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The final chapter covers government-sponsored art in the 1930s, including murals in public buildings and the Index of American Design. Collected here are 160 illustrations of Florida art, 100 in color. The illustrated paintings were gathered from public and private collections all over the country, many reproduced here for the first time.
Florida is a state of transplants. Even people who relocated here decades ago still claim their birthplace as their home. They might change their mind if they knew that the Sunshine State owns one of the richest histories in the nation. Decades before the Pilgrims, the Spanish celebrated Thanksgiving in Florida. Centuries before the first St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York, the holiday was celebrated in St. Augustine, where urban renewal was underway when Jamestown settlers arrived. Author James Clark offers a lifetime of places to explore and thousands of facts to fascinate, tracing the state's long history from Pensacola to the Florida Keys.
"This book uses the eight large history murals, by artist Christopher Still, that decorate the walls of the House of Representatives to help tell the story of Florida. The broad themes of the paintings and many of the symbolic elements they contain serve to introduce some of the people and events that contributed to the state's vivid history. Contained within each chapter are brief comments and photographs that give a glimpse into the evolving role of Florida's lawmaking institutions."--Page [7].
Discover some of Florida’s most fascinating personalities in this entertaining kaleidoscope of interviews. Made in Florida showcases a colorful lineup of notable people who got their start in the state and who have helped make it the unique, diverse place it is today. Hear from Carl Hiaasen and Dave Barry about their weirdest writing inspirations. Discover why Shaquille O’Neal never complains. Find out what happens when Burt Reynolds goes to Costco. Listen to Theresa Manuel’s experiences as one of the first black women to compete in the Olympics. Learn about the lives of Seminole Tribe elder Louise Gopher, pop art painter Romero Britto, NASA senior executive JoAnn Morgan, circus daredevil Bello Nock, football coach Steve Spurrier, state CFO Alex Sink, and Muhammad Ali’s “fight doctor” Ferdie Pacheco. In addition to the widely celebrated, Art Levy introduces many unsung individuals. Meet innovative industrialists like “Chainsaw Al” and dedicated naturalists like “The Shark Lady.” Mingle with a legendary rancher, a civil rights historian, and a commercial fisherman. Marvel at an anticrime crusader, a space skydiver, and a snake-venom enthusiast. These and other stars—many of whom rarely give such extensive interviews—talk family and work, joys and worries, failures and triumphs, dislikes and desires. Levy has thoughtfully selected their words from ten years of conversations. Each person tells a different story of Florida from a perspective all their own. Read on and get ready to laugh and lament, to be surprised and inspired.
For thousands of years, the Indians of Florida created exquisite objects from the natural materials available to them - wood, bone, stone, clay, and shell. This stunning full-color book, the first devoted exclusively to the artistic achievements of the Florida aborigines, describes and pictures 116 of these masterpieces. A brief history of the consequences of European infiltration and later investigations by explorers and archaeologists sets the stage for consideration of the works themselves. They date from the Paleoindian period (ca. 9500-8000 B.C.) to the mid-sixteenth century and include utilitarian creations, instruments of personal adornment and magic, and objects indicating status, paying homage to ancestors, or aiding the dead in their journey into the next world.
"A superbly readable piece of cultural history. . . . Downs proves that graphics and narrative can be intertwined in an entertaining and informative historical presentation. . . . Delightful and intellectually enriching."--Southern Historian "Excellent. . . . Well-documented with both historical and anthropological sources, this is the best work to appear on a significant cultural characteristic of the Seminoles in quite some time. An excellent addition to the growing literature on the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes."--Tampa Tribune "Unfolds the meaning of Seminole-Miccosukee arts as metaphor for the people of the Everglades."--Joyce Herold, Denver Museum of Natural History The artistic tradition that in the past sustained Florida Indians helps identify them today as possessing a resilient, modern culture. In this richly illustrated account of the arts and crafts of the Florida Seminole and Miccosukee Indians, Dorothy Downs shows how artistic expression reflects and inspires history. Emphasizing the influence of drastic cultural changes on their artistic traditions, Downs traces Seminole and Miccosukee art from the eighteenth century to the present and demonstrates both the persistence of some prehistoric southeastern Indian designs and the impact of contact with Europeans. In addition to clothing and finger-woven or bead-embroidered accessories, their arts and crafts--most often practiced by women--include pottery, basketry, and doll making. Their most powerful artistic expression is found in the colorful and intricate patchwork patterns that have become their twentieth-century signature. Incorporating color and black-and-white photographs of these remarkable art pieces, Downs also details the "men's work" of silver and wood crafts and chickee building in a volume sure to interest scholars and the general public alike.
This book illustrates in full color a generous selection of paintings, drawings, and prints by some of the world's most significant artists who came to Florida from 1823 to 1950 to capture the "Sunshine State."
It wasn't so long ago that the white working class occupied the middle of British and American societies. But today members of the same demographic, feeling silenced and ignored by mainstream parties, have moved to the political margins. In the United States and the United Kingdom, economic disenfranchisement, nativist sentiments and fear of the unknown among this group have even inspired the creation of new right-wing parties and resulted in a remarkable level of support for fringe political candidates, most notably Donald Trump. Answers to the question of how to rebuild centrist coalitions in both the U.S. and U.K. have become increasingly elusive. How did a group of people synonymous with Middle Britain and Middle America drift to the ends of the political spectrum? What drives their emerging radicalism? And what could possibly lead a group with such enduring numerical power to, in many instances, consider themselves a "minority" in the countries they once defined? In The New Minority, Justin Gest speaks to people living in once thriving working class cities--Youngstown, Ohio and Dagenham, England--to arrive at a nuanced understanding of their political attitudes and behaviors. In this daring and compelling book, he makes the case that tension between the vestiges of white working class power and its perceived loss have produced the unique phenomenon of white working class radicalization.
