Category Archives: Quotations

Things people said.

“Glenn Gould’s Scribbles”

Posted on November 6, 2018 by JMN

Those scribbles? That’s Glenn Gould, scratching on his sheet music as he recorded Bach’s “Goldberg” Variations in 1981. We reported this week on the newly rediscovered score, which offers some insights — barely legible ones — into Gould’s process and … Continue reading →

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The Young Woman and the Sea

Posted on November 6, 2018 by JMN

I’d worried about being lonely in France. I needn’t have. Brittany is the epicentre of sailing and everyone was interested in my journey. “You are taking on the nose of Brittany!?! By yourself? In this leetle boat?” This reaction became … Continue reading →

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“The Good Witch of Park Avenue”

Posted on November 6, 2018 by JMN

The death of David Rockefeller in 2017 at the age of 101 also helped fortify Ms. Gund’s legend. With him gone, she has become the good witch of Park Avenue, torchbearer for the obligation of the rich in an era … Continue reading →

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Word Solace

Posted on November 6, 2018 by JMN

… Jewish prayer is not primarily personal or spontaneous. It is communal reading. Public recitations of ancient words, scripts compiled centuries ago and nearly identical in every synagogue in the world. A lot of those words are about exactly this. … Continue reading →

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Freedom from Meaninglessness

Posted on November 3, 2018 by JMN

I’m not a supporter of Boris Johnson. I have no interest in him or his political ambitions. [But] I do defend people who make jokes about religion. I was part of a campaign to oppose a Parliamentary bill [the Racial … Continue reading →

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Ottoline Morrell on T.S. Eliot, 1916

Posted on November 3, 2018 by JMN

“He is obviously very ignorant of England and imagines that it is essential to be highly polite and conventional and decorous and meticulous.” (Quoted by Louis Menand, “Practical Cat, How T.S. Eliot became T.S. Eliot,” (The New Yorker, September 19, … Continue reading →

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Horacio Cardo

Posted on November 1, 2018 by JMN

Some of Mr. Cardo’s earlier works were painted in oils, to which he added fabric, lace and plaster of Paris to create various textures. Later on, he created dramatic illustrations with ink and acrylic paint that he altered with digital … Continue reading →

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Alex Katz at 91

Posted on November 1, 2018 by JMN

“I was in the abstract art world, socially – they all thought I was really stupid. The poets all liked my work – I had some of the smartest people on the planet buying my work. I knew I was … Continue reading →

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Limits of Art?

Posted on November 1, 2018 by JMN

What kind of change his or any political artist’s work can actually achieve remains an open question. In his book 9.5 Theses on Art and Class, the art critic Ben Davis argues that political art is not a force on … Continue reading →

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Martha Nussbaum, Philosopher

Posted on October 30, 2018 by JMN

She is also known for helping to advance the so-called capabilities approach to economic development, which holds that progress should be measured by things like increases in life expectancy and education, rather than simply by increases in income. Her work, … Continue reading →

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