Thursday wrap-up

It started with a visit to the preview of the outstanding de Kooning retrospective. Obviously, de Kooning (despite being only a relocated New Yorker, a native of Rotterdam) was one of the key figures in the migration of cutting-edge from Paris to New York towards 1947 or so. That said, I think he would have been ranked quite a bit behind Pollock on my list of favorite U.S.-based artists of that era.

And yet, seeing 150 or 200 of de Kooning’s works lined up side by side… the effect is really quite impressive. They’re arranged chronologically, which is even more valid in his case than in most, since his stylistic shifts are all fairly sudden and pronounced. I was never a non-fan, but am now a rather pronounced fan after experiencing this show. It was aesthetically uplifting.

Then with curators Manuela and Sarah around Chelsea and the Lower East Side, looking at much more contemporary works.

And finally, the interesting discussion with Jane Bennett and Levi Bryant at the CUNY Graduate Center, in the “Skylight Room” of what used to be a swanky department store before CUNY bought out the building. The skylight looked directly up at the Empire State Building a couple of blocks away, which made it difficult to resist craning one’s neck and looking straight upwards.

Then, dinner afterwards. I chose the mushroom ravioli, which is quite often my choice at Italian places, when it’s available.

It was all good company, and I think Jane’s definitely one of the crew now, and we all hope she sees it that way too. Unfortunately, that means I’ll now be cornered by the post-Deleuzians of OOO.