Katherine Keenum

Exhibition alert: I've just learned about Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris, 1900–1939 from an article in the Autumn 2024 issue of American Scholar: Reborn in the City of Light. The show, which is up through February 23, 2025, is built around portraits of American women who found freedom to explore their art, beliefs, and sexuality in Paris in the early 20th C. They didn't necessarily know each other; but together they illustrate a time and place. Naturally, for this post, I chose a painting from my magic year of 1908. Ethel Mars, moreover, is new to me and I hope to explore her life and work in future—possibly in the exhibition catalogue if it becomes available in our library system!

A friend who is working on a scholarly article asked whether I knew of any Christian images of humans ascending to heaven. I didn't, but a little poking around turned up this one. Weird! I suppose it illustrates moving from darkness into light. And I've read of people who experience a near-death experience as resembling a tunnel that leads to light beyond. All the same, what would one do with this narratively?!?
Image via Wikipedia

Normally, I like to honor Labor Day with a focus on unions, women, and work. As early voting gets under way this year, however, the really big idea seems to be VOTE. (For Harris-Walz, of course.)
Image via Encyclopedia Virginia.