Where The Wild Things Aren't.
January 27, 2016 1:51 PM Subscribe
The home of late artist/illustrator Maurice Sendak may or may not become a museum. It may be more difficult to house a wild thing than it would seem. Controversy broils over Sendak's disputed legacy.
Reading the will, it seems like Sendak wanted the house to be a museum open to the public, and that one phrase, "... in such manner as the directors of the MAURICE SENDAK FOUNDATION INC. shall determine." has opened the door for this squabble.
I guess the lesson here is, if you truly want something done, you have to spell it out and not leave matters open like this.
It's a shame too. Sendak is a hero of mine, a gay man who lived through hell just trying to have a life that respected his own proclivities in the face of being a reluctantly public figure. The documentary that Spike Jonze made to accompany his Where The Wild Things Are film, Tell Them Anything You Want [hulu link], felt like it revealed his heart to me even underneath his curmudgeonly crust. It never fails to make me weep. He was so strong, and so broken, and so talented, and felt so alone.
RIP would be nice, but apparently it won't be allowed.
posted by hippybear at 2:30 PM on January 27, 2016 [5 favorites]
I guess the lesson here is, if you truly want something done, you have to spell it out and not leave matters open like this.
It's a shame too. Sendak is a hero of mine, a gay man who lived through hell just trying to have a life that respected his own proclivities in the face of being a reluctantly public figure. The documentary that Spike Jonze made to accompany his Where The Wild Things Are film, Tell Them Anything You Want [hulu link], felt like it revealed his heart to me even underneath his curmudgeonly crust. It never fails to make me weep. He was so strong, and so broken, and so talented, and felt so alone.
RIP would be nice, but apparently it won't be allowed.
posted by hippybear at 2:30 PM on January 27, 2016 [5 favorites]
I was surprised to find that the article made no mention of the other Sendak controversy, the lawsuit between the Rosenbach Museum and the Sendak Foundation over the custody of Sendak's rare books collection
They did actually mention that at one point, but it's nice to have more detail, thanks for posting the link!
posted by WalkerWestridge at 6:34 PM on January 27, 2016
They did actually mention that at one point, but it's nice to have more detail, thanks for posting the link!
posted by WalkerWestridge at 6:34 PM on January 27, 2016
Controversy broils over Sendak's disputed legacy.That's a really frightening way to have phrased that. My first thought was "oh please tell me Sendak wasn't a rapist too". I read through the whole article waiting for the part about allegations of rape or pedophilia or boiling kittens or whatever and was relieved to find that the the "disputed legacy" part meant nothing more than arguments among various Sendak trustees and heirs about what to do with his stuff.
posted by sotonohito at 11:56 AM on January 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by KernalM at 2:16 PM on January 27, 2016 [3 favorites]