Manhattan Moments: Seeing, Viewing, Reading, Pt. 2

ART OF ALL KINDS

The Whitney Biennial 2022 (Whitney Museum of American Art)

Roughly every two years since 1932, the Whitney has presented a survey of contemporary American art.  This year’s exhibit occupies two floors of the museum and includes more women than some years and, overall, a very diverse set of artists.  Viewing the exhibit, one might ask, what makes something art?  Here is sculpture, painting, film, and all sorts of strange and exotic arrangements.  One floor is white-walled and quite bright.  The other floor is black throughout and very dark.  

Detail of Row Houses…by Rick Lowe

Lots of the works did not appeal to me either aesthetically or otherwise, but I think that is part of the point—pushing beyond what many of us expect.  There were striking pieces like the representation of a woman standing in a sea of spent bullet shells or whimsical ones like the Palm Orchard of yellow trunked palm trees with colored spikes.  Here are a couple examples.

Ishkode (Fire) by Rebecca Belmore
Palm Forest by Alia Farid

POLITICAL HANKY-PANKY

Anatomy of a Scandal (Netflix)

Thanks to my friend, Patricia, I got onto this compelling 6-part series.  Based on a novel by Sarah Vaughan, it’s the account of a British cabinet minister facing trial for a rape charge brought by an associate with whom he had an affair.  James Whitehouse, the politician, is handsome and polished with a picture-perfect family—his blond wife Sophie and two young children.  The attorneys are both women, Angela Regan, for the defense and Kate Woodcroft, very precise and measured as the prosecutor. What is truth?  In the courtroom and in life?  And what constitutes a definition of rape?  

How each of these principals, James, Sophie, and Kate, handles the unfolding scandal and recalls their past histories, provides plenty of fuel for this gripping drama.  Michelle Dockery of Downton Abbey is the impressive Ms. Woodcroft.  For mature audiences.  Recommended!

SPY TURNED DECTECTIVE IN ITALY

Signora Volpe (Acorn)

A British spy on the outs with MI6 decamps to Umbria for her niece’s wedding.  No stranger to intrigue, Sylvia Fox suspects trouble with the fiancé and gets herself embroiled in a complicated criminal case.  Emilia Fox (who starred in the chef restaurant series, Delicious) is masterful as a former spy who finds herself settling into village life midst family and new friends.  

The beautiful Italian scenery is as much a character as are Sylvia’s sister Isabel, her brother-in-law Matteo, niece Alice, and the regional police chief, Giovanni Riva.  Each of the three episodes (only three, alas) is an hour and a half.  The pacing is somewhat leisurely, and there is a warmth and delight to the interrelationships.  Crime yes, but lots of local color too.  Highly recommended!

WOMEN WARRIORS IN THE AIR

A Sunlit Weapon by Jacqueline Winspear

Jacqueline Winspear has now churned out (although they don’t feel churned at all) seventeen Maisie Dobbs mysteries.  This latest one features Jo Hardy, a WWII female pilot who ferried fighter planes and other aircraft to where they were needed.  It was a dangerous exercise and not for those lacking in daring do.  When Jo approaches Maisie about an unsuccessful shot at her plane and another tragic incident, Maisie swoops into action. A soldier is missing and there is a plot to harm First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.  Her sidekick Billy provides reliable assistance, and her family and friends, along with new husband Mark Scott, play their familiar roles.  I thoroughly enjoyed this latest adventure with Maisie.  

Note: All photos by JWFarrington (some rights reserved).

Manhattan Moments: Seeing, Reading, Viewing

MATISSE EXPLAINED

The Red Studio (Museum of Modern Art (MOMA))

The Red Studio is a fascinating exhibit.  Seeing Matisse’s painting of his studio with the deep red background and then seeing many of the actual paintings and other works depicted there right in the MOMA gallery was somewhat mind-blowing.  The explanations (they were more than just labels) provided the locale for each work and some details on what Matisse was looking at or doing in the art.  It’s one of the best art exhibits I’ve been to in a long time.  Sheer pleasure!

