america
Portfolio — MARK COHEN PHOTOGRAPHS
markcohenphotos.comTwelve Acres — HENRY O. HEAD
henryohead.com“Beauty in the European sense has always had a premeditated quality to it.
We've always had an aesthetic intention and a long-range plan. That's what
enabled Western man to spend decades building a Gothic cathedral or a Renaissance
piazza. The beauty of New York rests on a completely different base. It's
unintentional. It arose independent of human
... See moreHe describes his upcoming album, American Recordings , as a kind of reminder of a better America. Truman’s discontent with the state of the world around him has manifested in a very wholesome way – which is ironic given his background in emo rock. During our interview, he likened this project to the way people will empathize with a morally... See more
Truman Sinclair’s Love Letter to a Better America
Noah Dillon
noahpdillon.comAmerican culture: simple, pure and truthful = dumb
European culture: pursuit and awareness of refinement = snobbish
It is primarily we intellectuals and elites who culture shop, picking and choosing what works best for us. That's true in Europe and the US, where each group of elites is inoculated from the least admirable qualities. Well-to-do Americans can escape the banal landscapes, either through travel or by living in the exclusive US neighborhoods that share European qualities, and find belonging in communities formed from their careers that cross national and cultural boundaries. Highly motivated Europeans can move to America, or work in a large corporation and escape European provincialism, while not giving up the aesthetic and communal benefits it offers.
Not long ago, America was more than the sum of its parts. Now, it is less. Around World War II, we were proud as a people but modest as individuals. Fewer than two people in ten said yes when asked, Are you a very important person? Today, more than six in ten say yes. Where we once thought ourselves collectively strong, we now regard ourselves as... See more