For decades Dawn Powell was always just on the verge of ceasing to be a cult and becoming a major religion. But despite the work of such dedicated cultists as Edmund Wilson and Matthew Josephson, John Dos Passos and Ernest Hemingway, Dawn Powell never became the popular writer that she ought to have been. In those days, with a bit of luck, a good writer eventually attracted voluntary readers and became popular. Today, of course, "popular" means bad writing that is widely read while good writing is that which is taught to involuntary readers. Powell failed on both counts. She needs no interpretation and in her lifetime she should have been as widely read as, say, Hemingway or the early Fitzgerald or the mid O'Hara or even the late, far too late, Katherine Anne Porter. But Powell was that unthinkable monster, a witty woman who felt no obligation to make a single, much less a final, down payment on Love or The Family; she saw life with a bright Petronian neutrality, and every host at life's feast was a potential Trimalchio to be sent up. - Gore Vidal
posted by Trurl
on Nov 12, 2011 -
38 comments
Poses , an art performance in which regular women replicate the poses struck by glamour models in fashion magazines, by Spanish artist Yolanda Dominguez (
interview).
posted by elgilito
on Sep 3, 2011 -
57 comments
HealtH (1980)
[part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10] was the film which ended Robert Altman’s relationship with Twentieth Century Fox, the studio for whom he had made M*A*S*H. ... During the editing of the film Altman’s main supporter, Alan Ladd Jr., left the studio and release was shelved. Altman distributed the film himself to the festival circuit. ... But it has never been released on VHS, DVD or BluRay and thus remains one of the least seen of Altman’s ouvre. This is unfortunate as it is a very entertaining film, even if it falls short of its ambitions as a political satire. Ronald Reagan disagreed - calling it "the world's worst movie".
posted by Trurl
on Jul 8, 2011 -
18 comments
Larry Gonick is a veteran American cartoonist best known for his delightful comic-book guides to science and history, many of which have previews online. Chief among them is his long-running
Cartoon History of the Universe (later
The Cartoon History of the Modern World), a sprawling multi-volume opus documenting everything from the Big Bang to the Bush administration. Published over the course of three decades, it takes a truly global view -- its time-traveling Professor thoroughly explores not only familiar topics like Rome and World War II but the oft-neglected stories of Asia and Africa, blending caricature and myth with careful scholarship (cited by
fun illustrated bibliographies) and tackling even the most obscure events
with intelligence and wit. This savvy satire carried over to Gonick's
Zinn-by-way-of-
Pogo chronicle
The Cartoon History of the United States, along with a bevy of
Cartoon Guides to other topics, including
Genetics, Computer Science, Chemistry, Physics, Statistics, The Environment, and (yes!)
Sex. Gonick has also maintained a few sideprojects, such as
a webcomic look at Chinese invention,
assorted math comics (
previously), the
Muse magazine mainstay
Kokopelli & Co. (featuring the shenanigans of his
"New Muses"), and
more. See also
these lengthy interview snippets, linked
previously. Want more? Amazon links to the complete oeuvre inside!
[more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Jun 6, 2011 -
29 comments
Russian Satirical Journals of 1905. MeFi's own
peacay presents a selection of the amazing images produced after the lifting of censorship in Russia following the
1905 Revolution: "For a few brief months the journals spoke with a great and unprecedented rage that neither arrest nor exile could silence. At first their approach was oblique, their allusions veiled, and they often fell victim to the censor’s pencil. But people had suffered censorship for too long." Much more available at
Beinecke,
USC, and
Wisconsin.
posted by languagehat
on Aug 6, 2010 -
8 comments
This past Spring, Duke University hosted concurrent exhibits that featured curated images of satirical political cartoons. Fortunately, the exhibits are free to enjoy from the comfort of your bed/couch/desk chair. From the Nasher Museum of Art, there is
Lines of Attack: Conflicts in Caricature, comparing pieces from as early as 19th Century France to post 9/11 US. From the Perkins Library, we get
Abusing Power: Satirical Journals, an exhibit of 19th and early 20th Century pieces from around the world.
posted by Ufez Jones
on Jun 10, 2010 -
3 comments
Melted street signs,
Art + Auction =
Obama 08,
Mr Brainwash's political satire,
Amused Loon,
Tyler Stout, and
Robert Williams's Dream Detective video (parts
1,
2,
3,
4). All adds up to the latest art, courtesy of
Juxtapoz magazine.
posted by internationalfeel
on Oct 19, 2008 -
7 comments
With all
this talk of
Sandy Smith (epilepsy warning on that last link), his
greatest project still wants for submissions. Smith:
In May 2007 I commissioned an essay from a supplier of tailor-made academic essays. I requested a 1500 word essay that was to "prove that Junior... is the best film ever made." This essay was to make reference to various writers including Freud, Barthes, Baudrillard and Jameson in proving it's case. Yes,
that Junior. [more inside]
posted by nímwunnan
on Sep 21, 2008 -
9 comments
Searchable database of >120,000, reasonably high-resolution editorial cartooons. Mainly from the UK, and from the last 100 years. Search by person depicted (e.g.,
Thatcher,
Gorbachev,
Thatcher and Gorbachev); by year (e.g., Hitler and Stalin in
1941 or
1942), by design elements (e.g., cartoons
referencing sculpture by Rodin, or
cartoons with zebras), by topic (e.g.,
BSE,
Falklands War), by artist (e.g.,
William Hogarth,
L.G. Illingworth,
Carl Giles,
Steve Bell) or by publication outlet (e.g.,
Punch,
Evening Standard (over 10,000 from Evening Standard alone). There is a handy searching wizard as well.
posted by Rumple
on May 13, 2006 -
17 comments
The Lewis Walpole Library has digitized 10,000 images from its superb collection of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century satirical prints -- not the only collection of its kind on the Internet, but certainly one of the largest and best. Search under "Gillray", "Rowlandson" or "Cruikshank" and browse a selection of images from the golden age of English caricature. Everyone will have their own favourites, but here are a few of mine: Rowlandson's
Author and Bookseller, Cruikshank's
The Headache and Gillray's
Advantages of Wearing Muslin Dresses.
posted by verstegan
on Jul 31, 2004 -
4 comments
Rent-A-Negro is a state-of-the-art service that allows you the chance to promote your connection with a creative, articulate, friendly, attractive, and pleasing African American person.
Show everybody that you really are down.
posted by Su
on May 6, 2003 -
35 comments
