GARGOZO MANUSCRIPT

The Holy Family with St. Anne and St. Catherine oil on canvas by Jusepe De Ribera In episode #38 of the HBO series The Sopranos , Tony's wife, Carmela, walks into an exhibit at the Met on 5th Avenue with her daughter Meadow and is moved to tears by a painting done 400 years ago.  Mind you this is the same Carmela that is shown in an earlier episode expertly loading an AK-47 in front of an astonished family priest as she bolts from the house to check on a prowler.  The very same Carmela who finds her son Anthony smoking weed in the garage on the day of his confirmation and screams at him, "Is it so much to ask for you to be a good Catholic for fifteen fucking minutes!?"  The most startling thing about Carmela, or anyone for that matter, being so deeply  touched by a painting is the fact that it is considered unremarkable.  Why is it taken as commonplace, rather than a miracle,  that a static, man-made image composed of mere dabs of paint applied t...

My grandchildren's favorite thing about the new Broad Museum was the yet-to-be-mowed, lush grass outside.  The museum opened recently with the rolled sod as a last minute addition.  It won't remain lush for long; at least not with the summer coming on and after having had Noah and Amanda rip out a good share.  Having undergone a few hours confined inside the austere museum full of meaningless objects, they were as thrilled to discover the green patch as walking into Disneyland.   I shared in their relief having found the building's interior and the "art" quite disconcerting. How is it that the building plans were approved by the Fire Department with the only exit a lone staircase down from the main gallery on the third floor?   There wasn't a single work displayed that could take my mind off of the inevitable emergency that will unleash a  lethal stampede similar to the annual carnage at  the  Muslim Hajj in Saudi Arabia .   I can'...