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PHQ EvJIXCom in liedthe collection,%u201d Buck says with a nononsense tone. %u201cThe original building wasnever designed tor mat purpose; it was nota successful casing.%u201dBuck certainly has good reason to emphasize the current collection of themuseum, which ranks seventh in holdingsin the country with over two million pieces.Its collection of Egyptian art is consideredone of the finest in a single museum and themuseum also holds a vast collection ofAmerican art ranging from pre-Columbiantimes up into the 20th Century. Collectionsof American Indian, Oceanic and Africanart are also well represented in themuseum.When Buck arrived from Buffalo, it washis knowledge of contemporary art thatheralded the start of change for themuseum. In tow with him, he brought to theBrooklyn Museum for the first time acurator of contemporary art, the signal of amajor shift into the 20th Century for thetraditional institution. %u201cWith my wholeThey kn ew w hen they h ired m ew hat m y background was. But,It's n o t m y obsession to turn them useum only into 20thC entury art.career as a modernist, I wasn%u2019t going to liedown dead and roll over about the Twentieth Century,%u201d Buck says of this development. %u201cThey knew when they hired mewhat my background was and that area hasgrown dramatically,%u201d he says. %u201cHowever,it%u2019s not my obsession to turn the museumonly into Twentieth Century art.%u201dThis change and the whole new spirit oflife Buck brought have transformed theway people %u2014 including the New Yorkmedia %u2014 see the museum these days. Thenew spirit is reflected in such acts as thecreation of a 60 by 24 foot lobby spacewhere large works can be shown with ease,works that often cannot be shown anywherebecause of their size. A revolving exhibitionof works from the permanent collectionknown as the %u201cCurator%u2019s Choice%u201d is anothereffort on his part to display the museum%u2019sholdings. The museum%u2019s curator of contemporary art, Charlotta Kotik, has alreadymounted new shows in previously unexplored areas, most recently the newlyopened %u201cMonumental Drawings: Works By22 Contemporary Artists,%u201d an exhibition ofapproximately 65 large-scale works thatrange in date from 1980 to 1986.%u201cIt%u2019s a process of redefining andrelaunching,%u201d Buck says of the new programs at the museum.In October, the museum%u2019s most ambitiousfall exhibit will open, %u201cThe Machine Age inAmerica 1918-1941,%u201d and the show is alreadyreceiving big media play, with an article inthe New York Times Magazine, attentionthe museum did not often, if ever, receivein the past. The museum itself and Buckreceived a large write up in the New YorkTimes in July and most recently in ArtNews, with both publications marvelingover the museum%u2019s growing significance.Buck points to another way of viewing thematter. %u201cIsn%u2019t it about time?%u201d he asksjubilantly. %u201cIt%u2019s like a tide turning. It%u2019swonderful,%u201d he crows.The museum, he says however, deservedrecognition earlier. %u201cI don%u2019t think institutions change, I think perceptions change,%u201dhe explains. %u201cAnd activities change in thesense that departments get created andeliminated.%u201dFor a number of different reasons, somedepartments at the museum have beeneliminated under Buck%u2019s tenure, includingthe Museum Art School which had existedat the museum for decades, but has nowmoved to Pratt Institute. The space, sorelyneeded by the museum, was converted toexhibition space, although some of themuseum%u2019s constituents were at odds withthis decision.COULDN%u2019T AFFORD TO DUPLICATEMost recently, in response to budget cutsthe museum encountered this year, theMuseum%u2019s Community Gallery, establishedia 1968 as a space for displaying Brooklyn%u2019sown artists, was closed and its two full-timestaff members laid off.%u201cIt was a budgetary decision,%u201d Bucksays. %u201cThe museum could not afford toduplicate programs,%u201d he adds. The servicesprovided by the Community Gallery will becontinued through several museum departments and through The Brooklyn Arts Council. The space formerly occupied by theCommunity Gallery will be returned to theDepartment of African, Oceanic and NewWorld Art for display of additional worksfrom the permanent collection.The museum%u2019s allocation from theDepartment of Cultural Affairs for 1987 wasreduced by $301,000 from last year%u2019s sum of$5.7 million. In addition, operating budgetsfor every department within the museumhave been cut by 10 percent and programming costs for several major exhibitionsscheduled this year have been reduced.Looking down the road, Buck is crypticabout his personal dream for the museum,but says one fulfilled dream would makehim very happy. %u201cIf someone would giveme a call and say I think what you%u2019re doingis great and here%u2019s $50 million to do whatyou want to do, I would be very veryhappy,%u201d he says.Join UsFor Crepes and DessertsAt The AnticBrunch All Day Sunday448 Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11217 237-2271LEON. 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