Though he has the same name as a certain pop rock band frontman, Dr. Adam Levine has another, more important claim to fame: he was granted a two-year fellowship at the Toledo Museum of Art by the Mellon Foundation. TCP caught up with Levine to ask a few questions about his job, the future of museums, his favorite artist and his stay here in the Glass City.
How would you describe your title of "Mellon Fellow"?
It just means that it is a fellowship endowed by the Mellon Foundation. There are Mellow Fellowships at several other museums. Everything from conservation to a Mellon Grant at the museum, to help underwrite publishing costs of our catalogues. So, it is just a foundation that is committed particularly to the visual arts.
People tend to think of a museum as being filled with a bunch of antiquities. How do you picture the museums of the future?
Well, I study ancient art, so I am happy that they are filled with antiquities. One of the things that some museums, but this museum in particular, are both aware of and getting in front of, is that the arts landscape is changing. Collecting contemporary art is very important to this institution, particularly contemporary global art. I think that museums of the future will be more representative and global in their scope. This museum is particularly forward thinking.
What is one of the most difficult challenges for you as a Mellon Fellow at the TMA?
Generally speaking, what differentiates this fellowship is that there is an administrative component to it. The idea is that future museum administrators would get exposure that they normally wouldn't get at this point in their career. One thing that will be a challenge for me is trying to grow into a type of leader. I'd love to be able to sit in one of those [administrator or director] offices one day. Leadership skills are not things that are innate, they are developed. So, developing my own leadership style will be my greatest challenge, and that will take way longer than a two year fellowship.
Who is your favorite artist, and why?
I study ancient art, so there aren't too many that left their name to us. So, that is a a question that I'll have to think about, I'll stick it in the back of my mind, and we will come back to it.
If I am a tourist and I have only one hour to spend at the TMA, what collection or exhibit would you recommend that I see in person?
That's a good question … I'd obviously say that you should see everything. They're all great. It all depends on what you are in the mood for. The reinstallation of the Classic Court is beautiful and there are amazing objects in there. The new Wolfe Gallery with our contemporary art is a really fantastic gallery as well.
But, I would say that for the history of the institution, the strength has been the European paintings and the Great Gallery. It's pretty exceptional, both in terms of its scale and the architecture of the room itself, including the flooring and the artwork hanging on walls. That's where the new France Hall Acquisition is and the Rueben painting is. It is pretty mind boggling to take someone in there who wouldn't necessarily be expecting those things to be in Toledo. It always blows people away.
But the Glass Pavilion is pretty amazing as well, completely different, but in a lot of ways those are the two things not to be missed. You have a one-of-a-kind collection in an award-winning building which really is unique, and it is also a great example right across the street from this beautiful neo-classical building, of how modern architecture can really work within its environment. It is all glass, so it's almost as if it isn't there. It is a very futuristic looking building, which works with the Old West End behind it and the Museum on the other side. It's very special.
What do you perceive to be the main responsibilities of a public gallery?
To educate the public. I think its the single most important thing. It is something that this institution clearly takes to heart.
Do you have any advice for someone who is thinking about going into curation or a Mellon Fellowship?
For people who want to pursue a career in museums, there are a few things that they must take into account. Going into museums is not a lifestyle choice, it is mission driven, in my opinion. You want to work in a museum because you believe in what that institution is about. If that's why you want to pursue a life in museums, then that is a really good reason. It is a lot of hard work.
What are some of your influences, in any form of artistic expression?
I do enjoy other things, other than ancient history. It is one of those questions that I will probably be able to answer better in 30 or 40 years, when I look back and I see how my thought has changed and the things I spend my time doing have changed, and I am able to say, 'Oh, these are the things that have influenced the way I think.'
I have people who have influenced my thought very, very much, some of whom I've read, but the single most influential was my Ph. D supervisor. I just absorbed a ton from him. There is a historian philosopher, Benedetto Croce, who said, "All history is contemporary history". Whatever you think is [affected] by your current situation. So a lot of my thinking, a lot of the way I approach the world is a function of just being alive right now, at the end of the 20th, beginning of the 21st century.
If money were no object, what would you buy for the museum?
If you said, here is X amount of money — the most expensive work of art was sold for 250 million dollars, plus or minus a few, was sold on the private market last year. So, you are basically asking, what would you do with 250 million dollars, right? I would put it into the museum's endowment. I wouldn't buy something. I would make sure that the museum could continue to operate for free and perpetuity — that's way more valuable.
Is it true that kids/people prefer a digital image of an object over the object itself, and if so, is it a concern for the future of museums?
I don't know that there is any empirical research that suggests that that is true. So, I'm highly skeptical of that, and if someone could show me a study that was able to control for all different sorts of biases and was able to show a very small amount of variation in response, then maybe I would indulge in that argument, but I don't think that's true. I am into ancient art, so most of my work is 3D, right? So they are never going to do justice. Even with catch 3-D, photography, with virtual reality, and augmented reality, you're still not going to have the same tactual sense of having the object right in front of you. So no, I don't give that argument very much currency. I am not concerned about technology cannibalizing, or eating into the museum audience. I am just concerned about the museum scene in general, and technology can be a platform leveraged for the better of the community.
What is the most surprising thing you've learned so far in your new role as a TMA Mellon Fellow?
The most surprising thing I've learned so far, and it's going to sound silly, is how truly amazing the staff here is. I mean, they are really first-rate people. I am from New York, so I knew Mid-Western people would be a lot nicer, but they have a great quality of mind. It is a pleasure to come to work. It is just something that I thought about before, and it has just been so impressive to work with these people so far.
The answer to your question earlier, about who my favorite artist is … that is really tough… I think artists get a little too much credit sometimes. I really like Georges Seurat. He is known for painting in very, very small dots. Some people call it pointillism, others call it divisionalism, but he was kind of a post-impressionist. He could break light apart into its constituent colors, so you get up close to the painting and see a bunch of dots, and as you back away slowly, the painting comes into focus.
I would also say, that the dotting technique is also used in aboriginal Australian art, and although there is no relationship between the two, it's not as if aboriginal Australian art is mimicking Georges Seurat. But if you are interested in the aesthetic of Georges Seurat, they should come to Crossing Cultures, which is an exhibition that opens at the TMA on April 12. I'm sure that visitors will say that it is an amazing, amazing show.
