Tag Archives: art

Indelible Obscure Abstractions

Posted on July 22, 2020 by JMN

Bearden (1911-88) is best known for his indelible figurative collage depictions of African-American life in all its quotidian richness, strength and struggle… Bearden’s far more obscure abstractions… have tended to be given short shrift in his biographies and retrospectives… While … Continue reading →

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“No Mimetic Ability”

Posted on July 21, 2020 by JMN

[Stella’s] emphasis on two-dimensional surfaces was a clear rejection of the idea of painting as a window into a three-dimensional space. A story in one of his mother’s Vogue magazines, featuring models posed in front of a painterly Franz Kline-esque … Continue reading →

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‘The Degeneracy of War’

Posted on July 19, 2020 by JMN

I’m fond of the colorful, map-like painting by the Austrian Hundertwasser. Also, of the sun figure that recurs in his work. “These artists have something in common: They all turned against the ideals of the Third Reich… I’m doing a … Continue reading →

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History Not Happened Yet

Posted on July 13, 2020 by JMN

A few years ago, I interrupted a panel discussion at the Guggenheim as it moved toward the dead-horse question of whether painting was still viable. How, I asked, uninvited, from the audience, could people talk of the end of painting … Continue reading →

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Navy Blue: A Nurse’s Medallion

Posted on July 10, 2020 by JMN

(c) 2020 JMN

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The Islamic Influence on Dylan’s Hair

Posted on June 27, 2020 by JMN

Milton Glaser is dead at 91. His life and work are exhilarating. For the Dylan poster, a promotional piece included in the 1967 album “Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits,” he created a simple outline of the singer’s head, based on a … Continue reading →

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Geography & Poetry

Posted on June 21, 2020 by JMN

The Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Old road in Ladakh has 37 bridges over snow-fed rivers in spate during summer melt. It leads to Karakoram Pass where, on 15 June two-thousand-and-twenty, Chinese warriors ambushed Indian warriors with rocks, staves & nail-studded clubs, tossing … Continue reading →

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The Opposite of Death

Posted on June 15, 2020 by JMN

The sweetest, life-affirming eruption of ebullience I’ve encountered today comes from Jon Stewart. The subject is his learning to play drums in middle age. [Interviewer] Do you make sure to practice your rudiments and paradiddles? I have a teacher, and … Continue reading →

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The Corona Open, 2020

Posted on June 14, 2020 by JMN

This gallery contains 1 photo.

(c) 2020 JMN

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New Artist in Town

Posted on June 13, 2020 by JMN

I like this picture. (Adam Popescu, “There’s a New Artist in Town. The Name Is Biden,” NYTimes, 2-28-20) (c) 2020 JMN

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