Perhaps my letter of August 15 is more relevant now than it was at the time it was published on the Weekly blog. Still, none of my questions have been answered. Perhaps Mark Baer would like to add something.
Dear Walter,
I am a big fan of yours and always look forward to reading your take on the art scene in Monterey. As a former treasurer and board member of MoM I took great interest in your piece of August 9, “Mother of Reinvention”, which states that “A look back at the reborn Museum of Monterey (aka MoM) suggests it’s cleared the storm that nearly wrecked it”. This assessment makes things refreshingly clear...or does it?
When I joined the board in September 2010 the MHAA endowment fund was about $750,000. The Association then sold the Perry-Downer house and added another $850,000 to the reserves. Today the endowment stands at roughly $550,000. Evidently, the “revolution” described in your article has not extended to fund-raising activities.
Museum director, Lisa Coscino states that she has increased admission revenues from $230. to $3,145. What does this actually mean? Is it $3,145. in revenue per day? Per week? Per month? Or all year? If it is per day, then the museum should take great satisfaction in the programming successes of the past year. If it is per week or more, then the programs are doing only as well as those of the old Maritime Museum.
These are tough times for non-profits and it will be difficult to support MHAA from $10. admission fees alone. Here is an idea: Ask the beneficiaries of the MOM programming to contribute. A few crumbs ($) from the LA successes of Brandon Boyd (“front-man for Incubus”) and Cheech Marin (comedian-actor turned art collector) would go a long way towards filling the deficits. And these stars would get much needed PR from contributing to MoM. By contrast, why should MoM expect anything from the Grammy Museum or Levi Company in the way of support (as suggested in the article)?
Where are the funds going to come from to turn the Casa Serrano property into a “jewel box for smaller gatherings like Monterey Museum of Art’s La Mirada” (the MHAA Board president’s Idea)? As I recall from a recent dinner held to raise money for the Casa, the plumbing for the bathrooms were in need of drastic repair. I am embarrassed to say that I had to go into the kitchen to wash my hands. And, this is nothing compared to retrofitting the house and bringing it up to handicapped accessibility standards.
And finally, Walter, what does Coscino's closing remark mean? Coscino says,” Every exhibit starts here, goes around the world and comes back, branding with the city of Monterey. That’s the plan to take over the world.”
Hmmm.....I interpret this in the same way that Howard Finster, the well-known Georgia folk artist and visionary once told me, "I've worked on perpetual motion all my life until I can travel around the world in four minutes.”
Sincerely,
John H. Enns
Posted by John_Enns on September 13, 2012 at 2:28 p.m.
I am a big fan of yours and always look forward to reading your take on the art scene in Monterey. As a former treasurer and bored member of MoM I took great interest in your piece of August 9, “Mother of Reinvention”, which states that “A look back at the reborn Museum of Monterey (aka MoM) suggests it’s cleared the storm that nearly wrecked it”. This assessment makes things refreshingly clear...or does it?
When I joined the board in September 2010 the MHAA endowment fund was about $750,000. About the same time the Association sold the Perry-Downer house and added another $850,000, bringing the total reserve to $1,600,000. Today the endowment stands at roughly $550,000. Evidently, the “revolution” described in your article has not extended to fund-raising activities.
Museum director, Lisa Coscino states that she has increased admission revenues from $230. to $3,145. What does this actually mean? Is it $3,145. in revenue per day? Per week? Per month? Or all year? If it is per day, then the museum should take great satisfaction in the programming successes of the past year. If it is per week or more, then the programs are doing only as well as those of the old Maritime Museum.
These are tough times for non-profits and it will be difficult to support MHAA from $10 admission fees alone. Here is an idea: Ask the beneficiaries of the MOM programming to contribute. A few crumbs ($) from the LA success of Brandon Boyd (“front-man for Incubus”) and Cheech Marin (comedian-actor turned art collector) would go a long way towards filling the deficits. And those stars would get much needed PR from contributing to MoM. By contrast, why should MoM expect anything from the Grammy Museum or Levi Company in the way of support (as suggested in the article)?
Where are the funds going to come from to turn the Casa Serrano property into a “jewel box for smaller gatherings like Monterey Museum of Art’s La Mirada” (the MHAA Board president’s Idea)? As I recall from a recent dinner held to raise money for the Casa, the plumbing for the bathrooms were in need of drastic repair. I am embarrassed to say that I had to go into the kitchen to wash my hands. And, this is nothing compared to cost of retro-fitting the house and bringing it up to handicapped accessibility standards.
And finally, Walter, what does Coscino's closing remark mean? She says “Every exhibit starts here, goes around the world and comes back, branding with the city of Monterey. That’s the plan to take over the world.”
Hmmm.....I interpret this idea in the same way that Howard Finster, the well-known Georgia folk artist and visionary once told me, "I've worked on perpetual motion all my life until I can travel around the world in four minutes.”
John Enns, Monterey
Posted by John_Enns on August 23, 2012 at 10:09 a.m.
