Paint the Revolution: Mexican Modernism, 1910–1950

Diego Rivera, “Liberation of the Peon” (1931)
"From the start of the Mexican Revolution in 1910 to the aftermath of World War II, artists and intellectuals in Mexico were at the center of a great debate about their country’s destiny. The exhibition tells the story of this exhilarating period through a remarkable range of images, from masterpieces by Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Frida Kahlo, and Rufino Tamayo to transfixing works by their contemporaries Dr. Atl, María Izquierdo, Roberto Montenegro, Carlos Mérida, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, and many others. Paint the Revolution offers a deep look at the forces that shaped modern art in Mexico, the progress of which was closely watched around the world. ..."
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art - Collections : Search Collections
NY Times: ‘Paint the Revolution’ Offers Mexican Muralist Muscle and Delicate Beauty
amazon

2008 April: Frida Kahlo, 2009 March: Diego Rivera, 2011 April: Mexican muralism (Video), 2013 October: Mexican Portraits, 2012 July: Photographing the Mexican Revolution

The David Johansen Group Live (2004)

"Nine tracks from this July 21, 1978, concert at New York's Bottom Line were released as a promotional LP at the time, but this 1993 CD is the first time the entire concert was released. If this had been available commercially at the time, as opposed to 1981's comparatively limp live offering Live It Up, it might have changed the direction of David Johansen's commercial fortunes, it's that good, a Frampton Comes Alive of New York glam-punk. Johansen is always an engaging live performer, but he was absolutely on fire this night, and all 18 tracks are absolute scorchers. ... Powerful, funny, and rocking, this is essential for all David Johansen fans."
allmusic
W - The David Johansen Group Live
Robert Christgau
amazon
YouTube: The David Johansen Group Live 1:01:39

2015 June: New York Dolls (1973), 2016 February: David Johansen (1977), 2016 September: Too Much Too Soon - New York Dolls (1973)

Rencontres - Miriodor (1998 re-issue)

"... Miriodor's first album, Rencontres, was originally released in an edition of 500 on vinyl only. It has been out of print for a decade, & contains the only recordings of the band in their original sextet formation. Including almost 30' of bonus material, the music here is joyful & spiritied. The music is more squarely in the progressive rock vein than their later more RIO-oriented works, with nods to the classic Quebeçois prog sound, and lovely melodies performed on violin, electric guitar, flute, sax or keyboards. Many symphonic/progressive fans think this is their best release ever, & in any event, there's a lot to enjoy here."
Cuneiform Records
progarchives
amazon
iTunes
YouTube: Checkmate

2014 July: Cobra Fakir, 2016 July: Jongleries Élastiques (1996)

Agnes Martin (1912–2004)

Untitled, 1958
"For more than forty years, Agnes Martin (1912–2004) created serene paintings composed of grids and stripes. With an attention to the subtleties of line, surface, tone, and proportion, she varied these forms to generate a body of work impressive both in its intricacy and focus. Martin’s commitment to this spare style was informed by a belief in the transformative power of art, in its ability to conjure what she termed 'abstract emotions' — happiness, love, and experiences of innocence, freedom, beauty, and perfection. ..."
Guggenheim (Video)
Guggenheim - Beauty and Truth: Agnes Martin at the Guggenheim
NY Times: The Joy of Reading Between Agnes Martin’s Lines
New Yorker: Agnes Martin, a Matter-of-Fact Mystic

2013 April: Agnes Martin

The New World (2005)

Wikipedia - "The New World is a 2005 British-American romantic historical drama film written and directed by Terrence Malick, depicting the founding of the Jamestown, Virginia, settlement and inspired by the historical figures Captain John Smith, Pocahontas of the Powatan Native American tribe, and Englishman, John Rolfe. It is the fourth feature film written and directed by Malick. ... In 1607, Pocahontas, the spirited and adventurous daughter of Chief Powhatan, and others from her tribe witness the arrival of three ships sent by English royal charter to found a colony in the New World. Aboard one of the ships is Captain John Smith, below decks, in chains. ..."
Wikipedia
W - Pocahontas, W - John Smith, W - John Rolfe
Guardian: The New World: a misunderstood masterpiece?
YouTube: The New World - Trailer, The New World - Love Scenes

