Fantastic segments include a portfolio of photographs by Bruce Davidson on ‘The New Face of Britain’, an article by Wolf von Eckardt on the interdisciplinary group of artists and architects in the ‘Bauhaus’ school started in Germany in 1919 by Walter Gropius (and included Kandinsky, Klee, Feininger, and Albers, among many others), and an article on Cervantes and Don Quixote (‘The Two Spains of Don Quixote’, by H.R. Trevor-Roper) that not illuminates the author’s life, but also brilliantly provides the historical context for his masterpiece. How fascinating that California and Patagonia were named after heroines in trashy romances of chivalry that preceded Cervantes, and which were extremely popular when Spain was the dominant world power under Charles V; how sobering was the downfall of the nation in the generation which followed, which naturally led to disillusionment and cynicism. This is the fate of all superpowers, ultimately. It was also interesting to see commentary on Picasso’s dominance in the art world, and the then-unprecedented value of his paintings, as well as a book review of Henry Miller’s ‘Tropic’ books.

Quotes:
On art:
“Museums are just a lot of lies, and people who make art their business are mostly imposters. Everyone wants to understand art. Why not try to understand the song of a bird? Why do people love the night, a flower, everything around them without trying to understand them? Whereas painting, they wish to understand.” -- Pablo Picasso

On genius:
“Genius is genius, a state of grace with neither beginning nor end; it is generation itself.” -- Paul Klee ( )