All of the ancient world, in a bookcase or two

Here, then, is 1,400 years of human culture, all the texts that survive from one of the greatest civilizations human beings have ever built -- and it can all fit in a bookcase or two. To capture all the fugitive texts of the ancient world, some of which survived the Dark Ages in just a single moldering copy in some monastic library, and turn them into affordable, clear, sturdy, accurate books, is one of the greatest accomplishments of modern scholarship -- and one of the most democratic.

September 7, 2011
The Other Socrates

By Adam Kirsch

http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Reviews-Essays/The-Other-Socrates/ba-p/5621

God's warning to Texans if they send Perry to the White House

When cucumbers make music

http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/16392/ronald-van-der-meijs-parthenocarp.html

'parthenocarp' by dutch artist ronald van der meijs is a large-scale musical instrument whose sound is affected by the growth of growing cucumber plants.
the work consists of three sound cabinets, each with its own steel string suspended over a small black wheel sunken into the top face. these cables are connected at one end to an electric drill and at the other to a metal cage housing a living cucumber plant; a mechanical teflon 'finger' against the string changes position depending on the length of the vegetables as they grow. thus each cabinet, functioning something like a mechanical hurdy-gurdy,
plays a tone that mutates slightly over the course of the exhibition, relative to the cucumbers' growth. The installation is representative of the transformation of the urban zone of overstad in alkmaar, netherlands,
which has shifted from a farming region to an industrial area to now a modern downtown center, 'a slow urban transformation process', van der meijs reflects, 'not only associated with changes in the built environment  but also include the surrounded noise, the skepticism and opposition from residents and political opposition parties.'  likewise, the 'combined sound of the [parthenocarp] system transforms very slowly during the exhibition,
and is subject to a variety of harmony and discord

"Illustration Vol. 1" by JS

"Illustration Vol. 1" by JS

A shadow boxer is lost without the sun.

Watson's Journey to the West

"Curation as a Work of Art" the Junkyard Knife 2011 presentation at October meeting of SF Curators Salon

"book 122 inside" detail of a hand-made artist book by Jiri Szeppan, AJS Gallery, 57 rue Charles Meert, 1030 Brussels, Belgium http://jiriszeppangallery.blogspot.com/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/jiri-szeppan/

"Curation as a Work of Art" is the topic of the JUNKYARD KNIFE 2011 presentation we're putting together for the October meeting of SF CURATORS SALON (http://www.facebook.com/groups/SFCurators).

Jiri Szeppan will discuss:

• Collecting materials at the Brussels flea market for use in his  and-made artist books, BESITOS digital movies, and mixed-media painting, and the role curation plays in these art works.
• How his art is informed by his work at CINEMATEK, Brussels' film archive (like Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley - films for scholars to research, plus film screenings for the public).
• Curating art shows and  events at  AJS Gallery, 57 rue Charles Meert, 1030 Brussels, Belgium

Doug will talk about curation as content in THE CONCRETE JUNGLE BOOK, the graphic novel presented he has co-authored with Steve Porter and Srayla Tip. The novel is presented in the form of a scrapbook created and curated (in print and online) by a young cartoonist, tattoo designer/inker and writer; to be published this Fall.

Links:
blog http://JunkyardKnife.com
AJS Gallery brochure http://www.flickr.com/photos/jiri-szeppan/sets/72157624657911478/
Jiri's art, shows, press coverage http://www.flickr.com/photos/jiri-szeppan/collections/
SF Curators Salon http://www.facebook.com/groups/SFCurators 
Jiri's AJS Gallery blog: http://jiriszeppangallery.blogspot.com/  
http://DougMillison.com
http://www.facebook.com/TheConcreteJungleBook