Category Archives: Quotations

Things people said.

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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Body Language

Posted on April 16, 2019 by JMN

I’ve had little opportunity to enjoy the spectacle of dance except vicariously through the writing of Joan Acocella in The New Yorker. I admire the discipline and athleticism that dance demands of its performers. The passage cited here charms me … Continue reading →

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Not Ready for Answers

Posted on April 16, 2019 by JMN

Merce Cunningham comes across in these recollections of his dancers as a man who spoke volumes in few words. “Don’t make everything so pretty” and the terse statement that answers demand questions cover about ninety percent of art and life, … Continue reading →

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The Heart Is a Pump

Posted on April 12, 2019 by JMN

I like what Terence McNally says about creating character through dialogue. His “heart” trope further in the interview, however, is hackneyed. I hope writers who survive this “age of calamity” find a new way to talk about courage, tolerance, empathy, … Continue reading →

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Warholiana Keeps On Keeping On

Posted on April 12, 2019 by JMN

Sprayed with silver and decorated with tinfoil, Andy Warhol’s Factory was not only his studio, but a hangout for collaborators and muses like the Velvet Underground and Edie Sedgwick. Photojournalist Nat Finkelstein spent three years documenting it all (“All tomorrow’s … Continue reading →

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