Forgotten Delights

Forgotten Delights blog is moving

2010-07-23T13:26:00.005-04:00

I'm moving this blog from Blogger to the Forgotten Delights website. The new address is

http://forgottendelights.com/blog

What is art? (#2 of 2), excerpted from Art History through Innovators: Sculpture

2010-07-11T12:11:00.005-04:00

Now let's talk about what counts as a major innovation in art. To convey his idea of what’s important, an artist must be able to communicate with you. He has to capture your attention— he can’t communicate with you if your brain is channel-surfing. He has to show you something you can understand— he can't communicate without a common language. He has to show you something so unusual or so vivid that it makes you stand still and contemplate what he has created. In short, he has to make you stop, and look, and think about his work of art.

The innovations we’re looking at on this tour are not novelty for the sake of novelty. Every one of them gave its creator more power to make you stop, look, and think. And these innovations were not gimmicks or minor tweaks. They were so effective that they allowed many other sculptors to convey their values and ideas more effectively.

On the list of sculptures and the timeline, the works that illustrate innovations of that caliber— major innovations—are in bold. There are only 7 of them. We'll be looking at the other works on the list for the sake of context and contrast. Resist the temptation to make a rude noise and fast-forward through those parts of the tour. You may hate medieval art, for example, but you'll appreciate Donatello and Michelangelo more if you've seen it.

What is art? (#1 of 2), excerpted from Art History through Innovators: Sculpture

2010-07-09T12:10:00.002-04:00

Over the next month or so, I'll be posting several of the theoretical parts from my new lecture, “Art History through Innovators, Part 1: Sculpture” The lecture is designed as a walking tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but comes with a PDF of images so that you can listen to it anywhere in the world. The references to images below are to the PDF. The entire lecture (26 MP3 files and 50+ pages in PDF format) is available at

http://www.forgottendelights.com/ArtHistoryThroughInnovators.htm

This first excerpt comes near the beginning of the lecture.

EXCERPT 1A: What is art?

A standard art history course covers the characteristics of the art of every major civilization and every time period, from ancient through modern. In Art History through Innovators, I focus instead on one question: In 5,000 years, how did we get from a sculpture such as Mykerinus and His Queen (#1A on the handout) to Frishmuth's The Vine? What I want to show you are major innovations in art. That’s why the title of this tour is "Art History Through Innovators."

If you have an inquiring mind, you should immediately be asking two questions. Number 1: What is art? Number 2: What counts as a major innovation?

So: What is art? You might be surprised to hear that there’s no widely accepted definition. If you ask 5 staff members at the Metropolitan Museum, they’ll give you 5 different definitions. Same thing if you ask 5 professors who teach art history.

The most difficult part of writing these tours was making sure that when we start, we’re on the same page about the meaning of “art.” So let’s try this.

Look at the Nike logo on the list of sculptures.

Do you know who that is?

Do you know what he's doing?

Is he good, bad, or mediocre at what he does?

How did he get that way: skill, practice, luck, transcendental meditation?

If you recognize this figure as Michael Jordan, then the image isn't just a blob of ink on paper. It carries with it a set of ideas about excellence, and about how you achieve excellence.

Sculptures carry ideas with them, too. For example, look at Michelangelo's David on the supplementary photos. Most people see in it a combination of courage, strength, and alertness.

But a sculptor doesn’t just show any random idea that pops into his head. Art works often endure for centuries, but artists never do. So an artist can’t sculpt an image of every single thing he sees. Nor can he include every microscopic detail of what he does choose to sculpt. He has to choose his subjects and his style based on what matters enough to him to spend days, months, or years working on.

So by showing courage, strength, and alertness in a work of art, Michelangelo says: “Such things are important to me.” A sculptor who represents Uncle Dave drinking beer in a La-Z-Boy reveals a different set of values. In either case, when the artist creates his work of art, he tells you: "This is important, this matters, pay attention to this— this value, this idea, this action." Sometimes it's this kind of place, this sort of person, this kind of feeling. But it’s always something the artist considers profoundly important.

We’ll talk about why that matters to you, as a viewer, after we’ve looked at a couple millennia of sculpture.

Coming shortly: Excerpt 1B, on what qualifies as a major innovation.

Coming soon: "Art History Through Innovators"

2010-06-25T09:18:00.000-04:00

I'll soon be offering for sale a new 2-hour course, "Art History Through Innovators," part 1: sculpture. Designed as a walking tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it comes with images in a PDF that will allow you to listen anywhere in the world. Part 2 (Painting) is in the works.
I'll be posting excerpts here within a week or two.

VersaQuill website and blog

2010-03-09T11:43:00.003-05:00

Most of my efforts are currently going toward my website for research and writing, at www.VersaQuill.com. The associated blog deals primarily with the copywriting. You can read on the About page of the blog why I'm a fan of Ayn Rand and a methodology geek:

http://versaquill.com/blog2/about/

Radio interview on outdoor monuments

2010-03-09T11:36:00.004-05:00

I was recently interviewed by Adam Schwartz for WFIU, a public radio station at the University of Indiana, Bloomington. We talked for an hour and a half about outdoor sculptures, abstract art, the World Trade Center memorial, and much more. It was a pleasure talking about such things with someone who asked such intelligent questions. Adam did a great job of boiling the interview down to 6 minutes, which is all the format of the program allows. Have a listen:

http://indianapublicmedia.org/arts/arts-writer-dianne-durante-sculptures-forgotten-delights/

New blog: Past - Present - Principles

2009-05-02T14:35:00.002-04:00

Most of my writing is presently on my new blog, "Past - Present - Principles, History and Philosophy for Today's News." This a trial run for a website I'd like to produce that would offer short essays on major events in American history, with suggested readings from Ayn Rand and Objectivist scholars. If you're interested in using such as site or advertising on it, email comments@forgottendelights.com .

The NYC Tea Party, April 15, 2009

2009-04-16T10:17:00.004-04:00

For the past 20-odd years, whenever I’ve seen a protest rally in NYC I’ve given it a wide berth. Such rallies usually offer the sort of speeches that require shouting after every sentence and are interspersed with long periods of angry chanting, all amidst pushing and shoving and general misbehavior. The average age of the participants is 20, and the cause being supported is usually a couple light-years to the far side of the extreme left. Why would I go to a protest? I’ve always known that changing someone’s mind depends on reasoned argument, not decibels.

But I decided this week that there’s one exception to that. When attempting to get a politician’s attention, decibels matter more than reasoned arguments, particularly when the decibels are emitted by a large collection of voters. I went to the tea party mostly to provide another visible, vocal voter … and was pleasantly surprised.

First of all, everyone I saw in the crowd was well dressed (as if they’d just come from a paying job), patient, and polite to the surrounding NYPD officers. The average age was probably 40. The crowd eventually stretched for 3 or 4 blocks along Broadway, and from the fence of City Hall Park across a wide sidewalk, a lane or two of the street (barricaded from traffic), and another wide sidewalk. The people toward the back could not possibly see the people on stage, yet they did not push and shove. They read and commented on the protest signs held up by members of the crowd. They listened to the speakers and clapped at appropriate times. The only thing they didn’t do well was shout in unison: whenever the organizers tried to get a chant going, it fizzled. This rather amused me—we were obviously a thinking crowd unwilling to play “follow the demagogue.”

As for the content of the speeches: I doubt that anyone who didn’t already believe government spending was out of control was converted; such conversion happens in the privacy of one’s thoughts, not in the presence of amplifiers on city streets. That said, the speeches were much better than I had expected, with repeated praise for capitalism and calls for a government responsible to the people. One speaker referred obliquely to Atlas Shrugged. I saw several signs that explicitly referred to Atlas, and met a woman who was handing out ARC’s flyer. The attendees seemed to be hard-working and thoughtful people—precisely the sort who might be persuaded by Ayn Rand’s arguments, if they are intrigued enough to read her works.

As we were leaving, the event’s organizer reminded us not to leave trash on the ground, making a joke that this was probably the only time in the history of NYC protest rallies that such a request had been made. I didn’t see so much as a dropped tissue as we left.

The rudest the crowd ever got was in expressing its disapproval of New York’s senior U.S. senator. While it would be more accurate to shout, “If the Senator disapproves of the American Constitution and defending Americans abroad, I do not wish to have him representing me,” I have to admit (purely as a student of rhetoric) that shouting “Schumer sucks” has more punch. I hope the TV crews covered that bit and gave the senator cause for insomnia.

DWJ Books

2009-03-20T11:05:00.003-04:00

If you're looking for information on DWJ Books before signing a contract with them, email me at forgottendeli@earthlink.net. I signed a contract with them in May 2008 and have had many problems, which for legal reasons I won't post in a public forum. If you've been burned by them, I sympathize, but (also for legal reasons) I won't post your comments about them on this blog, either.

Construction at the World Trade Center

2009-03-07T08:49:00.006-05:00

I don’t particularly like the winning design for the new buildings on the World Trade Center site, and I detest the winning design for the memorial. Still, I found myself delighted the other day to see the skeleton of a skyscraper rising out of the pit. The building is being raised on a relatively small part of the WTC site (which occupies roughly 12 full city blocks), but the site has been a horrendous hole in the ground for so long that I was beginning to wonder when anything would be built there.

Here’s a photo that shows more of the site, looking due east. The 4-story steel skeleton in the first photo is at the far left. Official photos by the WTC contractors are posted at

http://www.panynj.gov/wtcprogress/roadmap_forward.html

As I was walking past the WTC site, my MP3 player kicked up a song by Nek that perfectly expresses the exasperation I’ve felt with American foreign policy since 9/11 - and quite a while before that. The singer is addressing someone who keeps making the same mistake and then making the same excuses for it.

Volverás a vivir cuando quieras salir planta cara a la realidad No digas que te faltan fuerzas Tú sabes bien que esta es tu guerra No te busques un pretexto, yo apuesto a que ganarás

Unpoetically translated: “You will start living again when you’re ready to look reality in the face. Don’t say you lack the strength – you know this is your war. Don’t look for an excuse. I’m betting on you to win.” (The song is “Volveras a vivir,” from the album La Vida Es.)

The Winter Garden at the World Financial Center is a huge indoor space with a barrel-vaulted roof in glass and steel. At the east end, a grand staircase of polished pink and white marble once led across a pedestrian bridge to the World Trade Center. Now the staircase ends at a wall of windows that is the place to go for an overview of the construction on the site. I took the photos in this post from there. As I turned to go back down the staircase, I saw the palm trees that thrive inside the Winter Garden silhouetted against the sunset and the skyscrapers of New Jersey. And suddenly I was much less tired and much less exasperated. Reminders of human ingenuity and progress always cheer me up. (I love taking photos of the best of New York City. This one will probably make it to the next Upward Glance CD.)

Welcome to New York ... now go move your car (2009 calendar)

2008-11-21T16:41:00.007-05:00

New Yorkers who own cars and don't have off-street parking (which can cost as much per month as a small apartment in Cincinnati) spend exorbitant amounts of time trying to remember whether their car is parked on the side of the street that'll get them a $65 ticket if the street-sweepers come through. Street sweeping is suspended for 30 or more days a year, but few of us can remember which days it's safe to ignore the posted alternate-side signs.

I was inspired to design an alternate-side parking calendar by an atonal piano piece sandwiched into an otherwise enjoyable concert. I didn’t want to walk out (the pianist was amazing), but I didn't want to listen to the "music," either. So I assigned myself the task of devising a way to incorporate some of the photos I've taken of New York into a marketing piece for my husband's dental practice. By the time the piano abuse was over, I'd had the idea of doing an alternate-side parking calendar for 2009 with photos of our neighborhood around the edges. It had to fit on a single 8.5 x 11" page, include all my husband's office info, and give a URL where people could print more copies. It had to be attractive enough that people would cheerfully post it inside their front door or on their refrigerator.

The next day I laid out the calendar using the conventional format: 7 columns and 4-5 rows per month for 12 months. Alas, there wasn't enough space for pictures. Then I decided to apply some of the principles I'd learned in Edward Tufte's Visual Displays of Quantitative Information. I raised my hands and backed away from the computer (sometimes one must), and considered what information had to be included and how to organize it with the least possible visual interference. After much tweaking of font sizes, table margins, and text colors, I managed to fit all the necessary information plus quite a few photos. A scanned image is below; to see the calendar as a PDF, click here. (The blog text continues below the scanned image.)

Tufte's Visual Displays of Quantitative Information focuses on organizing visual information so that it's comprehensible at a glance. Reading it will change the way you look at printed material and websites as well as the way you organize material on a page - even if you're only printing a flyer for a garage sale.

Print as many copies as you like of the calendar for your front door, your refrigerator, your glove compartment, and your friends. If you're curious about the images, the locations are given at http://www.doctordurante.com/2009.htm.

Sylvia Bokor's Blog

2008-10-26T19:01:00.003-04:00

My long-time friend Sylvia Bokor, an artist and writer, has just started a blog. Check it out at

http://www.sylviabokorcomments.blogspot.com/

The latest post (as I write this) is on mystery writer John Dunning, and it nails down an aspect of his style that had bothered me enough so that I only read one of his books - but which I hadn't bothered to put into words.

History as Prozac

2008-10-22T21:37:00.003-04:00

I am usually “even tempered and good-natured, whom you never hear complain,” but like Henry Higgins, occasionally I get furiously angry. My trigger at the moment is the upcoming presidential election. As an Objectivist, I don’t think the government should dictate how I run my private life or my business; it ought to confine itself to protecting individual rights, including protecting me from attacks foreign or domestic. (See Ayn Rand’s “The Nature of Government.”) McCain and Obama are both promising more regulations and more government programs that would affect every aspect of my life, and neither one has convinced me that he’ll fight genuine threats such as Iran. So when I see either one talking on TV, I soon find myself shouting at them, and wondering how a nation with such brilliant founding principles can survive, if we're reduced to choices such as this. Pass the Prozac, please.

My Prozac is history, because history gives me a sense of perspective on passing events. Last summer I started working part-time as a cataloguer for Martayan Lan, a bookseller specializing in works printed before 1800, particularly the history of science, travel and discovery, and art and architecture. I typically skim a book and then write a page-long description of it, setting the book in context as a major contribution to knowledge, a quaint leftover from an earlier age, or something between. Recently I’ve described a 17th-century book on heart defects, a collection of reports submitted by Jesuits around the world in the 1590s, French newspapers promoting the California Gold Rush, and a compilation of women’s legal rights in 16th-c. Portugal.

Not long ago I described a book of medical aphorisms: Latin couplets that purported to help students and physicians remember how to diagnose and/or treat various ailments. The information in the poems was probably centuries old when the book came out, and had mostly likely been distorted by years of unthinking repetition to the point of being useless, if not outright harmful.

Here's the kicker: the book was published in 1589. Forty years earlier (the whole working life of a physician at that time), Andreas Vesalius had dissected cadavers and had published the results of his research in a beautiful multi-volume work. (See the illustrations at http://tinyurl.com/6nxkr9 ). Others were also finally looking at nature rather than parroting ancient and medieval authors: physicians of this era described the circulation of the blood in the lungs and set the foundation for the systematic study of tropical diseases. Those at the cutting edge in science knew better than to simply memorize and apply medieval solutions in Latin doggerel. Many of them must have howled with rage that any publisher would print works such as Scholtz' Aphorismorum medicinalium.

And yet … eventually books like that were no longer published. Those who were constantly expanding their knowledge and confidently announcing their discoveries did eventually triumph. Reality and reason won out, in the long run - although not without staunch defenders who fought long, difficult battles.

