Everything She Touched: The Life of Ruth Asawa by Marilyn Chase (2020). Courtesy of Chronicle Books.
The life and career of Ruth Asawa was nothing short of amazing, as this biography shows. A Japanese American forced to relocate to an internment camp in Arkansas during World War II, she overcame the odds to become an acclaimed artist. Moreover, Asawa channelled that experience into her work, developing a unique style of woven sculptures, her use of wire inspired by the internment camp fences designed to unjustly imprison her people. A graduate of famed Black Mountain College in North Carolina who was mentored by Josef Albers, Asawa maintained a thriving practice even as a mother of six in an interracial marriage. Author Marilyn Chase spent five years researching her life story, drawing in fascinating details on the artist’s letters, diaries, and sketches, and interviewing Asawa’s loved ones. The book also includes 60 images of Asawa and her work, including portraits taken by her
By Jeff K
Dec 15, 2020
It was on this day in 1979 when David Bowie waved bye bye to the 1970s with a memorable appearance on Saturday Night Live. Bowie performed The Man Who Sold The World, TVC 15, and Boys Keep Swinging, with Klaus Nomi, Joey Arias and a toy pink poodle/TV monitor. The show was hosted by actor Martin Sheen. For The Man Who Sold The World (above) Bowie was lifted and positioned in front of the microphone by Klaus and Joey in a costume designed by Mark Ravitz and Bowie, inspired by Sonia Delaunay’s designs for Tristan Tzara’s 1923 play Le Cœur à gaz (The Gas Heart). The skirt suit that David wore was designed by Brooks Van Horn costume house, New York, and was worn for TVC 15, the song that also showcased aforementioned pink poodle.
I graduated from college in 2008, and after 60 cover letters, five phone screeners, and two interviews, secured an entry-level role at a forgotten entertainment website. Four months later, the U.S. entered the Great Recession. Dozens of my co-workers had lost their jobs by November, and in December, the office’s secretary had a panic attack that ended with her weeping through prophecies about the end of the world as paramedics strapped her onto a gurney and wheeled her out the front door. Most co-workers exited through the fire escape, but a handful of us ended up locked in a meeting in a room by the police “for our safety.” I’ll never forget how a junior sales manager tried to continue a brainstorm session for a Hanes underwear back-to-school sponsorship. Needless to say, they didn’t book the client.
Elaine Chung
The out queer pop star is still a rare thing in our culture, and a fairly new development. In the 1970s, Sylvester, Klaus Nomi and Jobriath were a touch too sophisticated for the mainstream, and Freddie Mercury was as coy about his sexuality as one could be fronting a band called Queen. The fierce queer politics of Bronski Beat and the barely-coded sex-positivity of Frankie Goes To Hollywood made some noise on the US charts in the early 1980s while Elton John still presented as bisexual, but it really wasn’t until Erasure exploded onto the scene a couple years later that an open and defiant gay voice could be heard at your high school dance. Singer Andy Bell has been out, loud and proud from the start of his career, hitting the US top 20 three times during the conservative Reagan and Bush years. He demanded a little respect, on his terms, and he got it.