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.

Incandescent Kandinsky

Posted on December 4, 2020 by JMN

I’ve lost the article from which I clipped this painting — something about vicissitudes and provenance. No matter, the painting is the thing. It trips and snares me. It’s like a knotty, naughty doodle done with psychedelic syrups from a … Continue reading →

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‘High-End’ Jinks in ‘Opulent’ Joints

Posted on December 3, 2020 by JMN

Ninety-one people broke the state’s 50-person limit at an October wedding held at the North Fork Country Club in Cutchogue, NY. Afterwards, 30 tested positive for the virus and 156 wound up quarantined. In a second New York event in … Continue reading →

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Less Majesty

Posted on December 1, 2020 by JMN

Lèse-maj·es·té: “the insulting of a monarch or other ruler.” Oliver Dowden, the UK culture secretary, wants Netflix to play a “health warning” before The Crown so viewers are aware that the historical drama is a work of fiction. “It’s a … Continue reading →

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Pictures Matter

Posted on November 30, 2020 by JMN

Richard Frishman is a photographer based near Seattle. You can follow his work on Instagram. (Photographs and Text by Richard Frishman, “Hidden in Plain Sight: The Ghosts of Segregation,” NYTimes, 11-30-20) (c) 2020 JMN

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Derek Fordjour

Posted on November 29, 2020 by JMN

“I love learning other ways to have a conversation,” Mr. Fordjour said after the rehearsal, a collaboration with the puppet artist Nick Lehane. “Painting has its utility, but performance is another register.” “… Black funerary tradition is on my mind,” … Continue reading →

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The King’s Alphabet

Posted on November 28, 2020 by JMN

… [Thai protestors] have… called for the king, Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, to… (Richard C. Paddock, “Thai Hotel That Put American in Jail Gets New Label on Tripadvisor,” NYTimes, 11-11-20) (c) 2020 JMN

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From Concept to Chrome

Posted on November 27, 2020 by JMN

“Detroit Style: Car Design in the Motor City, 1950-2020,” an exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts, opens this month and runs through next June. … The D.I.A. exhibition set out to communicate the journey that started with a designer’s … Continue reading →

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Attire Power

Posted on November 27, 2020 by JMN

The pussy-bow blouse: the quintessential working woman’s uniform in the years when they began to flood into the professional sphere; the female version of the tie; the power accessory of Margaret Thatcher, the first female British prime minister. (Vanessa Friedman, … Continue reading →

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Knots Bound [CXIX]

Posted on November 25, 2020 by JMN

[XCIX]Otros días vendrán, será entendidoOther days will come, there will be heardel silencio de plantas y planetasthe silence of plants and planets.¡y cuántas cosas puras pasarán!And so many pure things will happen!¡Tendrán olor a luna los violines!Violins will have a … Continue reading →

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Knots Bound [C]

Posted on November 23, 2020 by JMN

[C]En medio de la tierra apartaréIn the midst of the earth I will separatelas esmeraldas para divisartethe emeralds in order to spot you,y tú estarás copiando las espigasand you will be copying the ears of graincon una pluma de agua … Continue reading →

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