"In Detroit, though, we run the risk of making smug assumptions about the nature of art and the public trust that won’t necessarily withstand scrutiny. "

Detroit News columnist Laura Berman wonders whether the city really needs a million-dollar Howdy Doody puppet.  (I'm quoted in the column.)

This has to do with the DIA in Detroit, where works are held in the public trust so it's repulsive to ever consider selling any of them, as opposed to Dia in New York, where works by Twombly, Chamberlain, and Newman are not held in the public trust and so can be freely disposed of.  It's all perfectly logical and consistent.