Pietà

Pietà by William Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905), painted in 1876, goes on sale at Christies today in NYC. It is estimated to sell for anywhere between $1.5 and $2.5 million. If it is sold to a private collector this may be the last chance to see it.

It hangs at the end of a long corridor--as you turn the corner you catch your breath.  The two halos are embossed gold, serving to flatten and at the same time separate the two central figures. So that they appear to float free of the space. The angels writhe in agony and wonder at such love, creating at the same time this incredibly beautiful frame around Mary and Jesus.The body of Christ almost glows. Mary's hands that won't let go. And the face of Mary looking out of the picture--as if into the future and us--seems to see the full horror of what has just happened. What our sins have done. Grief too great to bear.            


It is one of the most moving paintings I have ever seen.

More information here

invisible words

"The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible." Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977)

There's a humility in this view point. And it seem to me to be the true one: the view of writer as the servant of the story--whose job is to discover as much as create. To listen and transcribe. The writer basically as scribe. 

It's about the story, not about you the writer.

Do you ever have the feeling that if you don't show up and get those words visible--QUICK--they might just give up on you and go somewhere else to someone who will?

That's motivation to keep showing up. Being available, there, to listen to whatever's happening that day. To whatever your characters are talking about. 

As one editor told me once "Put your characters in a room and listen to what they say."

It's like a show going on in your computer every day. Why would you want to miss that? 

kid with aspergers interviews his mom

This is animation set to a real interview: a 12-year old boy with Aspergers interviews his mom. What a great conversation. What thoughtful questions. What a mom!

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progress

"The fatal metaphor of progress, which means leaving things behind us, has utterly obscured the real idea of growth, which means leaving things inside us." 

G K Chesteron

wow. what, I wonder, would he have to say to us today about what we're up to?

maybe that all this busy connecting on twitter, facebook etc--if not kept in check--is in danger of leaving us more disconnected?

that all this "socializing" leaves us less social?

that all these "conversations" leaves us less able to communicate?

that listening to all the chatter leaves us less able to hear anything?

that calling our thousands of connections "friends" devalues friendship which is one of the most rare and precious gifts we are given?

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David Suchet narrates: "Let's Go!"

Do U love Teachers? Do U love kids?

Have you seen the trailer for WAITING FOR SUPERMAN? 

YES and YES and YES!

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Beatle activated corgi

How did he decide it was only a Liverpudlian accent that would do? (Also: loving the one ear up one down look)

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being copied + when to cry

Guiliana Camerino died today in Venice. The handbags she designed (sold under the Roberta Di Camerino label) dangled off the arms of Grace Kelly, and Elizabeth Taylor in the 50s and 60s. Fancy doctors satchels someone called them. Beautiful is what I call them. Want one. Now please thank you.

Her story reads like a novel. Born in Venice to a prominent Jewish family, she dreamed of becoming a theatrical costume designer. She escaped to Switzerland during World War 2, where, as a refugee needing a handbag and money, made her own. Soon afterwards, a swiss woman riding with her on the bus bought the handbag right off her shoulder. Which is how it all began.

Her bags were widely copied--consciously or unconsciously--by loads of other designers. The senior buyer at Barneys described the shock of looking at Roberta Di Camerino's archive: "Every handbag I had ever seen had already been done by her years before."

Gucci's lattice of G's (she did it in 1946); Bottega Veneta's woven leather (she did it in 1957); Prada's articulated frame (she did it in 1964).

This copying bothered Camerino at first. She says:

"When I was only doing bags, I found it particularly important to be always very well dressed, so I became a client of Chanel. Once in a fitting she saw me crying because someone had copied a bag which I had done exclusively for Neiman Marcus. 'You must not cry now,' Coco said. 'You cry the day they don't copy you.' "

via NYT

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