Museum of Monterey Director Lisa Coscino Ousted But Not Silenced
Perhaps my letter of August 15 is more relevant now than it was at the time it was published on the Weekly blog. Still, none of my questions have been answered. Perhaps Mark Baer would like to add something.
Dear Walter, I am a big fan of yours and always look forward to reading your take on the art scene in Monterey. As a former treasurer and board member of MoM I took great interest in your piece of August 9, “Mother of Reinvention”, which states that “A look back at the reborn Museum of Monterey (aka MoM) suggests it’s cleared the storm that nearly wrecked it”. This assessment makes things refreshingly clear...or does it?
When I joined the board in September 2010 the MHAA endowment fund was about $750,000. The Association then sold the Perry-Downer house and added another $850,000 to the reserves. Today the endowment stands at roughly $550,000. Evidently, the “revolution” described in your article has not extended to fund-raising activities.
Museum director, Lisa Coscino states that she has increased admission revenues from $230. to $3,145. What does this actually mean? Is it $3,145. in revenue per day? Per week? Per month? Or all year? If it is per day, then the museum should take great satisfaction in the programming successes of the past year. If it is per week or more, then the programs are doing only as well as those of the old Maritime Museum. These are tough times for non-profits and it will be difficult to support MHAA from $10. admission fees alone. Here is an idea: Ask the beneficiaries of the MOM programming to contribute. A few crumbs ($) from the LA successes of Brandon Boyd (“front-man for Incubus”) and Cheech Marin (comedian-actor turned art collector) would go a long way towards filling the deficits. And these stars would get much needed PR from contributing to MoM. By contrast, why should MoM expect anything from the Grammy Museum or Levi Company in the way of support (as suggested in the article)?
Where are the funds going to come from to turn the Casa Serrano property into a “jewel box for smaller gatherings like Monterey Museum of Art’s La Mirada” (the MHAA Board president’s Idea)? As I recall from a recent dinner held to raise money for the Casa, the plumbing for the bathrooms were in need of drastic repair. I am embarrassed to say that I had to go into the kitchen to wash my hands. And, this is nothing compared to retrofitting the house and bringing it up to handicapped accessibility standards.
And finally, Walter, what does Coscino's closing remark mean? Coscino says,” Every exhibit starts here, goes around the world and comes back, branding with the city of Monterey. That’s the plan to take over the world.”
Hmmm.....I interpret this in the same way that Howard Finster, the well-known Georgia folk artist and visionary once told me, "I've worked on perpetual motion all my life until I can travel around the world in four minutes.”
Sincerely,
John H. Enns
Mother of Reinvention
MOTHER OF REINVENTION
Dear Walter,
I am a big fan of yours and always look forward to reading your take on the art scene in Monterey. As a former treasurer and bored member of MoM I took great interest in your piece of August 9, “Mother of Reinvention”, which states that “A look back at the reborn Museum of Monterey (aka MoM) suggests it’s cleared the storm that nearly wrecked it”. This assessment makes things refreshingly clear...or does it?
When I joined the board in September 2010 the MHAA endowment fund was about $750,000. About the same time the Association sold the Perry-Downer house and added another $850,000, bringing the total reserve to $1,600,000. Today the endowment stands at roughly $550,000. Evidently, the “revolution” described in your article has not extended to fund-raising activities.
Museum director, Lisa Coscino states that she has increased admission revenues from $230. to $3,145. What does this actually mean? Is it $3,145. in revenue per day? Per week? Per month? Or all year? If it is per day, then the museum should take great satisfaction in the programming successes of the past year. If it is per week or more, then the programs are doing only as well as those of the old Maritime Museum.
These are tough times for non-profits and it will be difficult to support MHAA from $10 admission fees alone. Here is an idea: Ask the beneficiaries of the MOM programming to contribute. A few crumbs ($) from the LA success of Brandon Boyd (“front-man for Incubus”) and Cheech Marin (comedian-actor turned art collector) would go a long way towards filling the deficits. And those stars would get much needed PR from contributing to MoM. By contrast, why should MoM expect anything from the Grammy Museum or Levi Company in the way of support (as suggested in the article)?
Where are the funds going to come from to turn the Casa Serrano property into a “jewel box for smaller gatherings like Monterey Museum of Art’s La Mirada” (the MHAA Board president’s Idea)? As I recall from a recent dinner held to raise money for the Casa, the plumbing for the bathrooms were in need of drastic repair. I am embarrassed to say that I had to go into the kitchen to wash my hands. And, this is nothing compared to cost of retro-fitting the house and bringing it up to handicapped accessibility standards.
And finally, Walter, what does Coscino's closing remark mean? She says “Every exhibit starts here, goes around the world and comes back, branding with the city of Monterey. That’s the plan to take over the world.”
Hmmm.....I interpret this idea in the same way that Howard Finster, the well-known Georgia folk artist and visionary once told me, "I've worked on perpetual motion all my life until I can travel around the world in four minutes.”
John Enns, Monterey