So when I need a pick-me-up from the current depressing presidential election, history is my Prozac. If you need some anti-depressants, try these:

Simon Winchester, The Map That Changed the World
Bronowski, Jacob. The Western Intellectual Tradition: From Leonardo to Hegel.
Frederick B. Artz, The Mind of the Middle Ages
Paul Johnson, Modern Times
Paul Johnson, Birth of the Modern
Printing and the Mind of Man
Sebastian Haffner, Defying Hitler
Herold, The Age of Napoleon
Gordon, John Steele. A Thread Across the Ocean: The Heroic Story of the Transatlantic Cable.
Loon, Willem van. The Story of Mankind.
Manchester, William. A World Lit Only by Fire.
Bryson, Bill. Short History of Nearly Everything
Petrocelli, Daniel. The Triumph of Justice: Closing the Book on the Simpson Saga
McCullough, David. John Adams
Ellis, Joseph. His Excellency (on George Washington)
Shorto, The Island at the Center of the World (on Manhattan)

Three-fer: Wilkinson, Wildhorn, Gill

2008-10-15T07:16:00.009-04:00

Last week I visited Michael Wilkinson’s studio in Manhattan, and it raised my spirits for days. One of Michael’s specialties is cast-acrylic sculptures of idealized figures, usually on romantic themes. I had seen photos of many of them on his website (www.michaelwilkinson.com) and expected to like them, but hadn’t anticipated the impact of seeing them in person, in three dimensions. Acrylic can be highly polished or sanded to a frosted finish. The outer planes can be angled in such a way that the images molded into it are reflected back at unexpected angles. Change the angle of the light or rotate the sculpture, and the effect is quite different.

Not all artists can talk coherently about what they do. Michael can. I was fascinated to listen to him discuss his aims for different pieces, and the ways in which he manipulated the material to make his intention a reality.

The piece that sticks in my mind is not an acrylic but a bronze: a small work called Sanctuary, which shows a woman leaning protectively over a man. Michael said the idea in his mind was that in a romantic relationship, there are times when one partner is exhausted by the outside world, and the other provides a sort of haven until the partner recovers.

I immediately heard a song in my mind: “You Are My Home,” from the Broadway musical The Scarlet Pimpernel (music by Frank Wildhorn). The words aren’t exactly the same concept as the sculpture, but they’re close; and I still get goosebumps when I think of the first time I heard that song performed on stage, with a dozen vocalists and an orchestra. So the Sanctuary sculpture gripped me not just visually, but via an auditory memory. (You can hear an excerpt from the song on iTunes by searching “You Are My Home.”)

Thinking of all the times in the past years that I’ve wished I could see the Pimpernel live on stage again reminded me, in turn, of an essay I recently read in A.A. Gill’s Previous Convictions. He pointed out that seeing a play live, on stage, is fundamentally different from seeing the same work on film. (Mind you, I wouldn’t want to live without film, even if I could afford to see a Broadway play every week.)

"Film performance is a vanity, it’s done for a mirror, it’s passed through a hundred hands. The audience is an abstract. There’s no middleman between you and a stage. Every time you see Olivier perform Othello on film it’s the same. You make no difference. What I saw onstage was unique. … You can see the same play again and again and it utterly changes. Every performance leaves a footprint, but it also leaves the text pristine and untouched. As I grow older, plays grow old with me. Their meanings change, the emphasis is different."

The same is true of sculpture: seeing the original work is very different from seeing a reproduction; and seeing it under different circumstances (whether it’s simply a different time of day, or the fact that you’re a year or two older) can make an enormous difference in what the work says to you. So if you’re lucky enough to live in a town with art galleries, museums, or artists’ studios, take an hour or two to drop by for a visit—not as a “chore” to prove you’re cultured, but for the chance it gives you to see something beautiful and, perhaps, to learn something more about yourself.

Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan, which was marketed as a guidebook to New York City sculpture, includes long sections on looking at art and figuring out why you react to a certain piece as you do. For beginners looking at art, see my blog entry on introducing kids to art.

Great views of Manhattan skyline

2008-09-07T08:50:00.009-04:00

Midtown from Gantry Plaza Park

New York Harbor from Battery Park

New Yorkers who seldom venture out of Manhattan miss the delights of seeing the sun rising and setting on the island. I recently compiled a list of my favorite places to do that. It's not exhaustive: I focus on places I can sit with a friend and have a picnic dinner (or breakfast). On Google maps, the list is called "Great Views of the Manhattan Skyline." (The sculptures in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan are plotted on a different Google Map.)

For suggestions of places to take photos (but not necessarily sit and relax), see

http://photo.net/travel-photography-forum/00Mgbf

The pics for today's post are among the 350 images on the Upward Glance screensaver CD, available for $15 at http://www.forgottendelights.com/UpwardGlanceScreensaver.htm . All images Copyright (c) Dianne Durante, all rights reserved.

Midtown from Gantry Plaza Park

Midtown from the Pulaski Bridge

Midtown from Gantry Plaza Park

Introducing Children to Art

2008-07-12T18:12:00.002-04:00

Several friends have asked me how I would go about introducing a child to art. What follows is a combination of what I did with my daughter, and what (looking back) I wish I’d thought of doing. The suggestions are geared to any age from infant to adult: pick up wherever you feel is appropriate. For me, the point of looking at art is not to learn history or sociology, and it’s certainly not to wow other people with your knowledge. At its best, looking at art is pure pleasure. Even when it’s not pure pleasure, I enjoy figuring out why it’s not. Incidentally, if you’re looking for advice on teaching a child to appreciate abstract works, you’ve come to the wrong person. You can read my thoughts on such pieces in the essay I wrote a couple years ago on Christo’s Gates. 1. Learn to look. Teach your child to observe what’s around him by pointing things out and commenting on them. You can do this walking down the street (buildings, cars, public sculpture), with the pictures in children’s books, or any number of other ways. My father used to drive through open countryside and point out what crops were being grown. That’s what interested him, and to this day, I can’t drive through Upstate New York without noticing what’s growing … and looking at the way the hills roll, the rivers meander, the mountains fade into the distance. This is despite the fact that at the time, I thought playing gin rummy with my siblings in the back seat was much more fun. Don’t feel that what you say about what you see has to be your final word on the subject. Nor does it have to express the accumulated wisdom of centuries of scholarly research. Just saying, “My, that bear looks very happy!” is a fine place to start. 2. Think and talk. Translating images and feelings into words helps you understand and remember what you see and feel. After you’ve made some comments, ask “What do you think?” Your talking is giving the child the words to use; eventually he’ll come up with his own, and get his opinion in even before you offer yours. 3. Evaluate and compare evaluations. Talk about what you like and dislike about whatever you’re looking at, and (this is important) what you specifically like or dislike. Just saying “Eeuw, that stinks!” isn’t enough. But (this is equally important) don’t impose your own views on your child. When you look at one of Raphael’s paintings of the Madonna and Child, you may think of the story of Christ, the influence of Christianity on the Western intellectual tradition, or how Raphael compares to Michelangelo. Your child may love a Raphael Madonna and Child just for the affection shown between the mother and child. Within your child’s context, that reaction is just as legitimate as yours. Don’t roll your eyes. Don’t say, “You like that? How can anyone possibly like that?” Maybe he likes it because it’s a pretty color of blue. Ask him, and listen to the answer. Remember this kind of conversation doesn’t have to be about art. You can talk about buildings, high-tech gizmos, cars, or whatever. The point is to get your child in the habit of looking, thinking, and talking to you - not just to get him to look at art. 4. Use a camera. Give your child a cheap digital camera and let him take photos of whatever grabs his interest. We once took our daughter to a sculpture foundry; what interested her was mostly flowering weeds. The weeds were prettier than some of the works that had been cast there, so you could argue that she was showing good artistic taste. If you spot a pattern to what your child likes, try to find ways to see more of that. Let him put together a folder of photos for the grandparents or aunts and uncles. Use them as a screensaver on your computer. Print them out for a changing display on the walls of your home. If you want to talk with your child about art, he needs to know that you’re interested in what he likes - not just in teaching him to like what you like. (Liking what you like may come later, if you can explain why you like what you like.) 5. Visit some art. Take your child to a museum, a gallery, or a place with lots of outdoor sculptures. Don’t plan to give an art history lecture. Don’t plan to spend more than 2 hours there - make it less if your child’s a restless type. If you’re in a mega-museum like the Metropolitan in New York, pick one room with pieces that you like, and plan to just meander through other rooms, letting your child decide which rooms to spend more time in. Pause often to talk about what you see. Let your child take photos, if the museum allows it. See if you can find a couple works on similar subjects that are hung side by side, and talk about how they’re different. I like to compare notes as we go along of which works are my favorites, in a particular room and later in the whole visit. It helps me keep them in mind, and what my husband or child choose as favorites often reveals sides of them that I never suspected. Notice that a concentrated look at art is the last step in this list of suggestions, not the first. You can take your child to the great museums of the world for hours on end, but if he can’t focus on what he’s seeing, and if the two of you can’t talk about what you’ve seen, what’s the point?

Upward Glance screensaver: more photos (2)

2008-05-29T20:22:00.002-04:00

Here are two more photos from the Upward Glance screensaver. For more details and how to purchase the CD, see the post of 5/20/08.

Let's see, the screensaver CD has 350 images, so I can upload 4 per week for almost 2 years ... by which time I'll have another CD of photos to offer.

Upward Glance screensaver: more photos

2008-05-26T19:30:00.004-04:00

Here are two more photos from the Upward Glance screensaver. For more details and how to purchase the CD, see the post of 5/20/08.

Upward Glance: A New Yorker's Look at New York

2008-05-20T13:16:00.005-04:00

For years I've used architectural photos as screensavers: the buildings and details of buildings that I've captured are a remarkable combination of creativity and technical skill, from the details on wrought-iron fences to the towers of Midtown.

I'm offering 350 of these images on CD for $15, including shipping and handling within the U.S. Check this blog over the next month or two for more samples. For other samples, see http://www.forgottendelights.com/UpwardGlanceScreensaver.htm

Order the CD via http://www.paypal.com/, account of forgottendeli@earthlink.net.

NOTE: The locations of the photos are not given on the CD as presently offered for sale, because to check and type up such as list would require many hours of additional work. If you yearn for such identifications and would cheerfully pay $5 extra for a list, email forgottendeli@earthlink.net. If or when the demand is great enough, I'll do the list and notify you that it’s available.

Why not live with art you love?

2008-04-23T06:52:00.002-04:00

I’m the kind of person who walks into your home and heads straight for your bookshelves and artwork. I can’t help it. As an art historian, I’m always avid to see more art, and as a mystery lover, I’m always curious to see what common threads I can identify in the books and artworks.

Your choice of art is, of course, a very personal matter. What you like will depend both on what’s in a particular artwork and on your experiences and values. If Michelangelo’s David looks like the bully who beat you up in high school, you’re not likely to want a reproduction of him in your home. No one can or should tell you what you ought to like.

But what if you want to own more art, and don’t know where to start looking?

Based on my years studying art history, my knowledge of esthetics (my writing and research are based on Ayn Rand’s esthetic theory), and my familiarity with art galleries and online sources for buying art, I’m offering my services as an art consultant. If you’ve had the same works on your wall for so long that you don’t really see them any more, or if you have wall space you’d like to fill, I can help. Together we can look at your favorite works and figure out what other artists or periods you might like to explore or live with, in your home or office.

My charge per hour for these consultations is less than the latest edition of Janson’s History of Art a framed 18 x 24” giclee print of the David. Email for details: forgottendeli@earthlink.net.

Forgotten Delights in the NY Times blog

2008-04-07T20:32:00.002-04:00

I'm quoted in the City Room section of today's New York Times blog, in an article on a bust of Aristotle that was just dedicated in Queens. Sewell Chan, who writes the column, read Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan last year and loved it, and now calls me when he needs background on older sculpture in NYC. The article is at http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/07/athena-and-socrates-meet-aristotle/ Incidentally, traveling to Queens is not a life-threatening experience - if you want to visit Aristotle in Astoria, you can expect to return unscathed.

HBO's John Adams & the monument to the Montgolfier balloon ascension

2008-04-02T18:43:00.003-04:00

Those of you who saw the John Adams miniseries on HBO this past Sunday may remember the scene in which Jefferson and the Adamses watched the ascension of a balloon in Paris in late 1783. Even in an era when scientific discoveries were being made with astonishing rapidity, the development of the world's first flying machine ranked as an awe-inspiring event. Wikipedia has an account of the Montgolfier balloon ascension, with an illustration that looks very much like the balloon that appeared in the Adams series. (Nice to know the producers did their homework.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgolfier_brothers

One of my favorite 18th-c. sculptures in the Metropolitan Museum is a terracotta model over 5 feet high for a monument commemorating this ascension. It’s surmounted by a hot-air balloon and a figure of Fame blowing her trumpet. On its base, absurdly energetic putti (cupids) feed the flames that keep the balloon aloft. This is an exuberantly ornate work, one of the few sculptures in the Metropolitan that still makes me giggle with glee. If you visit the museum, look for it in the room directly behind Canova's Perseus, who now guards the main entrance to the Petrie Court. In my whirlwind tour of 4000 years of sculpture at the Metropolitan I always regret not being able to spend more time on this piece.

Incidentally, I was worried that the John Adams series would be yet another made-for-TV smear job, diminishing the Founding Fathers to the Neighboring Nitwits. However, there are enough substantial quotes from Adams, Jefferson, Washington and others to bring the series up to a thought-provoking level, and the production is very well done and extremely well acted. If you've missed it, HBO is rerunning the first 4 parts on Friday, April 4th. The 5th episode (of 7) will be broadcast Sunday April 6th.

Sorry about the blurry photo: the Metropolitan Museum doesn't allow flash photography, and doesn't have an image on its site that I can link to.

Upcoming Lectures: History of Painting and Sculpture, Renaissance to Modern

2008-03-20T08:21:00.004-04:00

In January Quent Cordair Fine Art sponsored a fine arts cruise in the Caribbean, during which I gave 6 hours of lectures: “The History of Painting and Sculpture, Renaissance to Modern (ca. 1400-ca. 1900).” The focus was on artists of genius whose innovations changed the course of art history. In the final session we studied in detail several paintings and sculptures (including Raphael's School of Athens) using for comparison works seen earlier in the course.

The Cordair cruise was fantastic, and (yes, I do say so) these were some of my best lectures ever. I’ll be offering them as an online/teleconferencing course on four consecutive Thursdays: April 17 & 14, May 1 & 8, at 8 p.m. Eastern time. For copyright reasons involving the images used, these lectures will not be videotaped for sale, so you’ll have to catch them live or not at all. Class size is limited to 15. To register, email forgottendeli@earthlink.net .

For information on my other upcoming lectures and tours (including one on the World Trade Center Memorial and a series based on Outdoor Monuments in Manhattan), visit

http://www.forgottendelights.com/Tours.htm

Upcoming: History of Sculpture Tour at the Metropolitan Museum

2008-02-20T10:23:00.004-05:00

Sculpture is designed to be seen in the round. What better way to learn the history of sculpture than to take a tour of works in the remarkable collection of the Metropolitan Museum, where you can walk around each work as you learn its significance? In the span of 2 to 2.5 hours (including a break), this course will give you an overview of the major innovations in the history of Western sculpture, ranging from works created in Ancient Mesopotamia to those created by Auguste Rodin. The aim is to give you an appreciation of the brilliant sculptors who achieved this progress. Incidentally, once the tour is finished you'll also be able to recognize works from every major period. In the course of the tour, we'll address questions such as: What promotes innovation, and what stifles it? How can you remember what a work of art looks like once you've walked into another gallery? How can you tell that an innovator has been at work, even if his original works are lost? Upcoming dates: Saturday 2/23/08 at 10 a.m. Wednesday 2/27/08 at 10 a.m. Sunday 3/2/08, 1 p.m. Tuesday 3/4/08 at 1 p.m. To sign up or to hear a sample MP3 segment, visit http://www.forgottendelights.com/Tours.htm The lecture fee of $25 (2 for $40) is payable in cash at the beginning of the lecture, and does not include the donation for admission to the Museum.

