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.

Michelangelo Pistoletto

Posted on October 29, 2020 by JMN

This article introduces me to Arte Povera (poor or plain art), a movement whose heyday ended in the 70s, known for it use of humble materials such as rags and newspaper. A major exponent, Michelangelo Pistoletto, has said, “Art is … Continue reading →

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Amen Thyself

Posted on October 25, 2020 by JMN

Amen Thyself Kids are we of One High God or other.There are no atheists around a campfire.Praise the spook that hankers for a crown. An unborn baby drowned with its mother,Tipped from a rescue boat into the flood.Scream a prayer … Continue reading →

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‘Uninvited Guests’

Posted on October 23, 2020 by JMN

Carlos G. Navarro, curator of “Uninvited Guests,” the Prado’s first post-lockdown exhibition, says it’s “partly an act of self-criticism” for the museum’s complicity in neglect of 19th-century female artists. Of 130 works displayed, 60 are by women. One wonders why … Continue reading →

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Backages & Shortlogs

Posted on October 22, 2020 by JMN

The Guardian reports a crisis fermenting in South Korea: cabbage for making kimchi has run short. Its link to the intrepid cowpoke fleshing street-level USA will not be obvious, but an old snatch from Finnegans Wake helps connect the dots: … Continue reading →

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Lightning Gauge

Posted on October 21, 2020 by JMN

More than one Texas rancher weathering a drought has shrugged off a passing storm saying he got about an inch-and-a-half of lightning from it. Language note: as an adjective, “Texan” is not heard much in Texas cities. (c) 2020 JMN

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The Kiss

Posted on October 20, 2020 by JMN

“I feel so powerful. I’ll walk into that audience. I’ll walk in there, I’ll kiss everyone in that audience. I’ll kiss the guys and the beautiful women and… everybody. I’ll just give you a big fat kiss.”— At October 2020 … Continue reading →

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The ‘Tintanic’ Runs on Octopower

Posted on October 19, 2020 by JMN

I have a fictitious acquaintance with the Chichester locale via Sir Alistair Chichester of Chichesterton-upon-Hogg. There’ll always be a Britain in my fancies. (c) 2020 JMN

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Protecting the Male

Posted on October 18, 2020 by JMN

(c) 2020 JMN

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Slackoff from Windbaggage

Posted on October 17, 2020 by JMN

Art Spiegelman’s comment below, encountered on the fly as if on zoom wings, has helped me realize that this latest painting is just wrong: grotesque in subject, torpid in execution, and the end of a line. Fury and disgust can … Continue reading →

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‘Blurred Stupid Dulled’

Posted on October 13, 2020 by JMN

Hilma af Klint inspires a certain perfervid evangelism which is diluted in this article by careless editing. The article cites a beautiful film by Halina Dyrschka about the visionary artist’s astonishing work. The beguiled film maker contracted [sic] MoMA to … Continue reading →

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