From Mute, Synaesthesia and Reductionism at the Venice Biennale: In 2007 Art has never been so big and apparently neither have the wallets of those stalking it. The Christian artist in the world: Being a Christian artist does not mean that the artist works only in the realm of religious subject matter. Immured in History: A look at how Prague is a city of walls. The Prefab Fad: Prefabrication is everywhere in American home-building. But that doesn't mean your next house is going to be a stylish, Modernist box. The introduction to Bipolar Expeditions: Mania and Depression in American Culture by Emily Martin.
From TLS, a review of L'Origine Du Monde: Histoire d’un tableau de Gustave Courbet by Thierry Savatier. Getting the Proust habit: Chris Power used to be sceptical of the prolix proto-modernist's reputation for addictiveness. Now he's gagging for his next fix. From Sign and Sight, when crime fiction is a crime: Amir Valle's journey from success to exile — a Cuban destiny. A review of Poison Woman: Figuring Female Transgression in Modern Japanese Culture by Christine L. Marran. From 3:AM, The Dirty Avant-Garde: An excerpt from Hijikata: Revolt of the Body, a biography of the founder of the Japanese Ankoku Butoh performance art, by Stephen Barber; and what to make of the apparent disparity between the image of a vibrant “cool Japan”—and a domestic youth culture that is shrinking in size, hope and ambition?
From New York, J.K. Rowling knew what her franchise needed—but she didn’t have the courage to do it. A review of Eats, Shoots & Leaves and The Girl's Like Spaghetti by Lynne Truss. Legendary teacher, Thatcher adviser, hero of fiction, exiled maverick, Norman Stone is a great maker of enemies. From LRB, why we have them I can’t think: A review The Mrs Woolf and the Servants: The Hidden Heart of Domestic Service by Alison Light. A review of Victorian Women Writers and the Classics: The Feminine of Homer by Isobel Hurst. A review of The Origins of Beowulf: From Vergil to Wiglaf by Richard North. A review of Passions and Tempers: A History of the Humours by Noga Arikha.
