Recent Posts

Max Ernst, Dada, The Chinese Nightingale
Film, Visual Art

Dada as the Antidote to War and Capitalism

In the sobering aftermath of World War I in Zurich, Dada preached a radical-yet-whimsical philosophy of creativity, a self-styled anti-art. Random and meaningless by definition, calculatedly irrational by design, for a short time the movement spread like revolt to the US and across Europe, voicing the bizarre protest of a brave new community of artists and writers.

s, climate change
Climate, Oceans, Wildlife

California Sea Lion Suffering Warming Pacific, Disappeared Sardines

Sick, starving and dying sea lion pups are washing up on the shores of California in record numbers this year. The culprit? An unusual blob of record warm water parked off the North Pacific Coast for a year and a half, affecting circulation and weather patterns with no relief in sight. Hence, sardine fisheries have collapsed with wildlife heading north.

Matthias Grunewald, Isenheim Altarpiece
Sound, Visual Art

German Composer’s Paean to a Healing Work of Renaissance Art

One of the 20th Century’s most influential composers, Paul Hindemith created the neo-classical-folk-inspired symphony Mathis der Maler, based on the life of the mysterious 16th Century painter Matthias Grunewald, whose masterpiece associated Saint Anthony and the Virgin Mary with the miraculous cure of the epidemic skin disease called St. Anthony’s Fire.