Culture and Arts

Despite the looming shadow in the 1930s of World War II, the magazine and book-publishing world thrived in New York City. The section “Art as Design, Design as Art” explores the ways the city’s budding graphic-design culture gave rise to a diversity of photography — as it absorbed literary, painterly, and cinematic elements — and challenged the conventional distinction between the fine and the applied arts. “Fashion as Desire” highlights the fusion of art and fashion during the 1940s, when American modernism in magazine publishing established itself during the boom economy of the war years. Photographers such as Erwin Blumenfeld, or Irving Penn and Richard Avedon, both influenced by Brodovitch, as well as by Edward Steichen, merged art and fashion in their work, and altered the genre of portraiture. more »

Chair Jerome H. Powell at the "2021 Just Economy Conference" sponsored by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, Washington, D.C. (via webcast): "Together, over the past year, we have been making our way through a very difficult time. We are not out of the woods yet, but I am glad to say that we are now making real progress. While some countries are still suffering terribly in the grip of COVID-19, the economic outlook here in the United States has clearly brightened. Vaccination levels are rising. Fiscal and monetary policy are providing strong support. The economy is reopening, bringing stronger economic activity and job creation." more »

Editor's Note: We found ourselves considering a copy of Knit Your Own Dog that we had acquired some years ago but hadn't followed through on that order. Beyond that our grandchildren may be of the age that this might no longer have an appeal in their dorm rooms. But for Joan Cannon the subject held appeal: "My son-in-law is allergic to cats. I don't know about his sons, who are polite to our dogs. No one in that group seems ever to have wished for a pet. It makes me nervous about their children, should they ever have any ... "Reams have been written about how animals — pets, in most cases — contribute to the comfort of human lives. Most of us have wept over Flag in The Yearling, Black Beauty, Old Yeller, and many more." more »

Beginning in 2017, the Problem Solvers Caucus became an independent member-driven group in Congress, comprised of representatives from across the country – equally divided between Democrats and Republicans – committed to finding common ground on many of the key issues facing the nation. Co-Chaired by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), the Caucus’ aim is to create a durable bloc that champions ideas that appeal to a broad spectrum of the American people. It is a group united in the idea that there are commonsense solutions to many of the country's toughest challenges. Only when we work together as Americans can we successfully break through the gridlock of today’s politics. Beginning in 2017, the Problem Solvers Caucus became an independent member-driven group in Congress, comprised of representatives from across the country – equally divided between Democrats and Republicans – committed to finding common ground on many of the key issues facing the nation. more »