And it's written not by a rotating crew of relatively lowly staffers, as at the Henry—Hankblog is really pretty good and getting even better lately, so don't misunderstand; I'm not knocking it—but by brand new SAM director Derrick Cartwright.

Cartwright's tone in his first post reflects exactly my impressions of him when I spent a morning with him back in May: he's serious but not dour, likable but not ingratiating.

And tone matters.

From his first post:

This is just to say that demystifying the ways in which the museum functions on a daily basis is one goal of this experiment, the first of many that I hope will characterize my tenure at SAM.

AMEN. SAM has often behaved like a fortress of 19th-century-style upper-class propriety, especially when it comes to communication.

This is not really the place for systematic inquiry or fully developed arguments. What comes to mind first will likely be what finds its way into this space. I will try to be frank and honest. ... To begin, I just want everyone to know that I am deeply committed to SAM’s future dynamism. To the extent that SOAP can reflect modestly on that ambition, I am sincerely interested in your response to the ideas expressed here. Thanks in advance for that consideration. Wish me luck.

I do wish him luck, and really want to believe he's prepared to stand strong on improving SAM's ability to articulate a personality that's smart, sincere, and willing to take the important risks—reflective of the values of the art it champions.

He jokes that the name SOAP may not stick; it was just one of several that were thrown around, including his favorite, SAMbiguous. I like SAMbiguous better than SOAP (it seems like it stands for something, but I don't think it does, and then where does that leave you?), but neither of them is as good as Hankblog.

Help a museum out with some ideas?