On Tuesday, March 4, I’ll be giving a “Featured Paper” at the The Representational Art Conference in Ventura, California. My topic is “Why Philosophy Matters to Representational Art.” Keynote speakers include Juliette Aristides, Roger Scruton, and Odd Nerdrum, so it will be an intellectually varied and rich event.
Upcoming talk on philosophy and representational art Read More »
I have only two questions: 1. Would Shakespeare feel the need to shoot a portrait of Burroughs? 2. Would he find it amusing? Defacing others’ work is a recurring theme in modern and postmodern art: “Picasso took one of Matisse’s portraits of his daughter—and used it as a dartboard, encouraging his friends to do the
Shooting Shakespeare–novelist William Burroughs Read More »
Tony Martelli’s The Sleepwalker has generated a large number of protests about its patriarchal nature. Journalists at Slate and The Wall Street Journal have more coverage. Students at Wellesley College have complained about how the statue triggers in them fears of sexual assault, white privilege, male privilege, oppression, and other very bad things. Feminism should
Wellesley sculpture protests are not feminist Read More »
Some time ago, I wrote (despairingly) about human waste and the twentieth-century art world: “The world is ready for the bold new artistic move. That can come only from those not content with spotting the latest trivial variation on current themes. It can come only from those whose idea of boldness is not — waiting
Progress in postmodern art, Millie Brown edition Read More »
I’ve been enjoying Qiu Xiaolong‘s series of mystery novels set in Shanghai in the 1990s. One thing I like is Xiaolong’s ability to recreate a culture in transition, with characters of the generation of the Cultural Revolution interacting with characters of the liberalizing and modernizing generation. Early in the Death of a Red Heroine, the
Dancing in communist China Read More »
To start the year off: P. S. Johnson’s pleasurable tour through 500 Years of Female Portraits in Western Art, accompanied by J. S. Bach.
“500 Years of Female Portraits in Western Art” Read More »
“Por que a arte se tornou feia?” Escrito por Stephen Hicks. Tradução de Ronaldo Bassit. Revisão de Matheus Pacini. Publicado: 29 Novembro 2013. Também: English, German [pdf], Korean [pdf], and Spanish.
Por que a arte se tornou feia? [Portuguese translation] Read More »
I have a co-authored article (in English) forthcoming in a Polish academic journal. My co-author is Przemysław Zientkowski of Nicholas Copernicus University. Dr. Zientkowski has just published a book (in Polish) on the critique of human rights in Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy. So if your Polish is up to speed, check it out.
Zientkowski on Nietzsche and human rights Read More »