Through the Roof   "Jeff Koons on the Roof" at the Metropolitan Museum (to Oct. 26, 2008) consists of only three sculptures: Balloon Dog (Yellow), Coloring Book, and Sacred Heart (Red/Gold). The Met's mingy roof garden, symptomatic of its less than stellar commitment to contemporary art, could hardly showcase more.   Because, as far as I know, there is no career-breaking or career-affirming retrospective on the boards for Koons, Inc., I thought I'd allow this tiny … [Read more...]

                  New Orleans has been turned upside down. New art, new food, new people. Disasters are opportunities, if you live to tell the tale. Homeowners become homeless; art critics become ace reporters; neighborhoods disappear and new ones are invented. Real estate opportunities abound. New Orleans post-Katrina, at least on the high ground in the well-worn tourist parts, is like a dreamscape you have visited many times but never in real … [Read more...]

Lars von Trier       Von Trier and Rothko When we hit a writer's block, we know what to do. We fall back on techniques learned from master poetry teacher Kenneth Koch: create an obstruction or a rule to bat your head against. Choose an insane and rigid form like the sestina; exclude the letter E as Georges Perec did for his novel A Void; pretend you are someone else. We are having a hard time writing about the newly issued, long-lost book by Mark Rothko (1903-1979). … [Read more...]