"Camp: Notes on Fashion" at The Met

July 19, 2019 Guest User

Susan Sontag, author of the iconic 1964 essay “Notes on ‘Camp’”, stated, “To talk about Camp … is to betray it.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition “Camp: Notes on Fashion” explores the elusive camp aesthetic of deliberate stylization and extravagance in fashion. The exhibition, heavily influenced by Sontag, traces back to the origins of the camp aesthetic to 17th century France. Through more than 250 pieces, the exhibition showcases camp’s manifestations throughout history and the present, and how it continues to challenge established notions of taste, sexuality, and race.

“Camp: Notes on Fashion” is sponsored by Gucci with support from Condé Nast, and will be on display through September 8, 2019.

friday photo, camp, met museum, fashion

The Washington Post: “FBI, ICE find state driver’s license photos are a gold mine for facial-recognition searches.”

July 16, 2019 Guest User

Federal Bureau of Investigation and Immigration Customs Enforcement agents use state department of motor vehicle databases for facial-recognition purposes, reveal newly released documents. These records, obtained by researchers with Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy and Technology and shared with The Washington Post, contain thousands of facial-recognition requests, internal documents, and emails over the past five years.The Washington Post reports that “DMV records contain the photos of a vast majority of a state’s residents, most of whom have never been charged with a crime,” affecting millions of Americans whose photos are being used without their knowledge. Lawmakers across the aisle have criticized the technology as a “dangerous, pervasive and error-prone surveillance tool.”

Proud of Mine Too

July 15, 2019 Joseph McKeown

Robert Lobe: SUPERSTORM

July 12, 2019 Guest User

Artist Robert Lobe’s metal sculpture of a tree that was torn out of the ground during Superstorm Sandy is currently on display in lower Manhattan at Duarte Square. Lobe recreated the tree using the repoussé technique, by hammering aluminum around the tree and corresponding boulder to capture their forms.

Although the original tree was found on the Appalachian Trail in New Jersey, the sculpture also serves as a memorial to remind pedestrians of the storm’s devastation in downtown Manhattan, where Lobe resides. The artist’s ability to capture both the tragedy and beauty of the felled tree also points to more current environmental issues related to climate change. The sculpture will remain on display until May 19, 2020.

Top 10 Immigration and Migration-related Sites in NYC

July 11, 2019 Joseph McKeown and Victoria Spagnolo

New York City is one of the most diverse places in the world with a rich cultural and immigrant heritage. For those looking to learn more about the city’s (and nation’s) immigration and migration history—including both voluntary and forced migration—we recommend ten locations to visit. We have included both well-known and off-the-radar spots.

Newsweek: “Naturalized U.S. Judge Officiates Naturalization Ceremony For 350 People In Texas Border Town.”

July 9, 2019 Guest User

On June 2, 2019, Marina Garcia Marmolejo, a district judge for the US Southern District, presided over a naturalization ceremony for 350 people who became citizens in Laredo, a Texas border town. The ceremony was one of 110 ceremonies nationwide that combined saw about 7,500 new citizens take their oaths.

The Invisible World

July 8, 2019 Joseph McKeown

Nicolas Holiber: Birds on Broadway, the Audubon Sculpture Project

July 5, 2019 Guest User

Nicolas Holiber: Birds on Broadway displays ten oversized sculptures of New York City Birds that are endangered due to climate change all along the greenway between 64th and 157th Streets in Manhattan. Holiber crafted these sculptures entirely out of reclaimed lumber, to highlight the exhibition’s message about the urgency of environmental issues. Some of the featured birds include the American bittern, brant, common goldeneye, double-crested cormorant, and snowy owl. Pictured above are sculptures of the red-necked grebe, the peregrine falcon, and the American bittern.

Pieces of Poetry

June 28, 2019 Joseph McKeown

Pieces of Poetry: a community mosaic celebration in Fort Greene Park is a celebration of Walt Whitman, Richard Wright, and Marianne Moore, three notable literary figures from Fort Greene. The mosaic depicts a bookshelf with the titles of the honored writers’ most famous works and is comprised of hundreds of glass shards collected from the park. Installed in the southwest wing of the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument Plaza, the artwork is designed by Brooklyn-based artist Courtney McCloskey, who collaborated on the piece with students from neighborhood schools, including P.S. 20; The Greene Hill School; Science, Language, & Arts International School; and Brooklyn Technical High School.

The Washington Post: "US immigration agency to transfer citizenship paperwork from busy offices, hoping to reduce wait times."

June 25, 2019 Guest User

Earlier this year in February, eighty-six members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) that demanded accountability for the agency’s increasingly lengthy processing delays. Now, USCIS is looking to transfer cases out of overburdened offices to even out processing times across the country. The strategy, however, will only apply to applications for permanent residency (green cards) and applications for naturalization (citizenship).