Category Archives: Art/Photography

“A vast amount of rubbish is published in the name of art. A man should let his work talk for him. ” — Charles Dana Gibson

It’s his birthday today. Old-timers will remember when my blog-design was Gibson-Girl inspired. My favorite haughty Gibson Girl was in the blog banner for years! What a goddess. She is gorgeous and she does not give af. The only vestige … Continue reading

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“If I could say it in words there would be no reason to paint.” Happy Birthday, Edward Hopper

I wrote about Edward Hopper quite a bit in my Present Tense column at Film Comment, detailing the Hopper-y vibe of Tom Noonan’s great film about urban loneliness, What Happened Was… In fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that Karen … Continue reading

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Happy Birthday, painter Henry Ossawa Tanner

When I lived in Philadelphia – a million years ago, with my boyfriend who was in law school at U. Penn – I became intimately familiar with Henry Ossawa Tanner’s paintings since so many of them hang in the Philadelphia … Continue reading

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Review: Close to Vermeer (2023)

I liked hanging out with the people in this documentary, I liked soaking up their passion and expertise. I reviewed for Ebert.     Thank you so much for stopping by. If you like what I do, and if you … Continue reading

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“I should have been dead ten times over. I’ve thought about that a lot. I believe in miracles. It’s an absolute miracle that I’m still around.” — Dennis Hopper

It’s his birthday today. I’m so glad I used one of my columns at Film Comment -now on hiatus – to sing the praises of Dennis Hopper’s wild and nihilistic Out of the Blue, starring Linda Manz and Hopper. Of … Continue reading

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Tamara de Lempicka’s Sexy Art Deco Stare

For her birthday: Fascinating woman, too. (The fabulous painting of the woman in the car is called “Self Portrait in the green Bugatti.” She did not lack confidence.)     Thank you so much for stopping by. If you like … Continue reading

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“I would rather take a photograph than be one.” — Lee Miller

Lee Miller, by David Scherman It’s the birthday of Lee Miller, fashion model, Surrealist artist, and … as if all that wasn’t enough … the only female combat photographer in Europe during the war, taking photos of concentration camps, firing … Continue reading

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“After all, when God created Adam and Eve, they were stark naked. And in the Garden of Eden, God was probably naked as a jaybird too!” — Bettie Page

“I was not trying to be shocking, or to be a pioneer. I wasn’t trying to change society, or to be ahead of my time. I didn`t think of myself as liberated, and I don’t believe that I did anything … Continue reading

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“Reality is always extraordinary.” — Mary Ellen Mark

It’s her birthday today. My first job was as a page at a local library. I would go there after school, shelve books for a couple of hours, and then head home. I ended up working there all through high … Continue reading

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Happy Birthday, Bunny Yeager

It’s the birthday of model and pin-up photographer Bunny Yeager. She is most famous for her photographs of Bettie Page, and was instrumental in getting Bettie Page the 1955 Playboy cover. There weren’t too many women running around taking nude … Continue reading

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