Contemporary Art: Georges Mathieu`s Cosmic Explosions @ Perrotin, New York

(Drivebycuriosity) - Manhattan`s Lower East Side is slowly degenerating into a party district with a legion of fast food places & other dives. But there are still some fine art galleries, albeit fewer than some years ago. The French/American Gallery Perrotin on Orchard Street belongs to the stalwarts. I frequently see amazing shows there.

 

The other day I enjoyed there an exhibition with wall-filling paintings by the French artist Georges Mathieu (1921-2012), significant contributor to the development of post-war abstraction. The art dealer displayed works created over 3 decades. Some of them look like cosmic explosions. Above you can see "Paris, Capital of the Arts" (1965, 300 × 900 cm | 118 1/8 × 354 5/16 inch, oil on canvas) and details of it. 

 

 

Above follows "The Victory of Denain" (1963
Oil on canvas 275 × 700 cm | 108 1/4 × 275 9/16 inch
Unique) with detail shots.

 

 

 

 

Above you can see "Matta Salums" (1978
oil on canvas, 250 × 600 cm | 98 7/16 × 236 1/4 inch
Unique).

 

 

Above you can see "Tsimian" (1951, Oil on wood,
120 × 160 cm | 47 1/4 × 63 inch, Unique) followed by "Hugues de Payens fonde l’ordre du Temple" (1958); "First Avenue" (1957) & "La Bulle « Omne datum optimum »" (1958).

I am grateful that I could see this magnificent exhibition for free and could make pics there.
 

To be continued

 

Economics: Why Miami Is Stealing New York`s Finance Industry

 (Drivebycuriosity) - Recently I spend some days in Miami. Florida`s metropolis is a pleasant place. It seems that others share this view. The chart below shows that the Miami region is gaining a lot finance jobs. Since New York is the financial capital of the US it seems that Miami is stealing New York´s finance industry, at least parts of it.

 

 (source )

 

There are indeed some reasons to move from New York to Florida. The almost tropical state has an attractive climate. Ok, it`s hot and humid in summer, but New York`s summer months are almost the same. And the northern metropolis can have very ugly winter days. The cold is not the worst. Blizzards and North-Eastern storms clock the streets frequently with lots of snow and often black ice makes walking a dangerous adventure. Not in Miami.

And New York`s politics are even worse. The city is traditional "liberal", meaning left-leaning. New York State charges a state income tax, Florida doesn`t. So high earners save a lot of money when they move south. "Liberal" New York City is also more bureaucratic and has more regulation than Miami, which is slowing businesses. New York`s neglected infrastructure (subway, streets) also reduces her atractivity.

And its getting worse. It seems that the so-called "Progressives" are gaining influence in the city parlaments. Their anti-capitalist stance creates economic headwinds. The "progressive" mob around Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, known as AOC, already hindered Amazon to move headquarters to the Big Apple ( marginalrevolution). Not long ago BLM and Antifa activists rioted and  demolished many shops, turning Manhattan`s Soho neighborhood almost into Beirut.

The growing Antifa sentiment in "liberal" New York - combined with the "progressive" trend to "defund police - leads to a rising criminality. Reports about stabbings & shootings are getting more frequent and a notice a lot of heroin junkies in my Lower East Side neighborhood (boweryboogie ). Toxic for doing business.

 

Apparently New York is in a crisis. Miami is benefiting from that.

Photography: New York City In October

  (Drivebycuriosity) - It`s autumn again. New York City bid farewell to summer, but the weather is still lovely. Today we enjoy plenty of sunshine and around 75F (23 C ). This creates nice motives for amateur photographers like me. I present some pics here I took in the recent days. Above you can see a lamp in the City Hall Park, downtown Manhattan.

Some are jogging along the East River, others enjoy a boat ride.

Two more images from City Hall Park.

Someone plays impressive grunge rock in Tompkins Square Park, East Village.

 

I love this flag, seen in Chinatown.

Pretty girls everywhere - still summerly.

 

 

Nice street art makes the city more flamboyant.

 

 

Manhattan`s Financial District seen from New Jersey.

Enjoy!

Contemporary Art: Carlo D’Anselmi`s Wake Up @ Thierry Goldberg, New York

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - Manhattan`s Lower East Side is slowly degenerating into a party area with myriads of fast food places & other dives. But there are still some art galleries, albeit fewer than some years ago. Thierry Goldberg Gallery on Norfolk Street belongs to the survivors. Recently I saw there a show with work by Carlo D’Anselmi, called "Wake Up" (thierrygoldberg ).

