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Origins of the “Clenched Fist” image
The militant symbol of the clenched fist has been around since the early 1900’s, springing up in graphics from Mexico and the US, to Europe and Russia. Typically depicted as part of the human figure, holding tools or other symbols, or breaking through a barricade, the iconographic fist underwent a change at some point in the 1960’s; it became an…
Body Worlds: Diary of the Dead
On January 29, 2005, I wrote an article titled Body Worlds: The Art of Plastic Corpses?, in which I criticized the popular traveling exhibitions of plasticized human bodies that have garnered so much national attention in the United States. On March 4, 2005, I wrote a follow-up article, Body Worlds Corpse Factory, which took a closer look at Gunther von…
Thomas Crawford and his Statue of Freedom
After his January 20, 2025 inauguration, President Trump addressed the nation in a speech he delivered at Emancipation Hall in the US Capital Visitor Center. If you watched the oration you may have noticed the huge sculpture in the background—what does it portray? Allow me to share the details. Today, many think the statue depicts a Native American, that’s close…
That’s The Way The Kamala Cookie Crumbles
This blog is dedicated to my views on art and culture, but on this rare occasion I must include the culinary arts. On her June 6, 2021 night flight to Guatemala on Air Force Two, Vice President Kamala Harris wanted to give a sweet treat to members of the truehearted media onboard, you know, for their loyal service to “the…
Abdication of the Artists: A Retort
Larry Beinhart, author of Wag the Dog, just published an interesting essay titled, Abdication of the Artists. In his piece Beinhart bemoans the complacency of contemporary artists, using the annual exhibit produced by the Woodstock Guild of Artists as an example of the apathy he detests. Beinhart writes: “This year there were 152 pieces. Some were very clever. Some amusing….