 The Huffington Post 
This week we're talking about floral art in Detroit, grrrl power video games, the costume design of "Mad Men," Jim Shepard's new novel, and Yoko Ono's distinct breed of celebrity.
This Flower-Filled Abandoned House Is Bringing A Bit Of Life Back To Detroit
"Branches of bright yellow forsythia hung over the doorways, catching visitors' hair as they walked through the home, now owned by florist Lisa Waud. Grape hyacinths sprouted up through the floorboards that a month ago had been hidden by several feet of debris, left behind by from the house's former owners. White flowers sat in the crumbling toilet. Moss oozed out of the corners. Foliage pushed through one wall's wooden slats, exposed by the worn-down plaster. This was Waud's trial run for the 'Flower House.'" (Read more here)
It's Time To Stop Hating Yoko Ono
"Yoko Ono hate has, for decades, formed a dark fog around the involuntary celebrity, obscuring her immense contributions to visual, sound and conceptual art. Her name is often associated with loaded, sexist and racist terminology such as 'dragon lady,' 'home-wrecker' and 'fucking psycho.' As Lennon himself said, she's 'the world's most famous unknown artist: everybody knows her name, but nobody knows what she does.'" (Read more here)
Why You Should Take Style Tips From Frida Kahlo's Closet
"[Photographer Ishiuchi Miyako] ended up shooting 300 artifacts with her 35mm camera, resulting in a comprehensive collection of the very physical traces of Kahlo's existence. For her part, Ishiuchi knew very little of the wild Mexican artist beforehand. She came to know her through her belongings, through corsets and boots, prosthetics and polish. To Ishiuchi, these accessories told a story." (Read more here)
How To Write A Holocaust Novel: A Conversation With Jim Shepard
"[Jim] Shepard's gift for drawing out the most elemental, human narratives against a backdrop of tremendous scale reaches its apex in The Book of Aron, a haunting novel told from the perspective of a young boy struggling to survive in the Warsaw ghetto in the final, grim years of Nazi power. He spoke with me, despite the inauspicious weather, about the book, making art about the Holocaust, and the authors who inspired him to write." (Read more here)
This Grrrl Power Video Game Is Everything That's Right About The '90s
"Long before Zoe Quinn's moving attempt to enlighten others about the experience of mood disorders through her interactive fiction game Depression Quest, Theresa Duncan was making waves with her feminist CD-ROMs. And although Quinn's work, which brought her under harsh scrutiny by misogynistic gamers who gathered under a single hashtag (#gamergate) last fall, was considered by many to be a welcome disruption of a male-driven industry, Duncan was making games by, about and for girls (and grrrls) decades earlier." (Read more here)
A 'Mad Men' Costume Designer Tells A Story Through Fashion
"Beyond being one of the most well-written, finely sculpted dramas on television, Matthew Weiner's 'Mad Men' will also be remembered for beautifully capturing and recreating the essence of the 1960s. Much of the iconic visual storytelling in the AMC series is thanks to the vision and creativity of costume designer Janie Bryant, who has been with the show since the beginning of its run. Not only has Bryant further helped define each character through their distinct styles, especially during an era of such magnificent fashion, but her wardrobes have also informed some of the show's most memorable storylines." (Read more here)
How One Music Critic Is Changing The Future For Women Writers
"Hopper's feminism has always been an important part of her relationship with music, and through her work, she's become one of the leading advocates for other female writers on the Internet. She regularly solicits pitches and shines spotlights on younger writers' work. 'This title is not meant to erase history but rather mark a path,' she wrote in her book's introduction. 'This book is dedicated to those that came before, those that should of been first, and all the ones that will come after.' It's a sentiment that easily sums up her take on music and mentorship, too." (Read more here)
Why Smart Women Watch (And Love) 'The Bachelor'
"Most of my peers have a love-hate relationship with 'The Bachelor' franchise -- specifically, we hate that we love it. The underlying messages of the shows are beyond terrible. We're essentially told that all women in their twenties should be desperately searching for a man to marry (most of the 30-something bachelorettes are portrayed as a particular breed of desperate), and that women are, in general, complete and utter nutjobs. Although, of course, this only applies to white women, as people of color rarely get cast. Yet even knowing all of these things, season after season, droves of intelligent, successful women come back to ABC and host Chris Harrison for more." (Read more here) Follow HuffPost Arts and Books on Facebook and Twitter 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003 | | |
