Erasing the Kung-Fu Judge

Local

The case of the plundering of the estate of retired judge John L. Phillips is the nexus where corruption and a rainbow coalition of cliché meet, Brooklyn-style.

Bring on the Iraq Syndrome

Express

In the 1960s Tom Hayden was a founder of the Students for a Democratic Society, a member of the Chicago Eight, and a leading figure in the movement against the Vietnam War. His latest book, Ending the War in Iraq, was published in June by Akashic Books.

Robert Storr with Irving Sandler

Art

I have been concerned that in the critical community, there is this insistence that art is about beauty versus politics, criticality versus sensuality, or all these absolutely ridiculous dichotomies.

Rosalyn Drexler with John Yau

Art

After her mini-survey I am the Beautiful Stranger, Paintings of the ’60s, which was sensitively curated by Arne Glimcher at PaceWildenstein (March 16–April 21), Rosalyn Drexler paid a visit to the Rail’s Headquarters to talk with Art Editor John Yau about her life and work.

“Sculpture is a very rich dialogue…” Carmen Giménez with Michael Brenson

Art

During the last 25 years Carmen Giménez has built a reputation as the most important curator of modernist sculpture in the world. During her most recent Guggenheim exhibition, “Spanish Painting from El Greco to Picasso: Time, Truth, and History,” Carmen spoke about her remarkable life and career.

Speaking of Iraq…

I’m not trying to be the guy who gets heavy on you at the bbq, but at the very, very least, revivifying local discussion of the war is way, way overdue.

William Anastasi with Phong Bui

Art

On the occasion of his recent exhibition, “William Anastasi: Raw” at the Drawing Room of The Drawing Center, which will be on view till July 21st, the artist paid a visit to the Rail’s Headquarters to talk about his life and work.

A TRIBUTE TO SABRINA SEELIG (1984–2007)

LastWords

One could describe Sabrina to those who never met her as a J.D Salinger character, a brilliant precocious individual. A true New Yorker who loved the city and its people unequivocally, with an enormous appetite for life, she directed her energy to describing her adopted home.

Poetry: Mister I Think

Books

Herbert, who won the T.S. Eliot Prize in 1995, is a titan of not only Polish poetry, but of twentieth-century European poetry. His celebrated alter ego, Mr. Cogito, ranks as the one of the most original characters in modern poetry.

Japan Cuts

Film

A Festival of Premieres at the Japan Society

The New New York Songstress

Music

The New York songstress is not so easily defined. Breaking out of genres, blending formerly opposing sounds, she absorbs everything around her to invent a style that is completely distinct and as vast as the city itself.

The Convict’s Tale: A Sydney Chronicle Exclusive

Fiction

On June 5, 2011, reporters from the Sydney Chronicle gained access to a written statement by David Heath, a felon incarcerated the previous summer. His narrative has made its way to the halls of parliament in Canberra, and is already the subject of heated debate.