Arts & Letters

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In the 1980s, when old-fashioned fan clubs were all the rage, a 14-year-old “Monty Python” devotee named Matt Hyde wrote to John Cleese and asked whether such a club existed in his name. Thankfully, the answer was no, as Cleese’s reply was far more valuable and entertaining than a simple yes could ever have been. (Source: Letters of Note)

From John Cleese to a 14-year-old fan:

“Dear Matthew

“I am afraid I’m much too important to write notes to people like you.

“Please remember that I am very very very very very very
important.

“However, there is no John Cleese fan club (despite my importance) because they were all murdered in 1983 by Michael Palins’ fan club.

“I enclose a photograph to remind you of my importance.

“Yours sincerely

“JOHN CLEESE”

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Fun and/or Interesting

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What is conceptual art? 

Conceptual art is art for which the idea (concept) behind the work is more important than the finished object. It emerged as a movement in the 1960s, and most commonly applies to pieces made from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. It was characterized by the use of text and unconventional materials, including “found objects.”

Marcel Duchamp’s “Fountain,” 1917

 

Maurizio Cattelan installation at Fondation Beyeler in Basel, 2013

 

What is performance art? 

Performance art originally meant art that had a performance element to it – i.e., a person (the artist) doing something odd or disturbing or surprising in front of an audience (See Worth Quoting.) It could include dance and dance-like movements, as well as speech and dramatic acting. But it stood apart from dance and acting because it actively involved the audience in the “experience.” The meaning of performance art, if there is meaning, is usually symbolic. And over time, it has broadened to include any form of artistic expression that has a social context.

I know. That sounds like bullshit. Because it is. Here are two definitions that you might prefer:

Here’s one from a docent at the Tate Gallery in London. Click here.

And here’s another one that’s more historical. Click here.

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Recommended Places

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Buchanan Street – Glasgow, Scotland 

Glasgow was never on my bucket list, but I’m glad I got to see it. And I’d be happy to go back. It has all the charm of any of the smaller English cities, with some extras you won’t find down south.

If you go, be sure to spend time on Buchanan Street. It’s famous for its well-preserved 19th-century architecture. And it’s the city’s premier place to go shopping, replete with quaint boutiques, small art galleries, and specialty stores of every kind. Even if you are not in the mood for shopping, you’ll be well entertained by the usual street performers: jugglers, magicians, mimes, and musicians.

A few highlights:

* St. George’s-Tron Church, opened in 1808. Gothic with baroque influences, it is the oldest building in the area.

* Argyll Arcade, opened in 1827, is the oldest Victorian shopping center in Britain.

* Old Athenaeum Theatre, established in 1893, is an unusual fusion of Scots Baronial, Indian, and European Art Nouveau styles.

* Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, designed by the modernist architect Sir Leslie Martin and opened in 1990, is the home of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

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Readers Write

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Re my lists of “Actors That Make the Difference” in the May 9 issue: 

“I don’t agree with all of [your] categorizations, but it’s the type of thing where everybody will have their own likes and dislikes.” – AS

“I pretty much agree on your Actors list but… Jennifer Lawrence over Meryl Steep? No Sophia Loren?” – KK

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Postscript

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Fast-stepping in France…

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News & Views

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US Economy by the Numbers 

Some worrying numbers from Bill Bonner:

* Disposable personal incomes are dropping – down 20% from March ’21 to March ’22. Most of that is due to the end of the COVID giveaways. But subtracting them, incomes are still falling.

* While wage increases are running at about 5%, consumer prices are rising at nearly 9%.

* GDP is falling at a 1.4% annual rate.

* The trade deficit hit a new record high – at $109 for the month of April.

* Productivity is in retreat – down at a 7.5% annual rate. The worst since 1947.

* Consumer prices are rising at the fastest pace in 40 years.

* Rents in Miami are up 40% year-to-year… 22% in Orlando… 17% in Las Vegas…

* The stock market just had the worst first quarter since 1939.

