Tag Archives: Gertrude Stein

grammatical fears? try the fold-in method

The phrases “literary inhibitions” and “grammatical fears” are revealing as a sort of post-modern aesthetic that had their roots particularly in the jargon and anti-language of the Beat poets and writing as a performance art. in their crude way they … Continue reading

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lost generation: secret wound

The image and the shadow of Ernest Hemingway. What psychic jackals stalked the dazzling public persona? … Of course, the real importance of the Hemingway image has been its effect on literary history. it appeared at exactly the right time: … Continue reading

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12 tribes: piety to paris

Chagall was always caught in the proverbial rock and a hard place: a conflict between an attachment to Judaism, that tug of history and tradition and between the modernist, secular context in large part atheistic in nature. Artistically, he may … Continue reading

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modern forms to human pain

His drawings, the line drawings appear so simple. Deceptively so. But at the same time, if one tries to copy them it becomes apparent they are so powerful; surprising that single unbroken lines can create so much. The sheer energy, … Continue reading

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max has wings

Its such a weird story and Picasso was such a cowardly figure. The myth of the great resistor is bunk. How di he get to paint so prodigiously during the war with the finest materials available? Max Jacob knew the … Continue reading

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distortion: good from far but far from good

Distortion and fragmentation are the cliches, now almost generic that has come to dominate understanding of the modern figure at a mass level. Maybe it conveys the “creative destruction” of capitalism in its natural habitat? But, do any technical explanations … Continue reading

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spearheading

by Jesse Marinoff Reyes (Jesse Marinoff Reyes Design, Maplewood, N.J.) Spearhead New Directions, 1947 Design: Alvin Lustig Spearhead was an anthology of the best of the New Directions annuals published between 1936-46 and from other sources. It was meant to … Continue reading

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modernist garden: flowers of evil

In retracing the steps of Charles Baudelaire’s Paris, Walter Benjamin also arrived at a similar conclusion with respect to modernism’s influence on society. The flaneur, the urban dweller; this persona lead Benjamin to remark  that the prostitute is the only … Continue reading

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A springtime massacre: hailing the god of chaos

Can pagans on a stage make pagans of the viewers? What happens when a percussive and intense style is matched with irregular rhythms and instruments pushed to the brink of their capabilities?  Igor Stravinky’s revival of an ancient blood rite … Continue reading

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FARMVILLE GOTH: PATRIOTS WITH PITCHFORKS

It does require a bit of inspiration to gain a full perspective on how Grant Wood’s “American Gothic” evolved from iconoclasm to icon and then off the edge into parody. Some have even asserted that ”American Gothic” ranks in importance … Continue reading

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