Category Archives: Reviews

New Exhibitions: “Cézanne – The Rock and Quarry Paintings” (Princeton)

Cézanne The Rock and Quarry Paintings book edited by John Elderfield April 2020Cézanne: The Rock and Quarry Paintings is the first major exhibition to examine an essential but understudied aspect of the revolutionary French painter’s work: his profound interest in rock and geological formations.

Throughout his career, Cézanne made canvases that take rock formations as their principal subjects. Although they are among the artist’s most extraordinary landscapes, such paintings of geological forms have never before been the focus of significant scholarship.

Cézanne: The Rock and Quarry Paintings will feature approximately 15 of the most important of these paintings, as well as selected watercolors and related documentary material. Together, they reveal the artist’s fascination with geology, which helped shape the radical innovations of his artistic practice

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Travel & Culture Books: “St. Tropez Soleil” By Simon Liberati (Assouline)

The legend of St. Tropez starts with a dog, a rooster, and a martyr; and it leads to movie stars, world-renowned artists and distinguished writers. Located on the sparkling French Riviera, St. Tropez has enjoyed the spotlight for more than half a century, for better or worse, with celebrities flocking to this idyllic locale for its beaches and a dose of Mediterranean sun.

A picturesque oasis, St. Tropez has served as inspiration for a who’s who of notable writers from Françoise Sagan to Colette; as well as renowned artists Paul Signac and Henri Matisse; and even filmmakers. However, St. Tropez would not be the same without then belle du jour Brigitte Bardot, her films and lovers and many other famous couples including Annabel and Bernard Buffet and Bianca and Mick Jagger.

St. Tropez Soleil Assouline book

St. Tropez Soleil guides the reader through its storied past and ever-evolving present. Featuring annual mainstays such as Les Bravades and the Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez as well as exclusive events like a Chanel fashion show at the quintessentially Tropezian Sénéquier café and the White Party at Nikki Beach begun by Naomi Campbell. But despite all that changes, the spirit of St. Tropez remains the same and this volume is an ode to the unique joie de vivre that keeps everyone coming back.

Simon Liberati is an award-winning French writer and journalist. He has worked for publications such as PurpleNuméro, and 20 Ans and he frequently collaborates with Vogue. He has written ten books including Jayne Mansfield 1967 (2011), which won the prix Femina, and the best-selling Eva (2015).

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Heart Health Video: “Beta Blockers” Lower CVD Risks Of Harmful Gut Microbes

Hazen and colleagues find that gut bacteria play a central role in the conversion of dietary proteins into a compound, phenylacetylglutamine ( PAGln), which not only is associated with future cardiovascular disease risk in humans but also promotes platelet responsiveness and blood clotting potentially via adrenergic receptors, according to mouse models.

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Coronavirus / Covid -19: “What Happens When It Enters Your Body” (Video)

The Telegraph LogoWhat happens when you catch coronavirus? The Telegraph’s Global Health Security Editor Paul Nuki explains all the ways in which you could become infected with COVID-19 and how your body reacts to this virus.

What happens when the virus enters the body?

When the virus enters your body it binds to two cells in the lungs – goblet cells that produce mucus and cilia cells which have hairs on them and normally prevent your lungs filling up with debris and fluid such as virus and bacteria and particles of dust and pollen.

The virus attacks these cells and starts to kill them – so your lungs begin to fill with fluid making it hard for you to breathe. This phase of the disease is thought to last about a week.

At this point your immune system will start to kick in and fight off the invaders. You will develop a fever and your high body temperature will create a hostile environment for the virus. You will start to get rid of the mucus in the form of coughing and a runny nose.

But in some people – particularly the elderly and those with other health conditions – the immune system can go into overdrive. As well as killing the virus it also starts to kill healthy cells.

This heightened immune response can trigger a “cytokine storm” – white blood cells activate a variety of chemicals that can leak into the lungs, which along with the attack on the cells damages them even further. Scans of the lungs show “ground-glass” opacity and then “crazy paving” patterns, as they fill with mucus making it harder and harder to breathe.

