Category Archives: Quotations

Things people said.

“I don’t paint what I see but what I saw”

Posted on April 11, 2019 by JMN

There’s much that’s discoverable for me about Munch. These excerpts stood out. Artists I admire are similarly self-critical and leery of pretty pictures. Munch’s house and studio were on a remote hillside above Oslo, where he fled after his 1908 … Continue reading →

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Side Hustle

Posted on April 7, 2019 by JMN

How old are “old Chinese sayings” and how many are actually Chinese? Fewer than all of them, I surmise. However, one I encountered said that wisdom consists in getting things by their right names. It appealed to me because it … Continue reading →

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“Perverse Obliqueness”

Posted on April 1, 2019 by JMN

Brexit defies me as much as my native political scene defies me. Anomalies aside, I find here a stretch of forceful writing to savor for language’s sake. I came to attention from “carapace” forward. What follows illumines for me something … Continue reading →

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“All right — take the picture!”

Posted on March 31, 2019 by JMN

Annie Leibovitz’s latest exhibition of her photography is Annie Leibovitz: The Early Years, 1970-1983. It includes a shot of Henri Cartier-Bresson, one of her idols, during her time roaming Paris as a budding photographer. The notoriously camera-shy Frenchman glares into … Continue reading →

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Stubborn Repetition

Posted on March 29, 2019 by JMN

In my own modest easel practice I’m trying to psych myself into painting a subject more than once. Artists I admire do it. Real artists. They dwell and go deep; obsess, in a good way. I’m afraid I have a … Continue reading →

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Cartoon Transfer Technique

Posted on March 28, 2019 by JMN

The article is about Raphael’s preparatory cartoon for his fresco “The School of Athens” in the Vatican. What caught my eye in particular was mention of the method used to transfer the image to the walls. Its value must have been … Continue reading →

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Scott Walker (1943-2019)

Posted on March 28, 2019 by JMN

As a latecomer to Scott Walker’s music I’ve only scratched its surface. The admiration other artists have expressed for his solo work makes me want to hear more. I want to appreciate the zone of listening that stretches from the … Continue reading →

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Van Gogh in London

Posted on March 27, 2019 by JMN

A new exhibition at Tate Britain, “Van Gogh and Britain,” opens March 27, 2019. This article causes me to think somewhat differently about van Gogh. Of several good illustrations it contains, I chose the painting reproduced here because I’ve never … Continue reading →

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To ‘E’ or Not to ‘E’

Posted on March 27, 2019 by JMN

A silly title, yes. I get pleasure from reflecting on minutiae of language — syntax, spelling, grammar, etymology, what have you. Language is part of “what makes us us,” to borrow Jacinda Ardern’s clarion phrase. It’s worth talking about. If … Continue reading →

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“You Invent Your Own Game”

Posted on March 24, 2019 by JMN

Older artists profiled in this article are achieving belated critical and financial success after laboring in obscurity for much of their careers. In her title the author makes the artists’ ethnicity explicit, providing good context for the categorization, and it’s … Continue reading →

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