I don't think this is getting lost, at least not in the more thoughtful discussions I've heard about moving the Barnes. Most people with whom I have discussed the Barnes move are well aware that it's a complicated question on which people correctly disagree. It's a question of preservation vs. access, of perpetuating Barnes's vision vs. ensuring that it is financially stable enough to survive into the future. So I don't really think Barnes's vision is getting forgotten at all, at least by the more thoughtful commenters.

For me, the question is what is the essence of Barnes's vision. Was it the particular layout of art, architecture, and gardens on Latch's Lane, or was it a vision of progressive and non-conventional art education for the masses? If you think it's the former, then it should stay in Lower Merion. If you think it's the latter, then it should be moved (with care for Barnes's particular aesthetic) to the Parkway.

Me, I fall in the latter camp. I think Barnes's vision was bigger than just a particular gallery on Latch's Lane. So I think it should be moved. Reasonable people could chose the former, though, and I can respect that.

n/a

I fall in the former camp, but can actually acknowledge a point you make by raising the issue of access.

Barnes also had intended his collections and educational programs to be available to working people. After his death, for many years, Violette de Mazia, the guardian of Barnes' will, interpreted this very narrowly, quite likely in light of the extremely restricted access Barnes himself granted to the collections. Would-be visitors had to jump through many hoops to prove that they were honest working stiffs worthy of experiencing the Barnes method.

The courts began chipping away at these restrictions in the mid-1960s, and in a sense Judge Ott's decision is merely a logical extension of that thought process -- by moving the collection to a site with vastly better public access (and no need to worry about annoying those same neighbors suing to prevent the move), he is honoring Barnes' vision of art education for the masses better than Barnes himself did.

In that light, I can respect this position too.

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Sandy Smith, Exile on Market Street, Philadelphia
"Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising." --Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Maybe, but I do this for a living, and don't get too many complaints about my prose style here or elsewhere.

And yeah, I'm aware that I'm something of a know-it-all, though that's not exactly the same thing as what you are cautioning me about here. I will tell you this, though: I choose the language I use most of the time here because I'd rather come off sounding like a pretentious jerk than a blinkered ideologue, and if you look at the responses your posts have received from some here today, you've been shoved into the "Johnny-one-note" hole by some people who apparently have no problem with my prose style. Now these people may fail to see some things too; we all have our blind spots. I make a good faith effort to see around my own; that doesn't always mean I will succeed. And I hope that you do the same.

Apology accepted in any case. I did say I saw your point, and that comment aside, I don't believe I've been less than respectful in arguing with you even when I disagree with your position.

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Sandy Smith, Exile on Market Street, Philadelphia
"Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising." --Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

I'm from Buffalo, NY. For me, Philadelphia has its act together. You've never seen Buffalo's woefully disregarded waterfront, or the abandoned Aud, or the ugly-ass Peace Bridge. All things that have been in development hell since I was born.

As a matter of fact, my mom came down from B-Lo last week and we went out to the Barnes. I have a deep appreciation for that collection and the beautiful grounds now. But times change, and art is NOT MEANT to be restricted to the upper crust. Isn't that what Barnes' philosophy was? Why the hell should someone make a reservation a month in advance to drive all the way outside the city just to get treated badly by Specta-guards who yell at you for breaking the rules before you even do anything wrong? Do you think these impressionists who were painting on the streets of Paris and trying to make money for food would want the yuppies deciding what the hell the artists are trying to say? And what joy can you get by looking at the details of a Seurat when it's five feet above your head?

If Barnes, who sounds like a real mess, was alive, he'd still be rearranging his art.

It needs to be moved to the Parkway. I'm sick and tired of Arts & Culture being restricted to the people that can afford it. That art should be seen by everybody, from gapped-tooth yokels and phillistines to afficiandos and upper classes.

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Funny you should mention Buffalo.

That is one of only two of the 50 largest US metropolitan areas to lose population metrowide from 1990 to 2000, and I believe Census Bureau estimates have both of them continuing to shed residents in toto.

The other one? Pittsburgh.

You're probably right, phillynova -- compared to Buffalo, we do have our act together.

I'd even be willing to include Detroit in that category. Not so sure about Pittsburgh despite the relative performance of Pennsylania's two big cities, though.

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Sandy Smith, Exile on Market Street, Philadelphia
"Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising." --Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

I apologize it was meant in jest.

I have 10 minutes a day if that to check out phillyblog, and when I do post its usually insincere. I wouldnt know the Barnes Museum from a Barnes & Noble. Just trying to get a rise out of people.

Peace.

Well, you did manage to do that!

And peace to you as well.

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Sandy Smith, Exile on Market Street, Philadelphia
"Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising." --Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Being favorably compared to....Buffalo.... does not a city's reputation make.

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STAY WET AND STAY HAPPY!

I don't think there have been too many travel writers calling Buffalo "The Next Great City," either.

The glass remains half full.

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Sandy Smith, Exile on Market Street, Philadelphia
"Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising." --Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court