 

 

I like the freshness and the humor of these paintings. I display here my favorites - a very subjective selection as usual. On top of this post you can see "Bird House" followed by "The Beginning"; "Majesty Palm" & "The Gardener".

 

 Above are "Girl with Lemmon" followed by "The Actress" & "Poison". All paintings are oil on canvas, created 2021.

 

To be continued

 

Books: Philosophical Investigation By Phillip Kerr

 (Drivebycuriosity) - How can we prevent crime? The Italian physicist Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909 ) believed that crime could be prevented because a  "born criminal" could be identified by physical defects ( wikipedia). Phillip Kerr based his novel "Philosophical Investigation" on some of Lombroso`s ideas. The book was published in the year 1992 but set in the year 2013; so the novel is slightly futurist, but it is not the usual science fiction (  amazon). 

The European Union had developed a program, where potentially murderers were identified by brain scan. Their data were collected with code-names in a database, the "Lombroso System". One of these "Lombrosos", code name Wittgenstein, hacked into the system, deleted his own data and started to murder the others, whom he calls brothers.

"Philosophical Investigation" is a complex crime novel. The title refers to the real Wittgenstein´s book "Philosophical Investigations", published posthumously in 1953. The text is filled with a lot philosophical musings by Wittgenstein and his colleagues, but also by Sigmund Freud and others.

The novel is set in a run-down London and in Cambridge where inspector Isadora (Jake) Jakowicz tries to catch "Wittgenstein", using scientific methods and female intuition. Inserted in the plot are parts (written in first person) where "Wittgenstein" tales the events from his perspective and elaborates his philosphy.

The novel is smart & intellectual, spiced with some humor and sexual details. Even though the plot has some logical flaws and a lame ending "Philosophical Investigation" still stands above the average serial killer novels.

Economics: About America`s Degree Inflation

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - Inflation is back. The price of almost everything is climbing swiftly. Milton Friedman & Co. explained that inflation happens when the supply of money rises faster than the supply of goods & services. Copernicus discovered already in the 16th century when the economy is getting too much money the value of money is shrinking ( wikipedia). Then we can buy less per Dollar.

It seems there is also a inflation of titles and university degrees in the US. The chart above shows that in the US the number of bachelor, master & doctorate degrees each doubled in around 10 years ( kedrosky.org). Did the number of talents in the US also double? I doubt it, why should this happen? 

It seems that America`s universities are getting more generous and are granting more degrees. The academic generosity may a part of the general wokeness. Maybe the universities want to discriminate less. Maybe they don`t want to separate the wheat from the chaff anymore (or less). Maybe they want to get more popular. "Join us, then you will be doctor soon".  

Anyway the degree inflation reduces the value of the university degrees. If the trend continues university degrees could get worthless.

Contemporary Art: Jilian Evelyn´s Lack Of Pleasure @ Hashimoto Contemporary, New York

 (Drivebycuriosity) - Contemporary art is full of surprises. Yesterday as my wife and I walked towards the East River we passed Hashimoto  Contemporary, an art gallery on Rivington Street in Manhattan`s Lower East Side. There I discovered a nice art show. The art dealer displayed an exhibition called "Lack of Pleasure" by Jilian Evelyn (hashimoto).

 

The paintings are elegant, stylish and erotically - as you might see. I admire how the artist created alluring images - just with a few brush strokes. Beauty meets efficiency. It seems Evelyn is influenced by pop art & cartoons. All works were created this year during the pandemic. Let the images speak for themselves.

On top of this post you can see "Black boxed" followed by "Endlessly disillusioned" & "Holding Pattern".

 

 

Above this post follow "Checked out" & "Out of focus"

  

 

Above you can see "The collapse"; "Attempt" & "Lost touch".

I think the headline "Lack of Pleasure" is a misnomer. I had a lot of pleasure to observe this show!

 To be continued. 

Economics: Why Germany Might Have A Brighter Future Than America

 (Drivebycuriosity) - Germany is still digesting the results of the recent election. It was a surprise how the Erstwählers, the 18-21 old who voted the first time, decided. While the usual suspects, SPD (moderate left) and CDU (moderate conservative) had a small lead, the FDP got more votes than the other parties ( faz.net). They were  even more popular than "Die Grünen", the Greens, who traditionally advocate ecological ideas and benefit a lot from the Climate Change agenda.

