Library Video of the Week, November 12, 2012.

Calder: Sculptor of Air, a film by Franocis Levy-Kuentz, written by Stephan and Francois Levy-Kuentz.  Library Call Number: NB237.C28 C35 2012.

 

From the Liner Notes: Unique modern artist Alexander Calder (1898-1976) revolutionized the art of sculpture with his distinctive modernism, freeing sculpture from its stand and adding movement to the art itself. He rose to fame in the 1930s with his renowned Miniature Circus, but his modernist creativity skyrocketed with his wire sculptures, an invention he dubbed "drawing in space". Contemporary, and friends with Duchamp, Miro, and Mondrian, who have greatly influenced his evolution, this genius tinkerer, too often limited to his Mobiles, was fueled by artistic renewal, creating such unexpected shapes as his huge stabile sculptures now exhibited worldwide. In light of the artist's life, this film retraces this unique quest and explores the masterpieces that have marked the history of 20st century art.” (In the 4th Floor collection.)

Browsing Area Book of the Week, October 1, 2012

And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life by Charles J. Shields.  Library Call Number PS3752.O5Z855 2011.

Review from Publisher’s Weekly: Vonnegut initially refused to grant an interview to Shields…but then relented, enabling Shields to meet him during the last months of his life. This first authorized biography probes both Vonnegut's creative struggles and family life, detailing his transition from "the bowery of the book world" to counterculture icon. Shields delivers a vivid recreation of Vonnegut's ghastly WWII experiences as a POW during the Dresden firebombing that became the basis for Slaughterhouse-Five; the novel brought him overnight fame when it was serialized in Ramparts magazine and then published in a month when 453 Americans were killed in Vietnam. Tragedies and triumphs are contrasted throughout, along with an adroit literary analysis that highlights obscure or overlooked influences on Vonnegut:: Ambrose Bierce, Céline, Robert Coover's metafiction and Paul Rhymer, who scripted radio's Vic and Sade. With access to more than 1,500 letters, Shields conducted hundreds of interviews to produce this engrossing, definitive biography [which] arrives during a year of renewed interest in Vonnegut.

Browsing Area Book of the Week, April 18, 2011.

Half-Broke Horses: A true-life novel by Jeannette Walls.
Library Call Number: PS3623.A3644 H35 2009.
          Author Walls introduces us to her grandmother, Lily Casey Smith, by way of an autobiographical/fictional rendition of her life. Growing up in the early 20th century on a ranch in Texas, Lily’s first home was a dugout in the bank of a creek, with a sod roof browsing goats occasionally stepped through and walls that gophers, snakes and scorpions would regularly pierce. Helping her father break horses by the age of six, Lily fought for the education that led her to become a schoolteacher, grew up during the Great Depression and eventually settled on an Arizona ranch. Replete with real-life drama and tragedy, the stories of Lily and her family provide a wonderful and evocative glimpse into western America in the early to mid-20th century and illuminate much of the self-reliance and self-discipline necessary to survive in that era. From the flash flood in the opening chapter to the tragedies of her later years, this is a modest American woman worthy of great respect.