The Changing of the Bones: Marina Abramovic

 The  Royal Academy show dedicated to the performance artist Marina Abramovic has attracted many prurient headlines, because of the live nude performances by the artist’s young surrogates, replicating original performances by Marina herself. She, being 77 years of age, has retired from that category of her work, more likely because of its physical intensity then for prudish reasons. 

Good at Hands: Hans Hals

 Good at Hands: Frans Hals

 

The Laughing Cavalier by Frans Hals (1582-1666) is a paradigm of the immediately approachable in classical painting: the Mona Lisa of the unsubtle chuckle.

The Hals exhibition at the National Gallery confirms his talent for smiling faces. They are everywhere: exuberant, tender, confident, self-satisfied. 

John Gray on Liberalism

 John Gray on Liberalism

 

 

John Gray demolishes the myths and self-deceptions of liberals with gleeful rhetorical flourishes. History-as-progress is bunk. Especially, the Enlightenment project of universal liberalism as the endpoint of historical progress is shot, finished, dustbinned by the intractable vagaries and contradictions of human nature and societies.

Two Funerals

 Two Funerals

 

On just such a November day, almost exactly 27 years ago, my father’s funeral took place. A still, bright day, low sunlight streaming through church windows.

Greenwich and the Queen's House: Van de Velde

 Royal Greenwich; Van de Veldes Exhibition

 

For many centuries the best way to travel to the royal palace and park at Greenwich was by boat, Greenwich being in the countryside and ill-served by roads. Greenwich is still ill-served by roads, because of traffic congestion, and the quickest way to go from central or northern London is by the frequent trains. However, there are still boats.

In Memoriam Liz

 In Memoriam Liz

 

A memorial service or secular event for someone you have known well is nearly always disconcerting because of the numbers of people attending that you have never met and of whose identities you have no idea.

 

You realise that you were just one part of your friend’s life, both temporally and socially. This should be in no way diminishing. It is equally humbling and uplifting to learn more. You leave with greater appreciation and a sadder feeling of loss.

Rawls's Fragile Liberal State

 Rawls’s Fragile Liberal State

 

John Rawls modelled his idea of a liberal state as a Venn diagram. Whilst the communities existing in the same state might have political, cultural or religious commitments at variance with, or even hostile to, one another, the business of the unitary state is conducted by all communities within institutions (political, legal and administrative) that all can uphold. Further, political debate is conducted according to “public reasons”- reasons that can be accepted as reasons by all communities, even where there is vehement disagreement over policy.

 

Thus, for example, a devout religionist should not invoke the Will of God in support of a policy, in a society where many do not follow any religion or follow a different version of God. (In the US- up to recently- and the UK ,Catholic politicians have acquiesced in, or even supported some degree of abortion rights in the public square.)