Category Archives: Commentary

Opinion or analysis concerning whatever’s on my mind.

The World We Mustn’t Live In

Posted on August 29, 2019 by JMN

Two thoughts slam me at once. They can’t be correlated, but mustn’t they? The first thought is that we live in a tired, busy world; a world of busy tiredness; a world of tired busyness. Such is our world: tired … Continue reading →

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Feminine He Ain’t

Posted on August 28, 2019 by JMN

This article describes Richard Serra as “the best-known living sculptor in America.” His medium is steel, in which he enshrines “abstract forms as maximalist feats of mass and scale.” At the Museum of Modern Art… a room-sized assembly of eight, … Continue reading →

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Retire “Toxic.” “Hegemonic” is Here

Posted on August 28, 2019 by JMN

Scholars call it “hegemonic masculinity,” a fancy phrase defining the traditional male ideal as being stoic, tough and aggressive. The body is an instrument of violence in this rationalization…The football helmet… is not just a form of protection but… a … Continue reading →

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Duking It Out With Regret

Posted on August 25, 2019 by JMN

“I have said previously that it was a mistake and an error to see him after his release… I can only reiterate my regret… I was mistaken to think that what I thought I knew of him was evidently not … Continue reading →

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Please God, Net It Out!

Posted on August 23, 2019 by JMN

I’ve read “Ulysses,” “War and Peace,” some of Henry James and most of Faulkner — but not recently. I’m aware I’ve just bragged, and I’m ashamed of it in a manner of speaking. These four writers aren’t known for netting … Continue reading →

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Methanol Republic

Posted on August 21, 2019 by JMN

A Nobel laureate-in-waiting will spirit the drinkability out of antifreeze. Enlightened governments will protect their populations. Unicorns will pasture in Central America. These potables are flagged as suspect in this article: Guaro Montano, Guaro Gran Apache, Aguardiente Estrella, Aguardiente Barón … Continue reading →

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Cedric Benson (1982-2019)

Posted on August 20, 2019 by JMN

The death of a man in his young prime, and of his passenger on the motorcycle, is an unmixed tragedy. I have nothing but respect and condolence for all who mourn the cruel loss of these two lives. What strikes … Continue reading →

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“Ida, Not Georgia”

Posted on August 18, 2019 by JMN

Roberta Smith writes of an exhibition at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts entitled “Ida O’Keeffe: Escaping Georgia’s Shadow.” I don’t warm immediately to the work of Ida Ten Eyck O’Keefe (1889-1961), but I’m glad it has survived against … Continue reading →

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“A Saved Man”

Posted on August 17, 2019 by JMN

I admire Renoir for the valor with which he carried on his work into old age, arthritic hands and all. I don’t care much for his nudes. Nor am I as fond of Boucher as he was, but I get … Continue reading →

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“Amped Up to Grotesqueness”

Posted on August 17, 2019 by JMN

Gina Beavers’s work hits a sweet spot for me. It’s impossible not to bumble where the talent has gone already, but I intend to explore serial, inflated, anatomical detail myself. Her idiosyncratic aesthetic… [offers] canny statements on contemporary bodies, beauty … Continue reading →

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