Category Archives: Commentary

Opinion or analysis concerning whatever’s on my mind.

Vivian Browne

Posted on March 18, 2019 by JMN

In 1965, the artist, educator, and activist Vivian Browne (1929-1993) began a series titled Little Men. Considered her first major body of work, it consists of oil and acrylic paintings of white-collar middle-aged white men… They’re dressed in button-down shirts … Continue reading →

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

Yes, It’s in Focus, I Think

Posted on March 18, 2019 by JMN

Suh Seung Won, a pioneer of the process-based Korean painting movement known as Dansaekhwa, or monochrome, started out with hard-edge, translucent rhombuses that evoke unreal architectural spaces. In the large-scale recent canvases comprising most of “Suh Seung Won: Simultaneity” at … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Agony of Deaccessioning

Posted on March 12, 2019 by JMN

This article has useful and graphic information about how and why so many art museums display so little of their collections. At first blush there is ample fodder for irony for persons possessed of the notion that art’s first purpose … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged | Leave a comment

Defamation Nation

Posted on March 7, 2019 by JMN

  How Australia Became the Defamation Capital of the World A court ruling in favor of a billionaire businessman against The Sydney Morning Herald illustrates the sorry state of the country’s defamation laws. By Louisa Lim Ms. Lim is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology, Commentary | Tagged | Leave a comment

Titans in Natty Attire

Posted on March 7, 2019 by JMN

Joni Mitchell describes herself as a “painter derailed by circumstance.” (“Joni Mitchell,” Wikipedia) (Photo from Guy Trebay, “Of David Hockney and Joni Mitchell Holding Hands,” NYTimes, 2-28- 19) (c) 2019 JMN.

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

The Screaming “Caravaggio”

Posted on March 6, 2019 by JMN

Eric Turquin, art dealer: “Look at the execution of the lips, the way the chin and eyelids are painted… It belongs to Caravaggio. How could it be by anyone else?” Keith Christiansen, MOMA-NY: [Contains details too crude to be by … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , | Leave a comment

How Rembrandt Worked

Posted on March 1, 2019 by JMN

I liked the detail quoted below of how Rembrandt painted lace — the “hieroglyphic jumble” that coheres from afar– as well as the notion that a painted copy of a repetitive pattern actually looks artificial. This is helpful to a … Continue reading →

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

Incorporates a Stretchy Sock

Posted on March 1, 2019 by JMN

I have a vicarious affection for Scotland nurtured by family genealogy. Coupled with a weakness for spirited fashion talk, it leads me to share the following: [Natacha Ramsay-Levi, Chloé’s creative director] joins many other European designers this season, including Riccardo … Continue reading →

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

A Painter’s Painter With Painterly Allure

Posted on March 1, 2019 by JMN

… In its sheer variety and vitality, this exhibition is optimistic, and generous in spirit. It reaffirms Mr. Johns as, foremost, a painter’s painter and a working artist rather than an art historical subject. In it he revisits three or … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The Fall and Fall of Title Editing

Posted on February 16, 2019 by JMN

Two headlines appearing for different articles in The Guardian on Saturday, February 16, 2019: “Generation next: the rise – and rise – of the new poets” (Sarah Crown) “What does it meme? The rise and rise of the fashion viral” … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged | Leave a comment