Art of Communication

From his 17th-floor corner office, Lowell C. Martindale can gaze down upon the sprawling Back Bay on one side and the Big Canyon gated community on the other.

A senior partner at the mammoth law firm O’Melveny & Myers, Martindale’s prestigious perch jibes with his sideline as chairman of the 65-year-old Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana. Almost always struggling to meet operating expenses, museums depend on volunteer trustees to contribute money, connections, business expertise and long hours--all for the love of art.

But this corporate aerie, where Martindale recently discussed his mission as the board’s newly elected chief, also underscores a festering concern among some of the Bowers’ most devoted longtime members.

They have been troubled since the mid-’80s by a lack of information flowing from the museum’s brass to its rank and file. As the dues-paying support system, they once received monthly newsletters and invitations to the annual board meeting, which is now open to only trustees and a city representative.

Anxiety about the communications gap spiked recently when members learned through newspaper reports that officials from the private, nonprofit Bowers board had tried to persuade Santa Ana to sign over its deed to the building, the land on which it stands and the city’s 40% stake in the museum’s permanent collection.

Transfer of these assets, estimated at $50 million or more, would have been a step toward fully privatizing the Bowers, a move, supporters say, that would help them woo donors who dislike giving to institutions with government ties. Pressure to create an endowment is mounting because the money-strapped city is making good on plans to reduce, by 10% a year, its $1.5-million annual subsidy to Bowers. By 2007, all subsidies will cease.

Museums have no obligation to tell members about their organizational maneuvers. But, one member said recently, “Our concern is that we are not informed. Information is paramount because it chases away the shadows.” (This and other members interviewed for this story requested anonymity, fearing their comments would alienate the museum’s staff, with whom they interact.)

Last month, Bowers officials tabled the deed-transfer effort. Martindale said that Santa Ana Mayor Miguel A. Pulido Jr. told the trustees that he wanted to avoid a political battle “at this time” with such privatization opponents as Santa Ana City Councilman Ted Moreno. The councilman has said a transfer would amount to “giving away . . . our city’s crown jewel.”

But Martindale hopes to eventually revive the plan, which developer and county arts patron Henry T. Segerstrom publicly endorsed at a recent Bowers board dinner. When the issue resurfaces, the chairman will probably face dissent from many longtime members who believe public oversight provides needed checks-and-balances. Privatization, they argue, goes against the tradition of the venerable community institution, which didn’t charge admission until five years ago.

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The Bowers tripled in size in a $12-million, city-funded expansion completed in 1992. Its membership has mushroomed in recent years, to nearly 5,000. Martindale, who joined the board three years ago, said mailing newsletters or renting a hall to accommodate such a large group for an annual meeting is too costly. (Open annual meetings are not among the accreditation requirements of the American Assn. of Museums, although the Orange County Museum of Art and others do hold them.) Still, he said, the board has been working to improve museum-wide communications.

“We are looking for a way to effectively communicate with all of our members and support groups on our progress,” he said. Selected member events, such as exhibition receptions, “involve state-of-the museum discussions by [executive director] Peter Keller or others,” he noted.

Under consideration is an annual written report detailing finances and other matters, Martindale added. The museum files each year’s audited financial statement with the city and shares every board meeting’s agenda with the city, and a city official attends about half the monthly sessions, he said.

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According to federal tax filings, the Bowers ended 1995 and 1996 with a surplus each year.

Still, Martindale said, the museum, which depends on donations and grants for about two-thirds of its income, is “struggling to make sure we cover our current annual operating expenses” of $3.4 million.

A multimillion-dollar endowment would help ease that struggle. But the museum lacks the resources to launch a major campaign, a recent consultant’s study found.

“I think we will undertake [the campaign] in the near future, within a year,” Martindale said, explaining that the 30-person board must first enlist members with more money, better connections and “people committed to undertaking the effort, willing to devote the time.”

The board will focus at a September retreat on laying the foundation for an endowment campaign, the chairman said. Pre-launch plans also include interviews with major local arts and social philanthropists.

“We’re not going to ask them to support the Bowers [now], but we’ll ask, ‘What are the criteria you and others use for deciding whether you’ll support a cause? What would you want to see from us before you give us some money?’ ”