Monthly Archives: January 2021

‘Certitudes’

This is the Cubist revolution: Here, for the first time in Western art since the Renaissance, the world as we see it no longer has primacy. The picture is no longer an act of perception. It’s an act of imagination, … Continue reading

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Away with Wayward Words!

In a dispute with the EU, AstraZeneca’s CEO insists their contract requires only “best reasonable efforts” to meet delivery schedules. Lawyers disagreed over the language of the E.U. contract, which was only partly made public.(Steven Erlanger and Matina Stevis-Gridneff, “E.U. … Continue reading

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‘Style Is Character’

Didion once wrote, “Style is character…” Rhetorically, a “this is that” assertion that plops two abstractions around a copulative can be a facile expedient for simulating profundity. Nathan Heller comments that Didion’s observation about style has to do with “the … Continue reading

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Neruda XVII: Queue Jumper

Robin Williams performs (I use the word advisedly) Pablo Neruda’s sonnet XVII in a scene from Williams’s movie “Patch Adams” (www.pocketfulofpoesy.com). “Patch” recites the poem at the grave of his dead girlfriend. I recoil at the acting out of poetry. … Continue reading

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Colors of Number

This gallery contains 1 photo.

Oneis orange, the color of Sunas she sets and rises.Twois blue, a hue Sky fakesfor inattentive irises. Threeis the olivescent greenof a certain stand of tree.Fouris a dour English colour,Marmite and chocolate fudgey. Fiveis alive with unexpected yellowlike engine oil … Continue reading

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‘Photographism’: Penn’s Eye

But is “photographism” even a word? Not entirely. It is, though, a term that was coined by the photographer [Irving Penn]. It isn’t a theory, but an idea supported by sketches, notes, photographs and posters. “It was never clearly defined … Continue reading

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‘Symphony of Tufts and Touches’

How is this doggyphile and wannabe painter not to love the rendition of a master? The art expert Frédérick Chanoit said the painting, measuring 32.5cm by 24.5cm, had been produced in 20 minutes and is an example of Manet’s technical … Continue reading

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Cruzifer

I’ve sometimes wondered what was meant by American “exceptionalism.” The term had a ring of smug superiority to it. A recent article by Adam Gopnik in The New Yorker broadened my perspective, however. Gopnik pointed out that autocracy has been … Continue reading

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Transitioning

(c) 2020 JMN

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HJN

Harold Johnson Nichols, ca. 2005.  Photographed by his friend Robert E. “Buddy” Lee. (c) 2020 JMN

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