Critic Criticized

Regarding the review (July 23) by Leah Ollman of the Koch collection exhibit: The arts struggle to survive in this community with very little and at best hard-fought support, the last thing we need is negativism and ill-founded and insensitive critical analysis of a current Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego exhibition.

I support the right of the critic to say anything she wants, but I condemn a bad story and a personal attack on the museum. Even MOCA San Diego’s recent name change for the right reasons was criticized, although it was done in a clear attempt to divorce itself from a La Jolla-only regional image in preparation for its planned opening of a new and exciting 10,000-square-foot second facility in downtown San Diego at the trolley station in January.

As to the Koch exhibition, which was termed “a bland and at times a foul stew of art,” which it is not, the reporter missed the boat. If the critic doesn’t like late 19th- and early 20th-Century art which this collection consisted of, please be more tolerant of the fact that museums have a responsibility to the community to show art of the ages and not necessarily just it’s specialty.

Moreover, Mr. Koch is not just exhibiting to show that he is “a millionaire who wants a bang for his buck,” as alleged in the critic’s review, but is showing a style of collecting. I applaud his art enthusiasm and courage to put a personal collection together and share it with the people of San Diego.

As to the comment about MOCA San Diego lacking direction, an especially personalized remark about an institution during a period of transition (i.e., closing down and expanding of La Jolla and working to open downtown), has this critic forgotten the fine exhibitions of the past three years--which included Joan Mitchell, Roger Brown, Donald Shelton, Robert Moskowitz, Vernon Fisher, Judith Shea, Anish Kapoor just recently. Is this all to be forgotten and rudely dismissed because the critic doesn’t care for Noboru Tsubaki, the young artist currently exhibiting with Koch? MOCA San Diego’s director and curators don’t deserve this kind of treatment.

MATTHEW C. STRAUSS, Rancho Santa Fe