February 2012
7 posts
5 tags
“Not to know more at the end of the day than in the morning is a failure of love.”
– -Donna Haraway, keynote address at the Kindred Spirits conference, Indiana University in 2006.
A wonderful address, one I am still thinking of 6 years later. Thankfully, I took copious notes.
Haraway is the only keynote speaker I have ever seen invite the entire audience to the after party. A...
7 tags
Winter Growth at Twin Lakes
As a side effect of not registering for the tessellation course I wanted to take at VCU I’ve been thinking a lot about visual patterns, especially as they might translate to something like quilting or weaving. Winter growth is great for seeing patterns, and this winter was tremendously forgiving for growing things.
This summer I’d like to start translating these into weaveable...
8 tags
Virginia Tobacco
Falk Tobacco Company, date and photographer unknown. Image from VCU’s Cook Collection.
Xu Bing, “First Class.” from the Tobacco Project, exhibited at the VMFA last fall. Photo by Adam Currell, on Flickr (10 Sept. 2011).
6 tags
Richmond
Today my students and I started an extended unit on Richmond: its geography, history, and present. Over the next few weeks they’ll study every aspect of our city. I’m a bit overwhelmed right now, as I start to pull together materials for our project. We inhabitants of Richmond are incredibly lucky. Our city is incredible, and its seemingly limitless artists, scientists, and scholars have produced...
4 tags
Elizabeth Bishop
Yesterday Elizabeth Bishop turned 101. I followed the celebration of her centenary as hosted by the Elizabeth Bishop Society of Nova Scotia and the remarkable Sandra Barry. The celebration, which stretched itself out to settle comfortably into the whole year, was remarkable. You can browse through the highlights of the event and the musings of its organizers at their blog, which they’ve...
6 tags
Peru, 2010
In class tomorrow we’ll be talking about, among other things, Peru: current political developments, and some contemporary Peruvian art. In the process of preparing, I’ve been thinking a lot about my trip to Peru two summers ago. So, here are some photos:
Lima, Iglesia de San Franciso
Cusco, Centro de Textiles Tradicionales (meeting and supporting Peruvian weavers was my central...
9 tags
Academic Publishing
It’s difficult to say without a formal review of literature, but it’s quite possible the best title I came across in my 2011 reading was “Academic Publishers Make Murdoch Look Like a Socialist.” To the point, isn’t it? The article is also worth the read. This last fall I came to two crisis points professionally, both directly tied to academic publishing.
The first:...
