Versailles, thinks the writer, is “not nearly as good as it looks”. Louise XIV wanted a grand palace that displayed the power of his realm. Alas, attention to detail was not his forte and the architecture is uneven. Nevertheless, the interiors are fab (in places) and the gardens an inspiration to town planners everywhere. Multiple images are here and video (3 min) here.
New York’s Met is focused on the historical but wants the crowds that contemporary art attracts. A current show combines the two. One critic is appalled – “politics by other means … indifference to distinctions of high and low art.” More, however, side with the writer: “a marvel … it’s disarmingly appealing to indulge in a show that is so rooted in pure aesthetic”.
The critic writes of a “fierce, steady logic” to Adrian Piper’s career. And fierceness was probably needed given her focus on racism and sexism. Her art is varied – graphics, performance, film – and tough. An unusual choice for MoMA, which has “tended to shave off the awkward corners of art … In this case, the corners and edges stand firm.”
It is hard to look at 1930’s German art without searching for hints of the disaster to come. Yet there is little sign of prophesy in these works. The prevailing style – “New Objectivity – was rooted in the politics of the day, if not the ghosts of WWI. One commented later that catastrophe was not suddenly visible; it revealed itself slowly through the details of ordinary life.