The definitive, ranked guide to ballers running another kind of screen

"It’s just not enough to be the type of athlete who drives the lane, knocks down 3-pointers or consistently records triple-doubles. Nope. Gotta be a movie star, too. Gotta try, at least. And these men did — even when, perhaps, they should not have. Running screens is fun — hey, it’s how these guys make a living, nab multimillion-dollar endorsement deals and become famous. But playing a caricatured version of yourself? That’s clutch, for real. Get ready for a lot of Shaquille O’Neal, plus fellow Hall of Famer Allen Iverson. Here’s the ultimate ranking — from worst to best — of the most Undefeated NBA stars of all time in their Hollywood moments. ..."
TheUndefeated

"Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)" - Lennon/Ono with the Plastic Ono Band (1970)

Wikipedia - "'Instant Karma!' – sometimes referred to as 'Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)' – is a song written by English musician John Lennon, released as a single on Apple Records in February 1970. In the UK, the single was credited to 'Lennon/Ono with the Plastic Ono Band'.  ...  'Instant Karma!' was written, recorded and released within a period of ten days, making it one of the fastest-released songs in pop music history. The recording was produced by Phil Spector, marking a comeback for the American producer after his self-imposed retirement in 1966, and leading to him being offered the producer's role on the Beatles' Let It Be album (1970). ..."
Wikipedia
The Beatles Bible
The Story of John Lennon’s ‘Instant Karma!’
YouTube: Instant Karma!, Instant Karma (Live in New York City), Yoko Ono : "Who Has Seen the Wind?"

2009 September: John Lennon - Live in New York City (Madison Square Garden 1972), 2014 April: "Jealous Guy" (1971), 2014 May: Mind Games (1973), 2014 July: Out of the Blue, 2014 December: Double Fantasy - John Lennon/Yoko Ono (1980), 2015 August: John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970).

The Library of Babel - Jorge Luis Borges (1941)

Wikipedia - "'The Library of Babel' is a short story by Argentine author and librarian Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986), conceiving of a universe in the form of a vast library containing all possible 410-page books of a certain format and character set. ... Borges' narrator describes how his universe consists of an enormous expanse of adjacent hexagonal rooms, each of which contains the bare necessities for human survival—and four walls of bookshelves. Though the order and content of the books is random and apparently completely meaningless, the inhabitants believe that the books contain every possible ordering of just 25 basic characters (22 letters, the period, the comma, and the space). ..."
Wikipedia
[PDF] The Library of Babel
Open Culture: Visit The Online Library of Babel: New Web Site Turns Borges’ “Library of Babel” Into a Virtual Reality
Open Culture: What Does Jorge Luis Borges’ “Library of Babel” Look Like? An Accurate Illustration Created with 3D Modeling Software
amazon

2009 August: Jorge Luis Borges, 2013 May: Jorge Luis Borges - 1, 2013 October: Borges: Profile of a Writer Presents the Life and Writings of Argentina’s Favorite Son, Jorge Luis Borges, 2016 May: Borges and $: The Parable of the Literary Master and the Coin.

Tommy Brown

"Discovered by the Griffin Brothers while touring in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1950, Brown recorded for Savoy Records in Atlanta under his own name -- with the Griffins' band in support -- before moving north to Washington, DC, to join the brothers in their touring and recording unit. His first Dot Records recording with the Griffin Brothers was a cover version of Dave Bartholomew's 'Tra-La-La,' and it was a huge success, peaking at number seven in the R&B charts in August 1951. This was followed by an even bigger hit in December when Brown’s emotional 'Weepin’ & Cryin' reached number three, and heralded a succession of such histrionic records. ..."
allmusic
W - Tommy Brown
Weepin' Tommy Brown
BlackCat Rockabilly
YouTube: Southern Women, Double Faced Deacon, Honky tonk, The House Near the Railroad, Atlanta Boogie, Griffin Brothers - Weepin' and Cryin', Remember Me

