Essay · Art & Architecture The Man Who Built the Human Figure from Rubble Fritz Wotruba spent his life doing one thing: finding the body inside the block. That this task consumed him entirely, across five decades of exile, return, and monumental ambition, tells us something important about what sculpture is for — and aboutContinue reading “Fritz Wotruba”
Author Archives: My World of Interiors
Chapter 25: Life Could Be a Dream
I watch the boy, Scotty from Sun, and his bass player Bill run through every song the boy knows. Scotty’s wife is warm and sweet and keeps me company, but I can tell they aren’t exactly blown away by him. The boy doesn’t seem to mind. He’s off in his own little world today, notContinue reading “Chapter 25: Life Could Be a Dream “
Katharine Hepburn
Essay · Arts & Lives A House That Made Her Possible Katharine Hepburn did not invent herself. She was manufactured — lovingly, rigorously, sometimes mercilessly — by two of the most unusual parents that Progressive Era New England ever produced, and she spent the rest of her life living out the experiment they designed. ByContinue reading “Katharine Hepburn”
Chapter 24: A Fool Such As I
We are in the patio garden at Tilly’s parents’ house. I arrange to spend the summer in Newport with Cornelia. Her parents will be in Europe, so we’ll have the house to ourselves. She invites everyone to drop in whenever they want. Topper says he might come and see us, if I would like himContinue reading “Chapter 24: A Fool Such As I”
Mohammed Ali
Essay · Sport & Culture The Man Who Refusedto Be Only a Fighter Mohammed Ali did not merely win bouts. He waged a campaign — against racism, against empire, against the very idea that a Black man in America must keep his mouth shut and take his beating gracefully. By Bergotte There is a photograph,Continue reading “Mohammed Ali”
Chapter 23: I’ll Never Stand in Your Way
I am surprised when I receive a letter from Bryn Mawr, and it turns out I’ve done much better in my exams and essays than expected. I decide to give college a chance before I determine whether or not I want to drop out.I speak to Tilly, who, for once, is warm and generous withContinue reading “Chapter 23: I’ll Never Stand in Your Way “
Cher and the Art of Outlasting America
Cher has lasted so long, and in so many forms, that she can seem less like an entertainer than like a permanent feature of the culture itself. She belongs to that tiny class of figures who have ceased to be merely famous and become symbolic: instantly recognisable, endlessly referential, somehow both singular and omnipresent. Singer,Continue reading “Cher and the Art of Outlasting America”
Chapter 22: You May Go to College – You May Go to School
“We’ll come off too pedestrian if we stay in college housing,” Tilly informs me. “We’re adults. We need our freedom now.” I agree, if only to keep the peace. It’s the first term at Bryn Mawr, autumn after our debut into New York society, a debut none of us took seriously, which upset Tilly’s mother.Continue reading “Chapter 22: You May Go to College – You May Go to School “
Alan Parker and the Brutal Energy of Modern British Cinema
Alan Parker belongs to that increasingly rare category of British director whose work was at once popular, ambitious and unmistakably personal. He was not a miniaturist, nor a specialist, nor a filmmaker content to remain within one tonal register. He moved restlessly between genres and scales: from the stylised bravado of Bugsy Malone to theContinue reading “Alan Parker and the Brutal Energy of Modern British Cinema”
Chapter 21: My Happiness
I rush over to the boy’s new apartment on Alabama, they’ve moved again, as soon as I’m back for the summer of ’53. The boy isn’t home yet, but would I like to wait? He won’t be long.His mother brings me a cup of coffee, and sits with me at the kitchen table. “Did youContinue reading “Chapter 21: My Happiness”
My World of Interiors 