Graham Boettcher’s Mission: Breaking Down the Ivory Tower
The Birmingham Museum of Art has a new director. Graham Boettcher’s appreciation for art started at a very early age. Growing up near Seattle, Washington, he frequently visited the city’s museums and acquired an affinity for Native American art of the Pacific Northwest. But when he got to Yale University as an undergrad, art wasn’t immediately on his radar. Boettcher was the first person in his family to graduate from college and he wanted to be a physician. But he quickly learned his passion for the sciences was overshadowed by his passion for the humanities.
“What I was passionate about are two things: I really loved history and I really loved art. So as an undergrad, I was a German Studies major, but with a formal concentration in art history because that was my third love was language. So I came to art history through German and northern European art history and then eventually transitioned to American, but with a sort of specialty an American artists born in Germany.”
On the changes in the art scene here in Birmingham since he arrived in 2006
“I would say the largest change that I’ve seen is that the art world is becoming increasingly large. It’s not an ocean with a single ship, but there are many ships of all different sizes from dinghies to two barges to aircraft carriers in terms of the size of the organization involved in the arts in this city. You know it’s nice. I think it’s nice that Birmingham has become a multi-museum town that it’s not, we’re not the only art museum in town. It’s a very vibrant and active art scene and becoming more so every day.”
On the role Birmingham Museum of Art plays in the city’s revitalization
“One of the things that we’re committed to is being a touchstone for all the individuals in the community that are seekers of art and beauty and culture. We want to be a place that people come and feel comfortable spending a great deal of time or just a little bit of time if that’s all they’ve got to spare. And that’s something that we’re constantly working at. I’d be lying if I said that we’ve just reached our pinnacle and we can just sit back and, you know, lean back in our chairs and rest on our laurels. We’re nowhere near there yet. I will feel like the Birmingham Museum of Art has fully communicated what it can be to the citizens of this city when everyone knows that we’re free, and when everyone in this community feels a sense of ownership for the museum because it is a public institution.”
On the biggest obstacles to gaining more community support for the museum
“One great obstacle we face is history. I understand why a large segment of our population views the museum or has viewed the museum as this inaccessible ivory tower because there was a time in Birmingham’s past when Jim Crow laws were in full effect that the Birmingham Museum of Art was only accessible to blacks on one day per week. So that’s one major thing that we’ve got to overcome is the fact that the museum was not accessible to everyone equally in the not so distant past. But then there of course is a generation that never knew that to be the case. And with the youngest generations who never experienced Jim Crow and have only heard about it secondhand through their parents or grandparents, the obstacle there is relevance. Why is this museum relevant in my life today in 2017? We want to make sure that every generation understands that what they see on the wall has context and resonance within the present day.”
On his favorite artist
“I have to admit that I have perhaps an unhealthy affinity you know, what’s the what’s the what’s the movie with Kathy Bates? Misery. “I’m your number one fan.” So I may be the number one fan of the German Romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich. And I lived in Dresden where he’s buried. And I actually used to go and clean his grave. I’ve been to where he was born in Greifswald, Germany. And I’ve been to see many of the places that he painted throughout Germany. And I’ve actually seen close to 90, just over 90 percent of his total body of work firsthand. So he’s an artist that I just love. He embodies the romantic spirit. And I just really feel moved every time I look at his work.”
Below is a work by Caspar David Friedrich titled Sunset by the Sea.
Photo by irinaraquel 
Supreme Court limits nationwide injunctions in birthright citizenship order
At issue was how the lower courts should handle President Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship, which limited citizenship only to children born of parents with permanent status to be in the U.S.
Stocks hit a new record high after markets open for trading
Both the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq appear headed to close out the week at record highs Friday, as investors shrugged off trade tensions and recent fighting in the Middle East.
Caroleene Dobson to run for Alabama secretary of state
The secretary of state serves as Alabama’s chief elections official. The office also maintains business records and government records for the state.
Supreme Court limits nationwide injunctions in birthright citizenship order
At issue was how the lower courts should handle President Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship, which limited citizenship only to children born of parents with permanent status to be in the U.S.
Federal judge weighs whether Alabama’s anti-DEI law threatens First Amendment
The new state law, SB129, followed a slew of proposals from Republican lawmakers across the country taking aim at DEI programs on college campuses. Universities across the country have shuttered or rebranded student affinity groups and DEI offices.
In Season 3, ‘Squid Game’ hasn’t changed much — and that’s the problem
The third and final season of Netflix's most popular show is still a prescient commentary on wealth — but its heavy-handed narrative feels too predictable the third time around.
