Thursday, November 8, 2012

The Quality Instinct

Post by: Mary Case, Inventory Consultant
             Organizational Coach, Qm2: Quality Management to a
             Higher Power
 
One resource that presented itself this year was Max Anderson’s The Quality Instinct.  Mr. Anderson, a highly regarded museum professional, currently Director, Dallas Museum of Art, invites every reader to understand the deepest questions art historians ask of themselves-- what is quality -- in art, in all manmade things -- packaging design, automobiles, kitchen tools, a good suit.  He writes as a memoirist, reminiscing about objects he has unearthed from the storerooms of the Metropolitan Museum of Art or found in obscure Italian churches.
 


Rebecca Massie Lane, Director, and Dr. Elizabeth Johns, Co-Chair, Collections and Exhibitions Committee, reviewed Anderson’s book together and Beth led a discussion with the committee.  The Inventory Team presented pairs of accessioned objects for discussion:  those of high quality along side something not as stellar.  2 portraits, for example.  Folk carvings.  There ensued lively revelations and insights for the museum’s leadership, insights which will play out in museum policy and, ultimately, in the lives of visitors to the museum


For a video of Mr. Anderson on The Quality Instinct

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