Holiday Cheer: Celebrating the Spirit of Achievement

2007-12-21T13:08:00.000-05:00

Nina Saemondsson (Seimondsson, Saemundsson), Spirit of Achievement, ca. 1930-31. Park Avenue canopy of the Waldorf-Astoria, 301 Park Ave. (between 49th & 50th Sts.), New York.

In Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand writes that the hotel where Francisco d'Anconia stayed on his visits to New York was "designed as a European palace. The Wayne-Falkland was the most distinguished hotel left on any continent. Its style of indolent luxury, of velvet drapes, sculptured panels and candlelight, seemed a deliberate contrast to its function: no one could afford its hospitality except men who came to New York on business, to settle transactions involving the world." (Part I, ch. 5)

I've always pictured the Waldorf-Astoria when I read about the Wayne-Falkland, and that seems particularly fitting now that I've discovered the name of the sculpture that adorns the canopy over the Waldorf's Park Avenue entrance. Spirit of Achievement is a stylized woman whose arched back and upward-stretched wings make her seem about to take flight. You've probably failed to notice the ten-foot figure because its silvery metal blends into the metalwork of the canopy and the Waldorf's façade. Like the Waldorf itself, the figure is in the Art Deco style - the same elegant, streamlined style that marks the Chrysler and Empire State Buildings.

The original Waldorf-Astoria, built in the 1890s, transformed the urban hotel from a home for transients into a social meeting place. After operating costs rose sharply and the 34th Street location became more commercial, the hotel closed in 1929 and was demolished early in 1930, making way for the Empire State Building. The new Waldorf, occupying an entire city block a mile or so to the north, was begun and completed within the next three years. At the time its 47-story towers made it the tallest hotel in the world.

The Spirit of Achievement is a fitting reminder that in America, the country that comes as close to Ayn Rand's capitalist society as any nation ever has, we have transformed the December holiday season into a celebration of happiness and prosperity. Stroll through the grand lobby of the Waldorf-Astoria, admire its palatial decor and its lavish holiday decorations, and count your ... achievements.

Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS) IAS 8780237. Gayle & Cohen, Art Commission and Municipal Art Society Guide to Manhattan's Outdoor Sculpture (1988), p. 327 (a three-line entry). New York Times articles on the building and opening of the Waldorf-Astoria make no mention of this sculpture. New Yorker articles on the Waldorf-Astoria include passing references to it, which I haven't yet been able to check since they aren't available on line. The Wikipedia entry on the Waldorf-Astoria includes useful links, of which the most fascinating one describes the Waldorf's high-tech aspects, for example: "It has looked into the future and has prepared against the day when there will be television. Although much of the publicity concerning television has been hasty and over-optimistic, all rooms have been wired for television so that when the day of its actuality arrives those who stay at the hotel will be able to see a show or a ball game by looking on a screen in their rooms." Since the 1950s, the Waldorf-Astoria has been the venue for the Spirit of Achievement Awards Luncheon, sponsored by the Women's Division of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University to honor achievements of individual women in fields such as philanthropy, the arts, business, government, and journalism.

Profiles of Contemporary Representational Sculptors

2007-11-02T12:18:00.000-04:00

In the writing business, a moment of inspiration usually leads to hours of perspiration. I am therefore unbelievably pleased to announce that I've finished writing and setting up the basic pages for a new section on the Forgotten Delights website: Profiles of Contemporary Representational Sculptors. These pages aim to help lovers of figurative sculpture find and purchase such works. For copyright reasons, most of the works illustrated on the Forgotten Delights site are pre-1923. But given that many visitors to the site are fascinated by representational sculpture, what could be a more logical place for a listing of sculptors who currently produce such works? At the moment there's one Profile up, and I'm actively seeking more. For details, see the Profiles home page at http://www.forgottendelights.com/Profiles/ProfilesHome.htm

A Stroll in the Conservatory Garden

2007-08-18T07:38:00.001-04:00

As I said in a Salute from 2004 on the Forgotten Delights site, the Conservatory Garden at Fifth Ave. and 105th St. is among the quietest and most relaxing outdoor places in Manhattan. In August the gardens are not as riotous with flowers as in the Spring, but some of the beds are still spectacular. And, of course, the sculptures are still there, and still among the most cheerful in the city. Below, some recent photos of the Burnett Fountain and the Untermeyer Fountain.

The birds actually do use the birdbath, and then frequently perch on top of the girl's head. I wonder if Vonnoh, the sculptor, thought of that when she gave the girl that tousled upsweep? This is the only sculpture I know of on which birds regularly perch that doesn't have streaks of bird droppings running down its head.

The most famous works by Walter Schott, sculptor of the Untermeyer Fountain, are appropriately in the Sans Souci ("without a care") palace in Potsdam.

Two blocks south of the Conservatory Garden entrance stands Dr. Sims, "The Father of Gynecology," who's in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan as Essay 47.

Sculptures at St. Mark's in the Bowery and Tompkins Square Park

2007-08-10T18:22:00.001-04:00

Aside from the benefits of training yourself to actually think about what you're seeing (see my posts of 7/24/07, 7/25/07, and 7/25/07, subtitled "Open eyes, engage brain"), a sculpture walk can also be a great excuse to get out of your house should the place suddenly be filled with noxious fumes from waterproofing paint being applied in the basement. Here are photos from yesterday's hour-long jaunt from Astor Place to Tompkins Square Park. Only one has appeared on http://www.forgottendelights.com/ .

Above: St.-Mark's-in-the-Bouwerie, 2nd Ave. at 10th St., has two lions by the entrance doors and another outside its fence. Why? In New Testament lore, the symbol of St. Mark is the lion. The one sitting outside the fence imitates Donatello's Marzocco, which became a symbol of Florence in the 15th-c. (The original is now in the Bargello Museum, and a copy occupies its earlier site in the Piazza della Signoria.) St. Mark's is the second oldest church in the city, occupying the site of Peter Stuyvesant's family chapel.

Stuyvesant himself is buried on the grounds of St. Mark's (see the stone in the east side of the foundation), and a bust of him by Toon Dupuis stands to the right of the church. It dates to 1911, a quarter century before the Stuyvesant by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney in nearby Stuyvesant Park. (See Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan #16.) You could guess that from the texture, which is realist/naturalist rather than Rodinesque.

Above: At either end of St. Mark's porch, twined with roses, are over life-size marble sculptures of Native Americans. St. Mark's website notes that they were unveiled in 1920 and identifies them as Aspiration and Inspiration. I have no idea which is which. These are among the last works by Solon Borglum (brother of Gutzon Borglum, creator of Mt. Rushmore), who was known for his romanticized portrayals of Native Americans. The Little Lady of the Dew, another work by Solon Borglum - mentioned in Brooks's Permanent New Yorkers and in Proske's Brookgreen Gardens Sculpture (I, 78) as a fountain figure - is perhaps this fountain on at the corner of the St. Mark's grounds. It's not mentioned on the St. Mark's site.

I'd visited Tompkins Square Park several times before I tracked down the General Slocum Memorial, tucked behind a brick rest-room pavilion on the north side of the 9th St. Traverse. On a balmy day in June, 1904, the paddlewheel steamer General Slocum (named after the Civil War general whose likeness by Frederick MacMonnies stands at Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn), set off on a picnic excursion with the congregation of St. Mark's German Lutheran Church, then located near Tompkins Square. The passengers were mostly German immigrant women and children. Near Hell Gate the steamboat caught fire. Within 15 minutes, over a thousand died in what remains the worst maritime disaster in the New York area. (See Encyclopedia of New York p. 457.)

This 1906 memorial by Bruno Louis Zimm is quite lovely, although rather worn. The inscription on the west side reads, "In memory of those who lost their lives in the disaster to the steamer General Slocum June XV MCMIV." The one on the east side reads, "Dedicated by the Sympathy Society of German Ladies the Year of Our Lord MCMVI."

Above: detail of the General Slocum Memorial. The inscription on the front, "They were earth's purest children, young and fair," sounded like poetic syntax to me, and turns out to be from Percy Bysshe Shelley's "Revolt of Islam," also known as "Laon and Cynthia; or, The Revolution of the Golden City," written in 1817:

They were earth's purest children, young and fair,

With eyes the shrines of unawakened thought,

And brows as bright as spring or morning, ere

Dark time had there its evil legend wrought

In characters of cloud which wither not.

Above: Tompkins Square also has a zinc reproduction of a statue of Hebe (Youth) by Danish Neoclassical sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. It stands atop a small structure protecting a fountain erected by 19th-c. temperance advocates. Today, when a bottle of Poland Spring is available for the price of ten minutes' work at minimum wage, it's difficult to remember that New York's water supply in the early 19th c. could be deadly. Until the Croton Aqueduct brought upstate water in the 1830s, drinking germ-free alcohol may have saved as many lives as cirrhosis of the liver took.

Above: The last sculpture in Tompkins Square is in the running for my least favorite outdoor sculpture in New York. The figure of Samuel Cox (1824-1889) looks as if he's been assembled from stove pipes; or perhaps he's the Tin Man turned human. Known as the "letter-carrier's friend," Cox sponsored legislation that led to a 40-hour work week and paid benefits for employees of the United States Postal Service. Postal workers across the country chipped in to pay for this sculpture by Louise Lawson, dedicated in 1891. New York Times art critic Layton Crippen derided it as early as 1899: "It has never been alleged, for instance, that the figure of Samuel S. Cox, in Astor Place, is a thing of beauty. But it is equally certain that it is not decorative, and if its surroundings were in harmony with it the City of New York would have to be deserted. To how many other New York statues cannot the same criticism be applied? It is possible that a thousand years or so from now they may be regarded as suitable for decorative purposes, in the same way as we now make use of Aztec grotesques or Easter Island idols. But at present that is out of the question."

As a marketing device for Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan, I recently wrote up a list of tips for taking photos of outdoor sculptures in New York. Read the list or print out copies (tips and images) for your favorite photo fanatics.

Greenpoint War Memorial in HBO's "Flight of the Conchords"

2007-08-08T07:40:00.000-04:00

In the "Girlfriends" episode of HBO's Flight of the Conchords, which aired earlier this week, I was thrilled to recognize the Greenpoint War Memorial in McGolrick Park. It appears in the scene where everyone is (more or less) speaking French. For more on the memorial, see my post of July 21, 2007. The croissant clerk / sniper worked in Fabiane, Bedford Ave. at North 5th, which incidentally has the best iced tea on the North Side.

Gargling Gargoyles (correction)

2007-08-04T11:29:00.001-04:00

An astute reader just pointed out that the figures on the American Standard Building (see previous post) are not actually gargoyles. A gargoyle, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is "a grotesque spout, representing some animal or human figure, projecting from the gutter of a building (esp. in Gothic architecture), in order to carry the rain-water clear of the walls." I was shocked to have made such an error, although it's an extenuating circumstance that according to the OED, "gargoyle" has come by extension to mean "A projection resembling a gargoyle." However, when using the term re architecture, I think it's better to keep to the original sense. As a philologist (which is what I earned my Ph.D. in lo, these many years ago), I was fascinated to read the derivation: "OF. gargouille (also gargoule, gargole, recorded in 13th c.) = Sp. gargola; app. a special sense of gargouille throat (cf. GARGIL1, GARGLE v.), from the water passing through the mouths of the figures." So gargoyles and gargling have the same root! And now I will never forget that gargoyles spit.

Gilded Gargoyles on American Radiator Building

2007-08-02T18:12:00.000-04:00

Above the second floor of the American Standard or American Radiator Building at 40 West 40th St. (south side of Bryant Park), designed by Raymond Hood and completed in 1924, eight gilded gargoyles glitter against the building's black brick facade. According to one website, the gargoyles symbolize the "transformation of matter into energy." Looking at them, I keep wondering just what kind of energy we are talking about. Roaring Twenties, indeed.

This one has the word "Fever" beneath. Perhaps all the others had a title as well, but in most cases they seem to have been painted over too often to be legible.

The building just to the west, completed in 1937, imitates the American Standard Building's facade but has eight more gargoyles in a noticeably different style.

Writing something, possibly drafting a design?

Something mechanical, with a hammer.

Pouring metal into a mold? Look at those abs: very similar to the ones on Lawrie's Atlas at Rockefeller Center, which (not coincidentally) was dedicated in 1937, the year this building was completed. No one says who created these gargoyles. Lawrie had been sculpting long enough that the figures might well have been the work of an eager imitator. The burly-man esthetic was related to Social Realism in the U.S.S.R., a country wholeheartedly admired by a startling number of American intellectuals and artists in the 1930s. (On why I dislike Lawrie's Atlas and which nearby Atlas I prefer, see Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan #29.)

A blow torch?

A furnace of some sort.

A plumber??? He's the only one who hasn't got a cloak flying behind him.

Don't miss the view from across Bryant Park of the top of the American Standard Building: it's gorgeous, especially when the sun's out. The building is now a boutique hotel, the Bryant Park, with a bar that gives you an excuse to sit around admiring the lobby.

I love this photo. It's not taken with a wide-angle lens - it's a curved building shot through a round arcade. (See below.) Northwest corner 57th St. and Lexington Ave.

Second Stories on 17th St., Irving Place to 1st Ave. (Open eyes, engage brain, part 3)

2007-07-25T21:22:00.000-04:00

Here's the third and final part of the 17th St. series. Why didn't I start all the way over at the West Side? Once I had sorted through the photos from 6th to 1st Avenues, I was shocked to realize I had 3 days' worth of posts -more than enough to make my point that even after you've walked an area for a couple decades, there's still more to see if you focus your mind.

Washington Irving, by Frederick Beer. Irving (1783-1859), a native New Yorker, was one of the first Americans to win international acclaim for his writing. Among his efforts are the hilarious Knickerbocker's History of New York, 1809, "Rip Van Winkle," "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," and a 5-volume biography of George Washington. "Great minds have purposes," he said; "little minds have wishes. Little minds are subdued by misfortunes; great minds rise above them." Click here for more Washington Irving quotes, and visit Project Gutenberg to read some of his works online.

Break pediment, insert air conditioner ... an odd arrangement. The broken pediment dates back to the late Roman Empire.

Someone had a wild time designing this particular cornice.

One of a pair of elegant oval windows flanking a columned portico; considerable effort went into the fence, as well.

Quite a large and elaborate facade.

This type of statue derives from the boy whose job was to hold the reins of your horse. Seeing three of them on a second-floor balcony made me laugh.

Just east of the boys who are Forever Young and Forever Useless, a lovely ironwork balcony.

The fence of Stuyvesant Square, whose main supports are in the shape of fasces (rods bound together), a Roman symbol of authority. Inside the Square is Whitney's Peter Stuyvesant, 1936, Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan #16.

Maybe he's been bad, but he certainly looks remorseful. Couldn't they let him out of that corner? He stands, unidentified, in front of the Hospital for Joint Diseases on the corner of 2nd Ave.

Three nicely proportioned arches, three carved caduceuses. I think it's part of Beth Israel Hospital.

Second Stories on 17th St., 5th Ave. to Irving Place (Open eyes, engage brain, part 2)

2007-07-25T16:27:00.000-04:00

Yesterday's post was on 17th St. between 6th and 5th Avenues, looking at the second stories rather than ground floor. Today's post continues east from 5th Ave. to Irving Place.

Decorative palm leaves and a cartouche above a doorway.

A cartouche with a nicely lettered address, flanked by cornucopias.

This decorative stone carving reminds me a bit of Louis Sullivan's work: compare the doorway and ground-floor columns of the Bayard-Condict Building at Crosby and Bleecker, Sullivan's only NYC building.

More Beaux Arts decoration, including swags, egg-and-dart moldings, and even a couple fleur-de-lis.

One of the upper stories of the Barnes & Noble at Union Square North (a.k.a. 17th St.). It was originally the Century Building, constructed 1880-1881 (AIA Guide p. 202, W7).

