Tag Archives: body

(Relic) Amos Oz (Hand)

Posted on December 30, 2018 by zjb

This photograph posted on Twitter by his daughter, Fania Oz-Salzberger, of Amos Oz’s  hand before, at, or just after the moment of his passing is both deeply touching and very odd. A frozen photographic image, it is not unlike a … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

(On Not Suffering) Caffeine Suppositories (Yom Kippur)

Posted on September 20, 2018 by zjb

After excruciating headaches this Yom Kippur, I appreciate that this definitely seems to be a thing. From the Forward, you  can read the article here about the use of caffeine suppositories to ease the horrible effects of withdrawal on the … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

(Water on Skin) Sensation (David Hockney)

Posted on February 7, 2018 by zjb

Invested in the anti-aesthetic, people committed to modern and contemporary art, including art critics, often struggle with optimism, pleasure, and beauty. In the case of David Hockney, that is to miss the point and overlook what the aritst shares with … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

(Palimpsest) Page & Figures (Michelangelo)

Posted on February 3, 2018 by zjb

For his unfinished sketches for studies, Michelangelo drew each figure one by one. But ultimately the figures are only as interesting as their organization on the page. For the studies, he used the same page to sketch figures next to … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

(Orange) Tomb & Resurrection (Michelangelo)

Posted on February 2, 2018 by zjb

One thing I learned from the wall texts at the blockbuster show of Michelangelo drawings at the Met is this. The orange chalk that gives so much of the exhibition its dark glow is unforgiving material on which to draw. … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

(Entombment) Drawing Jesus Off the Cross (Michelangelo)

Posted on January 25, 2018 by zjb

In the late 1520s, Michelangelo draws the heavy Jesus off the cross in a blur of orange chalk. Study for a Descent from the Cross (or Entombment) is now at the big Michelangelo show at the Met. In the drawings, as … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Baroque Nipple (David & Goliath) (Guido Cagnacci)

Posted on January 22, 2018 by zjb

Deciding not to do departmental paperwork today, I went to the Met to see the Michelangelo and Hockney shows. Wandering around on my way out I stepped into the main foyer of the European galleries to meet this fetching baroque … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

(Abstract Bodies) Balls or Columns or Cubes (Resurrection) (Maimonides)

Posted on July 10, 2017 by zjb

With characteristic confidence, Maimonides is here arguing against what he assumes is the false, nay absurd, notion that human souls would have bodies in the world to come. He thinks the world to come is entirely without nature and natural … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Immortal Body at Rest in an Ancient Chinese Techno Case

Posted on June 2, 2017 by zjb

Undoing the mortal coil, here’s a little something for the Transhumanists. Lying as if suspended in the inside darkness of a tomb, the intricate layering of encasing jade plaques has the power to protect and to transform the body and … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

(Body) Maimonides & Dance (Epistle to Yemen)

Posted on May 17, 2017 by zjb

In the 12th century, Shia forces in Yemen rebelling against Saladin conducted a persecution of the Jewish community. Originally written in Arabic, Maimonides Epistle to Yemen addressed the contemporary challenge of forced apostasy, heresy, and messianic claims. What caught my … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment