Statement

I’ve stated that the cockatrice occasionally finds a work so robust, so vibrant, that the eye cannot turn it to stone. At best it can grab hold of a small part, but, skink-like, that art can easily drop its tail for the critics’ mouth and regenerate another. What the cockatrice did not consider, however, is art that is already mineralized before it comes under my gaze. I had this realization experiencing the dead eyes of Lady Gaga. Note the artificial enhancement of her eyes in "Bad Romance", as if in desperate compensation for their lack of empathy.

Statement

The cockatrice is a mythical creature that can petrify with its gaze. Thus, it becomes an appropriate metaphor for the critic and the ossifying power of judgment. However, as in all mythology, there is the exception--like the weasel, the most robust art is able to withstand or even defy the eye of the cockatrice.