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Worth Reading

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Exhalation: Stories 

By Ted Chiang

368 pages

Published May 7, 2019 by Alfred A. Knopf

I’m halfway through the book, and I’m liking it. I’m impressed by it, yet I can’t say exactly why. Ted Chiang is a writer I’ve never read before. These stories are not like anything I’ve read before. Exhalation reminds me of Haruki Murakami’s Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World and David Saunders’s Fox 8.

Exhalation feels like a slightly new kind of fiction. Three examples:

* In “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate,” a portal through time forces a fabric seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and second chances.

* In “Exhalation,” an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications that are literally universal.

* In “Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom,” the ability to glimpse into alternate universes necessitates a radically new examination of the concepts of choice and free will.

Chiang’s fiction is fascinating. And inventive. And ingenious. And that means it’s sometimes challenging. But so far, I’m feeling that it’s well worth it. Because, running through everything else it provides, these stories are full of fun.

Critical Response 

The critical response has been universally positive. Almost gushing!

* “Illuminating, thrilling…. Like such eclectic predecessors as Philip K. Dick, James Tiptree, Jr., Jorge Luis Borges, Ursula K. Le Guin, Margaret Atwood, Haruki Murakami, China Miéville, and Kazuo Ishiguro, Chiang has explored conventional tropes of science fiction in highly unconventional ways.” (Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker)

* “Delirious and exciting as hell… [Chiang’s] stories brim with wonder and horror, spectacle and mundanity, philosophy and religion. Tapping into a range of speculative traditions, from pulp and fantasy to the rigorous scientific accuracy of hard sci-fi and the popcorn thrills of soft sci-fi, his work has a profound richness.” (Stephen Kearse, The Nation)

* “Exquisite…. The stories in Exhalation are a shining example of science fiction at its best. They take both science and humanism deeply seriously.” (Constance Grady, Vox)

* “An instant classic…. Visionary speculative stories that will change the way readers see themselves and the world around them: This book delivers in a big way.” (Kirkus Reviews)

Ted Chiang was born in Port Jefferson, NY, and currently lives near Seattle. His short story “Story of Your Life” was the basis of the film Arrival.

Chiang has won four Hugo, four Nebula, and four Locus awards, and has been featured in The Best American Short Stories. His debut collection, Stories of Your Life and Others, has been translated into 21 languages.

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Worth Watching

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Pieces of Her 

First episode Mar. 4, 2022

Produced by Toni Collette

Created by Charlotte Stoudt

Based on the 2018 novel by Karin Slaughter

Starring Toni Collette, Bella Heathcote, and Omari Hardwick

Available on Netflix

Plot: A woman pieces together her mother’s dark past after a violent attack in their small town brings hidden threats and deadly secrets to light.

Why I Started Watching It 

I was drawn into it by the trailer. It took me in completely. In fact, I can’t remember when I’ve seen a better one.

You can watch it here.

Why I’ve Kept Watching 

Episode 1 did not disappoint. It includes a bicycle-riding scene the equal of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, a diner scene as good as Natural Born Killers, and a toilet scene equal to my own film, Across the Rails.

What I Like About It 

* Title: tight, inviting

* Music: additive, restrained, and emotionally appropriate

* Sound effects: crisp and effective

* Cinematography: appropriate throughout

* Editing: particularly the close-ups and the cuts

* Set designs and lighting: effective

* Believable girl power

What I Don’t Like 

Nothing so far.

Critical Reception 

* “Pieces of Her is a thriller with an outstanding, can’t-take-your-eyes-away performance in the main role.” (John Doyle, IndieWire)

* “[A] relatively modest (in this case, eight-episode) commitment. Pieces of Her proves reasonably compelling on that level and those terms, but as such series go, still feels as if it adds up to less than the sum of its parts.” (Brian Lowry, CNN)

* “The series coasts on several genuinely shocking and well-executed twists, which do indeed puncture the haze of passive-watching we’re so used to. And maybe that adrenaline hit is enough.” (Annabel Nugent, Independent, UK)

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