Bill Viola in Conversation with Adam Weinberg Thursday, October 27, 2009 The Whitney Museum’s 2009 Annenberg Lecture Event website:  Whitney Museum of American Art Reviewed by Giovanna Costantini giovanna@umich.edu “I don’t really believe any more that we are meant to go it alone,” intoned Viola at the Whitney Museum’s annual Annenberg Lecture.  “Our task is to teach,” he continued, “for […]

And While I Have Been Lying Here Perfectly Still: The Saskia Olde Wolbers Files by Philip Monk Art Gallery of York University, Toronto, Canada, 2009 136 pp., illus. 111 col., 2 b/w. Paper, $20 ISBN: 978-0-921972-53-2. Reviewed by Rob Harle Australia harle@dodo.com.au This delightful little book is an enigmatic enigma? It was published in conjunction with an exhibition of Saskia […]

Mind and Nature: Selected Writings on Philosophy, Mathematics and Physics by Herman Weyl; edited and with introduction by Peter Pesic Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 2009 272 pp., illus. 43 b/w.  Trade, $35.00 ISBN: 978-0-691-13545-8. Reviewed by Martha Patricia Niño Mojica Colombia manino@gmail.com In Mind and Nature, Weyl shows the development of what we understand as modern science. In […]

Imagining Science: Art, Science and Social Change by Sean Caulfield and Timothy Caulfield, Editors University of Alberta Press, Alberta, CAN, 2008 148 pp. Paper, $34.95 ISBN: 978-0-88864-508-1. Reviewed by Michael R. (Mike) Mosher Saginaw Valley State University mosher@svsu.edu Biotechnology is everywhere.  One of my university colleagues was recently faced with the decision of a mechanical or pig heart valve replacement.  […]

The Inventor of Love & Other Writings by Gherasim Luca; translated by Julian and Laura Semilian Black Widow Press, Boston, MA, 143 pp. Paper $19.95 ISBN: 978-0-9818088-7-1. Reviewed by Allan Graubard 442 W, 57th Street, NY, NY 10019 agraubard@yahoo.com ‘‘…from one temple to the other, the ebony blood of my virtual suicide drains in virulent silence… the bullets crisscross my […]

Playing with Words: The Spoken Word in Artistic Practice by Cathy Lane, Editor CRiSAP, London, 2008 205 pp., illus. 90 b/w. Trade, £12.99 ISBN: 978-0-9558273-3-4. Reviewed by John F. Barber Digital Technology and Culture Washington State University Vancouver jfbarber@eaze.net When one thinks of a composer, one generally thinks of music, or some other sonic form. Rarely, does one think of […]

A Road to Mecca: The Journey of Muhammad Asad by Georg Misch, Director Icarus Films, Brooklyn, NY, 2009 DVD, 92 mins., $US 440 (Institutional). Distributor: Icarus Films Reviewed by Catalin Brylla University of Newport cbrylla@yahoo.com A Road to Mecca follows the path taken by journalist and writer Muhammad Asad, alias Leopold Weiss, from the suburbs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to […]

Secret Museums: In Search of Hidden Erotic Art by Peter Woditsch Icarus Films, Brooklyn, New York, USA, 2009 DVD, 77 mins. col. Sales, $398 Distributor’s website:  Icarus Films Reviewed by Rob Harle (Australia) harle@dodo.com.au This film is full of intrigue and adventure. It is as much about power, cultural politics and obsession as it is about erotic art. Many of […]

Svetlana About Svetlana by Lana Parshina, Director Icarus Films, Brooklyn, NY, 2008 DVD, 44 minutes, color Sales, $375 Distributor’s website: Icarus Films Reviewed by Michael R. (Mike) Mosher Saginaw Valley State University mosher@svsu.edu I was a kid when (then-) Svetlana Aliluyeva, daughter of Joseph Stalin, left the Soviet Union for political asylum in the West.  It was a big story […]