Jacksonville, Florida, like many southern cities, is a treasure trove of roadside art
Continue readingMonth: December 2011
Review: Beasley’s Christmas Party
Beasley’s Christmas Party by Booth Tarkington My rating: 4 of 5 stars I got interested in Booth Tarkington via the credit from Orson Welles at the end of his adaptation of The Magnificent Ambersons. I assume that’s about the only way anyone becomes interested in Tarkington, except for academics seeking thoroughly eclipsed literary figures to investigate. Even in its studio-truncated form, Welles’ Ambersons was, well, magnificent, and I wanted to understand the literary source of this masterpiece. It was visually stunning and as literary a film as I’d ever seen. That’s not always a comfortable combination, but it was Welles’
Continue readingReview: John Martin
John Martin by Martin Myrone My rating: 4 of 5 stars I was awed by the ultra-detailed epic paintings by John Martin I had seen at the Tate and the Smithsonian. The ridiculous level of detail and the apocalyptic imagery oscillate between brilliance and kitsch. This book, tied to an exhibition I’d dearly love to see, tries to explain why. It turns out there was more to Martin than meets the eye. Click here to see images of Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still Upon Gibeon. View all my reviews
Continue readingReview: Believing is Seeing: Observations on the Mysteries of Photography
Believing is Seeing: Observations on the Mysteries of Photography by Errol Morris My rating: 5 of 5 stars Errol Morris brings the same brilliant curiosity to this book about the nature of photographs as he does to his films. To appreciate this book you need to care deeply about photography, but if you do you likely will. View all my reviews
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