"Librarians and teachers are the only reason I'm not in prison right now", explains illustrator William Joyce. When he was in the fourth grade, Joyce wrote and illustrated his first book in green crayon about the magical superpowers of the contents of his elementary school hero's nose. He soon found himself hauled off to the principal's office to be reprimanded. Since then, Joyce has written and illustrated more than fifty children's books, including Santa Calls, Dinosaur Bob and his Adventures with the Family Lazardo, A Day with Wilbur Robinson, and The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. Most recently Moonbot Studios,...
Evolution of a Painted Librarian: Peter Sis channels Giuseppe Arcimboldo
The Librarian (Wolfgang Lazius), ca. 1562. Oil on canvas. 97 x 71 cm (38 3/16 x 28 in.)In the mid-16th century the Italian painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo gave us The Librarian, a portrait composed almost entirely of books. One of the most original painters of the Renaissance it is not hard to see how his work would influence the Surrealists and Cubists some 400 years later.In his 1994 book The Three Golden Keys illustrator Peter Sís "recaptures the wonder of his own lost childhood in Prague and celebrates the city's cultural heritage, reborn after forty-five years of Communist rule." One of...
Lady Gaga: Self-professed Librarian of Glam
"I am obsessed with all the authors in the library of pop culture." - Lady GagaIn her inaugural piece for V Magazine Lady Gaga wants you know that she has done her homework."Glam culture is ultimately rooted in obsession and those of us who are truly devoted and loyal to the lifestyle of glamour are masters of its history. Or, to put it more elegantly, we are librarians." says Gaga.She acknowledges the "tremendous amount of studying" she has done over the years in her "library" that featured "Everything from vintage books and magazines I found at the Strand on 12th...
Kaplan Boxing Archive: From Contender To Champ
Poster For An Exhibit of Materials From The Hank Kaplan Boxing Archive.(All Images Courtesy Of Hank Kaplan Boxing Archive At Brooklyn College.)The rags to riches story behind Brooklyn College's Hank Kaplan Boxing Archive just got a little richer: on April 16, 2010 the collection's chief archivist, Professor Anthony Cucchiara, became the winner of a $315,000 endowment from the National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) to organize the largest and most extensive boxing collection in the world. "This two-year grant will allow us to process and preserve this invaluable collection that spans two centuries of boxing history," says Prof. Cucchiara.Finding the...
Yale Exhibit Romances The Last Of The Gentleman Scholars
Pierre-Joseph Redoute, Plum Branches Intertwined, 1802-04, watercolor on vellum. (Images Courtesy Of Yale Center For British Arts.)When Charles Ryskamp was interviewed in 2004, he found the reporter's questions about his background so tedious he snapped: "I don't want this to be an obituary." Ryskamp needn't have worried. The one-time director of both the Morgan Library and Museum and the Frick Collection died on March 26, 2010, with the best possible remembrance of his life and career on display at the Yale Center For British Art. Varieties of Romantic Experience: Drawings from the Collection of Charles Ryskamp, an exhibit of 200...