NYMysteries  Dec. 29

A Perfect Outing

A friend and I had an early and quiet lunch in the Via Quadronno restaurant on 73rd Street. I had what I always have: steamed and chilled asparagus in a vinaigrette sauce. In English the dish doesn’t have the hypnotic spell it has in Italian: Asparagi Verdi Freschi in Salsina Vinaigrette. My friend tucked into one of the delicious paninis. 

After lunch we walked down Fifth to 70th Street to see two Frick Collection exhibits: The Charterhouse of Bruges and Splendor in Eighteenth-Century Rome: Luigi Valadier. 

A charterhouse is a Carthusian monastery. The Bruges Charterhouse prior in 1441 was Jan Vos. He commissioned Jan van Eyck to paint The Virgin and Child with St. Barbara, St. Elizabeth and himself. The Virgin holds the baby Jesus.  She stands on an ornate pedestal in a luxurious room far above the city of Bruges. Out one window we see the tower in which St. Barbara’s father had imprisoned her. Jan Vos kneels in front of St. Barbara. St. Elizabeth stands to the right and is dressed as a nun. It is a saintly painting. What’s surprised me was that the painting is filled with military illusions: Prior Vos had been a Teutonic Knight and St. Barbara was the patron saint of artillerymen. This exhibit is in the Cabinet, a small space that allows you to get close to the van Eyck painting as well as the works of Petrus Christus. .

Jan van Eyck: The Virgin and Child with St. Barbara, St. Elizabeth and Jan Vos. The Frick Collection

 

 

 

Splendor in Eighteenth-Century Rome: Luigi Valadier is a breathtaking exhibit of the art of Luigi Valadier.  He was an extraordinary designer.  In addition to works such as The Triumph of Bacchus, he was celebrated for his elaborate table settings. Imagine miniature Roman temples, arches and obelisks sprawled across the dining room table. Valadier produced these works of unique art for the popes and the Roman noble families who often did not pay him. Burdened with debt, he committed suicide. His son was the architect of Piazza del Popolo

Valadier: The Triumph of Bacchus
Louvre Museum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graphic Lessons: What do a thirty-four-year old, a nine-year-old and an eighteen-year-old have in common? Murder. 

Millie Fitzgerald applies for a private school teaching job, faints on a  dying man in the school kitchen, deals with a troubled nine-year-old and with the eighteen-year-old niece of the murdered man.

Graphic Lessons: Nine-year-old Dana is the only witness who overhears a person fighting with George Lopez, the soon to be stabbed Windsor School kitchen worker. Who can she tell? Her mother who never listens or accuses her of lying? Her father who’s started a new family in Singapore? She tells Millie. 

Graphic Lessons: NYPD Detective Steve Kulchek is assigned the murder case at the prestigious Windsor School. What’s bugging him? His partner being stabbed ? Escaping an attempted car bombing?  His hated boss, Captain Dick Holbrook, being a trustee of the Windsor School?  Losing his girlfriend to Holbrook? 

New York Mysteries December 22

A contingent from the Judson Memorial Church went to MOMA to see Judson Dance Theater: The Work Is Never Done. In addition to the exhibit, videos of various artists who had performed at Judson were shown on the enormous multiscreen. On Dec. 15 there was a live performance by the Stephen Petronio Company. We sat in the front row feeling pretty chuffed since one of the dancers, Mac Twining, is a Judsonite.

 

Steve Paxton
MOMA: Judson Dance Theater: The Work is Never Done

 

 

The MOMA Judson Dance Theater: The Work Is Never Done video presentation

 

 

 

Afterwards I had a delicious bowl of soup and a strong cocktail, both suggested by some very friendly people at the MOMA bar. A mere $41! I then went to see the great Ugo Tognazzi in a dated, dopey, endearing Italian movie, The Climax. 

Dec. 18: We went on a tour of the Frick Art Reference Library. Although I volunteer there and have been in the library a zillion times I never tire of hearing about its founder, the indomitable Ms. Frick, the Frick daughter who founded the Library.  Stephen Bury, the Chief Librarian, conducted the tour. He told us in learned and witty language about the joys and vicissitudes associated with FARL. 

