In this 25-minute video -- https://vimeo.com/666753146 -- artist Brece Honeycutt draws us into her journey of wonder at the world around us -- and of woe for the lack of regard with which we treat it. "A Bird to Overhear" is an essay filled with Honeycutt's own keen-eyed observations interspersed with lessons gleaned from scientists, … Continue reading “A Bird to Overhear”
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Images from “Revealing Krishna: Journey to Cambodia’s Sacred Mountain”
Here are some images to complement my review in yesterday's Wall Street Journal of a show at at the Cleveland Museum of Art. This 18th-century painting at the Cleveland Museum of Art illustrates the iconography artists in India developed to communicate the story of young Krishna lifting Mount Govardhan. The mountain is tiny, protecting the … Continue reading Images from “Revealing Krishna: Journey to Cambodia’s Sacred Mountain”
Art of the Seal
"... for all their eloquence, the Mesopotamian seals have yet much to tell us...." This is how I end my piece in the July-August issue of AramcoWorld about cylinder seals that were widely used in Mesopotamia from about 3500 to 300 BCE. The stones themselves attest to a wide network of trade and exchange while … Continue reading Art of the Seal
New, improved links
The days of clicking a link to one of my reviews only to run smack into a firewall -- they're over! The Wall Street Journal has changed the system so that the links provided for an article now by-pass the firewall. You can't go roaming from there, but at least clicking the link won't inflict … Continue reading New, improved links
The difference images make – and making room for them
There is always more to say about a show or work of art than can fit in an essay or review, and my piece on "The Kimono in Print" is no exception. I was so happy to see that Kate LaVoie, the arts page photo editor, uploaded more than a half dozen images onto the … Continue reading The difference images make – and making room for them
Exploring the South Indian Temple Hall at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Rama after defeating his enemy, the demon RavanaHanuman, the monkey king who helped Rama rescue Sita from RavanaSita, Rama's wifePurushamirukam, "man-beast"Larger than the other reliefs on these slender columns, this portrays the donor, a royal patron here dressed as a simple devotee This is not so much a blog as a supplement to my masterpiece … Continue reading Exploring the South Indian Temple Hall at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Drumroll, please… for Syncretease!
For years, we've been urging my brother to have his collages photographed and launch them into the world through a website. He might say we finally wore him down; we (his wife, daughter and I) prefer to think Dixon finally saw the light. Check out his work, at http://www.syncretease.com
Trees aren’t always just trees
There were some kind of cypress (I think) trees near our home in south India that looked like guests at a cocktail party, one limb reaching out for a drink, another curling back as though to bring a cigarette to the lips. Maybe that's why I get such a kick looking at the inventive depiction … Continue reading Trees aren’t always just trees
Ah, my little astrolabe…
On and off for the last year and a half, I've been obsessing on astrolabes. I'd master (or so I thought) one of its functions -- say, figuring out what time the sun will set on a given day. Then I'd give astrolabes a rest, focus on a review or other deadline, and come back … Continue reading Ah, my little astrolabe…
The power of leaving a hand- or footprint.
A couple of people were taken with the notion, mentioned in my review of "Faith and Empire," that by making a foot- or handprint, one creates a permanent link with the object, the way, say, the shroud that wrapped a saint's body becomes a relic. Credit goes to Kathryn Selig Brown, a scholar of Tibetan … Continue reading The power of leaving a hand- or footprint.