Cyclamen, 1911
Large Red Interior, 1948
The Blue Window, 1913

EASY READING 

The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor–the Truth and the Turmoil by Tina Brown

If you want all the juicy details of the past twenty years of the British royal family, then Tina Brown’s latest work is for you.  In The Palace Papers, no one, except perhaps the Queen herself, is left unscathed.  Many readers will be very familiar with Princess Diana’s history, but this book provides much in the way of backstories on Camilla, Prince Andrew, Prince William, and Kate, and more about Prince Harry and Meghan than has appeared in the American press.  

As a Brit and someone who has covered and spent time with some of these royals, Brown is overall fair and balanced in her account.  It’s a long book, but I was quickly immersed in it for several days.

CLAIRE FOY MAKES THIS HISTORICAL DRAMA

A Very British Scandal (Prime Video)

This three-part historical series is about another scandalous divorce, this one that of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll.  Margaret Campbell was Duke Ian Campbell’s third wife.  Their marriage was a tumultuous one to say the least.  Margaret liked the company of men, lots of men, and may have had affairs with many of them.  Ian was volatile, physically aggressive, short of cash, and probably also adulterous.  

The real Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll (National Portrait Gallery)

Their divorce trial in 1963 was a scandal more for what it revealed, or at least presented as truth, about Margaret Campbell. Neither character is likable, but Claire Foy is excellent as the wife and a far cry from who she was as Queen Elizabeth in The Crown.  

Note: Photos by JWFarrington. Header photo is Matisse’s Still Life with Geraniums.

Detectives, Pioneers, & Protesters

I faithfully read several newspapers every morning. The war and devastation in Ukraine are heartbreaking. I am also upset and angered by the power-grabbing actions of our state governor. For diversion, I turn to solid TV drama and well-written literature. Here is what I’ve delved into most recently.

MY NEW FAVORITE CRIME SERIES

The Chelsea Detective (Acorn)

Priya, Max, Jess (express.co.uk)

There are so many aspects of this series I like that I almost don’t know where to start.  First, it’s set in London and filmed in the affluent Chelsea neighborhood.  Second, the main characters are colleagues in the best sense of the word and like each other.  It’s a series with warmth and some humor as we see the home lives of several of them. Third, the cases they are confronted with, murder generally, are complex and involve multiple leads and dead ends. 

 Max Arnold, detective chief inspector, lives on a houseboat and has recently parted ways with his girlfriend Astrid.  His house is messy, but his approach to a case and his work desk are neat and orderly.  Priya Shamsie, another detective and his sidekick, is adapting to being a new mother while still loving the job she does very well.   Connor and Jess, two detective constables, round out the team along with Ashley Wilton, the pathologist.  What is noteworthy about Ashley (played by Sophie Stone) is that she is a deaf person in the role of a deaf pathologist.  There are only 4 episodes in Season 1, but each is 90 minutes long.  No definitive word yet on a second season.  Highly recommended!

FLORIDA CRACKERS—HISTORICAL NOVEL

A Land Remembered by Patrick D. Smith

Published in 1984, Smith’s A Land Remembered, is set in Florida.   It spans a hundred years from near the end of the Civil War to 1968 and follows three generations of the McIvey family as they settle the land, raise cattle, plant orange groves, and more.  Early cattle ranchers were called Florida crackers after the sound of the whips as they drove their cattle long distances to market.  The patriarch, Tobias, came from Georgia to Florida in the late 1850’s with his wife Emma and his infant son, Zech.  Wild cattle roamed freely, land was there for the taking, and despite battling weather and outlaws, Tobias and his family were successful.  

Zech and his son Solomon eventually traded cattle for oranges and real estate and Sol became very wealthy.  The novel is both a family saga and a history of early Florida and its transformation from open land to fenced ranches to hotels and high rises on the coast.  As a somewhat recent transplant to Florida, I appreciated this history through fiction. It was the April selection for my local book group and received positive reviews from the members.

SLICE OF BOSTON—CONTEMPORARY NOVEL

Mercy Street by Jennifer Haigh

Author Haigh (living concord.com)

Jennifer Haigh is an author whose work I have enjoyed and admired.  Her earlier novels include Mrs. Kimble, The Condition, and Baker Towers, and often deal with controversial or contentious issues.  Mercy Street is no exception.  In exquisitely detailed prose, Haigh creates a Boston that is gritty and grotty and locked into an unending winter with nor’easter after nor’easter.   The focus is on an abortion clinic on Mercy Street—its staff, the protestors, and others connected to them or it in some way.  

