2 min read

Friday, October 24, 2025

Good morning. We're back. But, in a sense, did we ever leave?

This article about contemporary artists reclaiming and reenvisioning decommissioned confederate statues has been getting a lot of (well-earned) attention due to Kara Walker's bracing sculpture, “Unmanned Drone” – a Frankenstein's monster that reassembles the pieces of an equestrian statue of the Confederate general Stonewall Jackson, which had been crudely torn asunder by the artist. It's very good, and I appreciate an unsubtle metaphor, but it's worth actually clicking through to see some of the other works in the collection. Speaking of unsubtle, this is my favorite:

Laura Gardin Fraser’s dual equestrian Robert E. Lee-Stonewall Jackson Monument, with a recent graffito, at the Geffen Contemporary, MOCA. Credit: Aleksey Kondratyev for The New York Times

If you happen to be in Los Angeles, you can check out Unmanned Drone in person at The Brick, and the rest of the sculptures at MOCA, starting yesterday.

Item 2: a list

Greta Gerwig Directed Films, Ranked:

  1. Little Women
  2. Barbie
  3. Lady Bird
  4. Nights and Weekends

Item 3: a media recommendation

I recommend Clues By Sam. This is a daily logic game on the internet, which is fairly simple but also quite diabolical at times.

Item 4: word of the week

Saltation

Civilization is not a steady progression. It stagnates, even recedes, for years or centuries, only to leap forward in a bold saltation that increases humanity's well-being in the anthropological blink of an eye. It's basically like when Sony announces a new PlayStation.

Item 5: an image

It's better without the context

See ya!

Thx. See you on Halloween.

Published by:

Jacob Wolman

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