Decorative element on the building at the northwest corner of Park and 17th St.: nice palmettes. Originally the Everett Building, 1908; the AIA Guide says it's "careful but bland" (p. 202, W8).

Arch from the huge ground-floor windows of the W New York Hotel, built in 1910-1911 for Germania Life Insurance. Could you doubt that a company housed in such a stalwart building would pay what it owed you? The AIA Guide (p. 203, W9) notes that after World War I the name "Germania" was a liability, so the board of directors chose a new name with the aim of using as many letters as possible from the old. On a recent walking tour, I heard that the Germania/Guardian had the NYC's first electric roof sign, which is why the W Hotel is allowed to have one today.

Tammany Hall, southeast corner of Park Ave. and 17th St. The building dates to 1929, when the fortunes of this New York political organization were about to decline sharply. The medallion on the pediment holds a red liberty cap.

Medallion from the north side of the Tammany Hall building. Tammany Hall was founded in 1788 as the Society of St. Tammany or the Columbian Order - hence the medallion of Columbus. The other medallion on the north facade is of "Tamanend," a legendary chief of the Delaware tribe. For more on Tammany's long and often corrupt existence, see the Encyclopedia of New York City pp. 1149-51.

Relief from the north side of the Tammany Hall building. Arrows and laurels? What's that mean?

Lovely decorative panels, nice arches at the top.

Second Stories on 17th St., 6th to 5th Avenues (Open eyes, engage brain, part 1)

2007-07-24T17:58:00.000-04:00

For once I wandered down 17th St. looking at the upper stories rather than street level. It's amazing how much I'd never noticed in the hundreds of times I've walked these blocks. Below are some details from the block between 6th Ave. and 5th Ave. Of all of these, only the New York Foundling Home on the corner of 6th and 17th (one of whose ceramic plaques is above) is significant enought to be in the AIA Guide to New York City. Someone must have decided pastoral scenes would be soothing decoration: a row of similar plaques adorns the building's facade.

A lovely carved Beaux Arts doorway, probably ca. 1900-1910.

Charming combination of bay and arched windows.

Wide arched window with a flourish at center - nice proportions.

Grrrrrr. Another Beaux Arts ornament.

And even more Beaux Arts, this time swags. I tire of Beaux Arts in large amounts (building after building, or one building that's very heavily ornamented), but I do love looking at the details, which demonstrate a level of workmanship that seldom appears on modern buildings.

Much plainer than Beaux Arts, although probably not much later - masonry goes out of fashion in favor of brick early in the 20th c. Some thought obviously went into the proportions and the relationship of the upper to lower window. This is on the southwest corner of Fifth Ave. and 17th St.

Soon to come: more of 17th St., from Fifth Ave. to Park.

Greenpoint War Memorial in McGolrick Park

2007-07-21T07:00:00.000-04:00

When my daughter was a toddler in the 1990s, my favorite park in Greenpoint was McGolrick, which had modern playground equipment (unlike the then-decrepit park on Franklin St.) and trees large enough to offer shade (unlike the then-scorching McCarren Park playground). McGolrick Park was an oasis, set in a quiet residential neighborhood far away from the traffic and bustle of McGuinness Blvd. and Manhattan Avenue.

The winged allegorical figure of Carl Heber's Greenpoint War Memorial has not found life in McGolrick so serene, even though she strides along bearing a palm frond and a laurel branch, symbols of peace and victory. (See Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan #31, on Sherman.) According to the NYC Parks Dept. website, the base of the memorial was damaged in 1962, when Christmas trees placed around it caught fire. In 1975 vandals stole parts of the palm frond, and a year later toppled the statue off its base. It was repaired as part of the renovation of McGolrick Park in 1985. Of course, this was not the only monument that suffered during New York's financial woes in the 1970s. Lederer's All Around the Town: A Walking Guide to Outdoor Sculpture in New York City, published in 1975, is full of monuments defaced with grime and graffiti.

The Greenpoint War Memorial was dedicated in 1923 to residents of the neighborhood who had served in the First World War. The inscription on the front reads: "To the living and the dead heroes of Greenpoint who fought in the World War because they loved America, revered its ideals under God, and supported its institutions and gave their all that our government shall not perish from the earth.” On the other sides of the base are inscribed names of major battles: Argonne, Somme, Chateau Thierry.

For more on changes in war memorials from the Civil War to the First World War, listen to my Battery Park podcast.

Williamsburg, old and new

2007-07-18T19:04:00.001-04:00

Williamsburg is changing rapidly, as every New Yorker knows: below, some juxtapositions of old and new.

Above: Manhattan Ave. at Skillman.

Above: Graham Ave. between Skillman and Conselyea. No, it's not like the others, but when the light comes through the roof in the morning, it's very attractive - and not bad the rest of the time, either.

Above: the high-rises on Bayard, facing McCarren Park, seen from Frost St.

Above: the Bayard St. high-rises from behind the McCarren Pool, which is finally in use again - although not for swimming.

Above: to the left, new construction on Union. To the left of the flag, the top of the Giglio from the annual feast (see post of 7/14).

The party's over: the Giglio amid vans packing up the food stands, the day after the feast ended.

Jagiello, Abingdon Memorial, and NOT for summer wear in NYC

2007-07-17T13:49:00.000-04:00

In the course of retaking photos in TIFF format, I captured this excellent detail of King Jagiello in Central Park (Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan #39). Below is the World War I Abingdon Memorial, by Philip Martiny, at the intersection of Bleecker, Hudson and 8th Ave. This one didn't didn't make the cut for Outdoor Monuments, but it was a close call.

And finally, a cheerful group of some of America's most famous females in the window of a fur store on Houston St., Manhattan.

Trapped in Manhattan, Dancing in Williamsburg

2007-07-14T06:58:00.000-04:00

Wouldn't this make a great photo for advertising get-away weekends to Manhattanites? Taken from the west end of Grand Street, Brooklyn, just north of the Williamsburg Bridge.

Right next door to several large-scale condos under construction, Williamsburg has the Feast of the Giglio. Several times over the past 10 days a group of 120 men has hefted the 4-ton, 75-foot-tall Giglio and danced with it to music from a 16-piece orchestra, which sits right there on the platform of the Giglio. It is a startling sight, particularly to someone who grew up with a religion whose chief requirement seemed to be sitting quietly and behaving oneself. Check local news outlets for times of the Dancing of the Giglio, and here for the hundred- year history of the Giglio in the United States.

Architectural Terracotta

2007-07-13T09:50:00.000-04:00

Terracotta was popular for architectural ornament from the 1870s until the early 20th century. Older buildings in New York that otherwise don't have much to recommend them often have charming terracotta ornament, some of it very elaborate. Below are some photos of it I've collected over the past couple years. This is decorative rather than fine art, but the quality is very high - and although I may not be inspired to great deeds by the final product, I'm still impressed by by the knowledge and effort that went into the design and execution of these bits and pieces.

The first 3 pieces are from Brooklyn, the others from Manhattan. If you're really curious about the precise locations, post a question and I'll look them up for you.

Strolling Manhattan

2007-07-07T10:41:00.000-04:00

A couple days ago I wandered from 87th to 54th St., as close to the East River as I could manage, to take photos of a few sculptures I hadn't yet seen. Along the way I passed a recently completed New York Hospital building (York at about 69th St.) that has the odd property of always seeming to be in a fog, and bent out of shape to boot. It's certainly striking. For a similar construction, see my post of June 22nd on the new building rising on the northwest corner of 6th Avenue and 42nd St.

South of 59th St. you get great views of the Queensboro Bridge, even on days when it's heavily overcast.

In the Strange Juxtaposition Department, if you walk to the east end of 57th St., you'll find a charming park hovering between the level of the dead-end street and the FDR Drive. Dead in the center of it is this modern copy of a wild boar from the Renaissance.

And finally, in the Bizarre and Pretty categories: a new residential building called Big Blue on Delancey St. near the Williamsburg Bridge (vertiginous views from those lower stories, I would think), and a gorgeous sunset reflected in Central Park's Turtle Pond, which proves algae is good for something besides feeding marine life.

Five New Sights & Thoughts

2007-06-25T22:59:00.001-04:00

Writing a decent essay is exhausting. I outline it, hammer out a first draft, shuffle its paragraphs, edit it, reduce it back to an outline, completely restructure it. I read it front to back and back to front, and then do line editing until I'm cross-eyed, trying to ensure that the words do indeed say exactly what I want to say, clearly and in the proper sequence. By the time all that's done, I've read the thrice-accursed (that's an Aeschylean adjective) essay at least two dozen times. It has all the appeal of a month-old piece of bread. How can I possibly look at it yet again?

In an effort to regain my energy for editing, I gave myself a visual rather than verbal assignment. On the 4 blocks from the library to the subway (which I've walked hundreds of times), could I find 5 things to photograph that I hadn't ever noticed before? Could I think 5 thoughts about them that I hadn't thought before? For an art critic/historian this is good exercise. It makes me observe what's around me, rather than focusing on what's ricocheting about in my head. Here are the results.

East 79th St., between Park and Lexington. Love the cobalt blue glass.

Hanging gardens of Park Ave., southeast corner of 79th St.

Cartouche bearing a house number on East 78th St. (ca. 1900?). Love the grillwork and the proportions.

One of a row of 5 oil lamps (Aladdin's lamps?), just above the first floor of 132 East 78th St. Charming, but ... why? The AIA Guide to NYC does not explain.

A couple weeks ago, architectural historian Matt Postal (who lectures for the Municipal Art Society, and is currently giving a 10- or 12-lecture course on the history of the skyscraper in NYC) pointed out that the "Chippendale" top of Philip Johnson's AT&T Building on Madison Avenue made it acceptable to include historical references on buildings again, after decades of glass boxes. The architects of the two buildings here obviously embraced Post-Modernism: this one has a vaguely gothic top, and the following one is reminiscent of a turreted castle. I've probably walked past both at ground level (3rd Avenue in the 70s?) and thought they were perfectly normal and boring.

New & old at 42nd St., and the Columbus Monument

2007-06-22T08:40:00.001-04:00

This building is rising on the northwest corner of 42nd St. and 6th Ave. The shapes of the corners look intriguing, particularly compared to the standard boxy International Style skyscrapers that line 6th Ave. in Midtown.

Arched ceiling and lamp (ca. 1900-1910) over the stairs inside New York Public Library's research branch at 42nd St. and Fifth Ave.

Columbus Monument viewed from inside the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle, intersection of 8th Ave., Central Park South and Broadway. The dark lines are the window mullions. Too bad the TWC was finished too late for me to include a photo like this in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan.

Portrait painting, the Monitor & DDT

2007-06-22T07:39:00.000-04:00

Since doing the final edit of a long article for The Objective Standard is taking most of my energy, I decided that rather than writing a blog entry I'd refer you to three excellent articles I've recently read: 1. Zinsser, William. 'Two Men and a Portrait." Smithsonian Magazine, April 2007. Unlike many artists, portrait-painter Buechner can describe with clarity and precision what he is doing and why. Of course, in this article he has the able assistance of his subject, William Zinsser, author of the indispensable handbook On Writing Well. From Buechner's comments while deciding on a pose: "The shape of the head and the way we carry it on our shoulders are the essential elements in recognizability. You'd recognize me from the back, a block away, by my silhouette." In the printed Smithsonian, six photos show the progress of the painting from compositional sketch to finished portrait; unfortunately they're not included in the online version (copyright issues?). 2. Harold Holzer, "The Monitor Makes Port," American Heritage 58:2 (April/May 2007). Describes the significance of the Battle of the Ironclads and the raising of Ericsson's Monitor in more detail than I was able to fit into Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan, Essay 2. Parts of the Monitor are now on display in Newport News, near the site of the Monitor-Merrimac battle. The article ends with a list of important American ships that are open to tourists. 3. Malcolm Gladwell (author of Blink and The Tipping Point), "Annals of Public Health: The Mosquito Killer," The New Yorker 7/2/2001. An excellent 10-page survey of the discovery and history of DDT (1930s to 1960s), focusing on Fred Soper and his public health initiatives. Excerpts: "In 1946, before the campaign started, there were seventy-five thousand malaria cases on the island [of Sardinia]. In 1951, after the campaign finished, there were nine." "All the things that we find sinister about DDT today - the fact that it killed everything it touched, and kept on killing everything it touched - was precisely what made it so inspiring at the time." "To Soper the world was neither perfect nor beautiful, and the question of what man could do to nature was less critical than what nature, unimpeded, could do to man." Toward the end of the article is a brief mention of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring; her comments on the absence of birdsong are tellingly contrasted with the description of a silent Egyptian village ravaged by malaria.

Apthorp and Heckscher Buildings

2007-05-30T19:44:00.001-04:00

Above: top of the entranceway to the Apthorp Apartments, which occupy the full city block between West End Avenue and Broadway, and 78th and 79th Streets. Beyond the barrel-vaulted tunnels with their enormous wrought-iron gates is a spacious courtyard with a fountain. The Apthorp was built 1906-1908 by Clinton & Russell on land owned by the Astors.

Below: originally the Heckscher, now the Crown Building, 730 Fifth Ave. (southwest corner 57th St.); designed by Warren & Wetmore (architects of Grand Central Terminal), completed 1921. There is something about this shade of green combined with gold that I find very pleasing: associations with money, perhaps? This was one of the earliest buildings constructed after the City's 1916 Zoning Resolution restricted the height and shape of buildings. Augustus Heckscher Sr. (1848-1941) made his fortune in mining and real-estate ventures and donated the much of it to philanthropic endeavors, including the Heckscher Museum on Long Island and the Heckscher Foundation for Children (now El Museo del Barrio). The largest playground in Central Park and the only one included in the original Greensward Plan also bears the Heckscher name.

Memorial Day: Washington at Union Square, Bethesda Terrace, Irises

2007-05-29T09:24:00.000-04:00

Top: Brown's Washington at Union Square (Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan, Essay 13) - finally, a good shot of the west side, taken on a cloudy day (no harsh shadows) and with a long enough zoom that I could back up so his arm doesn't cover his face.

Middle: Balustrades and arches at Central Park's Bethesda Terrace. The detail and the variation always amazes me.

Bottom: Irises from someone else's garden. (If I had a green thumb, it would be made out of patinated copper.)

Greenpoint Savings Bank & Williamsburg Bridge

2007-05-24T20:54:00.000-04:00

Above: Formerly the Greenpoint Savings Bank, now a branch of North Fork: I love the scaly roof. The building imitates ancient Roman architecture (in this case, the Pantheon), a favorite device ca. 1900 for implying that a bank was steady as a rock and would last for centuries. Manhattan Ave. at Calyer St., Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Below: On the one hand, it's nice to be able to walk across the Williamsburg Bridge without fearing it will fall into the East River - which seemed possible 10 years ago. On the other hand, the new pedestrian walkway is so fenced in that it's nearly impossible to take any photos except of the bridge itself.

Photos of Peter Cooper and 455 Lafayette

2007-05-23T19:29:00.000-04:00

Lately I've been retaking sculpture photos in TIFF format, which brought me back to Saint Gaudens's Peter Cooper at Cooper Union (Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan Essay 10). At left is a view I never could have gotten with my old 3x optical zoom.

Many historians are vehemently opposed to change, but what studying history taught me is that change is natural, inevitable, and often a vast improvement. I like 455 Lafayette, the new building on the south side of Astor Place, which has been panned by the New York Times architecture critic. Not all buildings have to be composed of right angles. Not all of them have to neatly match whatever's already in the neighborhood. Not all curved surfaces need to be formed of custom-made curved glass rather than narrow, flat glass panes.

