LET’S LOOK AT THE TEETH OF THE HORSE GIVEN AS A PRESENT 0
Aušra Barzdukaitė-Vaitkūnienė (painter)
www.kamane.lt, 2007 03 15
Antanas Miškinis. Photo by I. Sideravičius.
In brief: Giving presents is pleasant. Accepting them is even more pleasant. Still, are gifts related with positive feelings only? Whether we are glad about a gift, depends on the taste and intentions of the giver of a present. Also, we should not interfere third persons into such a process, the National M. K. Čiurlionis Museum in this case.
The Professor Algimantas Miškinis, who gave his collection of artworks gathered for more than 50 years as a present to Kaunas, does not still have guarantees that the collection will stay in the galleries of Kaunas. However, why should he have such guarantees? The granting agreement de jure was signed between the hobbyist and Kaunas city. The secretary of the Ministry of Culture Rolandas Kvietkauskas confirmed that the National M. K. Čiurlionis Art Museum accepted the collection of art valuables which do not belong to it for temporal exposition.
Still, the Professor A. Miškinis turned to the society of Kaunas complaining that no respect was shown to his gift at Kaunas Picture Gallery. He stated: “I would not like to regret granting the collection to my native city.” It appears that he made a present and now requires a remuneration for it.
Therefore, the author of the article expresses her regret about this gift, as expositions have been changed at Kaunas Picture Gallery because of this collection. A wonderful collection of modern painting reflecting the development of painting of the 20th century - works of A. Gudaitis, A. Martinaitis, R. P. Vaitekūnas, L.Drazdauskaitė, and others have been put to funds. The exposition of the “Break Generation” which was a good example to city guests and students was also taken away from the halls. The paintings granted by A. Miškis have been hung instead of these collections.
The author states that it is necessary to review the granted collection seriously, it should also be evaluated by art experts. It if has been granted to the city, the city should find premises for exhibiting it properly. The halls of Kaunas Picture Gallery should not turn into a dark shelf where doubtful presents are gathering dust.
