The impossibility of reforming Tony bears some resemblance to the crisis plaguing museums and toxic philanthropy today, where a culture of bullying and exploitation belies programming of socially- and politically-engaged art.

 

"The impossibility of reforming Tony bears some resemblance to the crisis plaguing museums and toxic philanthropy today, where a culture of bullying and exploitation belies programming of socially- and politically-engaged art. Much in the same way that Dr. Melfi eventually found it impossible to reform Tony through therapy, many staff members in the world’s leading museums are coming to terms with the fact that they are funded and propped up by board members with connections to arms industries and other highly problematic and extractive industries, making reform nearly impossible — despite often grandiose exhibitions and statements proclamating otherwise. "

I feel the same way about working in Universities and Public Art Galleries, there's no point. - tw

"Kopel recalls how her efforts to unionize the New Museum coincided with an exhibition by Hans Haacke, known for his legendary works of institutional critique, including “Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Board of Trustees” (1974), a project that attempted to connect Guggenheim’s board members and their real estate interests, as well as his own efforts to unionize artists in the 1960s. However, according to Kopel, the New Museum instrumentalized socially- and politically-engaged art in an effort to conceal its own internal toxicity, much in the same way Tony did with Dr. Melfi. “Behind the New Museum’s veneer of social justice was rampant exploitation,” Kopel explained. "


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