Alistair Horne: Commune Plus One "excellent and provocative piece"

James writes:

In a thread of smart comments, Sir Alistair Horne writes in with praise for Commune Plus One (comment #30):

I was exhilarated to read the excellent and provocative piece by James Panero on Occupied Wall Street and the Paris Commune. And of course also delighted to be singled out for mention.

This note has particular meaning. I was inspired to write "Commune Plus One" after reading Sir Alistair's book, which in addition to presenting a penetrating history of those 72 days in Paris in 1871, also draws a connection to the student uprisings of 1968.

Sir Alistair tells me that his book The Fall of Paris, The Siege, and the Commune 1870-1871 is still in print from Penguin after forty years.

Ross Douthat: The Decadent Left

James writes:

Ross Douthat quotes reliable sources in his interesting Op-Ed for the New York Times on Occupy Wall Street. Thanks for the shoutout, Ross!

The O.W.S. protesters, on the other hand, haven’t even settled on concrete political objectives. As two of the movement’s more perceptive conservative critics — Matt Continetti in The Weekly Standard and James Panero in The New Criterion — have said, many protesters seemed more interested in founding a kind of Paris Commune or Oneida Community in Zuccotti Park than in actually participating in public-policy debates.

From "The Decadent Left."

Podcast: The Review Panel

Nicola Tyson, Figure with Sphinx, 2011. Oil on canvas, 72 x 72 Inches, Courtesy Friedrich Petzel Gallery

James writes:

On September 28 I joined Peter Plagens and Patricia Milder on The Review Panel, a monthly series on art criticism hosted by David Cohen at the National Academy. We talked about Amy Cutler at Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects, Michelle Lopez at Simon Preston Gallery, Melissa Meyer at Lennon, Weinberg, Inc., and Nicola Tyson at Friedrich Petzel Gallery.

The podcast of that conversation is now available. 

Introduction by David Cohen

Discussion of Nicola Tyson and Amy Cutler

Discussion of Melissa Meyer and Michelle Lopez

 

Amy Cutler, Tethered, 2011. Hand-colored working proof sheet, 25 3/16 x 17 3/16 Inches, Courtesy Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects

Melissa Meyer, Forlana, 2011. Oil on canvas, 20 x 18 Inches, Courtesy Lennon, Weinberg, Inc.

Michelle Lopez, Blue Angel, 2011. Mirrored aluminum and automotive paint, 120 x 24 x 12 Inches, Courtesy Simon Preston Gallery