makes one wonder how much the organizers are concerned about their bread-and-butter patrons. Only anecdotal evidence, but it bears considering..

The Clarion-Ledger today: "A month after The Glory of Baroque Dresden exhibit opened in downtown Jackson, ticket sales are lagging behind figures for the previous three exhibits.

"‘We're about one-third of where we were across the board with the other exhibits,' said Jack L. Kyle, executive director of the Mississippi Commission for International Cultural Exchange. "At the present we've topped 50,000 in total ticket sales."

"In its first month — March 1 to April 1 — The Glory of Baroque Dresden sold 41,000 tickets, compared to the last exhibit, The Majesty of Spain in 2001, which sold 110,000 tickets by the end of its first month, he said."

Previous Commentsshow

It seems that the novelty of Kyle's exhibits have worn off on the local folks. That and the high ticket price, coupled with less than enthusiastic word of mouth (at least what I've heard). Kyle's stance in the article is interesting. Rather than trying to find a way to sell an exhibit with (I would think) limited local appeal, he hints that Jackson needs to turn out or no one will give us exhibits anymore. I would hazard to guess that this article will soon be followed by letters to the editor (written by exhibit volunteers) chastising locals for not turning out.

ironsides

Apr 14 2004

Ticket price is about average for similar exhibits around the Southeast and US. So, pricing is not necessarily the reason... Though I think it may be for people of my age bracket and income. Still, there's been little local publicity, as Donna mentioned, so that's an obvious reason for poor local turn-out. As well, my relatives in Alabama have visited every one of the Exhibits but have no plans to attend this one; they'd not even heard of it until this past weekend. My partner and I suggested to Kyle when we bumped into him at a grocery store that more "modern" arts/cultures might be appreciated by our generation. For instance, "mid-century modern" (including Eames, Miller, etc), Bauhaus (including both furniture, architecture [many local buildings appear to be influenced by this genre], and art), Art Deco (you could even take a "road tour" to highlight local deco buildings).... A new approach is obviously necessary and some fresh, young blood might not hurt their marketing department or their sales.

kaust

Apr 14 2004

Knol, I agree that it's not ticket price alone. But if it's not an exhibit (or musical acts, or whatever) that excites you, you still are not going to want to pay the price. I tend to agree that the exhibit hasn't been sold very well, at least not locally. This should be a "layering" approach to local publicity. Pull out parts of the exhibit to highlight to young, creative readers such as those that read the JFP (more than 50,000 per issue, I would remind them) and do a certain type of campaign around that. And do a more traditional campaign for the fogies like Clarion-Ledger and Northside Sun subscribers. But, as I said, I haven't heard a peep from them since the exhibit started. Nothing. Not an invite. Nothing. I don't take it personally--my calendar is packed with local events to cover--but I find it odd that they're not focused on the people most likely to go see art exhibits. The art museum, on the other hand, peppered us with info, invites, etc., on Paris Moderne and related events. I agree with you that Jackson is becoming more sophisticated creatively, and could stand to see some good mid-century modern exhibits, for instance. I can't tell you how many people I know who are growing interested in that whole thing. MOMA (NY) and SFMOMA (San Francisco) both had WONDERFUL exhibits in the last several years on the whole modern movement -- not just furniture, but all sorts of stuff -- that was just a delight. I think one of the big problems is the idea that you can get one of these big garish exhibits in, spend a lot of money on it, and it's going to appeal to everyone. Clearly, that's not the case -- and locals shouldn't be blamed for it. I admit it: I'm very into the arts, and am on the Arts Alliance board, etc., and I haven't had a big interest in seeing the Dresden exhibit. I'll probably be hated for saying that, but it's not particularly my cup of tea, at least based on the stuff I've seen. I suspect a lot of people feel the same way. You can't just build it, and they will come. Now, the right publiciy might convince me otherwise, but I haven't seen it, yet.

ladd

Apr 14 2004

"I haven't had a big interest in seeing the Dresden exhibit." I was the same way until I attended the Spain exhibit and was wowed for well over two hours by the meticulous, hand-crafted reproductions and originals. But, if I remember correctly, that exhibit (and those before it) were marketed on many levels as suggested above (layering). Hell, I think a full-scale Dali or "surrealist" exhibit would do far better than any Dresden exhibit could... Certain art-forms, cultures and eras appeal to larger, more "general" audiences and according to sales of Dresden, this exhibit simply doesn't.

kaust

Apr 14 2004

Of course, another possibility is that sensationalistic crime coverage by Mississippi's statewide newspaper and other corporate media over the last year scared non-Jacksonians into thinking it's not safe to venture into downtown Jackson to see the exhibit. The paper's been doing a better job in recent weeks, but the damage may be done for now. This is exactly the kind of problem we kept warning about when we were trying to calm down the crime hysteria over the last year. No, we never said crime is not a "problem" (crime is always a "problem"), but we warned that such superficial and whiny coverage would hurt the city more than it would help clean up crime. We could be seeing one of the effects of that with this exhibit. Of course, the corporate media would say, "just doing our job." No, you weren't, we would respond. Speaking of, did anyone get to the end of Orley Hood's column Sunday? He ended up saying some good things about downtown development, but then warned that, first, we need to make Jackson the safest city in America, or some such. Where do these people get this stuff? This hyperbole? Downtown is already very safe, and development and activity will make it safer. You won't wait! It's so silly. It's that complex thing we have here in Mississippi: we have to wait until someone else does something really large until we do something to really improve life around us. We can't just step up and be the change we want to see. We sure need some new energy supporting this city ... and thank goodness we're seeing it everywhere we look, if not in Hood's column. BTW, the C-L seems to have complicated their Web site somehow, and I can't find Hood's Sunday column to link. The "columnists" link on the front page doesn't work; used to take you to archives for each columnist. Anyway.