Claudia, a social worker, who has been on the clinic staff for ten years, is the main character.  Divorced and stressed by her job, she seeks solace and companionship from Timmy, a childhood friend and now her source of pot.  There are regular protestors outside the clinic every day.  Anthony comes daily to photograph patients entering and leaving and then shares them online with Victor, an antiabortion activist who compiles them on a website.  

Apart from Claudia, most of these people I would never associate with nor have any desire to meet.  As the novel progressed, I kept expecting a tragic event.  Instead, what Haigh delivers is more a study in humanity.  While detached, she treats her characters, all of whom have been disadvantaged or treated badly earlier in life, kindly.  With its unexpected ending, I feel as if I should go back and re-read this timely novel from beginning to end. (~JWFarrington)

Note: Header photo of rowboat at the edge of the bay ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).

Tidy Tidbits: Pachinko & Knoxville

CONFLUENCE OF RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS

This weekend, for the first time in 30 years, three different religious holidays overlap.  Jews celebrated the first day of Passover on April 15, that same day was Good Friday for Christians, and it’s in the middle of Ramadan for Muslims.  Today is Easter Sunday!  Whatever you celebrate or don’t, may you enjoy the annual renewal of spring!

VIEWING—ASIAN HISTORICAL DRAMA

Pachinko (Apple TV+)

Hansu & Sunja (thecinemaholic.com)

Based on a 2017 novel of the same name by Min Jin Lee, Pachinko is a history lesson in Korean Japanese relations between about 1930 and 1989 and a study of cultural identity.  Set in multiple locations, Busan, Korea, and Osaka and Tokyo, Japan, it follows several generations of a Korean family who move to Osaka.  Japan annexed Korea in 1910 and followed a policy of wiping out as much Korean culture as possible.  This lasted until 1945.  Even after the war, Koreans who had previously emigrated and settled in Japan were subject to prejudice and discrimination.  

The series focuses on Sunja, a young woman in Busan, who falls in love with and becomes pregnant by Hansu, a rich, married man.  When offered the opportunity to marry Isak, a stranger to her village, she accepts and moves with him to Japan where his brother and wife live.  The series goes back and forth in time so that we encounter Sunja in 1989 as an old woman, her son Mozasu, who runs a pachinko (game) parlor in Osaka, and her grandson, Solomon.  Solomon appears to have a successful financial career in the States but is currently on assignment to Tokyo.  

Although it follows the basic threads of the novel, the series is quite different, particularly in its juxtaposition of past and present timeframes.  As one example, the centrality of rice is played out ladled from a primitive stove and, in the next scene, scooped from a modern electric rice cooker.

This drama is an ambitious effort with a large Asian cast and different colored subtitles in Japanese, Korean and English, depending on who is speaking.  Once I became familiar with the characters again, I found it compelling and even tear-inducing at points.  There will be 8 episodes in all with the last two released later in April. Very much recommended!

LIVE THEATER—SLICE OF LIFE

Knoxville (Asolo Theatre)

Assembled cast (heraldtribune.com)

Knoxvillea new musical, is more opera than theater, more sung than spoken.  We were at the world premiere the other night, and it was an immersive and emotional experience.  A study of ordinary life, faith, and death, it’s based on James Agee’s autobiographical novel, A Death in the Family.  Viewed through the perspective of the adult author and the author as 6-year-old Rufus, it’s a story of a different time (1915) in a particular place (Knoxville, Tennessee), but its themes are universal.  

The cast of characters and musicians (some doubling as actors) is large and diverse, and Jack Casey as young Rufus is just one standout.  As always, the staging at Asolo is very creative. The use of a portable window frame throughout was especially effective.  

The play was performed without an intermission and the hour and forty minutes just whizzed by!  If you saw Our Town earlier this season, you’d probably agree with me that Knoxville is a companion piece—different time and place, but related themes.  In both works, religion plays a prominent role.  

Professional theater doesn’t get much better than this, and we in the Sarasota-Bradenton area are fortunate to be the beneficiaries.  Tony Award-winning director and writer Frank Galati directs this production.  It runs through May 11.  Highly recommended!