Friday, January 15, 2010

Martin Luther King Jr. at Dartmouth

A poster featuring an illustration of Martin Luther King Jr., from the shoulders up, in front of a bus, a map of Montgomery, Alabama, and a government building. The text advertises a 1962 lecture by Dr. King being held at Dartmouth College.On May 23, 1962, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to an overflow crowd in 105 Dartmouth Hall. His speech, "Towards Freedom," was part of Dartmouth's famed Great Issues course.

But it wasn't so simple to get King to campus. He had agreed to speak at a Union service on May 15, 1960, followed the next day by a question/answer period with the Great Issues class. On April 5th, he wrote to cancel his visit because of a pending income tax case in Alabama. He rescheduled for May 21, 1961. This time he made it to campus, but was forced to leave town the morning of the talk upon hearing reports of racial unrest in Alabama. On May 23, 1962, he was finally able to deliver his address. According to accounts in The Dartmouth, he warned idealistic students to be wary of the "myth of educational determinism."  Education alone could not solve the problem, the law was still necessary to regulate behavior. He ended with a call for President Kennedy to issue a second Emancipation Proclamation declaring all segregation unconstitutional on the basis of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Learn more about Dartmouth's 2010 celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, "Where Do We Go From Here?"

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Ski Futurista

Two black and white image of athletes, one a skier and one a runner."Sci" and "Atletica Leggera" are two images from a set of 10 xilographs.  What are xilographs?

Xilographs are a type of woodcut or engraving on wood emphasizing the grain of the wood.

These images are part of Aerosilografo, Aeropittore, Aeroscultore, Futurista -- a work by Renato Di Bosso and F.T. Marinetti from about 1941.

As part of the 16 page monograph, there is also a one-page text by Marinetti and a facsimile of the Futurist manifesto l'Aerosilografia by Di Bosso.

The powerful original graphics include an abstract portrait of Marinetti and images of men moving, playing, and working.

A simple yet beautiful work combining old techniques with new ideas.