Editor's Message
A Self-Evident Truth
“For milk to become yogurt, it needs culture.”
—Willem de Kooning
In Germany, under Hitler’s regime, artistic expression was banished as a form of Bolshevism. In Russia, under Stalin, it was denounced as “bourgeoius cosmopolitanism”. In mid-50s America, Abstract Expressionists met with aggressive censorship by members of the House Un-American Activities Committee. More recently, in October of 1999, Rudy Giuliani threatened to cut off city funding for the Brooklyn Museum because he deemed a painting in one of its shows to be “offensive.” And last month, Governor George Pataki issued highly publicized threats against the International Freedom Center and the Drawing Center for their display of “anti-American art.”
History has not been kind to those who attack the creative spirit. Nor should it be. Freedom of expression is our birthright as Americans. And so we dedicate this issue to all our comrades in this genuinely patriotic “war for freedom.” All of us here at the Rail wish you a great summer!
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
The Cancellation of Russia
By Darra GoldsteinJUNE 2022 | Critics Page
People throughout the world are demonstrating solidarity with Ukraine by erasing the words “Russia” and “Russian,” a first step in the attempt to erase Russia itself. In Brighton Beach—Brooklyn’s “Little Odessa” populated mainly by Russian-speaking Jews who fled from Ukraine and other former Soviet republics—the community grocery store “Taste of Russia” has changed its name. Bobby and Elena Rakhman, the store’s owners, wanted to demonstrate support for Ukraine.
Fountain House Gallery
By Amber Jamilla MusserJUL-AUG 2021 | ArTonic
Amber Musser profiles the Fountain House Gallery.
Tom Doyle in Germany 1964–65
By William CorwinNOV 2021 | ArtSeen
While on a residency in Kettwig Germany, Tom Doyle spent a year experimenting with adding color to his work. It was a risky proposition, and as Kirsten Swenson writes in her introduction to the exhibition catalog, Doyle “did not expect [the] work to leave Germany.”
Partial Reveals & Inclusive Revelations in the Post-Truth Simulacracy: The Poetics
By Chris CampanioniJUL-AUG 2020 | Books
The Poetics is interested in exactly this conjunction, and Ives questions both the narrative of history and the history of narrative as a form in elaborate, strident observations that are illuminating and speculative.
