Few people these days would call this thing a spigot these days, but it’s an old word I like so that’s reason enough to make it the name of this new painting (I also originally thought to call this week’s newsletter “Staring into the Void” but reconsidered.) Coming up with titles for pictures is a fraught process. You don’t want a name which does all the work for the viewer, but neither is calling it something completely opaque or seemingly unrelated to the subject-matter ideal. You want something evocative but not too evocative. More often than not I just give them geographical or very rudimentary titles, like the one below. It’s called “Lituanica #12” because it was painted looking out the window of my apartment on that street, and is the 12th in the series so far. It’s simple but it works. 

The Tribune published my review of the incredibly thorough new book about The Replacements and the Reader ran my review of the Alex Katz drawing show.

Saturday night I got to watch and listen to Mavis Staples sing. Most of us would be lucky to put out as much energy and joy as she does at half her age. It was something to behold and I felt fortunate to’ve been there.