Bennett lecture

Bennett had a very large crowd tonight at the New School. The topic of her crisp 45-minute lecture was hoarders, which she views as the consumer-era equivalent of Victorian hysterics. As usual, Bennett did a great job fielding questions. There are several things that I like about her way of dealing with lecture audiences. First, she has great poise and stage presence. Second, she listens very intently to the questions. Third, she doesn’t give ground for the sake of lukewarm consensus, but stands firm quite often. Fourth, she is somehow able to disagree with questioners or tell them they misunderstood her point without making them look like fools. All great skills. I look forward to the completed book on hoarders, which seems to be what she’s aiming at, rather than a one-off lecture.

Levi and Tim weren’t in town yet to see it. But I had the pleasure of Steven Shaviro on one side of me and Brooklyn artist Ajay Kurian on the other. I had the chance to tour Ajay’s studio in Bushwick for a couple of hours before Bennett’s lecture.

Tomorrow, the OOOIII event at the New School. In fact, I’d best get some sleep in advance of that.