For a tidy summary on the hullabaloo over 455 Lafayette, see
http://nymag.com/realestate/vu/2006/17319/

Photos of architectural details

2007-05-22T07:50:00.000-04:00

In my travels around NYC I often carry a camera in order to take photos of sculptures. Sometimes I snap architectural details as well: once you learn to look, you start looking at everything. Occasionally I'll upload a few of my favorite recent photos here, at considerably reduced resolution. If you want to see more images or higher resolution, ask me. In time, I plan to offer such photos for sale on www.ForgottenDelights.com.

Above: Sullivanesque capital from 11th St. in Manhattan (west of Broadway). Compare the Bayard Condict Building.

Below: 122-124 Milton St., Greenpoint, Brooklyn. 1889, architect Theobald Engelhardt. AIA Guide to NYC (4th ed.) p. 762, G15: "Brick and brownstone Queen Anne. The bracketed canopies over the entrances are lusty celebrations of entry" (!). I love the quality of the details and especially the spiderweb grills on the matching front doors. Are they original? I don't know - the brackets holding them certainly look old enough.

Horace Greeley on literature as a vocation

2007-05-15T10:18:00.001-04:00

Horace Greeley, founder of the New York Tribune (est. 1841), was well known for his vehement opinions on everything from slavery and women's rights to unions, nativism and education. Here are his thoughts on books:

"It is a very common but a very mischievous notion, that the writing of a book is creditable per se. On the contrary, I hold it discreditable, and only to be justified by proof of lofty qualities and generous aims embodied therein. To write a book when you have nothing new to communicate, - nothing to say that has not been better said already, - that is to inflict a real injury on mankind. A new book is only to be justified by a new truth. If Jonas Potts, however illiterate and commonplace, has been shipwrecked on Hudson’s Bay, and has traveled thence overland to Detroit or Montreal by a route previously unknown, then he may give us a book – if he will attempt no more than to tell us as clearly as possible what he experienced and saw by the way, - which will have a genuine value, and which the world may well thank him for; and so of a man who, having manufactured charcoal all his days, should favor us with a treatise on burning charcoal, showing what was the relative value for that use of the various woods; how long they should be on the fire respectively; how much wood should be burned in one pit, and how the burning should be managed. Every contribution, however rude & humble, to our knowledge of nature, and of the means by which her products may most advantageously be made subservient to our needs, is beneficent, and worthy of our regard. But the fabrication of new poems, or novels, or essays, or histories, which really add nothing to our stock of facts, to our fund of ideas, but, so far as they have any significance, merely resay what has been more forcibly, intelligibly, happily, said already, - this is a work which does less than no good, - which ought to be decried and put down, under the general police duty of abating nuisances. I would have every writer of a book cited before a competent tribunal and made to answer the questions: “Sir, what proposition is this book intended to set forth & commend? What fact does it reveal? What is its drift, its purport?” If it embodies a new truth, or even a new suggestion, though it seem a very mistaken and absurd one, make way for it! and let it fight its own battle; but if it has really no other aim than to be readable, therefore salable, and thus to win gold for its author and his accomplices, the printer and the publisher, then let a bonfire be made of its manuscript sheets, so that the world may speedily obtain from it all the light it is capable of imparting."

I emphatically disagree with Greeley that all published books ought to be didactic: see the essays in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan on Hale and Bryant, and more definitively, Ayn Rand's Romantic Manifesto. Of course millions of books have been and will be published that offer neither practical advice nor inspiration, but better to let the workings of the capitalist system punish those who perpetrate such works than have authors face censorship.

The bibliography and out-takes for Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan Essay 7 offer several other substantial quotations from Greeley's Recollections of a Busy Life (1868), plus an anecdote by Mark Twain and a pithy comment by William Cullen Bryant (OMOM Essay 22).

The image at the beginning of this post is by Thomas Nast, famed 19th-c. caricaturist; see the end of the Greeley bibliography for details.

Horace Greeley on literature as a vocation

2007-05-15T10:18:00.000-04:00

The image at the beginning of this post is by Thomas Nast, famed 19th-c. caricaturist; see the end of the Greeley bibliography for details.

The Progress of Modern Art & Modern Theory

2007-05-05T08:03:00.000-04:00

In "19th-Century French Painting and Philosophy" (The Objective Standard, Fall 2006), I argued that the ideas that made works by Matisse and Picasso acceptable by the early 20th c. had been gaining adherents throughout the 19th century, because traditional artists did not have a sound theoretical basis on which to argue against the subjects and styles of the avant-garde. This confusion and defeat came to mind when I began to compile the bibliography and out-takes for Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan Essay 6, on John Quincy Adams Ward's Washington at Wall St. The Armory Show of 1913, with works by Picasso, Duchamp, and Kandinsky, is generally cited as the introduction of Modernist European art to the United States. (See Theodore Roosevelt's disparaging but accurate comments.) Even before the Armory Show, however, some American sculptors were anxious about current trends in sculpture. In a memorial address for Ward (d. 1910), Frank Jewett Mather, Jr., (1868-1953), art critic and long-time professor at Princeton, commented:

Both men [Ward and Winslow Homer] cultivated the robust and masculine order of design, both quietly ignored the current shibboleth that a work of art must be precious in every detail; both, I take it, would have scorned the cosmetic theory that surface has a value irrespective of the thing expressed. [Probably a crack at Rodin.] … Such an art presupposes discipline, clearness of aim, self-knowledge on the part of its creator. It is not my purpose to appraise Ward's singularly even and meritorious production. It seems to me to have a high and especial value in view of prevailing notions that hysteria and the artistic temperament are convertible terms. Ward's life and purposeful well-balanced work are an effective protest against the fallacy that the life artistic ranges between overt melodrama and inward tragedy. (John Quincy Adams Ward, Memorial Addresses Delivered Before the Century Association, Nov. 5, 1910 [New York: for the Century Association, 1911], pp. 2, 5-6)

Although representational art continued to sell to conservative collectors, by 1925, F.W. Ruckstull, whose allegorical figure of Phoenicia stands third from the right on the cornice of the Customs House at Bowling Green (Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan Essay 4), and whose Wisdom and Force flank the entrance to the Appellate Court at Madison and 25th St., felt impelled to commence his 500-page Great Works of Art with the statement:

Anarchy reigns in the world of art today. The cause is: 'Modernism.' … Let the Reader carefully examine, and reflect over, some works of art illustrated in Figures 1 to 8 [by Brancusi, Picasso, Matisse and others], the result of the inflicting upon the world of one foolish fad after another. He will observe a gradual drifting away from the normal to the abnormal. And, strange to say, every inventor of one of the weird fads which these things represent, has been backed up, as Tolstoy said, by some casuistic 'new theory' of art, of some pretentious critic, to justify its production and its infliction on the public, to the bewilderment and weakening of the present and succeeding generations. (p. v).

In one of my favorite books on 20th-c. art, The Painted Word, Tom Wolfe describes with characteristic exuberance how the relationship between theory and the visual arts had progressed by the late 20th c.:

All these years I, like so many others, had stood in front of a thousand, two thousand, God-knows-how-many thousand Pollocks, de Koonings, Newmans, Nolands, Rothkos, Rauschenbergs, Judds, Johnses, Olitskis, Louises, Stills, Franz Klines Frankenthalers, Kellys, and Frank Stellas, now squinting, now popping the eye sockets open, now drawing back, now moving closer - waiting, waiting, forever waiting for … it … for it to come into focus, namely, the visual reward (for so much effort) which must be there, which everyone (tout le monde) knew to be there. […] All those years, in short, I had assumed that in art, if nowhere else, seeing is believing. Well - how very shortsighted! Now, at last, on April 28, 1974, I could see. I had gotten it backward all along. Not 'seeing is believing,' you ninny, but 'believing is seeing,' for Modern Art has become completely literary: the paintings and other works exist only to illustrate the text. (p. 6)

If a painting or sculpture requires that one know a theory in order to understand it, it does not function as visual art. Few of those who stop to admire Ward's Washington have any idea when it was made or what philosophical and esthetic principles were espoused by Ward. There is no need for such knowledge: Washington bears its own message, visually rather than verbally. The bibliography and out-takes for Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan Essay 6 appear on the Forgotten Delights website.

What the other six OMOM covers would say

2007-04-19T16:04:00.000-04:00

If it were financially feasible, I'd have had Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan: A Historical Guide published with half a dozen different covers: one aimed at tourists, one at New Yorkers, one at Objectivists, one at art lovers, one at historians, one at librarians, and one at insatiable readers like me, who have been known to read books completely outside their field of interest if they offer new perspectives on how to think, rather than information guaranteed to be useful within the next week. My most recent find in this category was Haffner's Defying Hitler. Although I have no immediate application for further knowledge about Nazi Germany, Haffner's style is riveting and his description of the behavior of himself and his compatriots was fascinating - an excellent supplement to Peikoff's The Ominous Parallels, which discusses the philosophical causes of Nazism in detail. This is off the supposed topic of this blog entry, but I liked the Haffner book so much that I wanted to recommend it highly before I forget about it. For the blurbs that would appear on the other covers, see the Forgotten Delights website.

Why Ayn Rand's esthetics is the basis for my writing on art

2007-04-10T22:45:00.000-04:00

When discussing the theory of art in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan: A Historical Guide, I cited only Ayn Rand's esthetics. An early reader suggested I "balance" the presentation by mentioning other writers on esthetics. But here's the problem: no one surpasses or even equals Ayn Rand in the field of esthetics. Rand treats art with the same rigor she applies to metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and politics. She begins her discussion by stating what art is and what purpose it serves for human beings. Her definition, "a selective re-creation of reality based on an artist's metaphysical value-judgments," indicates that an artist chooses his subject and style based on what he considers important, and creates something recognizable so that others will see it and grasp his message: "This matters - pay attention to this." Rand lays out the fundamentals of the field of esthetics. Using her definition of art plus her theory of knowledge (see Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology), one can determine what is and is not art: driftwood, paint splattered on a canvas, the Parthenon frieze? One can determine the esthetic requirements for good art: Is a portrait by Rembrandt better than one by Picasso in his Cubist phase? One can even explain why people often react so violently to works of art: "It repulses me but I can't turn away!" I have read hundreds of books by art critics and historians, many of whom have an encyclopedic grasp of their subject and descriptive abilities that make me wildly jealous. Not one of them offers a proper definition of art. The fifth edition of Janson's widely used History of Art, for example, says a work of art is "an esthetic object" and that "esthetic" means "that which concerns the beautiful." The term is, he promptly admits, unsatisfactory, but "will have to do for lack of a better one." When I'm visiting a gallery or reading a novel, I can and do revel in art without first subjecting it to rigorous esthetic analysis. I've found, though, that I can extend my enjoyment if I think about a particular work as well. For purposes of thinking about art and conveying my ideas to others, a proper definition is indispensable. In that respect, I have found Ayn Rand's essays on esthetics in Romantic Manifesto, Art of Fiction, Art of Nonfiction, and Ayn Rand Answers (the esthetics section) invaluable and irreplaceable. This entry appears on the Forgotten Delights site FAQ page, with further references.

Trophy monuments, trophy wives

2007-03-29T20:42:00.000-04:00

You have to understand: once a philologist, always a philologist. I write on art, but curiosity about words has a very strong pull even two decades after I received my doctorate.

Last week's alluring appellation was "trophy." While researching the William Jenkins Worth Monument for an Amazon Short, I was reminded that "trophy" is the term for the assortment of weapons and flags on the Worth Monument. But where did the word come from? Why did it apply to weapons as well as to young and beautiful "trophy wives"?I spent several thoroughly enjoyable hours flipping through printed texts such as an 1897 handbook of classical antiquities, and digging up sound Internet resources - the sort that don't seem to have been written off the cuff at 2 a.m. and uploaded without editing. Now, to my immense satisfaction, I can tell you what the Worth Monument and Melania Trump have in common.

The essay on trophies is on the Forgotten Delights site, since formatting so many captioned illustrations in a blog seemed just too exhausting, after all that research.

Selectivity in Art

2007-03-25T16:42:00.000-04:00

An upcoming walking tour has diverted my attention from collecting bibliographical material for Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan. So instead of writing something new, I present you with an excerpt on the importance of selectivity in art, taken from the draft of a forthcoming article for The Objective Standard). --- You - yes, you - are finishing a portrait of me. Another artist has executed most of it. The one and only detail you have to decide is the color of my complexion. It can be any color you choose, but you have to decide on some color. That paintbrush in your hand won't do it for you. In fact, my skin is pale with a few freckles. If you show the freckles I'll look like an outdoorsy type, perhaps a bit naive, since freckles are often associated with youth, innocence, and sun exposure. You might decide instead to show me by candlelight, in which case the light will add color to my skin and I'll look healthier. You might show me under florescent lights, and then I'll look so pale and ragged that any viewer of my portrait will think demons have been pursuing me for ten sleepless nights. How, then, will you decide on a color for my face? By figuring out which color best indicates the characteristics you consider typical of me. The same sort of decisions have to be made for every single detail of the portrait, from the style of my hair (a chignon? a Mohawk?) to the way I tilt my head or hold my jaw. An artist makes choices regarding what's important every moment that he's painting or sculpting, even if he doesn't take the time to explain his choices verbally. That's why a photograph of a person differs fundamentally from a painted or sculpted portrait. The two might appear almost identical, but the artist has to include each detail by choice, because he thinks it conveys something significant about the sitter. The camera, on the other hand, records every detail no matter how incidental or irrelevant it might be. --- The article in The Objective Standard will be a companion piece (on painting) to "Getting More Enjoyment from Art You Love," which discussed how to understand sculpture better and enjoy it more. For more on selectivity, see Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan Essay 37 (Shakespeare).

The Continents (OMOM Essay 4): Out-takes, Bibliography, Discussion Questions

2007-03-16T17:26:00.000-04:00

Sorting through my notes on Daniel Chester French's Continents this past week, I found a massive amount of material that I regretted having to leave out of the book - mostly early descriptions and speculation about the meaning of the sculptures. That material is now available on the Forgotten Delights site, along with a dozen or so photos of details of the sculptures that simply wouldn't fit in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan.

The passages that most involved me all have to do with handling criticism. Here they are.

Daniel Chester French to his wife, explaining how he deals with committees: “But they don’t know what they like,” commented Dan. “Very few people do. They have to be educated up to it. When they’ve studied a little and seen a good deal, and listened and thought, then they may achieve a considered opinion, but certainly not before. … I never talk them down,” said Dan. “I know enough not to try. I simply suggest to them a better solution of their problem, and they usually have the wit to see it.” (from French's bio by his daughter, Margaret French Cresson)

From the New York Times, 1/14/1906; the reporter is responding to a criticism of the United States Customs House that appeared in a Boston paper. "It is frequently difficult to translate Bostonese. From the above one gathers that there is a transcendental something the matter with the new Custom House, although the building is at the same time thoroughly admirable and symmetrical - a consolatory kind of criticism that leaves one in a good humor and at the same time in a state of perplexity, 'restless,' as the building itself is said to be by this profound critic." ["A consolatory kind of criticism": I wish I'd thought of that phrase!]

And finally, a quote from Abraham Lincoln that was read by President Harding at the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial, whose seated Lincoln was the work of Daniel Chester French: "If I were trying to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the best I know how, the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing it to the end. If the end brings me out all right, that which is said against me will not amount to anything. If the end brings me out all wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference."

Manhattan Sculpture Quiz, part 2

2007-03-09T12:53:00.000-05:00

How much do you know about Manhattan's sculptures and the people they represent? Click here for answers to the quiz. The questions are based on material in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan: A Historical Guide, Forgotten Delights: The Producers, and on material on http://www.forgottendelights.com/ . Questions 1-9 are in the previous blog entry. 10. Who are the three figures above the clock on the south façade of Grand Central Terminal?

