Floyd Horowitz believes that he has located more than twenty examples of early writings by novelist Henry James, penned under various pseudonyms and previously unidentified as particularly Jamesian. But not everyone is convinced of the validity of Horowitz’s research, especially since much of it was based on computer models which scan the word selection and literary style of unidentified works, searching for subtle connections which could link the works to a particular author.
Tag: 01.24.04
We’re Sure Those Cleveland Winters Have Nothing To Do With This
The curator of drawings at the Cleveland Museum of Art is leaving town to take up a similar position at tghe Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Carter Foster’s resume reads like a listing of the top American art museums, and he was celebrated in Cleveland for his success in acquiring new works for an already impressive collection, and for curating several important shows in his eight years in Ohio. The move from Cleveland to LACMA means that Foster will have a much larger staff and more exhibition space, but LA’s collection is nowhere near as complete as the one he is leaving behind. The CMA has not yet decided whether Foster will be replaced.
Why The Golden Globes Are A Bad Joke
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is hardly what one would call a collection of great film reviewers. In fact, “the association has repeatedly rejected applications from prominent foreign publications while accepting freelancers for small publications in Bangladesh and South Korea. Members need write only four articles a year to maintain active membership.” Nonetheless, HFPA members are lavished with attention and gifts by the Hollywood elite throughout the year, and are treated as if they were movie stars themselves, despite repeated reports of boorish and bizarre behavior. And all this because the Golden Globes, presented by the HFPA, get good television ratings.
Redgrave’s Other Career
When most actors begin to talk about politics, most people roll their eyes. But Vanessa Redgrave is a different matter entirely: “On stage and on screen, she has worked on the edge, never shying away from a tough or controversial role… Through the years, her often-groundbreaking performances in Shakespeare, Chekhov, Noel Coward and Tennessee Williams have left an indelible mark on theatre history… She has always been a passionate, tireless activist who has never spared herself to advance causes such as the Palestinians, the people of Kosovo, the atrocities in Chechnya and threats to democracy at home and abroad. One of her current preoccupations is the situation at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, where the Americans are holding more than 600 ‘enemy combatants’ without charge or trial.”
Cities And The Not-So-Public Interest
The controversy surrounding the WTC memorial in New York is indicative of a larger disconnect, writes Edward Rothstein. There was a time when American cities were viewed as great models of social engineering, vast islands of humanity where hard work and a general devotion to the public interest could overcome all sorts of human failings. No more: “The [modern] city’s greatest achievement, it often seems, is the protection of the private realm and competing private interests; about the public realm there is no clear understanding… New forms of urban life have to develop. But in the meantime, the public seems to exist only in the midst of cataclysm.”
Boston’s Controversial Arts Commissioner Quits
“Boston cultural affairs commissioner Esther Kaplan has abruptly resigned after five years as Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s liaison to the city’s arts and cultural community. Neither Kaplan nor Menino would discuss what led to the resignation… News of Kaplan’s departure surprised many in Boston’s tight-knit cultural community, but only a handful expressed disappointment… Over the years, the heads of midsize and large arts groups privately complained that Kaplan functioned more as an advocate than a leader, focusing her energy on grass-roots and neighborhood efforts, sometimes at the expense of those with far bigger audiences.”
Defining El Greco
“In 16th-century Italy, art was an instrument of faith and Michelangelo its divine master, unassailable until El Greco appeared on the scene. But was he a puritan on a mission to clean up wicked Rome, or simply an arrogant young artist?” Where Michelangelo had begun to stray into vaguely secular realms, (exemplified by his masterpiece, The Last Judgment, based on the themes of Dante,) El Greco represented a calculated and forceful return to faith-based art which strove to keep the public servile to its Christian masters, rather than to encourage independent thought on Christian themes. Today, few would doubt that “El Greco is a great artist – but what kind of a great artist?”