FDP is the acronym for Freie Demokratische Partei Deutschland ( Free Demogratic Party Germany ). The FDP is complex, but traditionally they are close to classic liberalism, which advocates freedom of choices and individualism. The FDP is traditionally more business friendly than the other parties, especially the SPD and  the Greens. Today they still stand for a small government, less regulation and low taxes. The popularity of the FDP before the Greens and Germany`s left-leaning parties (SPD and "Die Linke/The Left) shows that  Germany`s youth cares more about economic growth than about ideologies. If the youth are the future its bodes well for Germany 

Voters in the US people don`t have these choices. Non of last year`s candidates, Biden & Trump, is similar to Germany`s FDP. It is also an open question whether America´s youth would vote for them. Left-wing activists like AOC, Bernie Sanders & Elizabeth Warren are extremely popular and a survey found an immense increase in support for socialism over the last year, particularly among those between the ages of 16 and 39 ( wsws.  gallup). Within the Gen Z group (ages 16-23), support for socialism increased nearly ten percentage points over the course of a single year: from 40 percent in 2019 to 49 percent when this poll was taken in September 2020. 

Maybe Germany´s future is brighter then the American.

 

Economics: Who Caused The Global Energy Crisis?

 (Drivebycuriosity) -  It seems there is a global energy crisis. The prices for coal, gas & oil are skyrocketing. A German electricity producer was forced to halt a power plant after it ran out of coal, in Spain the costs for electricity tripled in the recent months and in Great Britain the gas stations are running out of fuel. (marginalrevolution reuters). 

These developments have a common cause: The crisis is made by politicians. For years politicians worldwide have been fighting the production of fossil energies without providing valid alternatives. Many countries shut down their coal production. I can understand that, burning the black material creates a lot dirt and ruins health & environment. But the overhastly coal shutdown greats a gap. Something has to replace coal as a source for electricity. The current crisis shows that solar & wind energy, which are favored by the "Greens",  are not enough to compensate for coal.

There exists a possible energy source, which is cheap, with ample supplies and which does not create green house gases: Nuclear energy. Nuclear energy would be the solution for the climate crisis. But nuclear energy is treated like the Beelzebub. Many countries, including the US & Germany, cannot fast enough shut down their nuclear plants and want to get totally rid of nuclear power. 

So the world relies even more on oil & natural gas. Not long ago the market for oil and natural gas was well supplied, thank to US fracking. A rising US oil and gas production supplied the world (at least to a large part),  reduced oil and gas prices and destroyed the Opec monopoly (chart below).

 

Natural gas price:

 

 ( source)

 

 US Oil production:

 (source)

 

Unfortunately the Biden administration is fighting US oil production and fracking ( newsweek  reuters). Biden`s anti-fracking policy - limiting fracking, stopping new extraction of oil or gas on federal lands and suspending Trump era oil leases in Alaska - is already holding back US fracking and slowing US oil production (chart above). As a result rising demand - caused by the economic recovery - meets a shrinking (or at least curbed ) supply - oil & gas prices are jumping on multi years high even though the economy has not fully recovered from the Coivid-19 recession.

The energy price explosions are hurting the global economy, which still has to struggle with Covid-19 and supply chain issues. The current energy crisis is a warning. The climate change agenda is creating a lot headwinds for the global economy - and maybe even more severe energy crises are following.

Covid-19: Why The Next Wave Is Already In The Making

 (Drivebycuriosity) -   The world is still fighting against Covid-19. Fortunately in the US the numbers of new infections & hospitalizations are falling again. But I fear that the next wave is already in the making.

The number of fully vaccinated Americans is way too low. In the US are only 55% percent fully vaccinated, in Great Britain 66%, in Germany 64%, and the vaccination came almost to a standstill ( ourworldindata ).

To make things worse - the immunization effect is waning over the time. That means that some of the fully vaccinated person can get infected and the risk of a breakthrough infection is higher the earlier the vaccination was administered (wfla.com  twitter). In the coming months people who got fully vaccinated in Spring will have a rising infection risk. The high percentage of unvaccinated people raises this risk.

 

 

 ( source )

 

 

 ( source )

We can observe this development already in Great Britain where the number of new infections stagnates on a high level even though two-thirds of the Brits are already fully vaccinated (chart above). UK was very early and vaccinated a large part of the population before May  ( twitter). We can see a similar  development in Germany, albeit on a lower level. 

Given the low number of vaccinated Americans and a general complacency (not wearing masks, ignoring social distance) the next wave is around the corner.