Comments on: San Francisco’s MOMA proves hypocrtical on its photo policy

By: pdxSean

pdxSean — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:02:09 +0000

Blints actions would also be a lot more understandable if he was just an everyday, ordinary security guy or something. They shouldn’t be expected to be at the top of their game at all times.

A professional like Blint, at a major institution like the SF MOMA, should always be on his A-Game. Someone who is in charge of public relations gets away with acting this way? And then the museum just poo-poos it?

Honestly, I think they just dismiss this whole thing as an internet issue, and like so many older institutions they have no idea that the internet is actually a powerful tool and can have real effects on life.

Also, is Hawk a jerk? Maybe he is… he’s certainly provocative. But aren’t provocative jerks provided the same constitutional protections as the rest of us? Darn right they are.

By: torgeaux

torgeaux — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 18:47:16 +0000

I can see the initial reaction of Mr. Blint. I can even see how, if true, the initial suspicion could make Mr. Blint a bit abrupt in his dealings with Thomas Hawk. What I cannot see is, if offered the opportunity, why he wouldn’t examine the photographs in question. That is alone enough for me to conclude that Blint did not act in good faith.

By: Maz

Maz — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:41:41 +0000

@IM:

You need to read the whole account. Apparently the reasoning for the expulsion was a claim, a CLAIM, on Blint’s part that Hawk was trying to use the camera to spy down a woman’s shirt.

Despite Hawk’s attempts to explain the nature of his lens (it was a 14mm, Blint accused it of being a telephoto… not a photography person, but based on the results above, not a telephoto), offer to show the pictures he had taken, Blint refused to… Instead he publicly made a scene and called Hawk a pervert in so many words.

No offense, but a PR person does not make a scene nor disrupt a museum’s atmosphere unless he wants to make a scene of it. Seems like a power trip to me.

By: Joel

Joel — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:15:38 +0000

“a place where people can enjoy art”
“safely and securely bring art to the masses”
“protecting the viewing rights of it”
“make visiting the Museum a pleasant and enjoyable experience”

How, exactly, did Mr. Blint’s behavior in this incident accomplish any of the preceding?

And where, specifically, are the inaccuracies in the blog post with what transpired?

Let’s have an exploration of the facts of the incident, instead of your “Blint Booster Pal” contribution.

By: IM

IM — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 04:54:16 +0000

How sad, for you Thomas. And, everyone rallying around your opinion. Is there any justice at all to a one-sided rant? This to me is where blogging loses it’s credibility, by the second. I see that you tried to make some grand statement about the rights of photographers, but your method for doing so is selfish, immature, and actually rather cruel. Do you know Simon Blint? Do you have any idea of what it means to be able to safely and securely bring art to the masses? I do, on both accounts. I have worked at SFMOMA. You have used this incident to construct a rather flimsy soap box. It would have been nice if you thought twice about trying to trash the name of someone who works tirelessly to make SFMOMA a place where people can enjoy art. I don’t profess to know anything about photography, outside of enjoying it. So, I would never make blanket statements about your profession. You feel you have the credibility to do so about running the customer service of a Museum or protecting the viewing rights of it. Perhaps if you stood taking tickets and answering the same question hundreds of times with a smile for 8 hours, or patiently dealt with people trying to damage priceless art, or took care of a guest who has fallen ill or been injured while visiting and needed medical help, or tried keeping employees safe from hostile and inappropriate guests, or sat in hours of meetings discussing how to make visiting the Museum a pleasant and enjoyable experience especially during shows like Kahlo where the lines are lengthy, ALL of which Simon Blint has done, then you would be able to better understand why this entire mess that you started is beyond silly. You have done your blog a disservice, and you have done the same for a wonderful institution and a hard working guy trying to do his job. I hope to find every place that you have unfairly written about this and share this perspective to show how small you showed up with this big effort.

By: genewitch

genewitch — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 08:45:31 +0000

the portrait is of the guy who threw him out? that’s a fairly impressive picture… i like it better than the b&w…

It’s stupid that the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, though. someone needs to have a meeting or something.