The title Entropvisions is in homage to my mother, the poet and art critic, Harriet Zinnes. In 1990 New Directions published a collection of her poems titled Entropisms, a word she made-up combining entropy - the tendency toward disorder - and tropism - the growth towards or away from a stimulus. Similarly, my short reviews combine entropy and tropism by suggesting growth towards a vision of art from the chaos of the art world. Through the back door, my title also pays homage to my physicist father, Irving Zinnes, whose long discussions with my mom got her thinking about entropy and tropism in the first place.
With just a few days left (the show closes on May 29), I'd like to do my small part to go uptown to East 84th Street to see the Pompeian fresco show at NYU. Short of a trip to Italy, I doubt we'll have another chance anytime in the near future to see such work at such high quality. Made between around 100 BCE - 100 AD, in the relatively backwater town of Pompeii just before the volcano forced artisans to drop their tools mid-work to flee the ashes, we see such a deep humanity in the facial expressions, such a complex understanding of space and compositional organization, and a willingness to explore the unusual. Also on view are the tools and powdered pigments used, as well as explanations and examples of the fresco-making process itself. Though no advance registration is required, you will need to show proof of vaccination, and will need to wear a high-quality mask. Cloth masks are prohibited.