A friend and I went to an open rehearsal of Les Ballets Trocadero de Monte Carlo at the Joyce Theater. It was two hours of great fun. Founded in 1974, the Trocks attracted attention and audiences because of their ability to dance en pointe, be comic and be serious about dance. In the present company there are 14 members from all parts of the world.

Ever since I spent a few enchanting hours in Banksy’s The Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem I’ve followed the mischievous fellow’s various stunts. Lately, he has decorated  a Welsh town with a mural that references the town’s air pollution.

Artwork by street artist Banksy, Thursday Dec. 20, 2018, which appeared on a garage wall in Taibach, Port Talbot, south Wales.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graphic Lessons: What do a thirty-four-year old, a nine-year-old and an eighteen-year-old have in common? Murder. 

Millie Fitzgerald applies for a private school teaching job, faints on a  dying man in the school kitchen, deals with a troubled nine-year-old and with the eighteen-year-old niece of the murdered man.

Graphic Lessons: Nine-year-old Dana is the only witness who overhears a person fighting with George Lopez, the soon to be stabbed Windsor School kitchen worker. Who can she tell? Her mother who never listens or accuses her of lying? Her father who’s started a new family in Singapore? She tells Millie. 

Graphic Lessons: NYPD Detective Steve Kulchek is assigned the murder case at the  prestigious Windsor School. What’s bugging him? His partner being stabbed while Kulchek was buying cigarettes? Escaping an attempted car bombing?  His hated boss, Captain Dick Holbrook, being a trustee of the Windsor School?  Losing his girlfriend to Holbrook? 

NYMysteries  Dec. 14

 

On Dec. 15, The Frick concert series featured Ensemble Correspondances, 10 singers and instrumentalists who specialize in the music created during the reign of Louis XIV.  Just the music for a France beset with financial problems. I don’t think this elegant group will be the poster children for the yellow jackets. In addition to a program, we were each given pages of translations of the various pieces. I’ve never been interested in following the librettos. Around me, the audience was studiously following the text of Constantin’s La Ballet Royal de la Nuit or of the Venetian Francesco Cavalli’s Ercole Amante. Instead, I enjoy the sounds and like to study the different musicians: the extremely elegant director and harpsichordist, the extremely stern viola da gamba player, the extremely handsome countertenor. You get the message. As these musicians perform seventeenth century music and as they tour Japan, China and the U. S. A. are they wondering about their futures?  

The Garden and Forest Book Club meets at the Arsenal about once a month nine times of the year. I joined it because I know nothing about gardens and forests. It’s been quite an education. Those gardeners and landscape pros aren’t afraid of hefty volumes. We’ve just finished discussing Victoria Johnson’s American Eden. Ms. Johnson’s main figure is David Hosack (1769-1835). Dr. Hosack was a physician and a botanist. His goal, finally achieved, was to build the first botanical garden in the Republic, the Elgin Botanic Garden. It was later abandoned and became the site of Rockefeller Center. Hosack was the friend of Burr and Hamilton and was Hamilton’s doctor at the infamous duel. Later, Burr fled the Republic with money given him by Hosack.  

Elgin Painting at Ny Botanical Garden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graphic Lessons: What do a thirty-four-year old, a nine-year-old and an eighteen-year-old have in common? Murder. 

Millie Fitzgerald applies for a private school teaching job, faints on a  dying man in the school kitchen, deals with a troubled nine-year-old and with the eighteen-year-old niece of the murdered man.

Graphic Lessons: Nine-year-old Dana is the only witness who overhears a person fighting with George Lopez, the soon to be stabbed Windsor School kitchen worker. Who can she tell? Her mother who never listens or accuses her of lying? Her father who’s started a new family in Singapore? She tells Millie. 

Graphic Lessons: NYPD Detective Steve Kulchek is assigned the murder case at the  prestigious Windsor School. What’s bugging him? His partner being stabbed while Kulchek was buying cigarettes? Escaping an attempted car bombing?  His hated boss, Captain Dick Holbrook, being a trustee of the Windsor School?  Losing his girlfriend to Holbrook? 

