Category Archives: Commentary

Opinion or analysis concerning whatever’s on my mind.

American Dream Nicked

Posted on September 26, 2019 by JMN

Someone recently stole a solid gold toilet from an exhibit at Blenheim Palace, the family home of Winston Churchill. Its Italian creator named it “America.” The toilet was functional. Its theft “caused significant damage and flooding.” Dominic Hare, the chief … Continue reading →

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

Possum Mechanics

Posted on September 15, 2019 by JMN

Max Planck invented the term “quantum,” writes Deepak Chopra, a professor of family medicine and public health, in a letter to the NYTimes. He quotes a 1931 interview with The Observer of London in which Planck said, “I regard matter as … Continue reading →

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

When Is Kill Not “Over”?

Posted on September 15, 2019 by JMN

The illustration made me read this essay by Michelle Goldberg (“Margaret Atwood’s Dystopia, and Ours,” NYTimes, 9-14-19). On first glance, the picture’s Dairy Queen Blizzard ™ of cartoon imagery made me grumpy. Whatever it purports to symbolize, I thought, this … Continue reading →

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

Twice Broken

Posted on September 14, 2019 by JMN

Roberta Smith describes Ernst Ludwig Kirchner as “the best and most versatile of the German Expressionists.” Like many 20th-century German painters, Kirchner was twice broken, by World I, which resulted in his nervous breakdown, and the rise of Hitler, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A Pioneer Gallerist

Posted on September 14, 2019 by JMN

In 1926, Edith Gregor Halpert (1900-1970), an émigré from Ukraine, opened the Downtown Gallery on West 13th Street. It was the first gallery in Greenwich Village and she was the city’s first female gallerist… Horace Pippin, Stuart Davis, Charles Sheeler … Continue reading →

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

Grisaille

Posted on September 14, 2019 by JMN

Roberta Smith situates artist Amy Sherald within a group of youngish painters … who have broken with, absorbed or simply ignored modernist abstraction. Instead, they work with the figure as a way of reaching broader audiences; dealing with issues of … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Sashaying Words

Posted on September 9, 2019 by JMN

As a linguist I collect jargon from exotic domains such as counterpoint, quantum mechanics, cricket — and now, children’s drag. The topic has surfaced in a current article by Alice Hines: “Sashaying Their Way Through Youth,” NYTimes, 9-8-19. I’m currently … Continue reading →

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

Ambiguous Freedom

Posted on September 8, 2019 by JMN

Film maker Gus Van Sant is known for “Drugstore Cowboy,” “My Own Private Idaho,” and “Good Will Hunting.” I didn’t know he also painted. Watercolor on linen is an unfamiliar combination for me. I’m not sure I would look too … Continue reading →

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

Young Bashi-Bazouk

Posted on September 8, 2019 by JMN

“Mr. Cummings is a bashi-bazouk,” said [Dominic] Grieve, citing the Ottoman Empire’s shock troops, who were renowned for their ferocity. “It is going to be a very difficult period because Cummings doesn’t respect any rule at all.” (Benjamin Mueller and Stephen Castle, … Continue reading →

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

Francisco Toledo, Dead at 79

Posted on September 8, 2019 by JMN

“The man himself is elusive,” [Paul] Theroux noted. “He hides from journalists, he hates to be photographed, he seldom gives interviews, he no longer attends his own openings, but instead sends his wife and daughter to preside over them, while … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Leave a comment