A. Zeus, Athena, Hermes B. Hercules, Hermes, Athena C. Poseidon, Hermes, Venus D. Hercules, Hermes, Hera

11. Which sculpture was picketed on the grounds that it looked like Benito Mussolini?

A. Prometheus B. Edwin Booth C. Fiorello La Guardia D. Atlas

12. Which equestrian statue in Manhattan shows a rider in civilian clothes?

A. Jose Marti B. El Cid Campeador C. Washington at Union Square D. Joan of Arc

13. When did Shakespeare become high-brow entertainment in America?

A. Around the time of the Revolutionary War B. Around the time of the Civil War C. Around the time of the Spanish-American War D. Around the time of World War II

14. Which two figures are among the four figures represented on the base of the Verdi Monument?

A. Leonora and Falstaff B. Aida and Violetta C. Leonora and Macbeth D. Rigoletto and Otello

15. Which of the following is one of the four figures that appear above Theodore Roosevelt on the east façade of the American Museum of Natural History?

A. Zebulon Pike B. Sacajawea C. Daniel Boone D. Henry Hudson

16. Which Danish sculptor has a self-portrait in Central Park?

A. Karl Bitter B. Albert Bertel Thorvaldsen C. Wilhelm Freddie D. Claes Oldenburg

17. In what Manhattan park is there a statue of a bear attacking a faun who cowers in a grotto?

A. Morningside Park B. Central Park C. Riverside Park D. Inwood Hill Park

18. Who among the following has the most separate portrait sculptures outdoors in Manhattan?

A. Thomas Jefferson B. Alexander Hamilton C. Abraham Lincoln D. Christopher Columbus

Click here for answers to the quiz, here for questions 1-9.

Manhattan Sculpture Quiz, part 1

2007-03-09T12:37:00.000-05:00

How much do you know about Manhattan's sculptures and the people they represent? Click here for answers to the quiz. The questions are based on material in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan: A Historical Guide, Forgotten Delights: The Producers, and on material on http://www.forgottendelights.com . Questions 10-18 follow in the next blog entry. 1. Which of the works below is NOT a memorial to someone who died on the Titanic?

A. Straus Memorial B. Stead Memorial C. Brisbane Memorial D. Titanic Memorial Lighthouse

2. Which of the following four are represented in Daniel Chester French's sculptures in front of the Customs House at Bowling Green?

A. Africa, America, Australia, Asia B. Africa, Europe, Asia, Antarctica C. Africa, Asia, Europe, England D. Africa, Asia, Europe, America

3. Which explorer was being honored city-wide in 1909, the year the Battery Park memorial to Giovanni da Verrazzano was dedicated?

A. Jacques Cartier B. Christopher Columbus C. John Cabot D. Henry Hudson

4. What allegorical figure stands at the center of the New York Stock Exchange pediment?

A. Integrity B. Justice C. Truth D. Wealth

5. Who used "The Sidewalks of New York" as a campaign song?

A. John F. Kennedy B. Theodore Roosevelt C. Alfred E. Smith D. Fiorello La Guardia

6. Who invented flavored gelatin (Jell-o)?

A. Peter Cooper B. Pietro Delmonico C. Abram S. Hewitt D. Thomas Nast

7. Name the noted New York politician who died of an illness brought on by the Blizzard of 1888, and was eulogized for his "eloquence and learning, his undaunted devotion to truth, his purity and courage, his uncompromising patriotism, his scorn of cant and deception" - but also condemned by his biographer as "one of the harshest, strictest, most narrow-minded of all political bosses. Possibly like Pooh Bah he was born sneering."

A. Roscoe Conkling B. Fiorello La Guardia C. Fernando Wood D. Chester A. Arthur

8. In "Full speed ahead, and damn the torpedoes!", what were the torpedoes?

A. Artillery shells B. Self-propelled underwater projectiles C. Floating barrels filled with gunpowder D. Pipe bombs

9. Who wrote the poem "Thanatopsis," which begins, "To him who, in the love of Nature, holds / Communion with her visible forms, she speaks / A various language"?

A. William Wadsworth Longfellow B. William Blake C. William Cullen Bryant D. William Shakespeare

Click here for answers to the quiz.

Reflecting on "Reflecting Absence" (WTC memorial)

2007-03-02T09:47:00.000-05:00

NOTE: This is an excerpt from an essay just uploaded to the Forgotten Delights website, which includes more photos.

... Reflecting Absence's main elements are two large reflecting pools, a couple dozen trees, and lists of victims' names. Landscape architecture such as trees and pools can create beautiful vistas, but it conveys no message about those who died on 9-11.

A list of names is also by its nature limited. Proper names are neither meaningful nor evocative for those who know nothing about the lives and characters of the people named. Broadcast the name "Derek Jeter" in Yankee Stadium and you'll get shouts of approving recognition. Broadcast it in the capital city of Kazakhstan and you'll get perplexed silence.

Representational art, on the other hand, is a universal language. If the actions and characters of human figures are competently portrayed, such art has an emotional impact that transcends space and time. Think of Leonardo's Mona Lisa or Munch's The Scream. Their impact remains strong despite the fact that both were produced by men who didn't speak English or know what a USB port is. Nearer to home, think of the Firemen's Memorial on Riverside Drive. Although the firefighting equipment and the costumes in the central relief are long out-dated, we can immediately grasp the message: the urgency and danger of firefighters' work.

If you doubt the efficacy of representational art as opposed to proper names and landscape architecture, take someone who's unfamiliar with New York memorials to see the Firemen's Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the New York Police Department Memorial. ...

Reflecting Absence isn't offensive - but why should we settle for a multi-million-dollar placeholder when we could have an expressive representational work of art?

What should the expressive artwork express? ...

The full essay on the Forgotten Delights site includes contact info for those concerned with the memorial, directions to the sculptures mentioned, and related readings.

Giovanni da Verrazzano (OMOM Essay 3): Bibliography, Discussion Questions

2007-03-01T12:26:00.000-05:00

The New York Times account of the Verrazzano dedication (10/7/1909) is a fascinating reminder of how much technology has changed over the past century. Because no radio, TV or internet offered distractions or instant and continuous replays, the dedication of an outdoor sculpture in New York often drew tens of thousands of spectators. The Times reported that 25,000 marched in the parade to honor Verrazzano, another 200,000 lined the route, and 100,000 eagerly awaited the unveiling of the sculpture at Battery Park.

Italians and Russian Jews were the largest groups in the wave of immigration from 1880 to 1919. To the Italians' pride in their birthplace and in their new city we owe the Columbus at Columbus Circle, Garibaldi in Washington Square, Mazzini in Central Park, Dante near Lincoln Center, and the Verdi Monument at Broadway and 72nd St. (Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan Essay 41)

I love the bluntness of Deputy Mayor Curran's comments on the Henry Hudson sculpture, in progress in 1909 but delayed for years after the premature death of sculptor Karl Bitter, creator of the Carl Schurz Memorial (Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan Essay 51). Curran said, at about the time the sculpture was dedicated:
I took a good look yesterday at the statue of Henry Hudson at Spuyten Duyvil ... It is the ugliest statue in New York, and that is saying a whole lot. The shaft is ugly, the figure is ugly, the whole thing is ugly. A barber pole would be nicer. Now just forget your idea of lighting it up at night. If you could dig a hole at Spuyten Duyvil and let the statue drop into it some night, and then cover it nicely, that would be the best way to handle it. (Quoted by Jewell in the New York Times, 8/21/1938)

Click here for more bibliography on the Verrazzano.

The discusson questions for Verrazzano are on allegorical sculptures and on European explorers and colonization of the Americas.

John Ericsson (OMOM Essay 2): Out-takes and Discussion Questions

2007-02-24T12:59:00.000-05:00

Here's an intriguing view of a sculptor's task in the early 20th c. written by Lorado Taft, an eminent American sculptor and art critic:

Though strongly drawn in the direction of ideal sculpture, Mr. Hartley has for some years past devoted most of his time to portrait busts, and he is now somewhat of a victim to his great reputation for this class of work. The public will not let him do anything else. A bust by Hartley is considered by many a synonym for the most precise and authentic characterization possible. Nothing could be more admirable than the conscience which the sculptor shows in these closely studied works. Nothing could be more penetrating. One submits to him with the feeling that the X-rays are to be turned on; that not only the uttermost wrinkle will be noted, but that the innermost thought is to be revealed. The sitter observes in the end with deep gratitude that professional etiquette has prevailed; the sculptor has not told everything, but it has been a narrow escape - he could have done so if he had wished to. … When Mr. Hartley is at his best he has few rivals, in this country at least, for close, intimate, unflinching characterization. Others may generalize, giving a phase of the man - a view that is effective and even masterful when seen in the proper lighting; but Mr. Hartley's searching studies present the very man himself - they will stand any light and any approach.

Click here for this and other bibliographical references from Essay 3 of Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan: A Historical Guide.

1. The surface textures of MacMonnies' Nathan Hale, 1890 (OMOM Essay 8), and Partridge's Thomas Jefferson, 1914 (Essay 50), were both influenced by works of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin, most famous for his Thinker, 1880. Compare the surface texture of Ericsson to the texture of those works.

4. Do you agree with the following assessment of the cause of the Civil War, 1861-1865? What other causes have you heard suggested, and are they more essential or more concrete than this one?
Despite many complexities, one ideological issue was at the center of the conflict between the North and the South - individualism versus statism - and it took the form of one concrete alternative: individual freedom versus chattel slavery. Individualism - the dominant theme of the American Constitution - places the individual over a government that is strictly limited to the protection of the freedom of the individual. Statism, on the other hand, places the government over the individual, and enables the former to violate the rights of the latter. … (John Lewis, "William Tecumseh Sherman and the Moral Impetus for Victory," The Objective Standard, Summer 2006, p. 23; entire article, pp. 21-55)

Click here for more questions and suggested readings.

Statue of Liberty (OMOM Essay 1): Out-takes & Discussion Questions

2007-02-20T09:52:00.000-05:00

I’ve just started uploading bibliographical references and out-takes for Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan to the Forgotten Delights website. In hopes that a book club or discussion group might get interested in the book (and buy multiple copies!), I’ve also made up a list of questions that I couldn’t cover in the published book, with suggested readings. Now the question is, which of that material shall I post to the blog?

One of the pleasures of researching 19th-c. sculpture is immersing myself in the 19th-c. sense of life, so let me give you one excerpt from a speech at Liberty’s dedication that didn’t make it into the book, and then a selection of the questions.

From orator Chauncey M. Depew:

[Monuments such as the Colossus of Rhodes] were all dwarfs in size and pigmies in spirit beside this mighty structure and its inspiring thought. Higher than the monument in Trafalgar-square which commemorates the victories of Nelson on the sea; higher than the Column Vendome, which perpetuates the triumphs of Napoleon on the land; higher than the towers of the Brooklyn Bridge, which exhibit the latest and grandest results of science, invention, and industrial progress, this statue of Liberty rises toward the heavens ... It means that with the abolition of privileges to the few and the enfranchisement of the individual, the equality of all men before the law, and universal suffrage, the ballot secure from fraud and the voter from intimidation, the press free and education furnished by the State for all, liberty of worship and free speech, the right to rise and equal opportunity for honor and fortune, the problems of labor and capital, of social regeneration and moral growth, of property and poverty, will work themselves out under the benign influence of enlightened lawmaking and law-abiding liberty, without the aid of Kings and armies, or of Anarchists and bombs."
For more quotes from Liberty’s dedication, click here.

Assorted discussion questions:

1. Given Bartholdi's comments on the requirements of colossal sculpture, could any other sculpture described in Outdoor Monuments be successfully enlarged to 150 feet?
4. Re immigration: Are there any categories of foreigners who should not be allowed to enter the United States for reasons they were born with: race, physical or mental handicaps? What about other conditions they can't help: injury, disease?
5. Re immigration: Are there categories of foreigners who should not be allowed to enter the U.S. for reasons that involve their own choices, convictions, or beliefs, e.g. convicted criminals, advocates anarchy or terrorism, members of various religions, etc.?
8. What's the difference between Patrick Henry's view of immigrants and Emma Lazarus's view in her poem "The New Colossus"? [both quoted on the site]

For more discussion questions, click here.

Win a Tote Bag or an 8 x 10" B&W Photo for Writing a Review

2007-02-17T07:50:00.000-05:00

With a very limited marketing budget, it's a challenge to find inexpensive ways to promote Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan effectively. The best methods seem to be on the web and by word of mouth. For starters, I'm offering rewards to writers of what I judge to be the 10 best Amazon reviews to appear by the end of March 2007.

Winners can choose either a 13 x 13" black tote bag with an actual-size image of OMOM's cover (I have 5 of these), or an 8 x 10" B&W print of your favorite image from the book. To enter the contest, upload your review to Amazon and email a copy to me at forgottendeli@earthlink.net.

I am particularly interested in reviews that would make OMOM appealing to niche markets. If you're a history buff and you find the "About the Subject" sections particularly interesting, say that. If you're a fan of Ayn Rand and the discussions of esthetics interest you, go with that. If you're an artist, art teacher, or art student and think the book would be valuable for colleagues, say so. If you can make an informed judgment on the importance or innovativeness of this book for New York City sculpture, Ayn Rand's esthetics, the demolition of Penn Station, or any other relevant topic, go right ahead. If, like Alexander Hamilton (Essay 53), you're in love with New York and OMOM gave your more to love, by all means say so. If you can explain why non-New Yorkers would benefit from reading it, that would be a big selling point. If you are or have ever been a book-club member and can imagine a book club discussing OMOM and then studying sculptures in your town, say that.

According to marketing researchers, reviews and testimonials have more impact if the audience knows something about the writer. If possible, therefore, mention in your review that you've been a Civil War history reenactor for three decades, that you teach economics at the University of Tegucigalpa, that your favorite activity is strolling Manhattan on Sunday mornings looking for things to admire, that you have a shelf full of books on art or Ayn Rand …

The winning entries need not be long or ornately phrased - they need only be clear and to the point. State what you like about the book, and why others might like it as well.

Good luck!

Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan now in NYC bookstores

2007-02-16T08:01:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday 2/14, Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan finally began to appear on the shelves of New York City bookstores. I dropped in at half a dozen Barnes & Noble locations and signed every copy they had on hand - look for the "autographed copy" stickers. You may have to ask a clerk to help you find the book; it never seems to be in the same subcategory of their New York shelves. Borders has copies on order, and I'll be dropping in to sign theirs next week. Over the next week I'll also be visiting many smaller, independent bookstores with copies of the New York Times and Sculpture magazine reviews in hand, asking them to carry it (if they don't already) and offering to sign copies. Employees at the independent bookstores often seem more interested in reading and recommending books than employees at the big chains, so just bringing the book to their attention might be helpful. One B&N employee already took advantage of my presence to ask me who that statue at the north end of Union Square represents. (Lincoln, Essay 15, although you'd never guess it from the back view.) Signing copies wherever I can is about the best way I've thought of to make up for the fact that the Times review appeared 3 weeks in advance of the day the books appeared in stores. Copies with autographed stickers get a little more attention, sometimes even face-out rather than spine-out display.

In tomorrow's blog: you, yes you, could win a fabulous Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan tote bag! Or, if you prefer, an 8x10 B&W print of your favorite OMOM sculpture. No, you do not need to be in New York City (10 degrees and 4 inches of icy slush) to enter or win.

Afterword and Appendixes of OMOM

2007-02-16T07:24:00.000-05:00

In the Introduction to Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan I described how I became interested in art history and (years later) in outdoor sculpture in Manhattan. The Afterword explains how I was introduced to Ayn Rand's esthetics and why I became intent on developing a systematic method for studying art. It concludes with three answers to the crucial question: "Yes, but why would anyone else want to do that?" While writing the manuscript I wrestled with the question of whether to include that question and its three answers in the Introduction, as motivation. I feared that in the Introduction, giving a lengthy explanation based on Ayn Rand's esthetics and epistemology might lead potential readers to assume OMOM was yet another interminable, incomprehensible work of art criticism. By the time readers reach the Afterword, the answers to "Why analyze art?" merely summarize points I've already made. For motivation in the Introduction, I instead tried to describe my own introduction to art and to New York sculpture with such enthusiasm that it would draw readers in. Appendix A, "How to Read a Sculpture," has four sections:

A list of questions to ask when looking at a sculpture, cross-referenced to the OMOM essays in which the topics are discussed
A play-by-play description of the process by which I worked out the theme of Joan of Arc (Essay 44)
Evaluation of the Cid (Essay 54) in esthetic, philosophical, emotional and art-historical terms
Questions for readers to ask themselves about Butterfield (Essay 52), first to determine the theme and then to evaluate the sculpture

Appendix B is a list of OMOM sculptures by date of dedication. Appendix C is an alphabetical list of artists whose works are represented in OMOM. For each, it gives dates, place of birth, major works in the U.S., and all works by the artist that stand outdoors in the five boroughs of New York.

