For his project “Aftermath: The World Trade Center Archive,” photographer Joel Meyerowitz created an historically relevant and poignant record of ground zero. To photograph at the site was prohibited, so his project was resisted from he beginning. Had Meyerowitz not persisted in his vision, the 8000 image archive, traveling and touching others across the world, would not exist.

JR is a young innovative French photographer who stays below radar. He offers few words about his work, but his enormous black and white portraits loom large in highly populated public communities. He directs his subjects to make exaggerated facial expressions that somehow, amidst the amusement, raise questions about identity, poverty, sexism, boredom or violence.

Loss and creative power seem to be inextricably connected. This month of October marks the 9th year of concerts performed globally in memory of Daniel Pearl, a journalist (and musician) who was brutally murdered by terrorists in Karachi, Pakistan, in early 2002.

A dazzling collection of art by women from across the globe was originally intended to be auctioned off in 2003. New Orleans collector Richard C. Colton, Jr. was so moved by the power of the assemblage, however, that he bought it whole in order to keep it that way, and to share it with the world.

Barack Obama is edging closer to a decision on whether to reinforce the 68,000 U.S. troops who will be fighting in Afghanistan by year’s end. Since routing out Al Qaeda and their Taliban hosts in Afghanistan after 9-11, the Taliban has made a steady comeback, fueled by failures of the Bush administration, profits from the opium trade,

Copyright Reform of the U.S. Congress
I have only just discovered this interesting new voice on the public scene. His name is Lawrence Lessig. If you haven’t already heard of him, you might want to take note. His book, “Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy,” tackles art and copyright issues as they relate to new media. He outlines new realities that creators face in our online world.

September brought a sad, sweet farewell to Paul Newman, who died of cancer at the age of 83. Amidst the media gloom and campaign rancor of the season, a glance at his life makes for refreshing fare. What film lover could forget Newman’s understated blue-eyed “Cool Hand Luke,” his tortured soul as Brick in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” his romantic charm as Butch Cassidy. Over the years, his characters helped us to articulate the spirit of our times. He became like a friend, journeying alongside us through the decades. His colleagues have long commented on his lack of outsized ego, his generosity on stage, and his abiding Ohio-born, down-to-earth perspective.