Terra Firma
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Neff’s background is in modern art. From 1978 to ’83 he served as director of the Museum of Contemporary Art; he then spent the next 14 years as director of the art program at First Chicago Bank-NBD. The First Chicago job may not have provided as much of a challenge as museum management, but during his tenure Neff added some 4,000 objects to the bank’s 6,000-piece collection. The position also allowed Neff to observe how the bank’s employees responded to the art placed in their midst. As Neff explains, “You can learn a lot about an audience that way.”
When he arrived at the Terra, Neff discovered only one show on the exhibition list and had to move quickly to fill in the blanks. One of the first shows he organized opened this week: “1998: New Artists in Chicago,” mounted in conjunction with the city’s department of cultural affairs, is a juried show of 39 young artists about to receive MFA degrees from area universities. If the show is a success, Neff hopes to make it a biennial event.
Sources at the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago say that it’s already agreed to the new rate and will book the Auditorium for its fall 1998 and spring 1999 seasons, in addition to its year-end presentation of The Nutcracker. But Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, which booked three weeks at the Auditorium this year, might return to the Shubert, which hosted its last four spring seasons. “No deals have been made yet, so I am reluctant to discuss the situation,” says Gail Kalver, executive director of Hubbard Street. But the company’s 20th-anniversary season at the Auditorium may have been less successful than the company had hoped: last week it took the unusual step of faxing other arts organizations to offer half-price rush tickets for all third-week performances.
