#contemporary USA

[phoenix-joy]

Author: Gregory N. Daugherty

Description from Bloomsbury:

This study examines the reception of Cleopatra from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day as it has been reflected in popular culture in the United States of America. Daugherty provides a broad overview of the influence of the Egyptian queen by looking at her presence in film, novels, comics, cartoons, TV shows, music, advertising and toys. The aim of the book is to show the different ways in which the figure of Cleopatra was able to reach a large and non-elite audience.

Furthermore, Daugherty makes a study of the reception of Cleopatra during her own lifetime. He begins by looking at her portrayal in the vicious propaganda campaign waged by Octavian against his rival Marc Antony. The consequence was that Cleopatra was left with a tarnished reputation after the civil war. Daugherty's examination of both the historical and contemporary reception of Cleopatra shows the enduring legacy of one of history's most remarkable queens.

[arc-hus]

Yale Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Connecticut, USA - SOM

[thingsorganizedneatly]

Flower Mandalas by Kathy Klein

via Colossal

[haveyouheardthisband]

[miamaimania]

"Ben Mendelsohn Raccoon" by Renée French, 2015

[bebs-art-gallery]

A Charade of Dunces † The Sacrifice by Martin Wittfooth

[conformi]

Ice fountain, Washington Boulevard | Detroit | Michigan, USA, 1906 VS Louise Bourgeois, Fillette, 1968

[dxmxuse]

With how much misinformation is being spread I thought I’d leave this here.

Few notes to keep in mind:

As we all know by now, news sources are typically very biased. Please do not trust 100% of the things you see from any news outlets, I’ve already noticed a lot of issues with their reporting.

His lawyer had a press conference yesterday. I highly recommend watching it for information you can trust (it’s vague because it’s an ongoing legal matter). I would also encourage you to pay attention to all future communications from his lawyer and (if possible) to watch the trial yourself when the time comes.

IMO: this is not the work of someone irrational. This is factual and well thought out. Take that as you will.

I do not encourage violence against anyone. This is an important moment in US history, policy, law, etc. This is purely to aid in factual reporting

All credit to Ken Klippenstein via Bluesky

[pascalkirchmair]

"Ernest Miller Hemingway", gouache and black ink on paper, 21 x 29,7 cmアーネスト・ミラー・ヘミングウェイ

[michaeljclarke]

Foggy forest foliage.

PRINT SHOP

[arc-hus]

Muir College Campus, Physics and Maths Building, San Diego - Robert Mosher

[germanpostwarmodern]

Since the foundation of their Brooklyn-based office SO-IL in 2008 Jing Liu and Florian Idenburg have focused on the design of residential buildings as antithesis to the monotonous and over-regulated housing of the present day. With their designs the architects seek to reintroduce communal spaces, open layouts and thus the opportunity for inhabitants to interact rather than isolate. As a sort of retrospective of the last ten years of restless architectural production SO-IL recently published „In Depth: Urban Domesticities Today“ with Lars Müller Publishers, a comprehensive and extensively illustrated overview of their projects featuring a wealth of plans and photographs by Iwan Baan and Naho Kubota.

In her preface to the volume Jing Liu discusses in-depth SO-IL’s historical paragons and sheds light on how the monotony and lack of community in housing came about. At the same time she interlaces positive examples from the past like the traditional Chinese siheyuan courtyard, the Japanese engawa/streets in the air or the Smithsons’ Golden Lane Estate which all share communal outside spaces, few to no corridors and the overall insight that housing entails more than simply providing shelter and privacy.

As Florian Idenburg states, one of the core problem areas of housing in general and in the US in particular is the corridor and whose cancellation is the topic of Nicolas Kemper’s essay: his personal experience with the double-loaded corridor prompted him to look deeper into the history of corridors, the building regulations and its facilitation of the corridor. Consequently, he pleads for a fundamental reform of building codes and by the example of SO-IL’s 450 Warren project shows that it is indeed possible to avoid corridors altogether.

The former project also is part of the comprehensive project documentations consisting of a great number of plans, sections and very lively photographs that demonstrate the quality of life SO-IL’s buildings facilitate. Consequently the book not only is a smart and informative read but also a reminder of how good housing, even in today’s densified form, can be if emphatic architects are in charge. A highly recommended book!

[haveyouheardthisband]

[lizard-reads-the-world]

I got overwhelmed over the summer and didn't get to post reviews for the ARCs I had at the time. But I really want to share this one, because it was so cute!

Navigating with You is a graphic novel in which two new girls at school bond over a manga series. Neesha is a Black teen with cerebral palsy in her legs (uses leg braces/forearm crutches/wheelchair interchangeably) and Gabi is a bi Latina surfer who's moved away from her Florida home after tragedy.

They make it a challenge to track down the out-of-print manga while falling in love in the process. I love how real and down-to-earth this book was, with such depth of character and a fun storyline without over-angst.

It's also a really great disability representation, both Neesha's CP and Gabi's PTSD, touching on microaggressions and wheelchair-moving consent. A funny scene is when Neesha goes into a thrift shop with her crutches to make a distraction, sarcastically thinking "Oh no! I'm a disabled teen in your shop full of breakable knicknacks", and the shop owner reacts just as expected. (It's Gabi who ends up breaking things), and I loved the panel where Gabi triumphantly exclaims "My girlfriend trusts me to push her wheelchair!" XD

The graphic novel is interspersed with full-page snippets of the manga they are reading, which is ridiculously over-dramatic in true manga style. The sapphic love story IS. SO. CUTE. and the art is gorgeous, too. Highly recommend picking this up if you can find it!

Content warnings:

PTSD episode, death of parent (flashback), car accident (flashback), ableism, biphobia, emotionally abusive ex, divorced parents

@thedisabilitybookarchive

[misscromwellsmonocle]

USA (2020?) by Kenny Harris

[conformi]

Tobia Scarpa, Foglio, Flos, 1966 VS Ellsworth Kelly, Blue and Orange, Suite of Twenty Seven Color Lithographs, 1964-1965