April 23, 1993

HOW German is the New York art scene? At the moment and for the next few weeks, rather more than usual. After a fall season dominated by Matisse, it's almost as if a collective, unconscious decision had been made to give equal time to French art's traditional rival, German art. At the Museum of Modern Art, site of the fall's great Matisse retrospective, exhibitions of three important German artists are stacked one on top of another. A large, intriguing show of early work by the Dadaist-Surrealist Max Ernst is sandwiched between a retrospective of the drawings of Joseph Beuys, paterfamilias of postwar German art, and a survey of the scathing prewar photomontages of John Heartfield, which both chronicle and rail against the rise of Hitler. With their emphasis on ideas about art and society, their sense of moral imperative and their frequent lack of color, these shows create an esthetic climate far different from the lush if rigorous beauty of Matisse. Similar conditions prevail in "Photography and Contemporary German Art: 1960 to the Present," a large, often somber exhibition at the Guggenheim SoHo.

In an unusual revolt against American policy in the Balkans, the State Department's top experts on the Balkans have sent Secretary of State Warren Christopher an impassioned letter that calls Western diplomacy a failure and recommends military action against the Serbs. The experts, career diplomats serving in Washington, said in a petition to Mr. Christopher that the United States had a moral obligation to save the Muslims from "genocide" at the hands of Serbian nationalist forces in Bosnia.

U.S. Role in Nuclear Issue The United States offered to take part in talks to resolve North Korea's refusal to abide by an international treaty on nuclear weapons. Page A10. Lawmakers Support Reno Attorney General Janet Reno was praised in Congress for her handling of the assault on the cult compound in Texas, but the agency involved in the initial raid is under fire. Page A20. Germany Cuts Interest Rates The German central bank again lowered two key interest rates amid signs that Germany's recession had worsened substantially. Page D1. Italian Premier Resigns Prime Minister Giuliano Amato of Italy formally resigned, opening what is likely to be intense political competition over a successor. Page A9. Holtzman's Bank Got Job As the New York City Comptroller was renegotiating a loan, her office recommended a branch of the bank to become a bond underwriter. Page B1. Ozone Loss Goes On The atmospheric ozone layer declined this year in the Northern Hemisphere, scientists say, but the effect may not last. Page A24.

When Pratt & Whitney, Connecticut's largest private employer, said last week that it might have to close most of its state operations, it did more than send a shudder through the state's economy. It put a specific and startling price tag on just how badly Connecticut's business climate is out of step with its competition.

Takashimaya, the Japanese department store chain, is opening a much-awaited specialty store today on Fifth Avenue in New York City that will challenge American notions of what a store is. If it succeeds, not only will it change the conventional wisdom about store environments, it will also reverse the poor showing of Japanese retailers in the New York market.