Author Archives: JMN

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About JMN

I live in Texas and devote much of my time to easel painting on an amateur basis. I stream a lot of music, mostly jazz, throughout the day. I like to read and memorize poetry.

The Shed

Posted on March 4, 2019 by JMN

[This April the Shed will be “the largest new art space to have opened in New York since the Lincoln Center in 1962.” Originally, it was to be called the Culture Shed.] “I didn’t like the sound of [the name],” … Continue reading →

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How Rembrandt Worked

Posted on March 1, 2019 by JMN

I liked the detail quoted below of how Rembrandt painted lace — the “hieroglyphic jumble” that coheres from afar– as well as the notion that a painted copy of a repetitive pattern actually looks artificial. This is helpful to a … Continue reading →

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Incorporates a Stretchy Sock

Posted on March 1, 2019 by JMN

I have a vicarious affection for Scotland nurtured by family genealogy. Coupled with a weakness for spirited fashion talk, it leads me to share the following: [Natacha Ramsay-Levi, Chloé’s creative director] joins many other European designers this season, including Riccardo … Continue reading →

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A Painter’s Painter With Painterly Allure

Posted on March 1, 2019 by JMN

… In its sheer variety and vitality, this exhibition is optimistic, and generous in spirit. It reaffirms Mr. Johns as, foremost, a painter’s painter and a working artist rather than an art historical subject. In it he revisits three or … Continue reading →

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Dress in Peace

Posted on February 23, 2019 by JMN

The couple’s closets were filled with immaculate clothes. (Bonnie Wertheim, “Marella Agnelli, Society’s ‘Last Swan’ and a Passionate Gardener, Is Dead at 91,” NYTimes, 2-23-19) All respect to the Agnelli family and condolences for their loss. The clothing reference struck … Continue reading →

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Netflixing the World

Posted on February 23, 2019 by JMN

… Netflix has discovered something startling: Despite a supposed surge in nationalism across the globe, many people like to watch movies and TV shows from other countries… A list of Netflix’s most watched and most culturally significant recent productions looks … Continue reading →

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Dangerous Music

Posted on February 21, 2019 by JMN

In 1919, jazz, or “jass,” as some still called it, was a peculiar word with musical and sexual connotations. It could be noun, verb or adjective, indicating pep, liveliness and noise. Jazz was the new counterculture dance music replacing ragtime … Continue reading →

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“What you see is what you see” (Frank Stella)

Posted on February 18, 2019 by JMN

Explaining the works he has amassed, Mr. Stella said, “Artists collect differently from other people… I wouldn’t bother making art if I didn’t like what the people around me were doing, too. It wouldn’t be any fun.” (Ted Loos, “The … Continue reading →

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Decree 349

Posted on February 18, 2019 by JMN

The decree requires artists to obtain government approval before performing or displaying their work, while also regulating the artwork itself. For example, it prohibits audiovisual content that contains “sexist, vulgar and obscene language” or that uses “national symbols” in ways … Continue reading →

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Massive Attack

Posted on February 18, 2019 by JMN

“Gigs have become very formulaic these days,” adds [Adam] Curtis. “Not just gigs but all of culture – and that’s the challenge. The way you make people look again is by finding a different sort of image. And so the … Continue reading →

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