A fascinating passage, reported by a young woman named Elizabeth Brentano,[1] who was a friend of Goethe and who met Beethoven in 1810. Here are Beethoven’s own words, according to Brentano: “When I open my eyes I must sigh, for what I see is contrary to my religion, and I must despise the world which […]
Beethoven on the metaphysics of music Read More »
The philosophical nature of art, as illustrated by Dmitri Shostakovich’s comments on the purpose of his music, from his autobiographical Testimony.
MUSIC and SENSE of LIFE: SHOSTAKOVICH’S MUNDANE CYNICISM Read More »
How did Beethoven become Beethoven? “The ‘personality’ of such a man as Beethoven is a slowly developed synthetic whole. It is formed by the gradual combination of its constituent elements into an organic unity. For the development of a personality a rich and profound inner life is necessary, and for that reason it is usually
Creative geniuses as selfish — Beethoven version Read More »
Por que a arte se tornou feia? My essay on “Why Art became Ugly” translated into Brazilian Portuguese by Ronaldo Bassit and Matheus Pacini. Here are the original article in English (PDF) or online with links to the images discussed. Also: translations into German [pdf], Spanish, and Korean [pdf]. Also: My related lecture in Buenos
“Why Art became Ugly” in Portuguese and other translations Read More »
A watershed event in American business history was the Homestead Riot of 1892. At the Homestead Steel Works near Pittsburgh, union leaders and workers rejected wage cuts proposed by owner Andrew Carnegie and plant manager Henry Frick. Negotiations failed, a strike began, the plant was closed, workers armed themselves, the Pinkertons were called in, and
Two nineteenth-century riots Read More »
Marcel Duchamp’s urinal was named most influential work of modern art, according to a vote by 500 critics. Duchamp called it Fountain. It was initially rejected for display at the Society of Independent Artists exhibit in 1917, whereupon Duchamp’s allies argued that it was a worthy work of art along four lines: “First, Fountain represented
Marcel Duchamp and Lillian Rearden Read More »
My three-page “Post-postmodern Art” essay was translated into Arabic [pdf] by Moin Jaffar Mohammed of Babylon, Iraq, and published in the journal Al-Adeeb Al-Thakafiya. الفن ما بعد – ما بعد الحديثPost – Postmodern Artكتابة : ستيفن هِكسترجمة: معين جعفر محمد يبدأ الفن في ذهن الفرد المبدع. فالفنان يتخذ من خبراته الهامة ، مادة أولية و
Arabic translation of my “Post-postmodern Art” essay Read More »
A long-time favorite from my younger years. I was surprised at how much I liked this 1995 film. It’s animated and targeted for teens, but its graphics are often lovely and its theme is for anyone young at heart. The story follows a young girl named Shizuku Tsukishima. She’s in junior high school and an
*Whisper of the Heart* movie recommendation Read More »