Art and the Homeless

The theme of Cleopatra, and her involvement in the transition of Rome from republic to empire, is the subject of “Cleopatra: Her History, Her Myth” (2022), by author Francine Prose. It is a story that never grows old. What makes this scholarly contribution to the legend worthwhile is that it proves a woman historian can be objective about a controversial historic woman. There is no bias to be found where it might be expected, nor prejudice where it wouldn't. Francine Prose is fair about incidents that scandalized Plutarch. As I read I thought -who is the prude? One might argue both sides, but to avoid pedantry I will play the role of pedant, instead. Following, therefore, is my iconography of visual works of art cited in “Cleopatra: Her History, Her Myth” (2022). Researching the works cited in the book, I quickly discovered there are many more examples of art on the subject of Cleopatra in the canon of fine art than are mentioned in the book. My list is limited to works of art cite...

I have been introduced to Michel Houellebecq upon reading his book Interventions 2020 (Polity, 2022). Subsequently, I have come to certain conclusions of a political nature, as a result. Both left and right agree democracy is the best form of government. The difference is, a conservative French critic of culture is a loyal citizen with aristocratic tastes. The leftist complement is a loyal citizen with plebeian tastes. The left doesn't consider culture worth dying for. Pop culture is tolerated by the left. It is a distraction from the social agenda. Since anything aristocratic (under the Republic) is officially disdained, conservative critics must be content deriding what is tolerated. What is tolerated is bourgeois Pop culture.  The right doesn't oppose democratic culture because it is the right of every citizen. The right opposes the cheapening of culture by democracy. Price is the measure of everything. If it isn't in a museum it is, by default, for sale. Artists are as...

What Pythagoras did for music, by giving it a mathematical basis, could be said to have been done for painting by Paolo Uccello, and other Renaissance artists, with the discovery of optical perspective. Perspective in general has to do with “point of view” -literally so, with artistic perspective. To be unambiguous, artistic perspective is linear perspective, as in "lines of a design drawing." It is a snapshot, or visual moment, as the painter sees it. To draw a perspective drawing involves the use of a straight edge or ruler but, be it noted, not for measurement -unlike Pythagorean intervals, which are all about measurement -of the lengths of the strings of a harp, for instance. When we consider lines it is straight lines that we take into consideration. A “line” is implicitly straight. The discovery by Pythagoras of the mathematical intervals was likely made upon string instruments, the strings of which are always stretched tight. The musical staff of modern musical notati...

I wish to dispel the notion that a work of art originates in the mind of the artist. The occasion for this opinion was a recent re-reading of St. Anselm's Ontological Argument. My memory of the famous debate was vague and I wanted to review the facts. Indeed, those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it. There are precedents for Anselm's Ontological Argument, but one which hasn't been discussed (as far as I know), is the myth of Athena's birth from the cracked skull of Zeus. This highly improbable occurrence is taken as god-given grounds for the emergence of expressed thought. Anselm offers, as metaphor, the painter who conceives the painting in his head before making it manifest on canvas.  Thus, the Ontological Argument. To state the metaphysical dilemma once again, is reality first an idea, or is the idea impressed upon the mind from without? We know where Anselm stands. I argue this conundrum (as old as the Vedas) is, as far as artists are concerned a tired,...

An artist isn’t expected to write like a writer, but even painters keep a notebook. Van Damm Street to L.I.E. (a poem) Whitney electricity flat screen in every Can art compete with TV? kinematic movie without plot printouts got juice paintings dead Self-criticism is hypocritical, but refusing to exhibit for fear of criticism is more hypocritical. Can anything be that bad? Perfect Match (a poem) NYC Dept. of Buildings tenant conflicts Winter space heaters fires old neighborhoods police confidential fuse blows aspirin A work of art must look like a work of art, whether it is hung in a museum, or a resale store. Felicia's Fantasy (a poem) Celeste straddle furrow waterbed brush two girlfriends having a drink together, one drops a tablet into the other’s glass “If you love me you will drink it.” tragic commitment 

January is Maurice Utrillo month. Utrillo is usually thought of as somewhat of a naïf painter of Paris streets. What has not been remarked about Utrillo is his petit mal sensitivity, verging on depression, attributable to the leaden Paris sky. It is the best excuse I can offer why I have never visited Paris. Why go, when I have Utrillo? It's simply not necessary to travel -given the many fine reproductions available of Utrillo's brooding on the subject of Paris grey. I have long considered existential despair a neurological disorder, what psychologists call depression, a predisposition exacerbated by bad weather. Utrillo's painting is a Bromide for those who suffer from being absent from Paris. It's an instance of what Charcot might have called le trouble névrotique  -except for Utrillo's redeeming talent, which lifts the dullness of the complaint above itself. I doubt Utrillo knew how bad the weather of Paris really was, having been born, and lived his whole life...

Author Kathryn Harkup knows too much. Her book Superspy Science, subtitled "Science, Death and Tech in the World of James Bond" (2022) is, I fear, an invitation to copy cat crime. It's not the spy gadgets and formulas of the book's title (which was likely influenced by the Bloomsbury Sigma editors), but the fascinating cast of characters real and fictional, exposed. Now, anyone who knew Ian Fleming can be considered a “person of interest,” in law enforcement jargon. The reader is introduced to Boothroyd (Geoffrey), a notorious British "gun expert." He is a person of some importance, as (we read), he owns 45 registered firearms. That's a notable private arsenal in a country of strict gun laws. Boothroyd, apparently, is to blame for Bond losing his favorite Beretta pistol in the movie, for all the reasons given in the movie by actor "Q." Certainly most if not all of Ian Fleming's characters are based on real people. All the facts will never ...