An Immersive Audio Tour of the East Village’s Famed Poetry Scene, Narrated by Jim Jarmusch

"A peek at the photos on a realtor’s listing for a New York City one bedroom apartment formerly occupied by Beat poet Allen Ginsberg is a dispiriting reminder of how much the East Village has changed. And that listing is over six years old! Daniel Maurer, the editor of Bedford + Bowery, and a Ginsberg fan whom history has compelled to take over a portion of his hero’s formerly sprawling digs, wrote amusingly of shoddy renovations and his upstairs neighbor, punk rock icon Richard Hell. ..."
Open Culture (Video)

2014 September: Passing Stranger :: The East Vilage Poetry Walk, 2009 May: Washington Square Park, 2010 January: Judson Memorial Church, 2011 February: Greenwich Village, 2011 July: East Village, Manhattan, 2012 July: MacDougal Street, 2013 August: The Village: 400 Years of Beats and Bohemians, Radicals and Rogues, a History of Greenwich Village, 2014 August: South Village, 2015 August: East Village Other, 2014 October: Houston Street, 2015 September: Folk City: New York and the Folk Music Revival, 2016 January: Chumley's, 2016 March: 25 Radical Things to Do in Greenwich Village, 2016 March: The most charming building on East 13th Street, 2016 October: Stuyvesant Street, 2014 February: The 11 Best Classic Diners and Luncheonettes in NYC, 2015 December: Gem Spa

After Nothing Comes - Aidan Koch

"In quiet moments, after the roar of a concert or the consistent rapport of an intoxicating conversation, true friendship is realized. It is is not until this connection is solidified, to wait for another day, that one may understand how perfectly another person fits into their life. These moments of quiet contemplation and reminiscing are just as important as the active, energetic parts. This quiet moment is where true narrative brilliance is found, as Aidan Koch makes clear with After Nothing Comes. The book is comprised of a selection of Koch’s zines spanning six years, from 2008 to 2014. It’s what any zinemaker can only hope their work is: concise, self-knowing, and unlike anything else available. ..."
TCJ
Koyama Press
Koyama exclusive: After Nothing Comes spotlights a bold cartoonist’s evolution

Don't Mourn-Organize!: Songs of Labor Songwriter Joe Hill (1990)

"Joe Hill's powerful songs moved Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Utah Phillips, Si Kahn, and countless others to blend politics and song. This dramatic tribute to the Industrial Workers of the World songwriter and activist Joe Hill, features songs by and about Hill performed by Billy Bragg, Hazel Dickens, Earl Robinson, Paul Robeson, and others. Compiled by Lori Elaine Taylor."
Smithsonian Institution (Video)
London Celtic Punks (Video)
Discogs
iTunes, Spotiry
YouTube: Don't Mourn-Organize!: Songs of Labor Songwriter Joe Hill

Nonstop Metropolis: A New York Atlas (2016)

"If you ask any New Yorker, they’ll tell you—their city is the center of the world. And according to the MTA or Google, the Big Apple’s core is somewhere in lower Manhattan. But traditional maps don’t show the locations familiar to the city’s millions of denizens: the corner in Queens where you can overhear Zulu and Jamaican patois, the trucks selling jerk chicken and dirty rice outside Hasidic synagogues in Brooklyn, the Staten Island Ferry that RZA and Ghostface Killah rode to go to grindhouse theaters in Times Square. In their new atlas, Nonstop Metropolis, Rebecca Solnit and Joshua Jelly-Schapiro share 26 maps of New York that prioritize bachata over Broadway, phở over pizza. ..."
WIRED: Nonstop Metropolis’ Stunning Maps Show NYC the Way Locals See It
Nonstop Metropolis: An Atlas of Maps Reclaiming New York’s Untold Stories and Unseen Populations
UCPress
Guardian: Nonstop metropolis: viewing a city's crazy, diverse, complex history as an atlas
Nonstop Metropolis: The Remix
Kickstarter (Video)