El Cid Campeador: OMOM Essay 54

2007-02-15T07:52:00.000-05:00

I first heard of the Cid while studying in Spain, where he's a national hero on a par with George Washington in the United States. Thus it was a surprise to read the prestigious 1911 Britannica's disparaging estimate of him. I used this to raise the question of how one should properly evaluate a historical figure: by the standards of his own time, or of one's own?

"About the Sculpture" identifies the theme based on the details of the sculpture. In "Getting More Enjoyment from Art You Love" (The Objective Standard 1:2, Summer 2006) I discuss the Cid's theme at greater length and compare it to the equestrian George Washington at Union Square (Essay 13). The TOS article includes a photo of the Hispanic Society courtyard, where the Cid is the center of an ensemble.

In Appendix A, section 3 of Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan, I show how to evaluate the Cid in esthetic, philosophical, emotional and art historical terms.

Alexander Hamilton (Hamilton Grange): OMOM Essay 53

2007-02-14T06:56:00.000-05:00

In "About the Sculpture" I discuss how this portrait at Hamilton Grange differs from the three other Hamilton sculptures in Manhattan. For images of all four, see the introduction to the transcript of my walking tour of Hamilton sculptures.

"About the Subject" in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan recounts Hamilton's organization of the country's finances as first secretary of the Treasury, 1790-1795. I couldn't resist also mentioning one of Hamilton's most appealing characteristics: he was an immigrant who fell in love with New York, never wanted to live elsewhere, and became one of the city's most energetic promoters. I never cease to be grateful that he and Jefferson agreed to send the feds south.

Daniel Butterfield: OMOM Essay 52

2007-02-13T08:09:00.000-05:00

The Butterfield project so exasperated Gutzon Borglum (best known for Mount Rushmore) that he eventually snapped that he wouldn't care if the sculpture were heaved into the Hudson. Rather than analyzing this sculpture in detail, I wrote out a long series of questions re identifying the theme and evaluating the sculpture, to help readers practice thinking about sculpture on their own. This appears in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan as "How to Read a Sculpture," Appendix A, section 4.

"About the Subject" gives a brief biography of General Butterfield (d. 1901), including his actions on Wall Street's first Black Friday. (See the Bennett Memorial, Essay 21.)

Hrmph: another photo taken when the sun was far too strong, but it's the best close-up I have of Butterfield's face. Part of my mission for this blog is to upload images of important angles and details that didn't fit into OMOM, so no, I won't just use a better photo of a different detail.

Carl Schurz: OMOM Essay 51

2007-02-12T07:07:00.000-05:00

In "About the Sculpture" I discuss the reliefs flanking Schurz's portrait statue, which recall more of Schurz's achievements than could have been conveyed by his portrait alone. The reliefs are executed in the archaizing style made popular by Paul Manship (Prometheus, Essay 28).

"About the Subject" in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan focuses on Schurz's participation in the American Anti-Imperialist League, which maintained that the United States should not annex the Phillippines after the Spanish-American War. Schurz's arguments are brilliantly expounded in a speech of 1899 that includes the famous line, "Our country - when right to be kept right; when wrong to be put right." To read the whole speech, click here.

Make a point of visiting this sculpture on a clear day - the view is spectacular. Below: reliefs at left, center and right. As always, you can double-click to see a larger image.

Thomas Jefferson: OMOM Essay 50

2007-02-11T09:02:00.000-05:00

"About the Sculpture" discusses how the texture of Jefferson relates to the works of Rodin, who influenced many American sculptors in the early 20th c. For "About the Subject" I decided to focus on the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, since it could be linked to several other sculptures in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan: Lafayette (Essay 14; see also the essay on Forgotten Delights), Lewis and Clark (Essay 42, part of the Theodore Roosevelt ensemble), and De Witt Clinton (Essay 48).

In the Forgotten Delights calendar I used a favorite Jefferson quote, which ends: "Reason and experiment have been indulged, and error has fled before them. It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself." Incidentally, all the quotes in the Forgotten Delights calendar are material that didn't fit in OMOM, except for one or two where the calendar cites in full something I only excerpted in OMOM.

Alma Mater: OMOM Essay 49

2007-02-10T07:47:00.000-05:00

Searching for stories on Alma Mater in the New York Times, I came across a brief 1970 article noting that someone had thrown a bomb at her. That shocked me, and what shocked me even more was the fact that the bombing raised so little comment - apparently because at the time, there were too many other bombings and riots for it to be news-worthy. I place the Alma Mater bombing in that context in "About the Subject."

Alas, I didn't have space in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan to include excerpts from the New York Times Magazine symposium "Are We in the Middle of the 'Second American Revolution'?" (5/17/1970). It included an analysis by Ayn Rand that seemed to have been written in a different universe from the responses of the other participants. (See "From a Symposium" in Return of the Primitive: The Anti-Industrial Revolution.) To appreciate Rand's clarity and incisiveness, read the other contributions to the symposium, which you can purchase for $4.95 from the Times.

"About the Sculpture" describes the symbolism of Alma Mater. The Forgotten Delights calendar for 2006-2007 has another good photo of this 1903 sculpture and a wonderful quote from Owen Young on the importance of integrating what one learns.

Incidentally, the bomb hit the left side of Alma Mater as you look at her, but the sculpture was repaired so well that no damage is visible.

De Witt Clinton: OMOM Essay 48

2007-02-09T08:25:00.000-05:00

My father's repertoire for long car rides included:

Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge 'cause we're coming to a town.
And you'll always know your neighbor
You'll always know your pal
If you've ever navigated on the Erie Canal.

As a child I pictured that canal just like the narrow, silted-up canal that meandered along the Susquehanna River near my hometown. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the Erie Canal, which De Witt Clinton tirelessly promoted, was one of the major technological achievements of the early 19th c., and was also the major reason New York outstripped Philadelphia and Boston as a commercial center.

I love learning new facts and ideas, but some of the most satisfying moments in my wide-ranging research for Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan came when a disconnected scrap of old knowledge (like the Erie Canal) slid smoothly into a niche in my newly expanded view of the world.

"About the Sculpture" compares this portrait of Clinton (d. 1828) to others at the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn (scroll down to the photo on the right) and on the Surrogate's Court at Chambers and Centre Streets in Manhattan (photo at left).

The close-up of Clinton's head at the beginning of this post is an object lesson on why one shouldn't bother taking a photo of a sculpture when bright sunlight is hitting it. A Photoshop expert might be able to fix those harsh contrasts. Me, I prefer trying to shoot in more suitable weather. See my essay "Completely Unprofessional Notes on Taking Photos of Outdoor Sculpture."

And here's a picture taken recently, when the sun wasn't shining on De Witt. Much better.

Dr. James Marion Sims: OMOM Essay 47

2007-02-08T08:30:00.000-05:00

"About the Subject" describes how Sims almost single-handedly established the specialty of gynecology, at a time when women routinely suffered and died from mysterious "female complaints." Sims was also one of the first American physicians to treat cancer patients, who were considered untreatable and almost untouchable through most of the 19th c. More on that in Forgotten Delights: The Producers. (Sims is the tenth and final sculpture to appear in FDP as well as Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan.)

As I discuss in "About the Sculpture," this is the only case I can think of in OMOM where a new pedestal and a new setting are an improvement over the originals. I was hoping there would be space in the book for a photo of the pedestal as well as Sims; since there wasn't, I'm giving you one here that you can zoom in on to read the inscriptions.

Straus Memorial: OMOM Essay 46

2007-02-07T07:53:00.000-05:00

"About the Sculpture" is an exercise in working out the identity of a sculpture when it's not immediately obvious. I also make the point that learning to look systematically at a sculpture allows you to spend far more time than you might have expected with art that appeals to you. For more on that, see my article "Getting More Enjoyment from Art You Love," The Objective Standard 1:2 (Summer 2006).

"About the Subject" in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan is on Isidor and Ida Straus. Rather than dwelling on their deaths on the Titanic in 1912, I focused on Straus as an early co-owner of Macy's department store.

For February 2007, the Forgotten Delights calendar has a close-up of the Straus Memorial along with Robbie Burns's charming poem "O My Luve's Like a Red, Red Rose."

Firemen's Memorial: OMOM Essay 45

2007-02-06T08:23:00.000-05:00

In "About the Sculpture" I examine how the bronze relief and two groups of marble figures combine to make a vivid statement about the excitement and hazards of firefighting. Then I suggest that the reader imagine how extraordinarily inexpressive this memorial would be were it only a list of names. In my Battery Park podcast, I argue (with additional examples) that for any memorial, including the World Trade Center memorial, representational sculpture is more evocative than a list of names set in landscape architecture.

"About the Subject" surveys major fires in New York from 1776, when Nathan Hale (Essay 8 of Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan) was arrested as a possible arsonist, until 1908, when the death of a 35-year-veteran of the New York Fire Department inspired the creation of this memorial.

For the Sidebar it amused me to use a few lines from my favorite song from The Scarlet Pimpernel in a very literal sense.

Below: the Vitruvian wave is usually a simple running spiral, but on the Firemen's Memorial, flame and smoke lick its edges.

Joan of Arc: OMOM Essay 44

2007-02-05T07:33:00.000-05:00

"About the Sculpture" discusses why a basic knowledge of Western civilization is a requirement for looking at Western sculpture. An early draft also included quite a lengthy description of the process by which I identified the theme of Joan of Arc. For the sake of better flow in the main text, most of that description was eventually shifted to "How to Read a Sculpture" (Appendix A in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan) as a practical demonstration of how to work out a theme.

"About the Subject" sketches Joan's role in the battle between the French and English kings in 1428.

This is another difficult sculpture to photograph. From the hillside below one can barely see Joan's face, and her sword - a crucial element in the composition - tends to disappear against surrounding trees and buildings. After dozens of attempts at various times of day and year, I finally happened to take the photo that appears in the book, in which the light hits her sword and makes it stand out from the background.

Alexander Hamilton (Central Park): OMOM Essay 43

2007-02-04T08:59:00.000-05:00

In “About the Sculpture” I consider why Manhattan has four sculptures of Hamilton (d. 1804) - more than of any other person, including George Washington - and how the fact that this one is of granite rather than the usual bronze or marble affects what the artist could do and how we perceive it.

“About the Subject” in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan compares Hamilton’s and Theodore Roosevelt’s ideas of “big government.” Times do change.

A couple years ago I gave a walking tour of the Hamilton sculptures, of which you can read the opening pages online. Click here for information on purchasing a copy of the whole essay in PDF format.

Theodore Roosevelt: OMOM Essay 42

2007-02-03T07:44:00.000-05:00

I was surprised to learn that President Theodore Roosevelt (d. 1919), soldier, politician and hunter, was also very interested in art. He wrote a perceptive review of the Armory Show of 1913, at which America was introduced to “modern” European art such as Cubism. “About the Sculpture” focuses on his cooperation with Augustus Saint Gaudens (Essays 19 and 31 of Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan), then America’s most prominent sculptor, on the design of the $20 gold piece. TR suspected the design of the new Double Eagle (see photos below) would get him impeached: "About the Subject" in tells why.

In “About the Sculpture” I pull back again to look at the big picture: the setting in which Roosevelt was meant to be seen, which included part of the east facade of the American Museum of Natural History and an enormous plaza (never constructed) that would have spread into Central Park.

Verdi Monument: OMOM Essay 41

2007-02-02T08:19:00.000-05:00

After hours of cranking through microfilm copies of Il Progresso Italo-Americano, whose editor spearheaded the fundraising for the Verdi Monument, I had found no explanation for why Aida, Leonora, Othello and Falstaff were chosen over Verdi's other characters to be represented on the Verdi Monument. At that point John Haralabopoulos, opera buff and member of the Forgotten Delights update list, became fascinated by the question, and did far more research than I would have had the knowledge or patience to do. I greatly enjoyed his reports of his findings at Lincoln Center and elsewhere.

“About the Subject” in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan focuses how Verdi came to write “Va, pensiero" and why it became an Italian "national" anthem by the mid-19th c., decades before the peninsula was unified and independent.

Above: Aida. Below: Falstaff, Leonora, Otello.

Eleanor Roosevelt: OMOM Essay 40

2007-02-01T07:43:00.000-05:00

The surprise in writing this essay was how intensely I came to dislike Eleanor Roosevelt. “About the Subject” originally focused an action that made my blood boil, which occurred during her tenure as assistant director of the Office of Civilian Defense. The amorphous aims of the OCD (established by FDR in May 1941) included protection of the civilian population, maintenance of morale and promotion of volunteer involvement in defense. Director Fiorello LaGuardia (Essay 9), juggling his OCD and mayoral duties, focused on basics such as air raid procedures and black-out drills. Mrs. Roosevelt, however, allotted OCD funds for day-care and health services. Not long after Pearl Harbor she added long-time friend and professional dancer Mayris Chaney to the OCD payroll: rhythmic and folk dancing, she told the New York Times, had proved in England to have "a definite part" in war-time programs. Even after a furor that led to her resignation, Mrs. Roosevelt reiterated her belief that "better nutrition, better housing, better day-by-day medical care, better education, better recreation for every age" were essential to national defense. A couple months after I'd submitted the manuscript of Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan - when I was already deeply involved in another project - my editor at New York University Press pointed out that the tone of this "About the Subject" was far more polemical than anything else in the book, and just didn't fit in a guidebook with excursions into art theory. Once he pointed it out I had to admit he was right about the tone, but since I couldn’t find any anecdotes on Mrs. Roosevelt that made me like her, I settled for compiling a biographical sketch. I consider it one of the most insipid sections of OMOM. “About the Sculpture,” on the other hand, was interesting to write because it tackles the issue of evaluating a sculpture philosophically, as opposed to philosophically evaluating the person represented. Eleanor Roosevelt is the most recent sculpture to appear in OMOM, having been dedicated in 1996. Other representational sculptures have been dedicated in New York since then that don’t appear in the book, for example the under-lifesize portrait of Benito Juarez in Bryant Park. The blog gets no photo of this sculpture, because I forgot to ask the sculptor for permission to use images on the web as well as in the book.

King Jagiello: OMOM Essay 39

2007-01-31T08:33:00.000-05:00

Why do we have a statue in Central Park of a medieval king of Poland? And why would Hitler surely have destroyed this sculpture, had it been returned to Poland after the New York World’s Fair of 1939? That’s the focus of “About the Sculpture.” “About the Subject” focuses on the battle between Jagiello’s army and the Teutonic Knights at Grunwald (1410).

Several sources called this Jagiello a copy of the Cracow statue of Jagiello that was sponsored by world-renowned pianist Ignacy Paderewski and was destroyed on Hitler’s orders. Although I didn't have space to discuss this in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan, research showed that Central Park's Jagiello is not a copy of Paderewski's, as you can see by comparing a model of the Cracow sculpture (scroll down in the left-hand frame) with the photo above.

Richard Morris Hunt Memorial: OMOM Essay 38

2007-01-30T08:06:00.000-05:00

In “About the Sculpture” I mention a benefit of looking that art that you can enjoy even if you disagree vehemently with what’s represented: the pleasure of seeing a difficult problem resolutely tackled and brilliantly solved. In the Afterword of Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan I discuss at greater length the benefits of studying sculpture.

