Countywide : Muckenthaler Center Official Quits Over Exhibit

John Karwin has resigned as administrator of exhibitions at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton, citing artistic differences with center trustees who canceled a scheduled exhibit of contemporary photography and substituted a show of paintings and sculptures of cars.

“I couldn’t support that and pass it off as a real exhibit,” said Karwin, who held the job for 14 months. Opting for the car show, he said, indicated that the board “had no plans to continue museum-quality [programming] and it was time for me to move on.”

Board Chairwoman Carolyn Loe said the artistic quality of “Cutting the Wind: The Art of Automotive Design” is “debatable” but noted that, because its curator is waiving her fee, the show will cost the center $5,000 less than what it would have paid for the photography exhibit.

Also, Loe said, the car art will be for sale, whereas the photographs would not have been.

Loe said that last month, after a fund-raising drive fell $55,000 short of its goal, the board laid off director Jane Bledsoe to save money. The board canceled the photography show for the same reason, she said.

Center administrator Betty Tesman has been appointed interim director. A permanent director might be hired, Loe said, or the position might be shared by two people.