Prairie Public Broadcasting

Art Exhibit Arrives in Fargo -- With Some Controversy FARGO, ND (NDPR) - An artist from Florida is calling foul over an art exhibit opening at the Plains Art Museum in Fargo. The Museum is opening the exhibit Rodin: A Magnificent Obsession. Gary Arseneau says he takes exception to the exhibit - and calls it a scam...

"...They're promoting these as sculptures. And by promoting them as sculptures they're promoting them as original works of art - created by, in this case, Auguste Rodin. The only problem was he was dead when 54 of them were done. He's never seen the work."

Arseneau puts the fault with the French Museum Rodin, which he says does not reproduce the sculptures from the original plasters making the exhibit the public sees "copies of copies."

"...Unfortunately this is an inexpensive way for museums to put together exhibits for - obviously admission fees, city, state, federal grants, and corporate sponsorship. The problem is it's the classic bait-and-switch. They're offering the public one thing, and giving them something else altogether different."

Arseneau says he's not telling people to avoid the exhibit; rather he would like to see the museum provide more disclosure and transparency about the exhibit.

Rusty Freeman is with Plains Art Museum and questions Arseneau's arguments...

"In some ways to say these are not authentic because the artist didn't see them - that's just part of the process. Rodin selected the foundries that reproduced his work and he would trust them to reproduce in full fidelity the work that he did the foundries wouldn't have it any other way. And so it's somewhat disingenuous to suggest that just because these things are cast posthumously - which he knew that they would take advantage of and do - is not really that well founded."

The Rodin exhibit runs through mid-July.
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