ladd

Apr 14 2004

For me, it's that the title of the exhibit is a turnoff. Baroque has never appealed to me. Dresden makes it sound even more baroque, and therefore less appealing. Then, of course, there was the spate of letters in the CL urging people to stay away, bascially (and I paraphrase) because it was too foreign. The other thing to blame is probably the perfect weather we had during miuch of March and early april. These things should be held when the weather is just awful (August or January), so everyone's looking for things to do inside. That said, I've vague plans to get down there before the exhibit leaves, just to be supportive. But, I'd be much more excited about a Bauhaus exhibit, or something similar. Or perhaps even something non-european, just for a change.

kate

Apr 14 2004

My wife and I did see the show and while the presentation is top notch (lighting, presentation, and other curatorial matters), the content of "Dresden" is problematic because many if not most of the objects were created by non-German artists and represent non-German traditions. It's really more of a "look through the fancy stuff" of a minor 18th century German king. If they sold it as such, I wouldn't have a problem with it, but the presenter has focused a lot in their PR about how Miss. schoolkids are going to learn a lot about German culture and history. Perhaps they'll learn a little about life in a German royal court during the 1700s and 1800s, but Germany in a larger sense? hardly. A Bauhaus exhibit would indeed be great, but I think we'll all grow old before Mr. Kyle brings one to us. The MS Museum of Art would be a better bet for this.

ironsides

Apr 16 2004

Ironsides, you're not the first person to agree that a Bauhaus exhibit would be great. Maybe we should call a meeting to see what can be done? Investors anyone? ;-) Hmmm... My only concern would be whether the general public would know what Bauhaus was/is? I guess it's about as risky as say a Dresden exhibit. I doubt many even know where/what Dresden is... Hell, combine the modernist movements of the early to mid-century and bill it as such. You could then easily combine mid-century modern design with art-deco, Bauhaus, and so forth. It's historical, hands-on, aesthetically pleasing, engaging, and I'm sure easily sponsored by Jimbo at Article. ;-)

kaust

Apr 16 2004

While Jackson folks may not know about Bauhaus, their influence is all around town. I've always been amazed at how much modernist architecture there is here. It's something that should be exploited on a civic pride level. Somebody needs to do an inventory of this stuff - that may be a way to drive interest in an eventual exhibit. I remember the first night I was in town, driving past Bailey Magnet School at night and thinking it was strange to see a building that looked like it was in "Triumph of the Will".

ironsides

Apr 19 2004

When I think Bauhaus and Jackson, I think of SkyTel Centre with its soft, black, tinted windows and clean, smooth cubic design... Small rectangles with flat roofs... The only "flashy" ornamentation is the reflective support columns flanking the ground level... But, the interior borderlines boring in a way the Bauhaus institute would have rejected...

kaust

Apr 19 2004

While my personal preference was to see something from Schˆnbrunn, I'm sure I'll see the Dresden exhibition while it's here. Perhaps with Nissan in Madison County, there may be a Japanese exhibition in the future.

Ex

Apr 19 2004

Ex, I completely agree. A Japanese exhibition would be excellent! Not only would it be a warm welcome to our newest citizens but it would further educate Mississippi and America's masses on Japanese culture... And what a lovely culture it is!

kaust

Apr 19 2004

Japanese, Surrealist and Bauhaus exhibits would all be awesome to have. Its too bad people aren't taking advantage of any Smithsonian style exhibition, like Dresden. Large Concept Themed shows also do well, ..."The 5 rings of Passion" when I saw it in Atlanta was jaw dropping. From cave paintings to Picasso. The immensity of the art, writings on the wall, and how they tied them all together into these differing "rings of passion", was truely unforgettable and inspiring. None of Dresen special programs, accompanying music concerts, etc.. have ever been listed on their website, and they have not once sent us anything related to the exhibit for the Free Press listings. I go out of my way to proactively seek out community events to include on the lounge list, and if I can't find anything out about it, people who aren't trying hard to find the info out, aren't going to.

Herman Snell

Apr 20 2004

I went to the Dresden exhibit, and listened to the adult and kids audio tour through the place. And I think kids would absolutely love listening to the easy to use headphones as they tour thru, pushing the designated number on each pieces' label. The paintings and the armory are especially nice. It was perhaps a mistake to put the ho-hum porcelin exhibit near the very end. I think they should publicize and have some discounted days to come off that $20 each ticket, so people will take their kids. They even have child size costume armor. Beautiful dueling pistols, elk antlers that are all mishappen from being young bucks antlers being shot, so they would grow weird (not on the kid audio tour). The first half the exhibit is the best, then it gets weak, and ends with the sparking green diamond. it isn't terribly long, but still worth supporting.

Herman Snell

Jun 18 2004