weekend links: I Love Dick, Anicka Yi, woodblock witches
Duncan Grant, Bathing (1911)
The Handmaid’s Tale showed us that great fiction makes for great television. Now an even unlikelier story is coming to TV: Chris Kraus’s I Love Dick. Jill Soloway, creator of Transparent, is bringing the unflinchingly sexual memoir to the screen, and it stars, of all people, Kevin Bacon and Kathryn Hahn. Get excited. [The Ringer]
Cartoonist Matt Furie killed off the ubiquitous Pepe the Frog this week after deciding his reputation could no longer be salvaged from its racist reputation. Unfortunately, a comic book character may die but a meme can live forever. [Comic Book Resources]
Never underestimate the power of statues: as a sanction of what is worth commemorating, a testament to strength and ideals. All the better that New Orleans continues to tear down its Confederate icons. So long, Jefferson Davis, and good riddance. [The Washington Post]
Anicka Yi’s new solo exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum invites patrons to experience her work “nose first.” The exhibition features perfumes and scents made by Yi to create a truly immersive sensory experience. [The New York Times]
What do woodblocks and witches have in common? Quite a bit, apparently: the rise of the art form occurred concurrently with the emergence of the witch and helped spread fear throughout Europe. It also led to our contemporary conception of the witch, complete with pointy hats and broomsticks. [The Public Domain Review]
Howard Jacobson is the author of Pussy, the first Trump-era novel. The novel will be released later this month. Jacobson describes his book as a fairy tale and a satire, meant to resonate with readers not only in the United States but around the world. [The Atlantic]
Junot Díaz talks to Samuel Delaney about his essay "Ash Wednesday," his reputation as a "sex radical," and Charles Lum's documentary Secret Santa Sex Party. For those unfamiliar, let this be the introduction you've been waiting for to Delaney's important work. [Boston Review]
Tate Britain has opened a new exhibit that attempts to chronicle 100 years of queer British art, from 1861-1967. Consider how attitudes have changed and reevaluate your historical perspective by examining some of the pieces from this ambitious collection. [Hyperallergic]
The Library of Congress held a disco-themed party to celebrate Gloria Gaynor’s 1979 hit “I Will Survive” being added to the Library’s National Recording Registry. Gaynor performed the song inside the library-turned-discotheque earlier this week. “I Will Survive” was and continues to serve as an anthem for people of all walks of life, especially the LGBT community. [NPR]
The popular Texas burger chain Whataburger announced a poetry contest earlier this month. The contest is in celebration of National Burger Month, with winners receiving free Whataburger for a year. Whatadeal! [Texas Monthly]
—Sean Redmond and Natalie Walrath