Leslie Holt has broken a sort of taboo over at Art & Perception with her political artwork — reinterpretations of works by old masters. Art & Perception had become something of a “soft art” site lately. If art is to be relevant today, it has to take on the tough issues. Leslie says she has more in the same vein. I’m very curious to see the rest . . .

All war is deception.
–Sun Tzu

The most famous and perhaps most studied book on military conflict is Sun Tzu’s The Art of War (6th century BC). The metaphoric title is in fact a translator’s conceit (the literal title is “Sun Tzu’s Military Strategy”), but the translated title is irrevocably tied to the book (in Western minds at least). The persistence of the book’s relevance with its adopted title raises the question, can one legitimately, or at least “profitably,” think of war as art? (more…)