The building that Hunt (d. 1895) designed for Greeley’s New York Tribune (see Essays 7 and 21) was twice as tall as any other commercial building in New York, but did not qualify as a skyscraper by the standards of most architectural historians. More on the 1873 Tribune Building in “About the Subject.”

In the Sidebar sculptor Karl Bitter, who worked with Hunt and also created the Schurz Memorial (Essay 51), vividly evokes Hunt’s character. I love it when I can have one historical figure in OMOM comment on another.

New York Times review of OMOM

2007-01-29T07:21:00.000-05:00

The City section of the New York Times for Sunday 1/28/07 carried a positive review of Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan. This is wonderful news, because the Sunday Times has enormous prestige and a circulation of 1.6 million or so. The text of the review follows. If you'd like to see the review in situ, following the review of the autobiography of a 74-year-old heroin dealer now in a witness protection program (I am not making that up), email me for a scanned image of the page.

Reading New York Tales From Mr. Untouchable, and a Stroll Among the Statues Nicky Barnes [the heroin dealer] cited the statute of limitations. In "Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan: A Historical Guide" (NYU Press, $18.95 paperback, $60 cloth), Dianne Durante suggests that there are few limitations to statues. "They can make you stop, look and think when you'd swear your brain was too tired to function," she writes. "The achievements and the virtues of the people represented in these statues can help supply the emotional fuel - the psychological energy - that keeps you going." Her guidebook is a perfect walking-tour accompaniment to help New Yorkers and visitors find, identify and better appreciate statues famous and obscure (honoring, among others, the "father of gynecology" and the general who had an unremarkable military and business career but composed taps, the bugle call). While the tone is sometimes preachy and pedantic (the book concludes with a tutorial on how to read a sculpture), Ms. Durante winsomely places 54 monuments in historical and artistic perspective. We learn that a trumpet is an allegory for announcing fame, that the monument to Admiral Farragut in Madison Square Park altered the course of American sculpture, that the figure with the winged hat atop Grand Central Terminal is Mercury and that the statue of Atlas at Rockefeller Center was reviled when it was unveiled in 1937 because it supposedly resembled Mussolini. Let's hope Ms. Durante follows up in the other four boroughs.

"Preachy and pedantic," like "formulaic" in the Sculpture magazine review (see the blog entry of 1/18/07), presumably refer to the fact that I have a well defined method and stringent standards.

William Shakespeare: OMOM Essay 37

2007-01-29T07:06:00.000-05:00

"About the Sculpture" for this essay was challenging because I aimed to explain Ayn Rand's term "metaphysical value-judgments." By this point in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan I had discussed so many ideas that were implied by sculptures (rather than explicitly illustrated) that I thought readers would have the necessary foundation for a discussion of MVJs. The essay's hook is the description of a laser technology that creates the equivalent of a 3-D photograph, which introduces the issue of why a mechanical reproduction isn't art, which leads to selectivity, and thence to why an artist would select a certain subject or detail over others.

"About the Subject" reviews New Yorkers' attitudes toward Shakespeare through the 19th century. Did you know that in 1849 twenty-two people were killed at Astor Place in riots over a certain actor's portrayal of Macbeth?

The Forgotten Delights calendar has a close-up of Shakespeare's head and torso along with Polonius's advice from Hamlet.

Christopher Columbus: OMOM Essay 36

2007-01-28T07:59:00.000-05:00

In this "About the Sculpture" I zoom in from the sculpture as a whole to one detail: the gesture of Columbus's left hand. Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan adds a comparison with Roscoe Conkling's hand (Essay 18) to the comparison with Vanderbilt's hand that appeared in Forgotten Delights: The Producers.

"About the Subject" mentions a few of the festivities honoring the 400th anniversary of Columbus's first voyage to America. Among them was the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the setting for Erik Larson's bestseller The Devil in the White City. (I rarely read true crime stories, but that one was excellent.)

In my usual obsession with identifying details (see America in Essay 4 and the Washington Arch, Essay 12), I spent considerable time trying to get a good view of the medallion hanging around Columbus's neck. I'm fairly certain it's a woman, and I'd guess that it's Columbus's patron Queen Isabella - but it might be the Virgin Mary. I didn't have the nerve to ask the Parks Department if I could borrow one of their phone-repair cherry-picker tree-trimmer lifts to inspect it more closely.

If you admire Columbus, go to the Columbus Monuments Pages: the man who runs the site attempts to list and post an image of every known sculpture of Columbus. Of those I've seen, my favorite is one by Ludwig Habich at Bremerhaven, Germany. Look it up in the geographical index in the left-hand frame.

Columbus Monument: OMOM Essay 35

2007-01-27T08:35:00.000-05:00

In "About the Sculpture" I discuss how the many subsidiary elements of the Monument combine with the figure of Columbus to convey one distinct message about him. In Forgotten Delights: The Producers I had rather more fun with this section, proposing changes to the subsidiary details that completely changed the Monument's message. Alas, that was another section cut from Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan to keep it to a manageable length. (See the 1/2/07 blog entry on Cooper, OMOM Essay 10.)

"About the Subject" focuses on the combination of thoughts and actions that made Columbus unique.

The Forgotten Delights calendar shows a profile view of the Genius on the Monument's base.

Maine Monument: OMOM Essay 34

2007-01-26T07:44:00.000-05:00

In "About the Sculpture" I wanted to stress that a work that's difficult to grasp, for example a complex allegorical sculpture such as the Maine Monument, can be very expressive once you understand it. Thinking this point would be more obvious in a verbal comparison, I amused myself by skimming all Shakespeare's sonnets while trying to recall mundane pop-music lyrics that expressed the same sentiments.

In "About the Subject" of Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan I delve into why the USS Maine was moored in Havana harbor and why investigators were unable to determine the cause of the explosion that blew her apart in February 1898. My out-takes file (some of which I'll eventually upload here or on the Forgotten Delights site) includes a gruesome description by one of the divers of the underwater investigation. If you're impatient, read Charles Morgan's account now.

The Forgotten Delights calendar shows a close-up of Columbia Triumphant (i.e., the United States) from the top of the Maine Monument, next to an excerpt from Badger Clark's "The Westerner," one of Ayn Rand's favorite poems.

Jose Marti: OMOM Essay 33

2007-01-25T08:22:00.000-05:00

In "About the Sculpture" I return to the matter of selectivity, in this case the artist's choice of what moment to show in a portrait sculpture. This segues in "About the Subject" to why Marti is shown as he's dying - i.e., why his death in 1895 helped him become a hero to Cuba's multitude of political factions.

The caliber of Marti's writing was a pleasant surprise. His description of the Blizzard of 1888 in New York is extremely evocative. On the other hand, the philosophy behind his political writings is confusing, to say the least.

On the Forgotten Delights site you can see my favorite photo of Marti, which again was not high enough resolution to use in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan. Why didn't I simply retake that photo at a higher resolution? Not so easy with an outdoor sculpture. The time of day and the angle of view I can replicate; the time of the year and the cloud cover I cannot.

Simon Bolivar: OMOM Essay 32

2007-01-25T08:17:00.000-05:00

Bolivar (d. 1830) is often called "the Washington of South America. "About the Subject" compares Bolivar's milieu and career to Washington's.

I was surprised to learn that this was the third Bolivar sculpture designed for New York. See the Bolivar essay on the Forgotten Delights site for the story of what happened after the first one was removed from its pedestal. In "About the Sculpture" I compare this Bolivar to nearby Marti (Essay 33) and San Martin, and to the Washington at Union Square (Essay 13).

It's virtually impossible to see or photograph Bolivar. As you can see in the otherwise useless photo above, it sits on a towering pedestal and for much of the year is heavily shaded by Central Park's trees. My best photo appears on the Forgotten Delights site, but its resolution wasn't high enough to use in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan. I had to resign myself to paying for the right to reproduce a Parks Department photo taken decades ago, when the statue was on a lower pedestal.

Sherman Monument: OMOM Essay 31

2007-01-25T08:11:00.000-05:00

I'm fond of Saint Gaudens not only for the sculptures he produced, but for the way he approached art. "About the Sculpture" describes Saint Gaudens proposing to improve his assistants' skills by a hook-and-spring arrangement … You'll have to read it. Several critics have commented disparagingly that the striding woman and the equestrian figure don't seem to belong together, so I was careful to point out the elements that weld them into a visual unit.

For "About the Subject" in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan the obvious choice was Sherman's March through Georgia (see the Forgotten Delights essay on that topic), but at some point I stumbled across a reference to Sherman's 1863 court-martial of a journalist. This led to a fascinating investigation of 19th-c. communication technology, media and politics. The Sidebar gives an excerpt on the media from Sherman's Memoirs (which ought to rank as great American literature).

I sometimes fantasize about taking a high-powered water pistol with me when I photograph Sherman. It's so extraordinarily difficult to find a good angle that doesn't include multiple pigeons. I only want to make them fly away for a few minutes … Then again, they're destroying the gilding on the statue, so I'd prefer they perch elsewhere.

The Forgotten Delights calendar has a close-up of Victory's head and Sherman's famous comment on war.

News: OMOM Essay 30

2007-01-20T08:17:00.000-05:00

The surprise in researching this sculpture was that Noguchi, who's famous for his abstract works, once trained under Gutzon Borglum, who conceived Mount Rushmore and sculpted Butterfield (Essay 52). I use Noguchi's abstract works as the springboard for a discussion of Ayn Rand's theory of art's nature, function and purpose. In the Introduction to OMOM this discussion would have been bewildering for anyone unfamiliar with Ayn Rand's esthetics. At this point, midway through the book, I'm counting on the reader to have enough context to follow and retain such a discussion, even if he doesn't immediately agree. "About the Subject" recounts the origin and achievements of the Associated Press. For copyright reasons I can't include a photo of News on this blog, but there is one (bought and paid for) in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan. You can also see this Noguchi relief on the Net.

Atlas at Rockefeller Center: OMOM Essay 29

2007-01-20T08:09:00.000-05:00

Prometheus was mocked when it was unveiled. Atlas (dedicated in 1937) drew a crowd of protesters. They said the face of Atlas looked too much like Benito Mussolini's. In "About the Subject" I present the evidence for that, along with critics' comments. ("Contains much material extraneous to art," sniped the director of the Whitney Museum. I'm still trying to make sense of that one.)

"About the Sculpture" returns to the issue of emotional reactions to art. Some fans of Ayn Rand love Atlas. A few (including me) dislike it intensely. Why would people with more or less the same values disagree on a work of art?

The Sidebar of this essay in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan is the only one with a quote from Ayn Rand. Bet you can guess which passage of which work is quoted.

Prometheus: OMOM Essay 28

2007-01-20T07:57:00.000-05:00

Since Prometheus is now an icon of New York, it's jolting to read the negative comments made when it was unveiled in 1934: "just sprung from a bowl of hot soup," for example. In "About the Sculpture" I discuss this, and also return to the matter of subject vs. theme (see Charging Bull, Essay 5) - specifically how the theme would have differed had Manship chosen another episode from the Prometheus myth.

"About the Subject" in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan explains how the artists and themes for Rockefeller Center artwork were chosen, and why by the 1930s it was almost inconceivable that statues celebrating capitalism and businessmen would have been erected there, even though Rockefeller Center was built by America's wealthiest businessman.

Father Francis P. Duffy: OMOM Essay 27

2007-01-19T08:20:00.000-05:00

"About the Sculpture" for Duffy is another exercise in determining the theme of a sculpture from its details. I also comment on the change in the subject and spirit of war memorials from the Civil War to the Viet Nam War, which I've discussed at greater length in my podcast on Battery Park war memorials.

From high school I had a basic knowledge of the causes of World War I, and from wide reading since then I knew it was considered "the war to end all wars." But I never grasped the horrors that faced soldiers there until I read Father Duffy's Story (1919) as research for this essay: bombs dropped from airplanes, chemical weapons that blinded and suffocated, plus sweeping epidemics of influenza, mumps, measles, etc., that killed thousands as they lay in the trenches or makeshift hospitals. The Sidebar of Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan is Duffy's description of men stricken by mustard gas.

First Review of OMOM: Sculpture magazine's Insider, Jan./Feb. 2007

2007-01-18T08:18:00.000-05:00

Yesterday a friend sent the first review I've seen of Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan, from the January/February 2007 issue of Sculpture, a leading magazine in the field of contemporary sculpture. The review appeared in their "Insider" section, which goes only to subscribers - the copy I picked up at the newsstand doesn't have it. The review takes up two-thirds of the Insider's table of contents page and includes a 3.5 x 2.5" image of OMOM's cover, as well as the following comments:

Anyone whose curiosity has ever been piqued by the peculiar mixture of historical statues that ornament the grounds of Central Park will find Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan: A Historical Guide by Dianne Durante a satisfying read. … Readers are encouraged to observe closely the significance of details that may be missed in a passing glance or even to the naked eye. The entries provide background on each work’s origin, explaining, for example, how a statue of the medieval Polish king Jagiello came to be in New York alongside more predictable allegorical and American patriotic figures. A brief history of the subject is also provided, including enough lively anecdotes and obscure facts to entice all readers. The appendices include a formulaic - though potentially instructive - guide for viewing sculpture, a list of the works in chronological order, and brief biographies of the artists. … A useful tool to those seeking concise yet wide-ranging information on Manhattan’s many historical public works.

What they call "formulaic" I call "systematic." When you're learning to do a new task, the proper structure is essential. After you've got the basics down you can improvise. Think of cooking, or swimming, or even learning to read. That point aside, though, I'm particularly pleased with this review because I wouldn't have expected Sculpture to be interested in a book on 19th-c. representational sculpture that discusses Ayn Rand's esthetics. Look at the image on the current cover and you'll see why. NOTE: Periodicals don't always send the publisher or author a copy of a review, so if you see a review or mention of OMOM, please let me know (comments@forgottendelights.com).

Glory of Commerce: OMOM Essay 26

2007-01-18T08:11:00.000-05:00

A photo of Hermes being carved (ca. 1914) shows a worker lying full-length along Hermes' forearm, which gave me for the first time a sense of how enormous this this sculpture atop Grand Central Terminal's façade is. Another surprise was that the sculptor originally planned to have mirror images of Hercules flanking Hermes. Had he carried that plan through, there would have been no complex symbolism showing business as a combination of physical and mental effort. See "About the Sculpture" in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan.

"About the Subject" describes the remarkable engineering and execution of Grand Central Terminal. Over the years required to demolish the Depot and construct the Terminal on the same site, trains continued to move on regular schedules.

The Forgotten Delights calendar text for Glory of Commerce is one of my favorite poems, "The Ships That Won't Go Down."

Cornelius Vanderbilt: OMOM Essay 25

2007-01-17T07:34:00.000-05:00

Vanderbilt has been so widely maligned that even I (who am very favorably disposed to businessmen) expected to dislike him. The biggest surprise in researching him was that his New York Times obituary (1877, excerpted in the Sidebar of Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan) was largely positive. Vanderbilt's productive career is the focus of "About the Subject." It's an abridged version of what appears in Forgotten Delights: The Producers. On the exigencies of pages and pricing, see my blog entry of 1/2/07 on Cooper, OMOM Essay 10.

"About the Sculpture" discusses the importance of setting. Vanderbilt was not intended to be seen against the vast, dark expanse of Grand Central Terminal's windows.

Nearly all my photos of Vanderbilt are taken from the same angle. If you visit the sculpture you’ll see why: shooting from any other angle would involve dodging high-speed traffic (mostly terrifying New York taxis) on the Park Avenue Viaduct.

It took quite some time to find an appropriate quote to juxtapose with Vanderbilt on the Forgotten Delights calendar, but J.B. Say’s description of an entrepreneur (from his 1803 Treatise on Political Economy) is perfect.