At a little heralded press conference held at the White House on Monday, September 25th, 2006, first lady Laura Bush announced the formation of the U.S. State Department’s “Global Cultural Initiative.” With world public opinion of the United States and the Bush administration slumping to dramatic record lows, the initiative is a scheme designed to improve America’s image abroad through…
I could write about the catastrophic loss the nation has suffered with the destruction of historic architecture in Louisiana and Mississippi, or of the damage done to museums and cultural institutions. But for me, the one story that so far sums up the appalling cultural losses suffered by the nation (and the world), comes from a cultural task force set…
During the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, the Pentagon released to American troops a wanted list of Iraqi leaders that came in the form of a deck of cards. The playing cards featured photos and information about various government henchmen, and were designed to help U.S. troops identify and capture members of Saddam Hussein’s regime. Now, four years after the…
Remember when Hunter Biden had his very first art exhibit? It was at the Milk Studios gallery in Hollywood, California on Oct. 1, 2021. Organized by New York gallerist Georges Bergès, there were those who said buyers would only purchase Hunter’s art to win political favors from Joe Biden. The White House, concerned that talk of cronyism would spread, crafted…
Apparently St. Mary Magdalene was from Afghanistan. While looking through an online edition of the Washington Post I discovered an article they ran about Mary Magdalene, which was accompanied by the illustration shown below. The graphic had the following caption: “This handout image released by the Grace Cathedral shows an icon of St. Mary Magdalene, the principal woman disciple of…
I was recently interviewed by Ms. Emily Wilcox, an art student at Western Kentucky University, as part of her undergraduate thesis research project conducted on the subject of “Art as Activism.” The results of our dialogue are a reasonable glimpse into my take on things, so I am publishing the interview here with the kind permission of Ms. Wilcox. Q:…
