Museums

Commentator Maureen looks at who won't be performing at the upcoming inauguration activities, but should be: performance artist Pat Olezko, who has a show running in Washington, D.C. right now.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews an exhibition that opened last week in Washington, D.C., which displays objects left at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial over the years.

Conservative cartoonist Wayne Stayskal's recents strips have focused on the Democrats, particularly Clinton. His syndicated cartoon appears weekly in the Tampa Tribune.

A Bush apointee, Frohnmayer ran the National Endowment for the Arts from 1989 until last May, when he was asked to resign. Frohnmayer was routinely attacked by the religious right for giving grants to what it deemed "obscene" art. He also angered many who thought he didn't question enough the administration's pandering to the right. Since his resignation, he's become a strong advocate for the First Amendment.

Rivers has a new autobiography, "What Did I Do?" He's known by art historians as "a great figurative painter," "the father of Pop Art," and is recognized as the first American artist to use vulgar objects in an artistic context. Rivers was part of a loosely knit association of poets and painters in New York in the 50's. His book looks back at his work as a jazz saxophonist, his drug use, and his unashamed interest in sexuality.

Children's book author John Scieszka's first book was "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs," a retelling of the classic tale told from the perspective of the big bad wolf. He and illustrator Lane Smith have created several books under their Time Warp Trio editions. The latest is "The Good, The Bad, and the Goofy," a cowboys-and-Indians story written for boys, and "The Stinky Cheeseman and Other Fairly Stupid Tales," written for "hardcore silly kids."

The ACLU recently announced its Arts Censors of the Year, a list that includes acting NEA chair Anne-Imelda Radice, Rev. Donald Wildmon, Oliver North, feminist Catherine MacKinnon, and the Duval County, Florida Public School District. We talk with Marjorie Heins, the director of the ACLU's Arts Censorship Project, about what earned the aforementioned this dubious distinction.

Fresh Air producer Amy Salit interviews Linda McCartney. She has a new book of photographs, "Linda McCartney's Sixties: Portrait of An Era." The book is a collection of photographs taken of rock groups and personalities from the decade. She's married to Beatles' bassist Paul McCartney.

Theatre critic, director, and educator Robert Brustein is the founder and Artistic Director of the American Repertory Company, director of the Harvard Drama Center, and drama critic for the New Republic. He'll talk with Terry about how the arts are in peril because of government action by the left, the middle, and the right.

Bagge's cartoons are a mixture of bitter social observation and slapstick silliness. He's best known for his "Hate" bi-monthly comic books published by Fantagraphics, about the life of Seattle slacker Buddy Bradley, his pal Stinky, and his girlfriend, Val.

Pop artist and sculptor Claes (klaus) Oldenburg. He turns everyday objects into colossal public monuments. He created a giant clothespin for Philadelphia, a rubber stamp for Cleveland, a fruit bowl for Miami, and others. Before taking on the large public sculptures, CLAES worked in multiples, where a small object is repeated. A new book about this period of his work is called, "Claes Oldenburg: Multiples in Retrospect 1964-1990." (by Rizzoli International Publications, Inc.)

Macabre cartoonist and illustrator Edward Gorey talks to Terry from his house in Cape Cod (he's not fond of leaving home). His longtime favorite children's books include "The Curious Nosebleed," (Dodd, Mead) "The Loathesome Couple," (Dodd, Mead) and "Amphigorey," (G.P. Putnam's Sons) which was recently made into a musical that's currently playing in Philadelphia. You might have also seen his illustrations on the opening credits of the PBS show "Mystery."

Time magazine art critic Robert Hughes. Despite his huge influence in the art world, Hughes prides himself on being a perennial outsider in that world. He'll talk about the current state of the arts.

Maureen Corrigan considers the New York City subway system. She reviews Jim Dwyer's new book, "Subway Lives," and she discusses an exhibit of Walker Evans subway photographs from the 1930s and 40s. It's now at the National Gallery in Washington.

Photographer Susan Meiselas (My-SELL-us). She went to Nicaragua in the late 70s to photograph the Sandinista Revolution. She returned to Nicaragua recently to talk to the people she photographed more than ten years ago. Only this time she made a film about it, "Pictures From a Revolution."

Comic book artist Diane Noomin. She's the editor of (and a contributor to) a new collection of underground comics drawn by women. It's called "Twisted Sisters." It's published by Penguin.

Village Voice art critic Peter Schjeldahl ("shell-dahl"). He's just published a new collection of his writings from the late 70s to 1990. The collection's called "The Hydrogen Jukebox." It's published by the University of California Press.

Marine artist Richard Ellis. He's been studying and painting whales for the past two decades. His new book "Men and Whales," is the history of the relationship between the two, beginning with the hunting of whales. It's just been recent in history that whaling has been outlawed in most areas of the world. (published Alfred A. Knopf).

Cartoonist John Callahan. Callahan comes up with comics that are both funny and often offensive (a typical example: an obese man stands with his obese son in front of the refrigerator, saying "Son, someday all of this will be yours."). Callahan often pokes fun at alcoholics and the disabled, something he's qualified to do. Callahan was a alcoholic for many years, and he was left a quadriplegic after a drunk driving accident.

The head animator for the character of the Beast in the new Disney film "Beauty and the Beast," Glen Keane. Keane stated at Disney Studios in 1974. He's worked on "The Fox and the Hound" and "The Little Mermaid." (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)