John F. Szwed

This catalogue takes a look at the theme of space exploration. Encompassing the concept of infinite potential, as well as historical outer-space successes and failures, it features installations, paintings, works on paper, and sound and video works made by Laurie Anderson, Nina Katchadourian, Oleg Kulik, Julian LaVerdiere, Aleksandra Mir and Damian Ortega, among others, and investigates global attitudes from the time the Soviets launched Sputnik to the explosions of the American space shuttles in 1986 and 2003. While the featured artworks are united by the theme of outer space, they also invite consideration of the technological, environmental and sociopolitical forces affecting life on Earth today.

A biography of Alan Lomax, folklorist, archivist, anthropologist, singer, political activist, talent scout, ethnomusicologist, filmmaker, concert and record producer.

"Ranging across genres from the popular to the scholarly, this selection of John Szwed's published essays abides in the intersection of race and art, jazz and rap: crossovers inside and outside the academy. With reviews written for the Village Voice and articles from academic journals, this volume includes essays, commentary, and meditations."--BOOK JACKET.