Monday Media Mass
Since I’m always consuming things that I feel require more thoughtful reviews and since I don’t always have the time to engage in such long-form reviews, I’ve decided to sum up some of the things that have consumed my interest over the past week. Perhaps I will have time in the future to expand on these quick reactions.
Words:
Payback by Margaret Atwood | House of Anansi Press | $15.95 - A surprising and uncharacteristic book for Margaret Atwood, Payback looks at the culture of debt from a historical perspective, drawing heavily on it’s role in religion, literature and politics. More of an exploratory experiment than a guide or resolute history text, Atwood opens many sections with questions and ponders the meaning and necessity of debt in our culture(s). Despite all of the questions, Atwoods writing is crisp, clear, and, at times, opinionated. She doesn’t tell you what to do, but may just cause you to question your own habits of borrowing and lending as well as the very nature of debt. An excellent read! - ()
Left In Dark Times by Bernard-Henri Levy | Random House | $25.00 - I’ve only begun this one, but already, I find Levy’s sharp observations about leftist politics more sharply aimed and reasonable than most others. With an odd reputation as both philosopher and celebrity (something which may be nearly impossible here in the U.S.), Levy is always entertaining and often challenging. Left in Dark Times acts as both a call to arms and a razor sharp warning about the precarious precipice that progressives find themselves on. He does away quickly with American leftist celebrities such as Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore, but calls for an extreme (and extremely reasonable) balance to be restored to the progressive American’s role in the future of not only their country, but in the new globalized world. Compassion and criticism abounds in these pages. - ()
Art:
Conrad Freiburg: A Great Daydream | Linda Warren Gallery | 1052 W. Fulton Mkt. | Chicago, IL | Sept 5th - Oct. 11th. - Conrad Freiburg’s second solo show at Linda Warren Gallery is a logical progression from his Slipping Glimpser. Though Freiburg’s work is still full of the sense of play that makes his work stand out, there are some limitations this time. Instead of a wild ride free-for-all, A Great Daydream is a reflection on political freedoms and tyranny. Several wooden boxes, like parlor games, hang from the gallery walls with various levers and pulleys available for the visitors’ discretion. Each pull of the string aids in the destruction of Freiburg’s pieces, and acts as a vote of assent or dissent, which comes in to play with the show’s central piece, where it is up to you to decide how to crank the lever provided, and either lower hundreds of pounds of concrete onto a mass of small sculptures, or raise it to save the “citizenry” represented there. Playing with the themes of freedom, choice and failure, Conrad’s parlor games and creations of fragile beauty all reflect and call upon the Declaration of Independence and the tense freedoms it has granted us. The tension created through the audience participation in slow destruction can only bring to mind the question, how much can we blissfully break away or destroy, before we have to rebuild or create anew? A must see for anyone who thinks galleries can’t be both fun and thought provoking. - (Linda Warren Gallery | Conrad Freiburg)
Leave a Comment