Wednesday, March 17, 2010

“Art criticism starts with love and hate - The Guardian” plus 3 more

“Art criticism starts with love and hate - The Guardian” plus 3 more

Art criticism starts with love and hate - The Guardian

Posted: 17 Mar 2010 07:13 AM PDT

Lucian Freud

Overrater? ... the artist Lucian Freud, pictured at the Tatler summer party in London in 2008. Photograph: Richard Young/Rex Features

Some of you ask why reviewers (or this reviewer) are always just saying what's good and what's bad, what we like or don't like. According to critics of the critic, this is typical of, well – typical of me. But I beg to differ. It is actually typical of artists.

I've just been dipping into an interview that Lucian Freud gave the critic William Feaver at the time of the great Constable exhibition Freud selected in Paris in 2002. And guess what: when this famously reticent painter steps from behind his easel to express an opinion, you can hardly stop him rating his favourite artists. Among his true greats, Freud lists Constable (of course), Rembrandt, Corot, Ingres, Gericault and Courbet. He also cites Delacroix then takes it back, alleging that the artist is not deep enough. Elsewhere, Freud has been heard to praise Titian's Diana and Actaeon as one of the greatest paintings on earth.

So, here's one of the greatest artists alive, doing what we critics are accused of doing – rating the artists, making little lists of favourites, dismissing others on a second thought.

Evidently, it's not such an insensitive approach after all. In fact, in all the interviews with and biographies of great artists I have read, this is how they talk about art.

The truth is that overanalysing art, as opposed to intuitively rating it, carries its own dangers. You can convince yourself of anything by study and sympathy. A potential, though interestingly ambiguous, case in point is the National Gallery's current exhibition of Paul Delaroche. After years of laughing cynically at his Lady Jane Grey, I for one was convinced by this show that it has an honourable place in the story of French art. But am I being lured into overintellectualism? There is obviously a case for saying it's absurd to devote an entire exhibition to this of all the paintings in the National Gallery. My weekend visit to the Louvre, mentioned in my last blogpost, convinced me that French history painting deserves to be paid more attention by British art lovers and that Delaroche is far from being its greatest exponent.

And then again, how can Freud dismiss Delacroix? You see, this is where all proper discussion of art must begin – with "I like this, I don't like that". Otherwise it's just catalogue-speak.

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Find out what your lawmaker is up to in D.C. - Statesman Journal

Posted: 17 Mar 2010 07:13 AM PDT

Here are 10 things you can learn online:
1. Who is your representative? Using your ZIP code, you can check Project Vote Smart's Web site, www.vote-smart.org, for the names of your lawmakers.
2. What's your lawmaker's background? Web sites for the Senate, www.senate.gov, and House of Representatives, www.house.gov, have links to lawmakers' official biographies, the committees they serve on, phone numbers and mailing addresses. Many also have their own Facebook pages and/or Twitter accounts.
3. Where does your lawmaker get his or her campaign money? The Center for Responsive Politics, www.open
secrets.org, analyzes where candidates get their campaign money and how they spend it. Click on "Politicians & Elections" and follow the menu options.
4. How much is your lawmaker worth? The clerk of the House and secretary of the Senate compile annual personal financial disclosure documents that give a sense of a lawmaker's assets and income in broad ranges. The information is available at the Center for Responsive Politics, www.opensecrets.org. Click on "Politicians & Elections" and then "Personal Finances."

5. What's your lawmaker's voting record? Project Vote Smart, www.vote-smart.org, compiles lawmakers' votes by year and issue. To see all votes, go to www.senate.gov and www.house.gov or to www.opencongress.org.
6. Who pays for your lawmaker's trips? Go to www.legistorm.com/
trip.html, then follow the menu options.
7. What bills has your lawmaker sponsored? Check the Library of Congress, http://thomas.
loc.gov.
8. How is your lawmaker spending his or her office budget? The House posts its quarterly expense reports at http://
disbursements.house.gov. The Senate information is not yet online.
9. How do interest groups rate your lawmaker? Go to Project Vote Smart, www.vote-smart.org and click on "Interest Group Ratings" on the left, then select your state. Once you see the list of offices, click on "Congress" and then select your lawmaker.
10. How often does your lawmaker talk on the House or Senate floor? C-SPAN ranks lawmakers by the number of days they spoke on the floor and links to each appearance, www.c-spanarchives.org/
congress.

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Ag Hall reopening brings in 75 visitors - Bonner Springs Chieftain

Posted: 17 Mar 2010 04:00 AM PDT

Opening day of the 2010 season at the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame may have been marked by temperatures in the 40s, but the visitor turnout by Tuesday afternoon had reached an impressive mid-70s.

"It's busier than what I expected on a first day, on such a chilly day," said volunteer Virgina Boedeker of the estimated 75 visitors, including 37 children from KinderCare, a daycare center in Overland Park, that had visited the center by around 12:30 Tuesday afternoon. "Things have been going very nicely. It's very nice to see so many people here."

Visitors to the facility included those from Lawrence, Baldwin City and even Oskaloosa, Iowa. Upon finding out his parents would be taking him and his brother Andrew to Kansas City for spring break, Alex Klawitter, from Oskaloosa, asked them if they could go back, for the second time, to visit the Ag Hall of Fame – the family had visited before on a previous trip to Kansas City.

Alex and his brother spent much of the morning grinding corn in the barn next-door to the Smith House, an exhibit on the Ag Hall grounds.

"It's cool, because you actually get to see how (grinding corn) works," said Alex, adding that if he could have a corn grinder of his own at his house in Oskaloosa, he would.

Inside the main building's east wing, where a more up-to-date exhibit documenting the results of agriculture and farming is located, was Pam Saunders, who was visiting the facility for the first time with her husband and three grandchildren in tow.

"I really didn't know what to expect … I'm a little overwhelmed right now," Saunders said. "It's just more than I expected and we haven't even seen everything."

In the Hall of Fame, where portraits and biographies of the men and women who have contributed to agriculture and farming are proudly displayed, was Laurel Sewing of Lawrence, who found some real-world application from the framed portraits.

"Well, I've noticed that a lot of the biographies are intertwined with what I'm learning in history and science also, and I think it's neat to learn how they fit together," Sewing said.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Phenomenal Painting Professionals Join The Prestigious ... - 24-7PressRelease.com

Posted: 17 Mar 2010 07:13 AM PDT

    CHARLOTTE, NC, March 17, 2010 /Stanford Who's Who/ -- Stanford Who's Who welcomes Wendy T. and Richard Q. Williams to the ranks of premier professionals for their exceptional effort in the Professional Services Industry. As Owners of All Pro Painting for the past 27 years, they have consistently demonstrated the dedication and diligence required to be successful.

All Pro Painting is a paint contracting company which provides interior and exterior painting as well as pressure washing services. As Office Manager, Wendy takes all the business calls and handles payroll, accounting and clerical duties for the business. Richard oversees the overall operation of the company.

To view more information on Wendy T. and Richard Q. Williams click here

About Stanford Who's Who
Stanford Who's Who empowers executives, professionals and entrepreneurs around the world. Our mission is to recognize successful individuals in multiple industries by providing a forum for networking, consulting, exposure and credibility to broadening one's future success. Realizing the power of forming business and professional relationships, we have created numerous resources that our members use for a multitude of reasons. With access to thousands of professional biographies of individuals in over 100 different industries, our members utilize our database to recruit others, to announce their career accomplishments, and for lasting, valuable relationships that extend beyond our membership program.

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