Why Nobody Knows Moholy-Nagy’s Name
Moholy-Nagy had never gone to art school, and he had never taught. He had an almost childlike interest in anything new, especially the machines that were transforming industry.
Dispatches
When the Sum Comes as Surprise
“Thinker on a Rock,” by Barry Flanagan, Wash U campus. Photo by John Griswold One of the few syntheses available to us is that it is hard to know what we are until we are mostly formed. Others may spot aspects of us at a glance, the way civilians…
Why We Need Lupin
Each episode of "Lupin" brings the joy of a man living by his wits and prevailing, in a clever and playful way. We do not do a lot of that.
Hard Work and the Beholder
Photo by John Griswold My sons and I were resting while it rained. I had asked them to help me demo a damaged deck, and while I ran the saw, they carried joists and deck lumber to the curb. We had only worked a couple of hours but…
Why We Know Next to Nothing About Nubia
A civilization lost in translation? One whose stories had to be told by others? Those are factors, but the bigger piece, the Saint Louis Art Museum’s Nubia exhibit confirms, is that Westerners were blinded by their own assumptions.
Q&A: A Peek at The Kimono Tattoo
Prof. Rebecca Copeland, in her home with her collection of kimonos (Credit Joe Angeles/Washington University) I so enjoyed Dr. Rebecca Copeland’s mystery, The Kimono Tattoo, that I wanted to solve the next mystery. Not the sequel (though she is writing one) but…
On the Indiscriminate Love of Dogs and Everything Else
Westminster champion Wasabi. (Photo by Jack Grassa courtesy of WKC.jpg) Ah, Westminster! Where else can a trapezoidal head, or an egg-shaped one, be a mark of honor? Dogs are my favorite sport, and dog shows one of its spectacles. I watch rapt, drinking in the elegant curve of…
We Need More Than We Want to Give
Why is it so hard for us to give every living thing what it needs in abundance?
Biden and the Bishops
Sacrament is supposed to stay simple. Its rituals use natural, everyday elements—bread, wine, oil, water—to express pure forgiveness, a lifelong bond, an unbreakable unity.But politics can break anything.
Heat
An office building in downtown Lake Charles, LA, cooled by trailer-mounted units. Photo by John Griswold Heat, like any form of power, can be beneficial or disastrous. The sun’s heat makes life possible, but 2020’s temperatures tied for the hottest year on record, which “suggests a swift…