In his new book, Kissing the Mask, William T. Vollmann asks, “What is a woman?” Reading this bizarre tome, my first question is: Who is William T. Vollmann? The thing is, I can better predict the ways of women than I can the mind that produced this great new book. And therein lies part of Read More
An eager audience filled Cooper Union’s Great Hall last night as Jacob Weisberg, Slate Group’s chair, moderated “Secularism, Islam & Democracy,” a panel featuring Professor Tariq Ramadan, the Swiss-born Muslim scholar who was barred from entering the U.S. in 2004. Also on the panel was The New Yorker‘s George Packer, the Gallup Center’s Dalia Mogahed Read More
Musician Ric Ocasek spent a chunk of his life looking out at audiences in giant rock ‘n’ roll arenas, but recently it was a crowd of art lovers and well-wishers who took him by surprise.
“I was shocked by the big turnout,” said the former vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the popular 1980s rock band Read More
Powerhouse dealer David Zwirner has fired back in the lawsuit against him by one of America’s better-known art collectors. In papers filed Monday in the Southern District Court of New York, he charged that he never made or violated a “first dibs” promise or one of confidentiality in a prominent art sale. His response further Read More
One day last week, two prints of Edward Weston’s Nautilus, a famous image of a seashell, sat on a cluttered table inside the photography department at Sotheby’s. The department’s director, Denise Bethel, and her colleague Christopher Mahoney stood by, examining the prints closely. The first, which Mr. Weston printed himself in 1927, is nearly shadowless, Read More
The Roman Catholic Church faces a credibility crisis of historic proportions. Tens of millions of Catholics in the United States, Ireland and even Pope Benedict XVI’s home country of Germany are completely frustrated with the church’s response to the appalling behavior of priests who abused children and the bishops who covered up the crimes.
Criticism Read More
In 1958, artist Mark Rothko received a commission to paint a series of murals for the brand-new Four Seasons restaurant. As visitors to the tony restaurant might have noticed then and now, Rothko’s work isn’t there on its walls. A new two-character Broadway play, Red, opening April 1, explores why—or does it?
The play, a Read More
On the first page of the index to A Ticket to the Circus—the new memoir by Norris Church Mailer, sixth wife and widow to Norman Mailer—the eye is drawn to the name Saul Bellow. Did the two titans slug it out in some literary feud? Turn to page 315 and you find a quarrel of Read More
If New York is to retain its leadership in the 21st-century economy, it needs a steady supply of smart, creative young people with the energy to re-create, reignite and re-imagine the city of yesterday and today.
That’s why New York University’s bold plan to expand its presence in the Village and elsewhere is a welcome Read More
The city has been bleeding blue for nearly a decade now. With new and frightening threats to our safety and psyche, it’s time to stanch the wound.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly recently told the City Council that the number of police officers under his command may soon shrink to its lowest figure in nearly two Read More
