"To watch the great fall, to say goodbye to Alexandria, to accept that nothing gold can stay: this is the task of people who find themselves living through the falling years."
Feb 4, 2023·edited Feb 4, 2023Liked by Franklin Einspruch
Calling "The Embrace" confusing is accurate but too polite. I'd call it visually clumsy, awkward and, frankly, schlocky. It kind of reminds me of cheesy 1950s horror movies like "The Blob," only those movies were neither pretentious nor self-important. This thing isn't so much boring as cringeworthy.
Here's a rather more successful embrace (photograph by Jean-Pol Grandmont):
My current earworm: Mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli singing the lament of a spurned wife who still loves her husband. It is an exquisitely sensitive performance, showcasing how Baroque music can make grief beautiful and dignified, without sentimentality or excess.
Calling "The Embrace" confusing is accurate but too polite. I'd call it visually clumsy, awkward and, frankly, schlocky. It kind of reminds me of cheesy 1950s horror movies like "The Blob," only those movies were neither pretentious nor self-important. This thing isn't so much boring as cringeworthy.
Here's a rather more successful embrace (photograph by Jean-Pol Grandmont):
https://bit.ly/3X1J24P
And yes, the Canova is late 18th century, but it worked then and it works now. That clunky bronze in Boston doesn't work, period.
My current earworm: Mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli singing the lament of a spurned wife who still loves her husband. It is an exquisitely sensitive performance, showcasing how Baroque music can make grief beautiful and dignified, without sentimentality or excess.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_2VS4NFAXU