Category Archives: art

VERONESE AND THE INQUISITION. In 1573 Paolo Veronese was called before the Inquisition for questioning about his painting which came to be called The Feast in the House of Levi. This article (which shows the painting) points out that in … Continue reading →

“SIGNIFICANT ART IS ABOUT IDEAS.” Schwartz thinks that Baudelaire’s “belief that significant art is about ideas, not techniques or matters of form, comes alive again in Schjeldahl’s criticism.” Schwartz quotes Schjeldahl as calling Minimalism “the dominant idea in art of … Continue reading →

THE DEATH OF PAINTING? I posted here about Jackie Wullschlager’s observation that: ““Landscape in 20th and 21st century art is less than unfashionable – it has dropped off the radar screen.” I found the observation surprising. Now, I have been … Continue reading →

KING KONG, THE BAGGIE. The sculptures of Joshua Allen Harris remind me of the day I walked out of my apartment building, walked to the corner and saw about a mile away a giant inflated King Kong climbing the Empire … Continue reading →

ART WITH BAGGIES. Bruce Cayard sent me this link to the work of Joshua Allen Harris, which features sculptures made from garbage bags. They are inflated by the exhaust from subways, which also creates motion. One of the appeals for … Continue reading →

CHRISTINA’S WORLD—A CONCEPT, BUT NOT “CONCEPTUAL ART.” One of the important trends in contemporary art is conceptual art, which this wikipedia article defines as: “art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic … Continue reading →

ANDREW WYETH AND THE DEATH OF LANDSCAPE. This obituary for Andrew Wyeth, who died on January 16, reflects what has happened to landscape and other forms of realistic art. In his comments on Wyeth in the obituary, the dean of … Continue reading →