The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is rumored to use a quick disguise kit called the “Dagger”, the contents of which reportedly fit into a small paper bag. The kit, it is rumoured can completely transform a person in less than 5 minutes, to the point you could never recognize them. Oddly enough the Dagger kit is […]
filed under: Art
Esteban Vicente
I encountered Esteban Vicente’s work for the first time three days ago at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, New York. I will quote from the wall text: “Esteban Vicente’s death in 2001 at the age of 97 marked the passing of one of the last surviving members of the first generation of the […]
True story of a brave heart
Now a new Bengali film Praloy (cyclone) is based on the life of Barun Biswas played by talented Kahaani famed actor Parambrata Chatterji. The film revolves around a young brave heart who is ready to do anything to protect the dignity of women. Banarjee is playing protagonist as Binod Bihari in the film. Who is […]
“Wait, Later This Will Be Nothing: Editions by Dieter Roth” at the Museum of Modern Art
This show filled me with radiating excitement. Beginning in 1960, Roth (whose real name, in German, is “Rot”) began creating pictorial books. Some are just arrangements of random dots. Some are pages of newspapers cut out, all to the same size — maybe 150 pages (in German, of course), bound like a paperback. Just before […]
Nostalgia for Drugs
Within the realm of nostalgia is the subcategory “nostalgia for drugs.” In my youth, I spent tens of thousands of hours watching television, often viewing black-and-white commercials for over-the-counter drugs. These medications had exotic names with unexpected consonants, like names of planets in science fiction movies: 5 Drugs of My Childhood Anacin Bufferin Contac Dramamine […]
“John Brown’s Blessing” by Thomas S. Noble
“John Brown’s Blessing” at the New York Historical Society is almost life-size. In the painting, Brown has been convicted of treason, first-degree murder and inciting an insurrection among slaves; he now prepares to die. Brown stands patiently, almost angelically, as an African-American mother offers her child to him for blessing. The mother kneels in three-quarter […]