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RIP Stephen Hawking (Jan. 8 1942 – March 14 2018)
I imagine they felt a little like this in March, 1727. Issac Newton had died, and the world was left to wonder: Who will explain the universe to us now? Stephen Hawking has left us at the age of 76—roughly … Continue reading
Art$ and economy
We’re not supposed to try to valuate the intangibles of culture. Except, you know, we’re a people who valuate everything. So let’s do this. According to new research just released by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Bureau … Continue reading
Tattoo therapy
My euphemisms vary: sometimes I say I prefer having my art collection with me at all times. Sometimes (when I’m feeling a little more honest) I allow as how I’m wearing my mid-life crisis on my skin. Either way, once … Continue reading
Neanderthal art!
Fast on the heels of our discussion late last month with esteemed cave-art expert and paleoanthropologist Genevieve von Petzinger, we check back in on this fascinating subject, based on ground-breaking revelations. Just published yesterday, new research on cave art in … Continue reading
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Tagged Art history, cave art, cultural history, Genevieve von Petzinger
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Super Bowl LII? Sure, why not
Longtime repeat visitors to this space have probably noticed the ambivalent attitude we at Decon Central have toward pro sports in general, and in particular toward the American bacchanalia that is the Super Bowl. Opinions vary, and this probably puts … Continue reading
Connecting with an ancient artform
One of the most important unifying threads in art, in any art, is that of connection. It is that momentary removal of time and distance between observer and creator, when they become of one mind. Intent is key here, and … Continue reading
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Tagged Art, Art history, cave art, cave paintings, culture, Genevieve von Petzinger, TEDTalks, Vincent Van Gogh
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Vote like your world depends on it
Pro forma apologies to any committed partisans in the audience, but I’m firmly convinced that the advent of political parties in general, and our sycophantic two-party system in particular, has brought about the incremental ruination of the great American experiment … Continue reading
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Tagged climate change, environment, Environmental Voter Project, George Washington, partisanship, politics
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Elegy for an extinction – sculptures bid farewell to a forest
The eastern hemlock was once one of the most ubiquitous conifers on this continent. By 2030 it will likely be gone forever. Sometime in the 1950s an invasive parasitic insect, the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), was accidentally imported from east … Continue reading
Golden Globes as presidential auditions?
All due respect to Oprah, but haven’t we learned a little bit about the fitness of media personalities for high(est) office? Assuming the underneath of your rock receives decent broadcast signals, you probably know that Oprah Winfrey accepted the Cecil … Continue reading
Resolution Revolution
, In the small amount of informal surveying I’ve done (friends and family, mostly; so perhaps not a representative demographic but surely an awesome one), I’ve found that most of us don’t muck about with New Years resolutions. And perhaps … Continue reading
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Tagged Happy New Year, I culture you, PSA, resistance, resolutions
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Creative resistance
At the time it sure felt like 2016 was the culmination of the old “May you live in interesting times” hex. But just as the new climate-change normal leads us to designate each year as the hottest on record—but only … Continue reading
That you, Banksy?
I – It’s probably a little more common to snap a credible picture of Nessie than it is to catch the world’s most elusive street artist in action. But a British tourist in Bethlehem thinks that’s just what he’s done. … Continue reading
The kid stays in the picture – Met declines to censor 1938 painting
Given recent cultural shockwaves around the eternally fraught subject of sexual politics, no one should be terribly surprised that a painting which appears to depict a suggestively posed prepubescent girl is now in the spotlight, and in the cross-hairs. Those … Continue reading
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Tagged Art, Balthus, Metropolitan Museum, The Met, Therese Dreaming, What is art? censorship
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