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Art History Podcasts: “Understanding the Medieval World through Books” (Getty Museum)

Getty Museum PodcastsWhat was the world like from 500 to 1500 CE? This period, often called medieval or the Middle Ages in European history, saw the rise and fall of empires and the expansion of cross-cultural exchange.

Getty curator Bryan C. Keene argues that illuminated manuscripts and decorated texts from Africa, Asia, Australasia, the Americas, and Europe are windows through which we can view the interconnected history of humanity. In this episode, he discusses his recent book Toward a Global Middle Ages: Encountering the World through Illuminated Manuscripts, highlighting the challenges and opportunities of the emerging discipline known as the Global Middle Ages.

Destination Hotels: Parco Dei Principi In Sorrento, Italy – 1960’s “Infinite Blue”

From a Cereal Magazine online article (March 2, 2020):

Hotel Parco dei Principi di Sorrento facebookOf all Gio Ponti’s 100-odd buildings, Sorrento is the only hotel where you can still stay, fully immersed in his art — for as well as the building itself he designed every last detail. He was not just an architect, but a designer — of interiors, furniture, industry, cars — an artist and a ceramicist, a writer and a teacher; and at Parco dei Principi his passion for so many disciplines converged in one triumphant paean to modernity.

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The concept of infinite blue was architect Gio Ponti’s driving inspiration when he built Parco dei Principi, his slice of 1960s modernism on a coast of faded antiquity. When it opened in 1962, the hotel was something new for ancient Sorrento: a clean-lined, contemporary edifice on the tufa-stone cliff. Inside, the bright, wide-open spaces were pared down and decorated entirely in white and blue.

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Future Of Housing: Off-The-Grid “CABN” Tiny Homes In Australia (Video)

CABN was established to provide people with a means of disconnecting from the mayhem we have brought upon ourselves. CABN is designed to be completely off-grid, sustainable and eco-friendly relocatable; transforming some of Australia’s most stunning and stimulating landscapes and offer an ideal escape.

This CABN is named Jude, after CABN founder’s mother. Jude is warm, caring and inviting and has always welcomed everyone into her home and life. It’s those same feelings that you can expect when you stay. Adventurous, warm and welcoming – the perfect tiny escape.

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New Architecture Books: “The Gardens Of Eden” By Gestalten (April 2020)

THE GARDENS OF EDEN New Residential Garden Concepts & Architecture for a Greener Planet Gestalten bookStep into innovative little gardens of Eden created on small terraces and city rooftops, as well as out in the suburbs and countryside.

As our lifestyles become more sustainable, so does the way we interact with the outdoors. Today’s gardeners aim not only to create decorative outside spaces but also to give something back. No matter what size your patch is, it’s easy to create diverse and rich environments for plants and insects, or grow your own vegetables or fruits. This book presents spaces that are more imaginative, diverse, and sustainable. Learn how to grow food in the city, get creative with native plants, and design The Gardens of Eden New Residential Garden Concepts and Architecture for a Greener Planet Gestalten Book April 2020greener corners within urban areas. The Gardens of Eden looks at fascinating examples around the world, teaching what you can do for nature while revealing what a garden can do for you.

Abbye Churchill was the editorial director of Wilder Quarterly, and her first book, A Wilder Life, was featured in The New York Times Book Review. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, Vogue, Food & Wine, and W. She lives in Brooklyn, New York City.

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Top Upcoming Books: “My Last Supper – One Meal, A Lifetime In The Making” By Jay Rayner (Mar 2020)

Jay Rayner My Last SupperThe plan was simple: he would embark on a journey through his life in food in pursuit of the meal to end all meals. It’s a quest that takes him from necking oysters on the Louisiana shoreline to forking away the finest French pastries in Tokyo, and from his earliest memories of snails in garlic butter, through multiple pig-based banquets, to the unforgettable final meal itself.

This question has long troubled Jay Rayner. As a man more obsessed with his lunch than is strictly necessary, the idea of a showpiece last supper is a tantalizing prospect. But wouldn’t knowledge of your imminent demise ruin your appetite? So, Jay decided to cheat death.

Jay Rayner’s Last Supper is both a hugely entertaining account of a life built around mealtimes and a fascinating global exploration of our relationship with what we eat. It is the story of one hungry man, in eight courses.

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