French and Indian War

Battle of Quebec, 13 September 1759, painted by Captain Hervey Smyth
Wikipedia - "The French and Indian War (1754–1763) comprised the North American theater of the worldwide Seven Years' War of 1756-1763. The war pitted the colonies of British America against those of New France, with both sides supported by military units from their parent countries of Great Britain and France, as well as by Native American allies. At the start of the war, the French North American colonies had a population of roughly 60,000 European settlers, compared with 2 million in the British North American colonies. The outnumbered French particularly depended on the Indians. Following months of localised conflict, the metropole nations declared war on each other in 1756, escalating the war from a regional affair into an intercontinental conflict. ..."
Wikipedia
W - General Wolfe
YouTube: History Brief: The French and Indian War

Eddie Hazel - Rest in P (1994)

"Like Jams From the Heart, Rest in P isn't a full-length LP but rather a compilation of vault recordings dug up to satisfy P-Funk fans' insatiable hunger for Eddie Hazel material. A Japanese import, Rest in P actually manages to eclipse the brief four-song Jams of the Heart by featuring that material under different song titles as well as additional material. Standout moments include the three epic jams: 'Juicy Fingers' (14 minutes), 'We Three' (12 minutes), and 'No, It's Not!' (nine-and-a-half minutes). ... Either way, this is still a fine collection of Hazel's unreleased studio work from the late '70s that will provide ample insight to this man's ongoing legacy as an under appreciated funk-metal guitarist."
allmusic
W - Rest in P
YouTube: Rest In P

2009 January: George Clinton, 2010 December: Mothership Connection - Houston 1976, 2011 October: Funkadelic - One Nation Under A Groove, 2011 October: "Do Fries Go With That Shake?", 2012 August: Tales Of Dr. Funkenstein – The Story Of George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic, 2015 July: Playing The (Baker's) Dozens: George Clinton's Favourite Albums, 2015 August: Chocolate City (1975), 2016 February: Maggot Brain - Funkadelic (1971), 2016 June: P-Funk All Stars - Urban Dancefloor Guerillas (1983).

Why Bernie Was Right

"This past April, just days before the critical New York primary, the Bernie Sanders campaign released a new ad it hoped would help overcome its rival’s home-state advantage and take the Vermont senator over the top. ... The pointedly unsubtle attack hit upon the central theme of the Sanders campaign, and its critique of frontrunner (and eventual nominee) Hillary Clinton. Making note of Clinton’s lucrative speaking fees from Wall Street banks it also employed coded class rhetoric to charge her — and by extension the entire Washington political establishment — of enjoying an incestuous, transactional relationship with powerful private interests at the expense of average Americans. This was the essence of the populist, social-democratic message upon which Sanders founded his presidential campaign. ..."
Jacobin

2016 January: Donald Trump and the Joys of Toy Fascism, 2016 January: Sanders Is Not Trump, 2016 January: Donald Trump’s Twitter Insults: The Complete List (So Far), 2016 February: Bernie and the Millennials, 2016 April: Lost in TRUMPLANDIA, 2016 April: Bernie Sanders and the History of American Socialism, 2014 September: Anarchism in America (1983), 2015 August: The Prophet Farmed: Murray Bookchin on Bernie Sanders, 2015 October: Post-Scarcity Anarchism (1971), 2015 October: The Ecology of Freedom (1982), 2016 July: Murray Bookchin’s New Life,  2016 August: Jill Stein, 2016 September: “The Spoiler” Speaks, 2016 September: Jill Stein’s Ideas Are Terrible. She Is Not the Savior the Left Is Looking For.

100 Years of Sun Ra – A Special Black Classical Broadcast

"Today marks the centennial of the arrival of prolific jazz composer and bandleader Sun Ra to Planet Earth. Born on May 22nd 1914, Ra, previously known as Herman Poole ‘Sonny’ Blount, would go on to play a varied and highly pivotal role on the outer reaches of the jazz realm, producing music that can best be described in places as otherworldly and building a formidable and much sought after discography, underpinned by many recordings alongside his free jazz ensemble the Sun Ra Arkestra. ..."
The Jazz Meet (Video) 5:56:36
Jazz Times: Sun Ra Music Archive Reissues 21 Albums Exclusively for iTunes

