‘Allow yourself to be open to the new’: UMass Amherst exhibit showcases the imaginative art of Leonardo Drew
“Leonardo Drew: Cycles” at the University Museum of Contemporary Art at UMass Amherst features large sculptures and installations such as “Number 142L,” which is made of thousands of pieces of wood. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS
Leonardo Drew uses a variety of manipulated materials, such as paper, wood metal, animal hides and paint, in his works. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS
Above, the work in “Leonardo Drew: Cycles” at UMass Amherst is drawn from the collection of Jordan D. Schnitzer and his family foundation. Below, more of the art. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS
Coronavirus lockdown drags middle class to poverty A child’s bicycle is sold to put food on table, khichdi replaces chicken and eggs
Ashish Anand had dreams of becoming a fashion designer. A former flight attendant, he borrowed from relatives and poured his $5,000 (Rs 3,73,900) life savings into opening a clothing shop on the outskirts of Delhi selling custom-designed suits, shirts and pants.
The shop, called the Right Fit, opened in February 2020, just weeks before the coronavirus struck India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi abruptly enacted one of the world’s toughest nationwide lockdowns to stop it. Unable to pay the rent, Anand closed the Right Fit two months later.
Ashish Anand had dreams of becoming a fashion designer. A former flight attendant, he borrowed from relatives and poured his $5,000 life savings into opening a clothing shop on the outskirts of Delhi selling custom-designed suits, shirts and pants. The shop, called the Right Fit, opened in February 2020, just weeks before the coronavirus struck India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi abruptly enacted one of the world’s toughest nationwide lockdowns to stop it. Unable to pay the rent, Mr. Anand closed the Right Fit two months later. Now Mr. Anand, his wife and his two children are among millions of people in India in danger of sliding out of the middle class and into poverty. They depend on handouts from his aging in-laws. Khichdi, or watery lentils cooked with rice, has replaced eggs and chicken at the dinner table. Sometimes, he said, the children go to bed hungry.
Noida, India: Ashish Anand had dreams of becoming a fashion designer. A former flight attendant, he borrowed from relatives and poured his $5,000 life savings into opening a clothing shop on the outskirts of Delhi selling custom-designed suits, shirts and pants.
The shop, called the Right Fit, opened in February 2020, just weeks before the coronavirus struck India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi abruptly enacted one of the world’s toughest nationwide lockdowns to stop it. Unable to pay the rent, Anand closed the Right Fit two months later.
Now Anand, his wife and his two children are among millions of people in India in danger of sliding out of the middle class and into poverty. They depend on handouts from his aging in-laws. Khichdi, or watery lentils cooked with rice, has replaced eggs and chicken at the dinner table. Sometimes, he said, the children go to bed hungry.
OPSU Hosts Author, Rilla Askew Panhandle State Communications on 04/16/2021 Rilla Askew
Rilla Askew is an American novelist and short story writer who was born in Poteau, in the Sans Bois Mountains of southeastern Oklahoma, and grew up in the town of Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
Askew graduated from the University of Tulsa with a B.F.A. in Theatre Performance in 1980. She moved then to New York where she studied acting. She began writing plays first, then fiction with her theatre background supporting the use of language and rhythm in her works. She went on to study creative writing at Brooklyn College, where she received her MFA in 1989. Rilla has taught in MFA writing programs at Syracuse University, Brooklyn College, the University of Arkansas, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She currently teaches creative writing at the University of Oklahoma.