by Jon Lackman | 20 May 2010 | Uncategorized
From Las Vegas Weekly:
They were adored, fawned over, hated, respected, energizing and revered. They brought hope, insulted the city and loved the city. They were negative, positive, cherished and polarizing. And now they are leaving. Love or hate them, there is no arguing that Dave Hickey, famous art critic and genius-grant recipient, and Libby Lumpkin, art historian and curator, will go down in Las Vegas history. There was Hickey’s controversial stint in UNLV’s art department, where he nurtured talented artists and aggravated colleagues. There was Lumpkin’s role in the first fine-art gallery on the Strip — Steve Wynn’s collection at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art — which helped expand the perception of what could be a tourist attraction. There was her leadership of the Las Vegas Art Museum, bringing it national attention with important contemporary exhibits — suddenly, major collectors and museums were sharing their work with Las Vegas … Now they’re off to New Mexico; Lumpkin has been made a tenured professor at the University of New Mexico. Hickey will teach art there.
