On the 26th of May 1762, German philosopher Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten was born in Frankfurt (Oder), Brandenburg. He famously introduced the current definition of the philosophical discipline of aesthetics in his Halle master’s thesis when he was only twenty-one years of age. He called this epistêmê aisthetikê, or the science of what is sensed and […]
Author Archives: ArtLark
May
25
Social Subtext in Gilbert & Sullivan’s ‘H.M.S. Pinafore’
posted by ArtLark
On the 25th of May 1878, the comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore, or The Lass That Loved a Sailor, by Arthur Sullivan (music) and Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (libretto) had its premiere at the Opera Comique in London. The review that followed soon after the opera’s opening in The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular stated […]
May
24
‘Pink Narcissus’: Gay Fantasy vs Reality
posted by ArtLark
On the 24th of May 1971, the American arthouse drama film by James Bidgood, Pink Narcissus, was released in New York City. The film focuses on the life of a handsome male prostitute, played by Bobby Kendall, immersed in his erotic fantasies. Like the mythological character of Narcissus, he is obsessed by his own beauty […]
May
23
A Historical Framing of Bonnie and Clyde
posted by ArtLark
On the 23rd of 1934, Dallas outlaws and robbers Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut Barrow were ambushed by police and killed in Bienville Parish, Black Lake, Louisiana. Their exploits captured the attention of the American public during the “public enemy era” between 1931 and 1934 in the Great Depression. Though known today for his […]
May
22
The Model-Mistress-Muse Paradigm: Henrietta Moraes
posted by ArtLark
On the 22nd of May 1931, British model, muse and memoirist Audrey Wendy Abbott known as Henrietta Moraes was born in Simla, India, where her father was stationed in the Indian Air Force. He deserted her mother when Henrietta was young, and she had a difficult upbringing raised by an abusive grandmother in England where […]
May
21
Disability and Creativity: Alexander Pope
posted by ArtLark
On the 21st of May 1688, English poet Alexander Pope was born in London, England. At twelve, Pope composed his earliest extant work, Ode to Solitude; the same year saw the onset of the debilitating bone deformity that would plague Pope until the end of his life. Originally attributed to the severity of his studies, […]
May
20
Denim and Popular Culture
posted by ArtLark
On the 20th of May 1873, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis received a U.S. patent for blue jeans with copper rivets. In San Francisco, Levi Strauss, a Jewish-German immigrant, had established a profitable wholesale dry goods business importing clothing and fabric to sell in the small stores opening all over California and other Western states to […]
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