Yesterday I went to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. to see the Desiderio da Settignano (c. 1429–1464) exhibit. Desiderio was a Renaissance sculptor, working in Florence. It’s a small exhibit (just 2 galleries), but the sculptures on display are wonderful. The details in the busts, especially of children, make them seem so lifelike – almost like a cast was made directly from a real person. Photography wasn’t allowed in the exhibit, but it is allowed in the rest of the (permanent) collection. I wandered about after looking at the Desiderio exhibit, and I’ve put some pictures online. I’d been to the East Building a number of times, but this was the first time (that I can recall) that I tried the West Building. Well worth a visit – and like most of the National museums it is free.
I especially liked Titian’s portrait of a gentleman (see below). I love the expression on the man’s face.
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| Giorgione and Titian: Portrait of a Venetian Gentleman, c. 1510 |
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| Spanish Lady |
I went to see William Gibson at Politics and Prose bookstore last night. As expected, the place was packed – but since I got there an hour ahead, I got a seat up front. He was giving a reading and signing of his new book, Spook Country. I enjoyed both Pattern Recognition (his previous book) and Spook Country – though neither are Science Fiction. Gibson read a chapter from Spook Country that was based in DC. He then answered audience questions and signed books.
In the past 2 weeks I have read Pattern Recognition as well as Spook Country back-to-back. Both books are mainstream novels and are both set in the present day; they have one character in common. However, Spook Country can be read without having read Pattern Recognition first. Basically Spook Country is a crime caper of sorts. The main character, Hollis Henry is a former rock musician turned journalist. She is working for a new magazine “Node”, and doing an article on a new art form, “locative art”. Locative art is basically using virtual reality tech to overlay scenes on real-life places. Hollis’ employer subsequently asks her to investigate something else.
Another thread has a Cuban-Chinese mob family helping to get something smuggled into the country. A third thread has Mr. Brown (who may or may not be a govt. agent) following Tito (of the Cuban-Chinese family). Mr. Brown “employs” (ok, blackmails) a Russian speaking junkie to help him. All three threads come together eventually…
