Subject Is U.S., Object Is Art

That's the headline the NY Times gave Grace Glueck's review on the front page of the arts section on the Fourth of July -- though amending it to "Object is Anti-Americanism" might have been more appropriate.

Not to be oversensitive, but by all indications, the Whitney's exhibition, "American Effect: Global Perspectives on theUnited States, 1990-2003", is weighted heavily towards the hostile -- a balance that the reviewer seems entirely at ease with, as when she impassively writes:

Outright anger at the United States and a thirst for revenge are expressed in the Japanese artist Makoto Aida's "Picture of an Air Raid on New York City" (1996), using as a base the folding screen of an earlier tradition. In fake gold leaf, it depicts a formation of World War II Japanese bombers above a Midtown Manhattan in blazing ruins.

Another heated Japanese entry is Hisashi Tenmyouya's "Tattoo Man's Battle" (1996), done in the style of a woodblock print. It presents an almost religious struggle between Japan, portrayed as a puny but fearless and resplendent mounted warrior wielding a glowing sword, and a steroidal sci-fi monster that looms over him, breathing fire and gripping a mighty weapon, an implacable symbol of the United States.

The latter image heads up the review, and may be seen here. One has to wonder who these artists are, who so enthusiastically embrace not only the imagery but also the world view of the xenophobic, imperialist Japan of the 1930s. The review says nothing on that score, however, merely passing on to the next anti-American broadside.

If there's any doubt about the reviewer's point of view, however, it is neatly dispelled by this transition:

And then, as noted, there are those surprising works that look more kindly on American culture, its achievements and its sorrows.

Nope, this isn't taken out of context -- the "surprising" does indeed refer to the works being America-friendly, not to their being unexpected in some other respect. The article concludes:

The show's catalog makes a provocative accompaniment, with commentaries by Mr. Rinder; Edward Said, professor of English at Columbia University and a Palestinian advocate; the French journalist and novelist Elena Poniatowska; the Pakistani historian and novelist Tariq Ali; and others.

Perhaps less provocative than predictable, I fear.

ADDENDUM: For further reading on the history and the various strains of anti-Americanism, take a look at this essay from The Public Interest.

The Whitney's press release for the exhibition is here.

There is also a review in the Globe and Mail, which is much more cognizant of how the exhibition will be received outside of the New York art world; it also notes that the exhibition has received funding from the French government, which will surely be more fuel for the fire.

18th-century Japanese pedal car

The world's first bicycle was developed by a Japanese feudal lord in 1732, a model recently created on the basis of a Edo-Period drawing has suggested. Toshio Kajiwara, 60, a former bicycle company technical adviser, analyzed the drawing of a "newly-developed, boat-style ground vehicle," and Kenjiro Kawakami, professor of industrial archeology at Tama University of Arts, created a 1/5 scale model. "Our discovery that a bicycle with pedals existed in Japan in the 1730s has drastically changed the history of bicycles," Kajiwara said.

Unfortunately, the article does not reproduce the drawing, so it is difficult to assess the accuracy of these claims. In any event, the "bicycle" as reconstructed might better be described as a three-wheeled pedal car.

The drawing is in a document compiled by Kuheiji Hiraishi (1696 to 1771), the lord of the Hikone feudal clan in Shiga Prefecture. It is preserved at the Hikone Municipal Library. . .

The vehicle comprises of a boat-shaped wooden body, a single front wheel and two rear wheels. The pedals are connected to a disk that resembles a flywheel with an iron rod similar to a crankshaft.

From Mainichi Shimbun.

Baghdad museum shootings

The situation on the ground in Iraq is still plenty hot, even if the looting is over:

In another attack Saturday, a British journalist was shot and killed outside the Iraqi National Museum in the capital Baghdad, witnesses said.

The identity of the journalist, a freelance television producer, was not immediately known. Fellow journalists, asking their names not be used, said the male journalist was outside museum when he was shot.

A U.S. soldier guarding the museum was shot and killed by a sniper Thursday.

700-year-old abandoned village found

A rare find in the Scottish countryside, after the chance discovery of a 200 year old map:

. . . the long-lost settlement of Whittingehame, which dated from the seventh century, but was abandoned nearly 300 years ago.

