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Lunch with Felix Salmon, and then Gretchen Rubin
Or was it dinner? He let me order and we ate at the excellent Sichuan Gourmet, on 39th between 5th and 6th. Felix asked me who were the three greatest living contemporary artists. Although we had never discussed this question before (and we had barely met before), we agreed immediately on picks #1 and #2 and required only a short while before settling the more difficult question of who should be #3.
Can you guess our picks? I'll leave it to Felix to decide if and when to offer up our answers, whether on his blog or in the comments section here.
I also had an excellent lunch with Gretchen Rubin, covering the strengths and weaknesses of Judith Harris's The Nurture Assumption, people who have a "relentless" writing style, and what sells books and what doesn't.
I have never once met a person whose blog I like and then been disappointed. Never.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on June 7, 2009 at 02:22 PM in The Arts | Permalink
Comments
I worked on the same block as Sichuan Gourmet for two years and never ate there -- the menu doesn't meet my tastes. There's a great Iraqi place on 38th b/w 5&6 (Olympic Pita) which you should try next time you are in that area.
Posted by: Dan at Jun 7, 2009 2:30:26 PM
The term 'artist' is used in all sorts of ways. I'd probably pick film directors and musicians, but I presume you mean "best painters." The best living writers are all dead (before their time.)
(BTW, prepare to be disappointed on September 23rd.)
Posted by: Scott Sumner at Jun 7, 2009 2:39:34 PM
I will say that Sichuan Gourmet is significantly more excellent when Tyler orders than when he doesn't. I do hope he'll share his tips for ordering Chinese food in a situation like this one.
Posted by: Felix at Jun 7, 2009 3:12:23 PM
that part of town is a bit of a wasteland as far as food goes. also, sichuan gourmet is one of the least good szechuan restaurants in new york. almost any of the grand szechuan chain is better (24th and 9th is standout imho) and wu liang ye -- especially the rockafellar center branch -- is also excellent. it's probably my favorite. spicy and tasty in flushing is as good or better depending on what your order. if you go there don't miss the cold beef tendon.
the olympic pita branch in midwood, brooklyn (which is an orthodox jewish neighborhood -- don't go on sabbath or you will find it closed) is considerably better than the midtown branch.
Posted by: babar at Jun 7, 2009 3:20:21 PM
"greatest living contemporary artists": if they are living, how can you know that they are greatest? And what do you mean by "contemporary"?
Posted by: dearieme at Jun 7, 2009 4:49:20 PM
I'd like to hear what you (and perhaps Rubin) thought of Judith Rich Harris and her work. I find her to be a rigorous and therefore compelling writer. Stop teasing us with name-dropping like that!
Posted by: D at Jun 7, 2009 5:16:50 PM
I think the fact that you're both academics will dramatically change your answers, but given that the two of you agreed so quickly, and how popular classical music is among academics, I'm going to guess Yo-Yo Ma was one of them. I think you two were probably thinking along the lines of a very narrow definition of artist. Sculptors, painters, musicians, vocalists, actors, directors, and possibly comedians or architects. I doubt you considered fashion designers, costume designers, chefs, playwrights, makeup artists, dancers, acrobats, jugglers, marketing executives, animators, story board artists, cinematographers, promotion managers/planners, set designers, audio engineers, record producers, etc., etc. Needless to say, trying to pick a top 3 is nearly impossible when you have never even heard of the leading artists in 90% of artistic fields.
Posted by: David C at Jun 7, 2009 6:25:41 PM
(1) I'm not an academic; (2) we restricted ourselves to fine/visual artists. "contemporary" is redundant, the important bit is "living".
Posted by: Felix at Jun 7, 2009 6:42:45 PM
Two guesses: Jasper Johns and Gerhard Richter. Though that probably reflects my biases better than guesses at your choices.
Posted by: Simon at Jun 7, 2009 8:48:59 PM
1. Gerhard Richter, 2. Cy Twombly, 3. ????????
Two years ago, I would have said Howard Hodgkin for #3, but I am not so sure anymore. Man oh man, maybe it's Anselm Kiefer??
