One Of The Tate's Typically Atypical Christmas Trees"Shelving Unit Tree" Created By Richard Wilson, 1998. (All Photos Courtesy Of The Tate Library And Archive.)Every year since 1988 the Tate Archive and Library in London has commissioned an important contemporary artist to decorate a Christmas Tree for display in its grand rotunda. The avant-garde artists' outlandish takes on the traditional symbol of yuletide gaiety have frequently caused consternation, but this year's tree has sparked a scandal like never before."Blue Neon Light Tree," Created By Catherine Yass, 2000.Before revealing the source of this year's unprecedented uproar, a brief peek at the precedent...
Emerson on the small screen
Over at the New York Times blog, Paper Cuts, Mick Sussman shares his thoughts on reading the complete works of Ralph Waldo Emerson on his Kindle
St. Nick’s Newsboys Shine In Library’s Photos
One Of Detroit's Finest Plays St. Nick For Motown's Newsboys, 1931.(All Photos Courtesy of Walter P. Reuther Library's Virtual Motor City Collection, Wayne State University.)Wayne State University's Walter P. Reuther Library has got the scoop on a holiday story straight out of "The Dead End Kids." Motor City angels with dirty faces--former newsboys-- make good but can't forget the old neighborhood. Every Christmas they go back to the same mean street corners where they once shouted "Extra! Extra!" and raise enough cash to stuff the empty stockings of every Detroit kiddie full of gifts. Sounds like something straight of a...
"I Am A Seller of Used Ideas"
A mock invitation card to the 1970 Oz obscenity trial over the'Schoolkids Issue'with a note on the back from Richard Neville,one of the co-editors,saying that he was on his way to court.The Judge said that his co-accused Felix Denniswas too thick to warrant a long custodial sentence.Carl Williams, who heads up the Counterculture division of Maggs Bros. modern department, has curated an eclectic spread of over a hundred posters, illustrations, propaganda pamphlets for Maggs Gallery’s current exhibit, Please Do Not Bend.He recently sat down with Daven Wu of The Sixties for an interview about the exhibition and his job, which...
Library’s 50’s Photos Flourish At The Frick
Danny Gaido Cries In His Crib( All Photos: Esther Bubley, 1951)The Pittsburgh Photographic Library was founded to 1950 with a single mission: to document urban renewal in the Steel City. But its founding director, Roy Stryker, a Columbia University economist with a background in public relations, was also a photographer with an eye for undiscovered talent. This led to the hiring of photojournalists who could produce something more than business booster shots. A current exhibit at The Frick Art & Historical Center shows just how much more a great photographer can bring to the most ordinary assignment.Parents Visit Child In...