Muckenthaler Hires Exhibits Specialist

Robert Zingg, formerly a “preparator” with the Newport Harbor Art Museum, has joined the staff at Fullerton’s Muckenthaler Cultural Center as exhibitions administrator.

Zingg replaces Norman Lloyd, who resigned abruptly in April in the wake of a controversy over an exhibit he curated, “Heroes, Heroines, Idols and Icons.”

A group of board members, led by President Beverly Gunther, had demanded the removal of one photo from the show, depicting a nude John Lennon embracing his fully clothed wife, Yoko Ono, because they felt it portrayed Lennon as “weak” and thus did not fit the theme of the show. The photograph was later reinstated, but Lloyd quit anyway, saying the board had usurped his curatorial authority.

Zingg takes Lloyd’s title, but not his curating duties, according to center director Judith Peterson. He will be responsible for handling administrative and logistic details of the exhibits.

“We just felt that it would be better, with all the things that need to be done, to have this person coordinate the exhibitions instead of curating,” Peterson said.

The center board is still reworking policy in the wake of the Lennon photo incident, but Peterson said she believes that center staff will select exhibit themes, while specific works will be selected by guest curators or by juries.