Oscar & Dorian are growing up...

Christmas in New York

It was hard to get into the holiday spirit this year while I was still in New York. Final papers and projects took precedent, but I did enjoy the lights and huge Christmas tree in my neighborhood.

What if you could hold Barnes & Noble in your hand and carry it with you everywhere you go?

I would say, "No, thank you. I'll keep my paperbacks."

The title of this blog entry comes from a leaflet advertising Barnes & Noble's new eReader technology that I received yesterday when I purchased a new book. (Will I have time to read this book anytime soon? Probably not, but books are my weakness and the art/art history section at the B&N in my neighborhood is unlike any other I've ever seen.)

I don't want a Kindle or a Nook, or any other type of technology that replaces the physical objects that are books. While I know the many people find ebooks an outstanding revolution in reading, I am not going to be an enthusiastic convert as long as paperbacks are still being printed and bookstores are still open for browsing. There is something unique and wonderful about holding a book in your hands and turning each page. It is a tangible sensory experience that, for me, is deeply connected with the experience of reading. I love feeling the cracked spines of my favorite and most read books from St. Olaf. I remember the smooth, glossy covers of my childhood Nancy Drew books....I could go on and on, but you get the idea.


That being said, here's a list of what I read over Christmas break:

1.) "Sargent's Daughters: A Biography of a Painting" by Erica E. Hirshler.

Hirshler is a curator of American Art at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and in this text she explores one of the most well-known works in the MFA's collection, John Singer Sargent's "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit."



This was a great read. Hirshler's book expertly marries the best of art historical scholarship and vocabulary with a very readable "novel-like" writing style that brings Sargent and the Boit girls to life by giving them historical and personal context. I've not seen the painting in person yet, but I'm hoping to visit Boston sometime soon and after reading this book I will make a special trip to the MFA to see it!

2.) "Old Masters, New World: America's Raid on Europe's Great Pictures" by Cynthia Saltzman.



Another great read--though a little more dense than "Sargent's Daughters." This book also reads like a novel at times, but is also packed with a detailed history of the Gilded Age in the United States. "Old Masters, New World" was especially interesting to me because it deals with the subject (art collecting) and time period (late 19th early 20th c.) that I studied for my senior research paper about Bertha Honoré Palmer of Chicago. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, Palmer was not mentioned by Saltzman. Palmer is often overlooked because of her location in Chicago (in other worlds, NOT a member of the East Coast elite found in NY and Boston), and because she focused her collecting on contemporary painters--specifically the Barbizon and Impressionist artists of France. Anyway, I digress. The point is, I wish I had known about Saltzman's book when I was working on my Palmer paper--it would have been SO helpful. Oh well. It was still a great book that I would recommend.

3.) Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicolas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn



Right now I am in the midst of reading "Half the Sky" by Kristof (a New York Times columnist and his wife, Sheryl Wudunn, who is also in journalism) and am really enjoying it. As the subtitle explains, this book focuses on the human rights of women around the globe. To the Westerner, the human right's struggles of such women are shocking to the point of being unbelievable. Realizing this, Kristof and WuDunn write with this audience in mind--always explaining the cultural and political contexts that allow such inhuman experiences to occur. Subjects covered include prostitution & human trafficking, rape & "honor" killings, and maternal mortality & disability. So far it's getting me thinking more and more about how Western cultures can have a positive influence on women in third world without imposing Western values and cultural standards. It also directly addresses what happens when theory meets practice. It's a challenging and interesting read that I would highly recommend it to anyone concerned with human rights, women, global health, social justice, education, etc. (in other words, I think everyone should read it).

Happy reading.

Back on the Blogging Bandwagon (I hope)

I've just returned to New York after a long holiday vacation and I think it is appropriate to also return to my poor neglected blog at the same time. As many of you have noticed, I've been conspicuously absent from web for the last few months.

So here it goes...(in bulleted outline form because, as many of you know, I'm a little obsessed with organization and lists)

Brief summary of the last two and a half months:

1.) I love grad school. I finished my first semester with 2 big papers and a large project/presentation. They all went well and I'm very proud of the noticeable progress I've made in the last 6 months.

2.) I presented a paper at a museum studies symposium hosted by NYU. It was titled "Making Modern Art Narratives Accessible in the Museum: The Museum of Modern Art and the Tate Modern." The experience made me thankful for St. Olaf's required "Oral Communication" credit and for the experience of presenting my senior distinction paper last spring. In other words, St. Olaf prepared me for my future--what a success story! Here's a picture of one of MoMA's Monet "Waterlilies" that I used in my paper. Isn't it great (and huge?)



3.) Christmas was disrupted by a long and intense snowstorm. My family wasn't able to get together as we usually do--instead, Dad and I spent a few days inside eating, reading, and watching movies. It was also terribly cold but I was SO happy to see snow that I didn't mind. Here's a great picture of our garage on Christmas morning after the garage door accidentally stayed open all night because when we drove in the night before the drifted snow fell inside and blocked the door's sensor!



4.) Second semester starts on Tuesday and I can't wait. I'm taking 3 classes: Museum Management, Museums & Interactive Technologies, and Museums & Political Conflict.

5.) Oscar and Dorian have grown so much! My roommate, Alex, took care of them while I was gone for the holidays and I was so happy to return to them this week! They are still very active and Oscar is always loud and wild. He's adorable and very friendly with visitors, which is nice too. Both cats have recently found so odd places and positions to sleep. I was lucky enough to have my camera on hand to catch a few great napping moments:


I've never seen a cat sleep on his back before with his legs splayed out like this. Oscar is a funny little guy.


I don't know why the dishes drying rack is a comfortable place to nap, but Dorian seems to think it is.

Graduation/Going Away Party!

I'm a little behind in sharing these pictures from August. Marianne, thank you so much for taking this wonderful pictures. Thank you also to everyone who came! It was wonderful to celebrate with all of you!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

I have the movie "When Harry Met Sally" on my mind today (I hope you've all seen it--if not go rent it now!) Anyway, there's a scene that takes place in Central Park on a beautiful fall day when the leaves are golden and crisp.

Today is a day just like that.

The sun is shining with blue skies peaking out between the leaves that have just started to turn and drop to the ground. The temperature is mild--in the mid 50s so I'm bundled up in a thick warm sweater. Now all I need is a hot apple cider!

Homework calls....Happy Autumn!

Oscar is so Photogenic

Alex took another great picture of Oscar on top of the scratching post looking very alert.