Breadcrumb
Art and Culture
A Photographic Exploration of Wigi (currently called Humboldt Bay)
Aldaron Laird
For decades, Aldaron has walked the shores of the bay, climbed its nearby sand dunes, and kayaked its entire periphery, taking over 25,000 photos that reveal the beauty of Wigi as it might appear in some magical, glimmering dream. From those thousands of photos, Aldaron selected 119 for this book. For each photo he kept, he discarded 209 others, which means that of those 25,000 images, he used less than one percent. We might think that taking all those photos required a tremendous amount of work, but it soon becomes clear that Aldaron did not work on this book, he lived and breathed its very essence, so that every photo he did select opens like a window, showing us yet another wonderful facet of Wigi, this place of ten thousand smaller places where land and water so subtly, so strikingly meet. -Jerry Rohde
Trinh Cong Son and Bob Dylan: Essays on Songwriting, Love, War and Religion
John C. Schafer
In this accessible deep-dive into the careers of Trịnh Công Sơn and Bob Dylan, Schafer retells countless colorful stories from the two artists’ lives drawn from a wide range of Vietnamese and English-language sources. Trịnh Công Sơn and Bob Dylan evaluates the relationship between two of the 20th century’s most beloved and essential songwriters, in the process illuminating Vietnamese and American views on spirituality, romance, philosophy, identity, and conflict.
Readers will find English translations of Trịnh Công Sơn’s essays and lyrics by Cao Thị Như Quỳnh, many here in translation for the very first time.
Schafer critically examines the singers’ lifestyles, relationships, and public statements, meticulously collecting primary and secondary sources into a handy reader of 20th century global literary culture. Trịnh Công Sơn and Bob Dylan is an essential read for fans of Bob Dylan and Trịnh Công Sơn, and a substantive addition to the libraries of comparative literature scholars.
Sewing Their Stories, Telling Their Lives: Embroidered Narratives from Chile to the World Stage (1969-2016)
Martha J. Manier
Embroidered narratives by women living in rural areas, shanty towns, inner cities, and refugee camps dominated markets during the last quarter of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st. Sewing Their Stories, Telling Their Lives traces the beginning of this artistic movement from three independent Chilean sources to other countries on five continents. Moreover, this richly illustrated book’s own story defines an art form without academic overlay or political agenda but from the artists’ own perspectives, recounted directly in interviews and at sewing tables around the globe.
For Martha J. Manier, Ph.D., who taught Spanish and Women’s Studies at Humboldt State University, stories have always been a prime interest, from the personal stories of family and friends, to medieval exempla, Spanish and American folktales, and, finally, the microcuentos and short stories of contemporary Latin America. Her translations of the latter have appeared in journals, anthologies, and bilingual editions. Currently, she is a research associate at the Museum of International Folk Art where she also volunteers as a textile cataloger.
African Masks from the Collection of James Gaasch
James Gaasch
African Masks from the Collection of James Gaasch contains photographs of the African masks and carvers from the Bwa (or Bwaba), Winiama and Mossi peoples of Burkina Faso, and the Bamana and Dogon peoples of Mali. Gaasch acquired many of these masks in the villages where they were carved. When possible, he interviewed the village carvers, the creators, of these dancing masks. Gaasch’s interviews with the carvers underscore the cultural context where traditional African world views persist. And, to the extent possible, they give voice to the masks to reveal their own significance. “They are, in our times, signifiers of cultures increasingly under siege, hostage to religious fanaticism, or to impoverishing globalization,” Gaasch explains. “This small book reaffirms the rights of these masks to continue to dance.”
To Japan and Back: The Art of Orr Marshall
Orr Marshall
How many ways are there to interpret an idea, to present a vision? The artist Orr Marshall's exploration of these questions is the subject of this book in text and images. Like most children, he began drawing pictures as soon as he could hold a pencil or a crayon, depicting the weird creatures of his imagination. He maintained a concentration on art through school, majoring in painting at Yale School of Art and Architecture where Josef Albers was his most inspiring teacher. Another interest of his was language study, especially Japanese and Chinese with their writing systems and calligraphy. He taught art in the San Francisco area, where he continued learning those languages. Then with a scholarship from the Japanese government he went to the National University of the Arts in Tokyo to study for a year and a half.