John Waters to join board of the Baltimore Museum of Art

Yesterday the Baltimore Museum of Art announced five new board trustees: Michael Ealy, Nupur Parekh Flynn, Lori N. Johnson, Anne L. Stone, and filmmaker John Waters. 

“I am very excited to welcome the five new trustees, whose variety of skills and experiences across the fields of art, education, entertainment, marketing, and management will assist us as we continue to find ways to better serve our community and fulfill the Baltimore Museum of Art’s mission,” Zamoiski Segal said in a released statement. “I have no doubt that this new cohort of trustees will enhance the museum’s governance and leadership, and I look forward to sharing their commitment and passion for the BMA’s vision with the rest of the board.”

Last year Waters bequeathed almost four hundred artworks from his collection to the museum: "prints, paintings and photographs" by artists such as Diane Arbus, Thomas Demand, Nan Goldin, Mike Kelley, Roy Lichtenstein, Christian Marclay, Catherine Opie, Richard Serra, Cindy Sherman, Gary Simmons, Richard Tuttle, Cy Twombly,  Andy Warhol, and Christopher Wool.

The gift came with the stipulation that that venue name its east lobby bathrooms after him. Perhaps missing the point of this request, they have also decided to name the domed room in the European art galleries will also be renamed the John Waters Rotunda. 

“Renaming the bathrooms was my idea right from the beginning,” Waters told the Baltimore Sun. “They thought I was kidding and I said, ‘No, I’m serious.' It’s in the spirit of the artwork I collect, which has a sense of humor and is confrontational and minimalist and which makes people crazy.”