Category Archives: Quotations

Things people said.

Waters on Embracing the Infuriating

Posted on May 24, 2019 by JMN

John Waters answers an interviewer’s question about the art he collects. “Besides liking the work, what guiding principles do you follow in collecting?” It has to sometimes, at first, make me angry. It has to delight me and surprise me … Continue reading →

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“Fervent Repetition”

Posted on May 20, 2019 by JMN

… Josh Smith… degrades and celebrates his medium through the relentless yet fervent repetition of a selected motif. [He] tends to work fast and a trifle sloppily, until a certain image becomes second nature, a template. This automatism opens the … Continue reading →

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No Decapitated Nudes, Please

Posted on May 20, 2019 by JMN

Like so many good ideas, the Every Woman Biennial was born of a joke. Now it’s in its third edition, displaying the work of over 600 female and nonbinary artists, and expanding to Los Angeles. C. Finley, the exhibit organizer, … Continue reading →

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Lubed Market Takes Epic Sums

Posted on May 20, 2019 by JMN

KAWS is “former graffiti tagger” Brian Donnelly. “The market is wacky…,” said Douglas Walla, a private dealer based in New York, commenting on the current vogue for KAWS. “The whole thing is lubricated by social media. Artists have been able … Continue reading →

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The Poor Rich

Posted on May 17, 2019 by JMN

… The affluent but not super-wealthy collectors — the bankers at Goldman Sachs but not the partners… are put off by the sky-high prices at top galleries and auction houses. When they see a Hockney painting sell for $90 million, … Continue reading →

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On Being an Afterthought

Posted on April 29, 2019 by JMN

I like learning that the average reading speed for adult viewers of subtitled movies is 15 to 17 characters a second, that 37-42 characters fit on a line, and the number of lines is limited to two. A sad fact, … Continue reading →

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“Nulla dies sine linea”

Posted on April 25, 2019 by JMN

I see almost daily in the work of fellow bloggers luminous evidence of the play of eye and hand across a surface with some object — pen, crayon, brush, mouse — that leaves expressive marks. Laura Cumming, art critic for … Continue reading →

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Haunted by the Undefined

Posted on April 25, 2019 by JMN

Thank you, Maeve Higgins. I’m always glad for the rare journalist who doesn’t assume her reader is privy to novel slang. A term I knew only from sailing has headlined several unread articles recently. I assumed it had to do … Continue reading →

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Bastard File

Posted on April 20, 2019 by JMN

I went shopping online for a metal file with which to increase the gap of the hook on the support strap I use for my classical guitar. The hook engages with the sound hole of the instrument, and is too … Continue reading →

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“… This realm, this England.”

Posted on April 16, 2019 by JMN

I find the paragraph cited here interesting and amusing for its self-aware description of how the author and his interviewee, both of them writers, preen themselves competitively on their humble class origins to establish their bona fides while preparing to … Continue reading →

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