Author Archives: jolanta

Turning Point: Toward A Second Modernism Carla Subrizi  The potentialfor a second Modernism emerges through the way recent art both destroys and rethinksart of the first Modernism. The concepts of Charles Baudelaire and later WalterBenjamin were the soil into which the 20th century laid its roots. Contradictionand intuition regarding identity (individual and social), history, and […]

Susan Kaprov: Captivating the Public Sphere John Perreault  Like manyartists, Susan Kaprov tackles a full range of techniques and formats: from drawingsto large public mural installations, to photographs, to paintings for galleriesor private collections.  She has workedon paper, canvas, wood, and aluminum, and produced a 54 foot enamel-on-glasswall installation. Think of it as the Picasso […]

Meditation/Mediation for Daniel Rothbart Enrico Pedrini  Daniel Rothbart,as part of an ongoing conceptual project, carries a series of twelve metal vesselswith him on his travels to different countries. The artist selects environmentsin which to arrange these vessels, and documents the resulting tableaux withphotographs. His vessels, due to the intervention of unpredictable outside factors,are filled with […]

NOT FOR CREAMPUFFS: CULTURAL JETLAG Jim Siergey Cartooning ain’tfor creampuffs. It takes a strong back, a strong hand and a strong mind. A thickhide doesn’t hurt either. An acceptance of living an ink-stained life isa must as well. What kind of person becomes a cartoonist? An observer, a seeker,a smirker, a truth-teller, a tall story […]

Cartoons and Me Andy Singer Cartoons are a great medium for educating people by quickly showing ideas and relationships.The word “Cartoon” comes from the Italian word Cartone, “a Preparatorysketch, as for a fresco or painting.” Cartooning combines images with wordsin a kind of verbal and visual shorthand. This combination of words and images(or just multiple […]

Donkey, Elephant, Roadkill. SCOTT BATEMAN Editional cartooning-whydoes it suck so much ass these days?  First, caneditorial cartoonists maybe come up with a better, more contemporary system ofsymbolism? I mean, most of us are still drawing talking donkeys and elephantsin suits. Now, when Thomas Nast came up with these symbols for the Democratsand Republicans back in […]

Slashie Fiction: The New Cult of the Superheroes Jordan Pascoe   Likemost of us with 9-to-5 desk jobs, I spend a lot of time online, surfing for anythinginteresting. And like many of us who are underemployed and oversexed, I spenda lot of that time looking for something dirty to read at work. And lately, I’mcompletely […]

ENGAGING CHARACTERS Kathryn Brew   EngagingCharacters is a set of interactive, nonlinear cyber-narratives centered aroundthe process of characterization. Viewers become active participants in constructing,driving, and activating the characters. Many of the works use sensors, speechrecognition and synthesis, robotics, or the now ubiquitous computer mouse interfaceto create interactivity and response. These works confront viewers with questionsof […]

DOING IT MICKEY SIPORIN  I grew upin Chicago. My family was passionately involved in the arts and in politics.My father Seymour was a labor union organizer, my uncle Mitchell a well-knownsocial realist painter and muralist, my aunt Shoshannah a talented modernistpainter and my grandmother Jennie a primitive painter.   When I was fourand five I […]

Sharptoons Joe Sharpnack My fifth grade teacher handed back my spellingassignment in which I had drawn a scene involving war protesters and policeofficers. “You have a real problem with authority figures, Mr. Sharpnack.” Well, maybe a little. But not nearly as much trouble as I had with spelling.  In my house we were taught that if […]