What makes an "honest" photograph---a "true" photograph? Is the medium of photography more factual and authentic than other art forms? What makes a photograph "a fake"? Can a photo be objective or does it always have a point of view? When does a photograph document reality? When is it [...]
Martin Scorsese's film adaptation of Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret is out in theaters today. Selznick's remarkable book won the 2008 Caldecott Medal (the first young adult novel to win the award for children's book illustration), was a finalist for the National Book Award, and was chosen as [...]
In recent years the London street art scene has been dominated by the brash, satirical, crowd-pleasing work of Banksy. His 2010 film Exit Through the Gift Shop, which I'll be writing about in the coming weeks, made Banksy a familiar name in certain American households, and his book, Wall [...]
If you follow the subject of American religion, you have likely heard of author Jeff Sharlet. Sharlet has published five books on the subject, including C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy and The New York Times best seller The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of [...]
If you're in New York be sure to stop by Julie Saul Gallery to catch Bill Jacobson's new photography show. Into the Loving Nowhere (1989 till now) opens Thursday, October 20th with a special reception from 6-8 p.m. and will be on view through December [...]
One of my favorite book discoveries this summer is Drainspotting by Remo Camerota. The book celebrates an array of fascinating manhole cover designs from Japan. According to Camerota, nearly 95% of the 1,780 municipalities in Japan have their very own customized manhole covers. The country has elevated this humble, practical object to its [...]
Female writers are sentimental and have "a narrow view of the world." At least that is how V.S. Naipaul sees things. Back in June, in an interview at the Royal Geographic Society, Naipaul was asked if there were any female writers he considered his literary match. "I don't think so," the author [...]