Category Archives: Commentary

Opinion or analysis concerning whatever’s on my mind.

Nostalgia, or Afterglow Foretold

Posted on January 4, 2026 by JMN

Greetings, Heart of Loia! Brylcreem, a little dab’ll do ya,Brylcreem, ya’ll look so debonair.Brylcreem, the gals will pursue ya.Just rub a little of it in yer hair! Breaking the 4th Wall for a MomentIn my experience, being followed (subscribed) here … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged | 4 Comments

Revolutionary January: No-Shots-Fired

Posted on January 1, 2026 by JMN

“As U.S. Guns Pour Into Canada, the Bodies Pile Up” (New York Times headline on Dec. 21, 2025) Can’t remember where, but recently I read that a functioning state must have a “monopoly on violence.” At first I found it … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged | 3 Comments

Of the 40 ‘Best’ Illustrations, 4 Are Good

Posted on December 29, 2025 by JMN

Sadly, many of the New York Times’s “best” Illustrations of 2025 are animated, removing them from consideration. Many others are merely garish, or negligible in diverse ways. Not a good year for illustration, but for the craver of artful graphics … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

‘Earrings for a Giraffe’

Posted on December 24, 2025 by JMN

In 1948, American artist Ruth Asawa (d. 2013, age 87) took classes at Black Mountain College in North Carolina with the dancer Merce Cunningham. Her mentor there was the architect Buckminster Fuller. … Such works were described dismissively by one … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Writing Not Sterling, But Some Nice Painting

Posted on December 22, 2025 by JMN

Reflection on an article about painter Aubrey Williams that could use some editing. The article is informative about circumstances of Williams’s life, but light on useful appraisal of his art. Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

‘Beginnings Are the Most Difficult’

Posted on December 20, 2025 by JMN

James Grashow uses cardboard as a prime material for creating his sculptures. Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Beauford Delaney: ‘A Yearning for Ornament’

Posted on December 18, 2025 by JMN

It leaves more room to follow what’s actually happening on the paper. … Though he drew them with confidence and care, you can see him yearning to ornament and exalt his subjects rather than just transcribe them. … The pulsing … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Marlon Mullen Talks With Paint

Posted on December 17, 2025 by JMN

“I think he feels understood through his painting, and that gives him a way to talk to the world.” (The artist’s sister) I feel an uncanny affinity with Marlon Mullen’s ceremony of preparation! A colleague and I have lately ruminated … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Mel Leipzig, the ‘Chekhov of Trenton’

Posted on December 5, 2025 by JMN

The acrylic canvases of Mel Leipzig, a painter christened by Peter Schjeldahl as the “Chekhov of Trenton,” reach me as analogs to the loudest arena-rock virtuoso guitar hero solos you can think of. They are an ostentation of look-what-I-can-do. They … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

I Have a Bone to Pick with the Food Chain

Posted on November 24, 2025 by JMN

In a neighboring town I glimpsed a lone cow in a chute back of a meat processing plant. She was staring fixedly at something unidentified off to my right, heedless of my passing. Only one outcome was left for her.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , | 4 Comments