Lotte Lenya Sings Kurt Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins & Berlin Theater Songs (1997)

"A combined digital edition of Die Sieben Todsünden and Lotte Lenya Sings Berlin Theatre Songs of Kurt Weill, a pair of recordings given additional weight and texture as a result of Lenya recording them after visiting Berlin following a 20-year absence from the city -- she was heartbroken on seeing the devastation that had resulted from World War II. Die Sieben Todsünden is a nine-part work for vocal ensemble and soloist, while the Berlin Theatre Songs collection essentially rifles the Kurt Weill canon for highlights, coming up, as expected, with 'Moritat vom Mackie Messer' and 'Seeräuberjenny,' amongst others. Familiarity, however, makes the songs -- and the recordings -- no less a treasure. ..."
allmusic
W - Lotte Lenya
amazon
iTunes ($), Spotify
YouTube: Lotte Lenya sings Kurt Weill, Pirate Jenny

2009 December: Kurt Weill & Bertolt Brecht, 2011 August: W - Communards’ Wall 1871, 2012 March: The Threepenny Opera - Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill, 2012 July: Supply and Demand: Songs by Brecht / Weill & Eisler - Dagmar Krause, 2013 March: Pina Bausch - "The Seven Deadly Sins", 2015 February: The Partnership: Brecht, Weill, Three Women, and Germany on the Brink.

Kerry James Marshall’s Paintings Show What It Means to Be Black in America

“De Style” 1993
"People say we’re in the middle of a second civil rights movement, and we are. The only surprise is that the first one ever ended. The artist Kerry James Marshall was there for it. He was just a kid then, born in Birmingham, Ala., in 1955. But kids take in a lot. He was in Birmingham in 1963, when white supremacists dynamited a Baptist church and killed four young girls. He was 9 and living in Los Angeles in 1965 when Watts went up in flames. He remembers all that, just as he also remembers growing up in those years in a loving family: mother, father, sister, brother. Home. ..."
NY Times

2011 January: Kerry James Marshall

Syria/Turkey: DJ K-Sets – Popular Kurdish Cassette mix

"... As a music fan, you occasionally chance across a resource on the web that makes your heart leap with joy because of the numerous new sonic pathways it opens up . That is exactly what happened when Spanish compiler Manuel Sánchez sent me a link to his awesome DJ K-Sets web page. This is one of the best sets of Middle Eastern tapes I’ve come across, and the names of the mixes are enough to tantalise alone: Canaanite Galaxy; Destroy Route; Tel Aviv Bus Station; Tehran Electro Tunes; Iberia Ancient Songs … I’ll certainly be revisiting this page until I’ve soaked up each and every mix. ... I couldn’t agree more. -- John Doran"
Guardian (Video)

Frank O’Hara’s “For Bob Rauschenberg,” on His Birthday

Robert Rauschenberg, “Estate” (1963)
"Today is the birthday of the groundbreaking painter Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008), who would’ve turned 91 today. Rauschenberg, who Frank O’Hara once called 'the enfant terrible of the New York School,' was of course both a good friend and inspiration to O’Hara, Ashbery, and their circle in the 1950s and 1960s. This link is nowhere more apparent than in a wonderful poem by Frank O’Hara called 'For Bob Rauschenberg' (1959), which I’ve always felt should be better known. ..."
Locus Solus: The New York School of Poets

2008 January: Frank O'Hara, 2010 February: USA: Poetry, 2010 October: Stones: Larry Rivers and Frank O’Hara,  2011 October: City Poet: The Life and Times of Frank O'Hara - Brad Gooch, 2012 December: USA: Poetry, Frank O'Hara (1966), 2013 June: A Visual Footnote to O’Hara’s “The Day Lady Died”: New World Writing and The Poets of Ghana, 2013 March: Happy Birthday, Frank O’Hara: The Beloved Poet Reads His “Metaphysical Poem”, 2014 June: Remembering Frank O’Hara’s Apartments, 2014 August: Lunch Poems (1964), 2014 November: In Which The Elements of Disbelief Are Very Strong In The Morning, 2014 December: Hymns of St. Bridget & Other Writings, by Bill Berkson and Frank O’Hara, 2013 June: Cedar Tavern, 2016 April: Experiments with the New York School of Poets.

