Date posted: January 31, 2005
Berlinde de Bruyckere’s work is as poignant as sculptures get. Once you’ve seen them, approached them, walked around them, they will get under your skin and stay there for some time to come. It is their undeniable beauty, the tenderness with which they have been crafted, that gives them their humanity and that keeps us from turning away.
Date posted: January 30, 2005
I have a confession to make. Ever since I was a child I have loved the smell of fresh concrete and asphalt. And whenever I am at a gas station I like to take a deep breath to fill my nose with the smell of gasoline. I know this may not be the healthiest thing to do, but it smells so good. If you’ve ever been inside the Paris underground you will know that it has a peculiar smell, very different from the New York or London underground. It hasn’t really changed over the past 15 years or so that I’ve been going to Paris either. I like it and to me it is part of the charm of Paris. I have always been ashamed of this strange fascination with scents, but I am no longer. (Did you ever notice that the night smells different than the day?). As I recently discovered my fascination is shared by two of today’s most respected architects, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron.
Date posted: January 30, 2005
Anri Sala is this year’s Artist in Focus at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. On this occasion it was announced that there would be an Anri Sala exhibition at the Museum Boymans van Beuningen. With only three works it wasn’t much of an exhibition, still there were two works on show that I’m glad to have seen.
Date posted: January 16, 2005
In “How many grains make a heap?” a book review in the London Review of Books, Richard Rorty gives an interesting account of the current state of affairs in analytical philosophy.
Holland Animation Film festival 2008
As with every edition of the Holland Animation Film festival there were too many films. And also as with every edition the films ranged from hilarious, touching and stunning to boring, tedious and outright dreadful.
I'm a cyborg is yet another highly intelligent movie by Park Chan-wook. It's also a visual treat and in its own special way profoundly moving.
Supplementary material for my review of Gregory Clark: A Farewell to Alms; Paul Collier: The Bottom Billion; and Dani Rodrik: One Economics, Many Recipes.
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