"But why is a big blue dot on a big white canvas an important enough painting to hang in a museum?" I asked the professor this during a Los Angeles County Museum of Art field trip years ago. My husband was enrolled in art history. I’d tagged along for fun. We stood in front of […]
Jennifer Savage
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Keeping Up the Front
A certain earnestness goes a long way at the Social Services office. When sitting in those plastic chairs, filling out endless forms, surrounded by posters supposed to be motivating, but really rather menacing — "Those who don’t ride the wave are crushed by it" — what one should try to convey is, "I’m a good […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Art on Film
Fans of Humboldt artists Stephen Vander Meer and Jim McVicker can now delve deeper into their respective worlds through two new films: More From Life a film by Vander Meer, and Jim McVicker, a way of seeing, created by Petter Granrud and John Crater. Well known for his Los Bagels "Clothed Tuesday" design, probably better […]
Posted inNews
Food Freedom! Laundry Liberation!
Because what could be more liberating than financial independence? Oh, sure, life and liberty and the whole pursuit of happiness thing factor in, but have you priced them lately? Well, I can’t solve your big problems – refusing to save, spending more than you earn, insisting on indulging in those optional treats like education, health […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
No Check, Please
Fox News in the background. Light jazz in the fore. Rivulets of speech wash over the click click click of keyboards, are then swept aside by the announcement. "You are approaching a very sensitive metal detector," the voice warns. I am in the Sacramento airport sporting a laptop, an accoutrement of my new job, listening […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Starry, Starry Day
Several years ago, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art hosted a comprehensive exhibition of work by Vincent Van Gogh. The paintings brought to life images already culturally ubiquitous. I knew what we’d find because we’ve already seen his work reproduced on everything from notebooks to umbrellas. What I didn’t expect was to be overwhelmed […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Parable of the Dumpster
We’d planned to hit the HSU dumpsters. We’d hoped to score some goodies tossed by departing students too burdened with finals and moving to do anything other than get rid of as much as possible. Bob O. had done this before. It would be my first time. I wondered what I would find. A nice […]
Posted inMusic
City of Subdued Excitement
What if a drug existed that gave you energy, inspired you toward happiness, was only addictive in the most positive sense and cost under $20 for a near-lifetime supply? What if all that was true of a particular new CD? Music is just about the cheapest mood-altering substance out there. Let’s say I bought City […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Elemental
At first glance, Monica Schill’s boulders appear to be of the earth, something one might view along the highway as a "rock slide area" warning sign flashes by the car window. But something more cunning than nature’s whims lurks here. Multicolored mosaic tiles adorn a quarter of the 88 boulders splayed across the Morris Graves […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Poverty’s Handmaidens
First, thanks to everyone who has taken a moment to say nice things about this column. I try to add to my observations with suggestions for action; we need to know what we can do if hope can continue to exist. Also, knowing humor beats cynicism for company, I try to keep that in the […]
Posted inMusic
Atlantic Ocean
When news of your latest album is prefaced with "recorded in Wilco’s studio on an analog tape machine sold to Swift by Jeff Tweedy and featuring talented guests such as Mark Ronson and Ryan Adams," expectations are raised. Singer-songwriter Richard Swift’s Atlantic Ocean, newly out on indie-stalwart label Secretly Canadian, doesn’t disappoint. This is the […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Cut from the Headlines
Smoke blackens the sky. Men with guns point them at men without. Those who can flee, do — but most lie dead or captured. "Occupation" is one of a series of large woodcut prints depicting the Iraq war as filtered through American media, currently hanging at Humboldt State’s First Street Gallery. Sandow Birk’s work expands […]