Category Archives: Politics

September 03

American Concentration Camps in Masumi Hayashi’s Photoramas

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On the 3rd of September 1945, Japanese-American photographer Masumi Hayashi was born in Rivers, Arizona, in the Gila River War Relocation Camp, an internment camp built by the War Relocation Authority (WRA) for the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. Shortly after the end of the war, her family moved to Los Angeles, where she began her education, […]

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August 28

Women’s Suffrage and the American Presidency

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On the 28th of August 1917, ten Suffragists were arrested for picketing in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. This marked one of the most dramatic points in the American suffragist campaigns. Earlier that year, in January, an ever growing number of women started parading in front of the iconic building and expressing their […]

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August 15

Amir Naderi: Iranian Cinema after the Revolution

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On the 15th of August 1946, Iranian film director, screenwriter and photographer Amir Naderi was born in Abadan, Iran. He is considered one of the major directors of Iranian cinema before and after the Iranian Revolution (1978-79). Orphaned at a very young age, he was raised by a maternal aunt until he was old enough […]

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August 09

Jan Sawka: Political Posters and the Polish Solidarity Movement

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On the 9th of August 2012, Polish painter, printmaker, graphic artist, set designer and architect Jan Sawka died in his home in High Falls, New York. Jan Sawka was the son of an architect father and linguist mother.  His childhood was overshadowed by his father’s Stalin-era political imprisonment.  Sawka completed two Master degrees:  in Painting and Printmaking, from […]

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July 30

Colour and Meaning in Disney’s Flowers and Trees

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On the 30th of July 1932, Flowers and Trees, a Silly Symphonies cartoon produced by Walt Disney and directed by Burt Gillett, was released to American theatres by United Artists agency. It was the first commercially released movie to be produced in the full-colour three-strip Technicolor process after several years of two-colour Technicolor films. Flowers […]

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July 26

George Grosz: War→Madness→Dada

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On the 26th of July 1893, German artist George Grosz was born in Berlin. From an early age, Grosz had passionate ideological views. In January 1919, he was arrested during the Spartakus uprising in Berlin, a general strike accompanied by armed battles, which was being suppressed by the Weimar government, marking the end of the […]

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July 16

Censorship in Salinger’s ‘The Catcher in the Rye’

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On the 16th of July 1951, The Catcher in the Rye, a novel by J. D. Salinger was published by Little, Brown and Company in the United States. Initially intended for an adult audience, the book soon found its own readership and has since become enormously popular with adolescents, mainly as it explores themes such as teenage […]

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July 12

The Mercantile Reign of Julius Caesar

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On the 12th or of July 100 BC Julius Caesar is believed to have been born in Rome, Italy, although this date is debatable. A legendary historical figure, he is renown for opposing the military dictator Sulla as a teenager and almost losing his life over it. In his illustrious military career he was decorated […]

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June 15

Enrico Baj: Anarchist at Heart

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On the 15th of June 2003, Italian painter, sculptor, writer and anarchist Enrico Baj died in Vergiate, Italy. In his works he focused mainly on politically engaged themes such as the threat of nuclear war or the political situation in Italy under Berlusconi. Baj was one of the founders of the Nuclear Art Movement that […]

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June 01

Paco Peña: Flamenco and the Question of National Identity in Spain

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On the 1st of June 1942, the Spanish Flamenco composer and guitarist Paco Peña was born in Córdoba, Spain. Regarded as one of the world’s foremost traditional Flamenco players, Peña began his professional career very early in life. He learnt playing the guitar at the age of six, and by twelve he made his first professional appearances. […]

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