Nova Scotia Lighthouse

Louisbourg, Cape Breton
"For centuries Nova Scotia’s lighthouses have helped protect seafaring visitors and our own hard working people who looked to the sea for their living. Standing proudly against the elements, they embody the province’s maritime history and spirit. Today, lighthouses continue to dot the coastlines of Nova Scotia from Cape Forchu to Louisbourg. The Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society maintains a list of lighthouses on their website, including ones that are open to the public. ..."
Nova Scotia Lighthouse
Nova Scotia Lighthouse: Top 25 Attractions
All Lighthouses To Visit
Lighthouses of Canada: Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia
YouTube: Peggy's Cove Lighthouse, Port Bickerton Lighthouse(s), French Point Lighthouse, Black Rock Lighthouse, Bass River & Five Islands Lighthouses

2015 October: History of the Acadians, 2012 February: Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, 2012 December: Vanishing Cape Breton Fiddler, 2011 June: The Lost Salt Gift of Blood - Alistair MacLeod, 2016 February: Island (2001), 2016 October: Alistair MacLeod - No Great Mischief (1999)

Tom Waits Sings and Tells Stories in "Tom Waits: A Day in Vienna", a 1979 Austrian Film

"The film begins at a derelict gas station. A paper sign, peeling from the wall, warns in German that open flames and smoking are dangerous and strictly forbidden. In walks Tom Waits, smoking a cigarette. 'This reminds me of a place I used to work in National City, California, called Spotco Self Service,' Waits says as he leans against a pump. 'I worked for a gentleman named Charles Spotco. I was always late for work. I used to stay out at night. I’d come dragging to work, used to get there about ten-thirty in the morning.' ..."
Open Culture (Video)

2012 July: Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards, 2013 March: Burma Shave, 2013 May: "Ol' '55", 2013 July: The Heart of Saturday Night (1974), 2014 January: Blood Money, 2014 March: Telephone call from Istanbul (1987), 2014 November: Rain Dogs (1985), 2015 February: Mule Variations (1999), 2015 April: Swordfishtrombones (1983), 2015 July: Alice (2002), 2015 September: Tom Waits On The Tube Live UK TV 1985, 2015 December: Franks Wild Years (1987), 2016 January: "Bad as Me" (2011), 2016 April: 'It's perfect madness', 2016 May: Real Gone (2002).

Stevie Wonder ~ Master Blaster (Jammin') Reggae Purrfection Version (1980)

Wikipedia - "'Master Blaster (Jammin)' is a 1980 single by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder from his 1980 album Hotter than July. The song, built on a heavy reggae feel, is an ode to reggae legend Bob Marley; Wonder had been performing live with Marley (billing him as an opening act) on his US tour in the fall of that year. Lyrics mention 'children of Jah' and the end of the civil war in Zimbabwe. ..."
Wikipedia
Genius
YouTube: Master Blaster (Jammin') Reggae Purrfection Version

NBA 2016-17

"It's time for our last big preseason tradition: plopping all 30 teams into tiers to snapshot their place in the league hierarchy at this precious moment when everyone is 0-0. These are not strict power rankings, and the order within each bucket doesn't necessarily matter. At least a half-dozen teams could slide up or down a tier, or even across three; the gooey center of the NBA is unusually muddled. ..."
ESPN - Zach Lowe's annual tiers of the NBA (Video)
NBA 2016-17 GM Survey
NBA: 2016-17 Season Preview: Team-by-team previews (Video)
FiveThiryEight: The Complete History Of The NBA
Washington Post: The Top 100 players for the 2016-17 NBA season
2016 SLAM Top 50
Wikipedia

2011 June: American Basketball Association, 2012 November: Your Guide to the Brooklyn Nets, 2013 October: Rucker Park, 2015 June: Basketball’s Obtuse Triangle,  2015 October: Loose Balls - Terry Pluto (2007), 2015 November: The Sounds of Memphis, 2015 December: Welcome to Smarter Basketball, 2015 December: New York, New York: Julius Erving, the Nets-Knicks Feud, and America’s Bicentennial, 2016 January: A Long Hardwood Journey, 2016 March: American Hustle - Alexandra Starr.

