Appreciation of Stanwyck is spot on

I read Mark Feeney's wonderful appreciation of Barbara Stanwyck ("Positively the same dame!" Arts & Entertainment, July 15 ). I enjoy her work and fortunately it is available to watch. Feeney's description of her talent was spot on. There are many female characters on TV and in the movies who are tough, smart, and worldly. Stanwyck did it better than most, at a time when these traits were not valued the way they are today. The honesty she brought to the characters make her portrayals so lasting.

DIANE JULIANO
Sudbury

I am a devoted fan of the Harry Potter books and movies and was ecstatic when I read Ty Burr's review ("The dark side casts its spell in latest 'Harry Potter,' " Living/Arts, July 10 ). I was apprehensive about the film but quickly realized that this was my favorite film to date. My opinion was not shared by others who walked out yelling about the small, insignificant things that were left out. My problems with the film were few , and I enjoyed most of the changes that were made.

JENNIFER BURNS

Billerica

Thank you to Joanna Weiss for her perceptive piece on the dwindling audiences for PBS shows ("As audience dwindles, PBS readies a makeover for venerable series," Living/Arts, July 11 ). I have taught "Pride and Prejudice" to hundreds of 12th-grade students who are surprised by how much they like the novel and Jane Austen. Here are my suggestions for capturing the 18-to-30 age group: Do not have the host sit inside in a stuffy study. Have the host walk around the set or estate on location, pointing out architecture, fashion, and decorating. Talk about how major scenes for the episode were interpreted. Do not be afraid to use caricature. Pace the action so that the viewer has to watch the action to keep up with it.

MARION VAN NOSTRAND HERNANDEZ
Milton High School

I hope Joanna Weiss's article shakes up PBS a bit. I've always been an ardent fan -- until recent years. The programming is old with too many repeats billed as new, and there is too much on- air fund - raising with programs that are too shopworn to be shown. No wonder people don't watch PBS anymore. Why should anyone watch "Masterpiece Theatre" when they know they can catch it on reruns for the next 10 years?

PHYLLIS BEEDLE

Winchester

I have watched PBS over the years for thought-provoking escapism, not for its relevance to today's madness. [I watched] to be transported to a time when the world moved considerably slower and a person had time to think of right or wrong, without continual bombardment by talking heads and homogeneous advertising blitzes. Nobody could match Alistair Cooke's ability to draw the viewer into the story line with background and commentary about the time.

M. P. R. HOWARD
San Francisco

From the moment I started reading Mark Feeney's essay I wanted to save it ("In a lonely place : In Hopper's art, film noir, and elsewhere, solitude is All-American," Arts & Entertainment, July 8 ). So rich were his associations, descriptions, and depth of historical knowledge of the American landscape of painting. Feeney's splendid visual sensibility and gift for writing add so much to the dialogue that is art history. As a painter and viewer of paintings, I am also compelled to underscore Hopper's own explanation of his intent , which Feeney quotes: "All I wanted to do was paint sunlight on the side of a house." We should take Hopper at his word and not interpret the quiet and solitude that come with the study of light to mean anything more than the sublime visual sensation of color in every day or night.

KIMBERLY COLLINS JERMAIN
Essex

Ken Johnson gave a simplistic, one-sided rant about Christoph Büchel's problematic Mass MoCA installation ( "Mass MoCA has mishandled disputed art installation," Arts & Entertainment, July 1 ). Johnson concludes, as if he is a good judge of the complicated legal and budgetary issues which have not been made public, that the museum's response is "sad, dumb , and shameful." What is shameful is that Johnson did not consider that there are two sides to the story. I take particular exception to his opinions because I have been working with artists to create installations on a limited budget for more than 15 years. Johnson spends the entire article vilif ying an institution whose good-faith efforts he barely even mentions, except to quickly list that the artist had already used up a budget of $300,000 after agreeing to do the installation for $160,000. Johnson gives the museum's record short shrift and fails to accept the installation's burlap- and tarp-covered space, saying visitors will be "mysti- fied by what he or she encounters."

JAMES HULL
Independent curator, artist, and critic, Boston

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