Category Archives: Quotations

Things people said.

‘It’s Death in a Modern Setting’

Posted on October 28, 2024 by JMN

Whether it’s taken as a grin or a snarl, all skulls bare their teeth; it goes with being a skull. But sometimes an art historian is in pursuit of a story to tell — it goes with being an art … Continue reading →

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‘Attention Is the Rarest and Purest Form of Generosity’

Posted on October 24, 2024 by JMN

Between “passionate” and “dispassionate,” why not the latter? Having a “passion” for something threatens to be trite. “Passion” emits heat, and there’s enough heat circulating already. How about “devotion” instead? I’m devoted to the art of mimickry. A bent for imitation, … Continue reading →

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‘Colorful Ooze’

Posted on October 19, 2024 by JMN

The Met’s new show… makes clear how astonishing it is that paint, of all things, became the center of Western art… There may never be another big American exhibition about this freakish little era, when artists figured out how to … Continue reading →

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Artists’ Palettes. They’re Artyfacts!

Posted on October 16, 2024 by JMN

The phrase “smeared with [a] personalised spectrum of paint” snagged me. The palettes are interesting in relation to who used them and/or for what they suggest about the painter’s “attack,” for lack of a better word. Fifty of these small … Continue reading →

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Zen Fire Alarm: The Sound of One Hand Slapping

Posted on October 1, 2024 by JMN

“I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”  (Trump) (c) 2024 JMN — EthicalDative. All rights reserved

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Quran 3:78 —> Vance

Posted on September 17, 2024 by JMN

Like the King James Bible for Judaism and Christianity, the Holy Quran is for Islam a monument to luminous language in a spiritual setting. As a student of Arabic I study Quranic texts to strengthen my grasp of the language … Continue reading →

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Martha Diamond: ‘Looming Masses, Fleeting Vistas, Overwhelming Immersion’

Posted on September 9, 2024 by JMN

She completed an oil painting in one sitting, often mixing colors on the surface of the canvas. Martha Diamond’s approach to painting, and her execution, delight me. I dream of achieving something even approximating her studied generality in my own … Continue reading →

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Attack of the Cosmic Chuckle

Posted on September 6, 2024 by JMN

I heard that Iris Murdoch said (or wrote), “Everything that comforts is fake.” Then I read: According to the best theories available, matter — everything we can see and feel in the universe — should not exist. Every particle of … Continue reading →

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Claudette Johnson (1959 – Present), Artist of the British West Midlands ‘Blk Art Group’

Posted on September 5, 2024 by JMN

“I tend to just make a mess.” (Claudette Johnson) Artist-blogger OutsideAuthority’s mention of an exhibition of work by Claudette Johnson in Birmingham (England) caused me to discover an article about Johnson’s first solo show in New York last year. These … Continue reading →

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Terrific Image, Perfect Caption

Posted on September 3, 2024 by JMN
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