TOO CLOSE TO HOME

It’s another month-and-a-half before Ken Burns’ new 19-hour documentary on jazz is scheduled to be broadcast. But already the critics are lining up to take shots. Burns says he’s not fazed: “I’m prepared for the criticism, I care about it…but I didn’t make this film for the jazzerati.” – Chicago Tribune

TIFFED OFF AT THE TURNER

What is it about the Turner Prize? “What gets up my nose most about the Turner is the downright dishonest way in which the whole exercise is presented as rigorous and objective. It would like to compare itself to the Booker, but unlike the book world, in which ultimately the public can have its say by either buying or not buying books, the much smaller art world is maintained largely by the patronage of art institutions and major collectors.” – The Independent (UK) 

MICHELANGELO’S ANATOMY

Scholars have argued for years over the unusual misshapen appearance of the left breast of Michelangelo’s marble statue ‘Night’. Experts have agreed that its unusual appearance is intentional and not due to an error but art historians and plastic surgeons have argued that it reflects the artist’s supposed lack of interest in, or unfamiliarity with, the nude female figure. Now, experts propose that Michelangelo deliberately set out to portray a woman with breast cancer.” – The Independent (UK)