November 2, 2024

"Mondrian didn’t believe in ice cubes because cold food was bad for the health. He stood ramrod straight..."

"... and never had a hair out of place, refusing to take off his jacket in company even on hot nights. He was given to incomprehensible monologues and Garbo-like utterances such as 'You don’t seem to understand that I want to be alone.'... He once entered a room, wrinkled his nose, and commented to his host, 'It smells old in here.' Mondrian was known for planting bizarre, forceful and one-sided kisses, some lasting 30 minutes, on women. Yet he mostly felt women got in men’s way; the feminine was 'hostile to the spirit.' He once remarked, 'Every bit of semen expended is a masterpiece lost.'"

Writes Dwight Garner, in "Piet Mondrian: An Orderly Painter, a Deeply Eccentric Man/A new biography of one of the quintessential artists of the 20th century" (NYT).

16 comments:

n.n said...

Transgender with transsocial elements of dysfunction and thermal reductive phobia albeit with circumstantial cause.

Dave Begley said...

If this guy was quintessential, how come I’d never heard of him until just now?

Dave Begley said...

I Googled him. He painted colored squares. Looks like he worked for Frank Wright.

Kate said...

If he didn't use ice cubes, he obviously didn't know how to drink a proper glass of whiskey.

MrsX said...

I’m ambivalent about Mondrian’s art but the review was enjoyable. A sample “Mondrian lived like an ambassador from the kingdom of ridiculous notions.” And now I don’t have to read the book.

Ice Nine said...

Because you didn't ever study art, even a little bit, perhaps? Never been a major modern art museum, maybe? I can't otherwise answer your question because Mondrian is impossible to miss in either of those circumstances.

Marcus Bressler said...

Sounds like a perv who sexually assaults women with kisses that last that long. I didn’t read the article. Did any of the women consent? Was consent asked? Heh.

Ampersand said...

On balance, the hunger for social desirability is a good and necessary thing. It's interesting to see someone who manages to survive without it.

I've seen people who seem to thrive without that hunger in positions of power in the entertainment industry. They simply hire publicists who deliver social desirability to them as if it were groceries.

Jupiter said...

Did he ejaculate little multi-colored cubes? With black edges?

tcrosse said...

You can drink whiskey with ice if you like, but not whisky.

Dave Begley said...

I recognized his work, but not his name. Not that great.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

Piet Mondrian is my new hero because I've never been able to go longer than seven minutes in the bizarre, forceful and one-sided kiss department.

Roadkill711 said...

"As Balzac said, 'there goes another novel'"

Jerry said...

There's some things we were not meant to know.

Mikey NTH said...

Sounds like a real nut case.

tcrosse said...

Not unusual in the art world.