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...
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...
Archive Exhibit Exposes Espionage
Original European Union Poster For: Prague Through The Lens Of the Secret Police.Imagine that every move in your ordinary, everyday life, was secretly photographed. Your seemingly innocuous activities, strolling through a park, munching on an apple, waiting for the subway, were considered so dangerous they were captured forever by the secret police. Sounds far fetched, doesn't it? But a traveling exhibit from the newly created Security Services Archive in the Czech Republic capital of Prague reveals that from 1968 to 1989 this was exactly what citizens in that city endured.The exhibit, Prague Through The Lens Of The Secret Police, is...
African American Archivist’s Dream Must Not Be Deferred
Avery Clayton (1947-2009)Avery Clayton lived long enough to find a home for the largest collection of African American artifacts on the West Coast. But not long enough to see the treasure trove of rare books, manuscripts, photographs, feature films and ephemera, his mother's life's work, made available to the public. Mr. Clayton died suddenly on Thursday, while hosting a Thanksgiving dinner. He was 62 years old.Mayme A. Clayton (1923-2006)Clayton's mother, Mayme, spent 40 years amassing materials on African American history from every source imaginable: garage sales, flea markets, attics, used-book stores, and even dumps. She rescued thousands of rare books,...