Posted by: angus at Jun 7, 2009 8:51:27 PM
1. Gerhard Richter
2. Jasper Johns
3. Kiki Smith
Posted by: Larry Rothfield at Jun 7, 2009 9:34:02 PM
Jasper Johns, Lucian Freud, Lee Bontecou?
Posted by: Michael F. Martin at Jun 7, 2009 9:51:40 PM
In that area, I think you would have done much better to go a few blocks south to 32nd and hit one of the great Korean places. The kim che jeon at won jo is well worth the trip.
As far as art, the best are less well known. Merrill Wagner and others have produced works
that I find much more powerful and durable than others mentioned here, such as Johns.
Posted by: Linn Stanton at Jun 7, 2009 10:33:11 PM
I'd guess that if Tyler and friends want to make it a guessing game.. Then one is being baited. (E.g. "I bet you picked some hoity toity B.S.!" And then, "Hoho! No! We picked the person who designed the handle on the.... Blahblahblah ! Gotcha!!"
So, guess far afield... I couldn't think of a pithy joke selection since... I can't even pick what is the greatest of what I know in my head.
A lot of things are great in their own right.. And they don't belong to a well ordered set.
Posted by: Eli at Jun 7, 2009 10:41:18 PM
1. Mary Engelbreit
2. Sandra Boynton
3. Jasper Johns
Posted by: Walt at Jun 7, 2009 10:53:41 PM
I seriously suspect that Damien Hirst was number one and think that this is appropriate. I suspect that Hirst would be very easy for two people to agree on as number one more than any other artist. I also think that the he would be easy for two people to agree that he doesn't belong anywhere near the top of the list.
Posted by: Michael Foody at Jun 8, 2009 12:18:46 AM
Richard Serra should be on the list, if sculptors count. Banksky is also an interesting phenomenon.
Posted by: David Wright at Jun 8, 2009 1:07:32 AM
Forget about the artists, I think it's more important to discuss what were item #1-3 ordered from Sichuan Gourmet? Their ma po tofu is amazing, and their lunch specials and delivery time are fantastic. Check out www.midtownlunch.com if you're looking for other eating options in midtown.
Posted by: Ranjan at Jun 8, 2009 1:14:52 AM
Oh, how I wait with baited breath to know....please, please don't keep me at the edge of my seat any longer, Tyler. My god this blog is becoming little better than Tyler's love affair with himself and others like him. What's next: The five most under-rated Nepalese films? The top types of tweed? Which are the best five urban areas in each continent? It's getting nauseating in its pretentiousness.
Posted by: glenn at Jun 8, 2009 1:30:56 AM
It is universally acknowledged that Tiffany Jewellery are indispensable to us.On no account can we ignore the value of Tiffany and Silver Jewellery.
Posted by: Tiffany & co at Jun 8, 2009 1:38:19 AM
I found Gretchen Rubin's blog through this one and read it for a while, but eventually found it tediously repetitive.
Do blogs have a natural lifespan? Is it better to update frequently even if that means you're repeating yourself, or to update only occasionally, when you have something to say?
Posted by: Linda at Jun 8, 2009 7:12:02 AM
Best artist: John Lasseter?
No way should Richard Serra be on the list if only because of If only because of this article:
http://books.google.com/books?id=gG3YMPiouEoC&pg=PA185&lpg=PA185&dq=Richard+Serra+moral+rights&source=bl&ots=2jBAyOdnTR&sig=tQKo7nxxGDPAspQfCwlAWv8AMko&hl=en&ei=eREtSoD7BIjGM4yJidgJ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#PPA185,M1
Posted by: NR at Jun 8, 2009 9:31:11 AM
mandelbrot should be on the top 3 best list independent of what the list is.
Posted by: babar at Jun 8, 2009 9:35:59 AM
One more artist: Bruce Pollack.
Posted by: Nancy Lebovitz at Jun 8, 2009 9:45:19 AM
You do realize how foolish a question it is. I hope.
If you'd phrased it as "best known" or "most in demand" or "best marketing and promotion" it would make sense. But phrased as you have? No.
Posted by: David Sucher at Jun 8, 2009 12:03:12 PM