How Posters Work

"As a medium of communication, the poster has a long history and a wide range of social functions, from selling a product to promoting a cause. Despite the rise of digital media, the print poster remains a vital and oftentimes radical form of visual communication. Featuring rarely-seen posters from Cooper Hewitt’s permanent collection, How Posters Work demonstrates how some of the world’s most creative designers have employed and pushed the boundaries of two-dimensional design, harnessed the mechanics and psychology of perception, and mastered the art of storytelling to produce powerful acts of visual communication. ..."
Cooper Hewitt
Cooper Hewitt to Present Special Exhibition “How Posters Work”
The Atlantic
amazon
SKILLSHARE (Video)

Twelve letters from Kenneth Irby to Edward Dorn

"Kenneth Irby and Ed Dorn’s decades-long correspondence is perhaps unique among poetic endeavors. Here, we collect their letters from 1963 to 1974 — the start of their relationship — when Irby was in his twenties and reconciling his academic pursuits with an 'increasing commitment to writing.' With the Black Mountain shorthand and Irby’s odd epistolary style largely intact, these letters constitute key primary documents within our larger celebration of Irby’s work."
Jacket2

2007 December: Edward Dorn, 1929-1999, 2011 April: The North Atlantic Turbine, 2012 September: Fulcrum Press, 2014 September: Tom Clark - Edward Dorn (1929-1999), 2015 November: The Collected Poems 1956 - 1974, 2015 December: Recollections of Gran Apachería (1974), 2016 April: By the Sound (1965), 2016 July: Gunslinger.

Penguin Cafe Orchestra - Union Cafe (1993)

"The Penguin Café Orchestra are a British classical ensemble formed in 1974 by Simon Jeffes (a guitar student at the Royal Academy) aiming to play ethnic music with the austerity of Western chamber music and the decadent languor of the café-concerto. The sound of this orchestra is fatuous and elegant, unaffected by the turmoil of modern life. Their music is as abstract as it is concrete: cabaret and ethnic folk elements are injected into baroque and renaissance music skeletons. Old-fashioned, nostalgic, theatrical and lofty, calligraphic but never parodistic, this exercise in revival aims to rebuild an atmosphere (the one of bourgeois families from the end of past century strolling to the city centre on Sundays) more than a sound. Every composition is a synthesis of music from certain period and exotic arrangements."
Perfect Sound Forever
Discogs
YouTube: Union Cafe [FULL ALBUM]

2012 February: Penguin Cafe Orchestra, 2014 April: Genesis and History of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra

Humberto Solas - Lucia (1969)

"At last we're privileged to see Humberto Solas's 'Lucia,' completed in 1969, when the director was 26; it opened at the First Avenue Screening Room on Tuesday. Spanning nearly 70 years of Cuban history, this extraordinary movie focuses on three generations of women whose lives reflect the society around them. ... Some differ sharply in their responses to the three parts of 'Lucia.' I found this section lushly overacted — almost in the style of silent movies. The women have been directed to flutter and squeal until they appear like a parody of winsome maidenhood. Operatic music throbs whenever the lovers' eyes meet, and the enthusiastic battle scene seems straight out of one of our Westerns: It's odd that a Cuban film maker should have used such mossy capitalistic models. ..."
NY Times (March 1, 1974)
Film Reference
Albany U.
YouTube: Lucía

Jerusalem 1000–1400: Every People Under Heaven

"Beginning in about the year 1000, Jerusalem captivated the world's attention as never before. Why did it hold that focus for the next four centuries? A kind of Jerusalem fever gripped much of the world from about 1000 to 1400. Across three continents, thousands made their way to the Holy City—from Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions alike. Generals and their armies fought over it. Merchants profited from it. Patrons, artists, pilgrims, poets, and scholars drew inspiration from it. Focusing their attention on this singular spot, they praised its magic, endowed its sacred buildings, and created luxury goods for residents and visitors. As a result, the Holy City shaped the art of this period in significant ways. ..."
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Guardian: Jerusalem rebuilt in New York’s green and pleasant land
amazon
Metropolitan Museum of Art: Jerusalem 1000–1400: Every People Under Heaven