Investigations quickly identified the site of old buildings, including the pub, blacksmiths and school, while a host of relics were brought to the surface by a farmer’s plough.

Archeologists today said they were "very excited" by the discovery because it was so rare for old villages which have been abandoned to be left undeveloped.

Read the full story here.

Pedestrianizing Trafalgar Square

Hadn't been aware of the project being under way, but Trafalgar Square has now been rather dramatically reborn -- theGuardian notes:

On a Sunday it is now possible to walk from Victoria to the north end of Covent Garden (via Trafalgar Square) while only crossing two narrow roads

The northern roadway between the square and the National Gallery is now entirely closed to vehicular traffic; the BBC has a small picture of the grand staircase that now occupies that space. Another picture of the revamped square appears here.

Roman Lincoln

The BBC has an article today on Lincoln's recent efforts to highlight its rich Roman heritage. Read about it here. It is certainly easy to overlook all the Roman remains tucked away here and there, overshadowed as they are by the medieval monuments of the city.

Expressionist paintings rediscovered

Art historians have discovered supposedly missing works by the German expressionist painter Otto Mueller - hidden on the back of some of paintings.

Three of the newly discovered paintings were unknown and two were pictures which were missing believed destroyed, art historian Tanja Pirsig said.

Read more here.

Decoding Chartres manuscripts

From the BBC:

The medieval library at Chartres, France, was destroyed in an allied bombing raid on the evening of 26 May, 1944 [The article, however, later states that it was either a single stricken bomber jettisoning its load, or an accidental German bombing -- D.].

The collection, then housed in an annexe of Chartres town hall, comprised around 2,000 medieval books and parchments, many of which dated to the 12th century. The library was considered a national treasure and a good proportion of the works were unpublished. . .

Although thousands of texts were recovered, the fierce inferno carbonised the majority, rendering them unreadable.

But digital technology called multispectral imaging may now be able to reveal text on even the most badly burned manuscripts, allowing scholars to study them again.

Earliest sauropod discovered

From New Scientist:

Remains of the earliest known sauropod, a relative of the largest dinosaurs to roam the Earth, have been unearthed in South Africa.

The new species has been named Antetonitrus ingenipes. Antetonitrus means "before the thunder", marking the species¹ evolution into the brontosaurus or "thunder lizard" some 65 million years later. It weighed about 2 tonnes. But at 10 to 12 metres long, with a hip height of 2.2 metres, it was dwarfed by its later relatives.

A. ingenipes appears to be the missing link between the sauropods and their mainly two-legged predecessors, the prosauropods. . .

Despite its relatively modest size, A. ingenipes was probably the largest dinosaur around during the Late Triassic, about 215 million years ago.

Electrician "fixes" neon artwork

A Glasgow council worker thought a flickering light on a £200,000 work of art was broken - so he decided to fix it.

The neon Empire sign, created by Turner Prize-winning artist Douglas Gordon, had stood for five years before the electrician thought it was faulty and rewired it. Its central 'P' deliberately blinked to give a seedy look but the un-named worker thought its bulb had blown.

Read the article here.

Fourth of July

Just back from a restful visit to Maine, away from computers, phones, and TV. Not much time to come up with a proper Independence Day post, so take a look at Bill Allison's.

While away, I only got a look at the newspaper on a couple of occasions, but did note the death of Robert McCloskey (Make Way For Ducklings, Blueberries for Sal) in nearby Deer Isle (we were staying a few miles from Bucks Harbor, which figures prominently in One Morning in Maine). McCloskey must have been one of the last of that greatest generation of children's book authors, which gave us so many classic stories whose longevity must now be measured in generations.

Also of immediate interest was the NY Times article on Tuesday on mosquitoes (accompanied by another on the physiology of itch). Alas, I am both sensitive to bites, and very tasty -- in fact, I have long hoped to find a scientist willing to copy my pheromones and put them into flypaper or a no-pest strip: the mozzies would be elbowing each other aside to be first at it.

Finally, while picking up lunch around the corner from Condon's Garage, I spotted this story on a singular sport: Estonian wife-carrying.