The LA Times’ profile of an on-going Van Gogh exhibit at the Royal Academy of Art in London has this point to emphasize: Van Gogh was not a “crazy genius” and they’ve got his personal letters to prove it. He was well-read and dandy, you see, despite walking off a pier while carrying on a conversation (strike 1), gorging on his paints (strike 2), or coming down for supper with a bleeding-out gut shot (that was strike 3). So feel free to shake off your “artistic” friend’s red flag as bit of a nervous rough patch… don’t stress. What they do might even end up on a coffee mug someday. |LAT|