NYMysteries  Dec. 8

 

Last Wednesday I went to my first Mystery Writers of America holiday party, aptly called Revels. MWA took over Distilled on West Broadway and it was fun. The late Lawrence  Block was honored. There was an open bar and delicious food was offered by a pleasant wait staff. Can you juggle a drink, a purse, a napkin and a skewer with a smile on your face? If so, teach me. Before the party, I had the forever fifteen anxiety that no one would know me or talk to me.  What is it about mystery writers? Is it because we have a purpose, writing mysteries, that makes it easy to talk to one another. A common question is what’s your genre? In crime fiction the answer could be police procedural, cozy, thriller, Victorian, hard-boiled, private eye, medical, military.

 The Edgars have been presented every year. Named after Edgar Allan Poe, they honor the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television, film, and theater.

MWA was founded in 1945. It’s catchy slogan, courtesy of Clayton Rawson, is “Crime doesn’t pay – enough.” 

Graphic Lessons: What do a thirty-four-year old, a nine-year-old and an eighteen-year-old have in common? Murder. 

Millie Fitzgerald applies for a private school teaching job, faints on a  dying man in the school kitchen, deals with a troubled nine-year-old and with the eighteen-year-old niece of the murdered man.

Graphic Lessons: Nine-year-old Dana is the only witness who overhears a person fighting with George Lopez, the soon to be stabbed Windsor School kitchen worker. Who can she tell? Her mother who never listens or accuses her of lying? Her father who’s started a new family in Singapore? She tells Millie. 

Graphic Lessons: NYPD Detective Steve Kulchek is assigned the murder case at the  prestigious Windsor School. What’s bugging him? His partner being stabbed while Kulchek was buying cigarettes? Escaping an attempted car bombing?  His hated boss, Captain Dick Holbrook, being a trustee of the Windsor School?  Losing his girlfriend to Holbrook? 

NYMysteries –  Dec. 1

 

I’ve written two fan letters in my life. The second one was to Tom Volk, the director of Maria by Callas. Believe me, after you see this movie you too will write Mr. Volk a fan letter. He’s captured perfectly the feelings of the times and culture when Diva Callas reigned. Bel Canto was her singing arena: Donizetti, Bellini (Norma, anyone?) She also sang in the operas of Puccini, Bizet, Rossini, Verdi. Her voice makes me cry. I can hear it in an upscale shop, on the radio, anywhere. The reaction is always the same. 

A friend and I went to the Paris Theatre on Fifth Avenue and 58th Street to see Maria by Callas. It couldn’t have been a more appropriate venue. It’s an immaculate movie house that reeks of a bygone NYC fifties flavor. I don’t think anyone under fifty is admitted. Before the mercifully short coming attractions and the featured movie begins, you are treated to the crooning of Dean Martin (Volare) or Edith Piaf (Non, je ne regrette rien).

For years I have known a great artist. His name is Frank Galuszka. He works and lives on the west coast. We met in Rome. He had just completed a Fulbright in Romania. I bought his big nude painting for five hundred bucks, a lot of money at the time, and had to badger him for years to sign it. He did, finally, with a magic marker. Yesterday I received two catalogs of his recent work: VOTIVE: The Art of Frank Galuszka. He continues to paint like a master.

Frank Galuszka’s Nude

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are two other of Frank’s paintings.

Advice by Frank Galuszka

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rose Room by Frank Galuszka

 

 

Graphic Lessons: What do a thirty-four-year old, a nine-year-old and an eighteen-year-old have in common? Murder. 

Millie Fitzgerald applies for a private school teaching job, faints on a  dying man in the school kitchen, deals with a troubled nine-year-old and with the eighteen-year-old niece of the murdered man.

Graphic Lessons: Nine-year-old Dana is the only witness who overhears a person fighting with George Lopez, the soon to be stabbed Windsor School kitchen worker. Who can she tell? Her mother who never listens or accuses her of lying? Her father who’s started a new family in Singapore? She tells Millie. 

Graphic Lessons: NYPD Detective Steve Kulchek is assigned the murder case at the  prestigious Windsor School. What’s bugging him? His partner being stabbed while Kulchek was buying cigarettes? Escaping an attempted car bombing?  His hated boss, Captain Dick Holbrook, being a trustee of the Windsor School?  Losing his girlfriend to Holbrook?