Olfactory Masterpieces: Why Isn’t Perfume Taken Seriously As Art?

“I have yet to find a curatorial colleague who regularly beats a path to the fragrance counter in search of, say, Joy Parfum, the 1930 masterpiece by Henri Alméras for Jean Patou, which, if it were a painting, could hang beside Matisse’s nearly contemporary Yellow Odalisque in Philadelphia. And yet, the parallels between what ought to be more properly regarded as sister arts are undeniable. Artists and colourmen combine natural and, these days, synthetic pigments with media such as oils and resins, much as the perfumer carefully formulates natural and synthetic chemical compounds.”

BBC1 and BBC2 TV To Stream Online

“From November 27, the channels can be viewed online via their respective sites on bbc.co.uk at the same time as they are broadcast on television. They will also be available to licence fee payers using the internet on portable devices such as mobile phones… The channels join BBC3, BBC4, CBBC, CBeebies and BBC News, which are already simulcast.”

Could Obama’s Election Be Good for Country Music?

Wait – wasn’t much of the country music world (and its fans) behind John McCain? Sure – “The GOP and Nashville hitched themselves to each other as far back as the Nixon years.” But, says David Browne, as country ruled the charts through the years of conservative political dominance, Nashville churned out “too many Southern-adult-contemporary ballads and obnoxious power chords.” Some time in eclipse might be just what country music needs.

Clive Barnes, 81

“Clive Barnes, who as a critic in Britain and later for The New York Times helped bring dance to a broad audience with an exuberant, highly personal style in his reviews, died early this morning… His death, at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, was caused by complications of cancer.”