GREAT ACERBIC LINES
H.L. MENCKEN was a 20th-century journalist who specialized in acerbic writing that’s still a delight to read. I don’t always agree with Mencken’s view, but I savor his expertise with … Continue reading
COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE AND THE ART OF THE DEAL
COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE began as street theater in 16th-century Italy. It continues today around the world, reaching as far as the antipodes. Matriark Theatre, in New South Wales, Australia, has among … Continue reading
SEEKING PERSPECTIVE, PART 2
AS NOTED yesterday, it was Renaissance artists who learned to transform flat renderings into more realist images through perspective. Four centuries later, the invention of photography presented new challenges of … Continue reading
SEEKING PERSPECTIVE, PART 1
IT’S PERSPECTIVE of the artistic sort that I have in mind. Back in 1967, the Whitney Library of Design published a fine collection of architectural interiors accompanied by erudite commentary … Continue reading
MENTION HIS NAME IN ROJAVA…
I’D NEVER HEARD of Murray Bookchin, but this American political theorist and his beliefs are celebrated in Rojava, the Democratic Federal System of Northern Syria, and, at one time, in … Continue reading
CULTURAL TWEETING
IT’S SAID “IF the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain.” In a topsy-turvy version of this, I propose constructing cultural tweets that might … Continue reading
RENÉE FLEMING AND SUSAN GRAHAM—DIVA PALS
HERE’S A celebration of two U.S. divas, each beautiful, charming, at ease and amazingly competent in her art. What’s more, the two have been the best of diva pals. Renée … Continue reading
TRUMPING THE ARTS
IN MY CONTINUING efforts to relate Donald J. Trump to the arts, and vice versa, today let’s look at operatic characters who bring his personality traits to mind. With several … Continue reading
GREEK DEMOCRACY 1.0
IN MY GOOD old days, kids learned that ancient Greece was the birthplace of democracy. Indeed, even the word comes from the Greek: δῆμος, dêmos, people; and κράτος, krátos, rule. … Continue reading
GIVING IT STICK, MUSICALLY
BERNSTEIN’S WAS about average, 17 in. A jazzman’s is generally shorter. Lully perished from banging a toe with his. Wagner’s had ivory knobs. Serebrier managed to stab himself with his. … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 