Stuyvesant Street

Wikipedia - "Stuyvesant Street is one of the oldest streets in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs diagonally from 9th Street at Third Avenue to 10th Street near Second Avenue, all within the East Village, Manhattan neighborhood. The majority of the street is included in the St. Mark's Historic District. ... Stuyvesant Street originally ran east through Petrus Stuyvesant's farm or "bowery" from Bowery Road, which today is Fourth Avenue, to the Stuyvesant manor house. The manor house burned down in October 1778 and the family sold the remaining cemetery and chapel, which today is the site of St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery. ..."
Wikipedia
Forgotten New York
The Oldest Building in the Village?
History of NYC Streets: Stuyvesant Street, One of Manhattan’s Few Diagonal Streets

A.B. Crentsil

"As lead vocalist of the Sweet Talks, the house band at the Talk of the Town Hotel in the coastal city of Tema, A.B. Crentsil ruled over Ghana's highlife scene in the '70s. Accompanied by such future Ghanaian star vocalists Jewel Ackah and Pat Thomas, and guitarist Eric Agyeman, Crentsil helped to create some of the most exciting sounds in West Africa. Initially featuring guitarist Smart Nkansah and second vocalist Pope Flynn, Sweet Talks made its debut in December 1973. ..."
allmusic
Discogs
W - A.B. Crentsil
YouTube: Egya Noah, Highlife Classic Old School, Greatest Hits, A.B. Crentsil and the Osookoo Stars - Ghana RARE Funk

23 maps that explain how Democrats went from the party of racism to the party of Obama

"The Democratic Party is the longest-existing political party in the US, and arguably the world. But in its over 180 year existence, it's completed a remarkable ideological and geographic transformation. Originally a staunch defender of Southern slavery, the party now wins the support of most nonwhite voters. Once an advocate of rural interests against coastal elites, the party now draws much of its strength from cities and coastal areas. These maps tell the tale of the Democratic Party's origins, its various metamorphoses, and the sources of its strength — and weaknesses — today. ..."
Vox (July 29, 2016)

Lothar Osterburg

Under the El, 2011
"Lothar Osterburg makes photogravures of small, sculpted models of windmills, lighthouses, sailboats among others, staged in evocative settings. Built from memory of readily available materials, the models have a dreamlike quality which is enhanced by the placement of the camera within their world; the perspective is that of a person with in the set, obscuring the actual size of the objects. The viewer, drawn into the scene, fills the gap created by the absence of people. The smallest models are photographed through a magnifying glass or with a macro lens. With this extremely short focal range, the scenes become ambiguous, mysterious, or even ominous while somehow retaining the playful quality typical of Osterburg’s hand. ..."
Lesley Heller: Bio
Lesley Heller - Babel
Lesley Heller

Ikue Mori (with Robert Quine and Marc Ribot) - Painted Desert (1997)

"Guitarist Robert Quine has claimed that Painted Desert is his session, but it wasn't released as such 'because of legalities.' Ikue Mori, under whose name this album was released, views it more as a meeting between Quine and herself that was directed by producer John Zorn. Either way, Painted Desert is a stunning work of guitar and drum machine/sampler trios. Mori recorded her parts, which rely primarily on tom tom and cymbal sounds, and then gave the tapes to Quine and Marc Ribot, who improvised guitar parts. The music sometimes sounds as if the guitarists decided to record a Ennio Morricone tribute. ..."
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YouTube: Painted desert, Mojave, Cheyenne, Santa Ana Excursion, Desperado

2012 December: Fred Frith, Ikue Mori, Zeena Parkins / sound. at REDCAT, 2012 October: Ikue Mori, 2015 March: Phantom Orchard: Zeena Parkins and Ikue Mori.