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Martin Luther King Jr.

New York

The Flavorpill Guide to This Week’s Top 10 New York Events

By Judy Berman on

For our (unconscionably high) rent money, the best thing about living in New York City is its endless supply of fun, odd, and inspired cultural events. But with so many options, it can be hard to know where to even begin planning your week. To help you make sense of it all, Flavorpill has launched a new social discovery engine where users can create and share events with friends, as well as follow Flavorpill editors’ and plugged-in local curators’ picks. Below, you’ll find the very best of what’s on offer this week, recommended by Flavorpill NYC’s very own Managing Editor, Leah Taylor. It’s just a taste of what you can find on the new Flavorpill, so if you like what you see, be sure to sign up. … Read More

Art

10 of the Most Controversial Pieces of Public Art

By Heba Hasan on

On the spectrum of accessibility and esotericism, public art is often caught somewhere in the middle. It is traditionally commissioned and paid for by a sponsor, which often doesn’t grant artists the creative control they desire, and its open-air setting makes every passerby a critic. As a result, public art has seen its fair share of controversy over the years, as artists clash with local residents and the art world battles government intervention. With an upcoming art installation project in Columbus Circle spurring various debates, the question of who decides what art should be placed in public spaces is relevant yet again. After the jump we’ve rounded up some of the most controversial pieces of public art in America and abroad. … Read More

Books

10 Great Works of Literature Written in Prison

By Heba Hasan on

When we imagine the places where our favorite authors penned their greatest masterpieces, a jail cell usually doesn’t come to mind. But, whether their writers were prisoners of war or victims of bigotry, the solitude and lack of distractions have produced many a great book. From Oscar Wilde’s apologia on spiritual awakening to Thoreau’s thoughts on civil disobedience, we survey authors whose great mental escapes from incarceration resulted in some of their most insightful and profound works, after the jump. … Read More

Photography

10 Essential Civil Rights Movement Photographers

By Caroline Stanley on

The iconic imagery surrounding the civil rights movement, while problematic for some, is unquestionably powerful, especially for those of us who weren’t around to witness this important chapter in American history firsthand. These pictures not only made plain the gross inequality between races in our country; in many cases, they served as the much-needed public awareness catalyst needed to pass vita legislation like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In honor of Martin Luther King Day, we’ve rounded up a handful of important photographers from the era, along with some of their most iconic shots. Feel free to keep our list going in the comments! … Read More

Design

Morbidly Attractive Invitations to Famous Assassinations

By Judy Berman on

Page through the Flavorwire archives and a few things will quickly become clear: that we love Patti Smith, that we have a fascination with photos of abandoned spaces, and that stylish, pop-culture-oriented graphic design abounds on the Internet. But with all the great posters and prints out there, it’s rare to see a designer do something truly unexpected, which is why we’ve spent much of the morning analyzing our own reaction to Evan Stremke’s Invitation to an Assassination series. Combining evocative minimalist images and famous quotes to create actual invitations to historic assassinations, Stremke raises the uncomfortable question of whether it’s possible to find beauty and fun in humanity’s darker moments. His invitations to the death of such beloved figures as John Lennon, Harvey Milk, and Martin Luther King Jr. may be pleasing to the eye — but it’s difficult to actually enjoy them. See what we mean — and share our ambivalence — after the jump. … Read More

News

Rosa Parks’ Pancake Recipe, Short Story and Postcard From MLK Up For Auction

By Emily Temple on

Famous civil rights advocate Rosa Parks’ entire estate, including a handwritten postcard from Martin Luther King Jr (he’s thinking of her constantly), a recipe for ‘Featherlite’ pancakes (secret ingredient: peanut butter), and six pages of what may or may not be a fictional first-person essay describing a near-rape, is now up for auction at Guernsey’s, a New York City auction house. Since Parks’ death in 2005, there has been a fair amount of arguing as to what to do with her personal items, some of which are inarguably of enormous historical significance. Now, Guernsey’s will auction off the trove as one large lot for an estimated $10 million. But you don’t have to pay a dime to make your breakfast just like Rosa Parks. Click through to steal Rosa Parks’ pancake recipe, and sneak a peek at the other items up for auction from her estate. … Read More

Web

What’s On at Flavorpill: The Links That Made the Rounds in Our Office

By Caroline Stanley on

Today at Flavorpill, we celebrated some not-so-famous firsts of the Civil Rights Movement. We listened to a looped version of Natalie Portman’s awkward Golden Globes acceptance speech giggle. We wondered if whiskey in a can is the new Four Loko. We were impressed by Yang Yongliang’s crazy… Read More

Web

This Morning’s Top 5 Cultural Stories

By Caroline Stanley on

1. A little more info about that upcoming Radiohead release (no, seriously) [via Guardian]

2. DreamWorks has acquired the life rights to Martin Luther King Jr. and is bringing a Steven Spielberg-produced biopic to the big screen. [via Variety]

3. FOX’s fall lineup puts a lot of eggs in Fringe‘s basket. [via THR]

4.… Read More