Mona
Lisa, the Automator, Seth, and Headshrinking Horrors
After a brief hiatus,
the buzz is back with this week's Gadflyonline
feature on the "Mona Lisa." A subject of endless
speculation and popular interest, Joan Altabe
cuts through the prevalent theories of the great
artworks' appeal and inspiration and offers her
own reason for the Mona Lisa's "smart-ass little
grin." Elsewhere, Jonathan Kiefer looks back on
Billy Wilder and the intelligence and thoughtfulness
his films displayed while I chat with hip hop
uber producer Dan the Automator. Last week, Grant
Rosenberg attended a performance by Afrobeat musician
and AIDS activist Femi Kuti in Paris. The review,
plus abundant pictures and a video clip of his
dancers communicate some of the power of a Femi
Kuti show. Today, Alan Bisbort profiles graphic
artist/novelist Seth who is a leader in a field
(graphic novels) that is quickly becoming a quality
literary source. This week will continue with
a review of Bill Moody's mystery Looking for
Chet Baker and finish Friday with "Headshrinking
Horrors," a look at the recent crop of not-so-scary
horror movies, like The Sixth Sense, The
Others and Devil's Backbone. If you
happened to miss the last few weeks of Gadflyonline,
then check our recent features section for interviews
with Jodie Foster and Marianne Faithfull.
—Jayson Whitehead,
Editor
MONDAY
FEATURE
You
Can Tell By The Way She Smiles
Does
anyone understand the Mona Lisa?
By Joan Altabe
SPECIAL
FEATURE
Billy
Wilder: 1906-2002
By Jonathan
Kiefer
TUESDAY
MUSIC
I
Just Love Hip Hop
An e-mail
conversation with Gorillaz producer and alternative
rap icon Dan "the Automator" Nakamura
Femi
Kuti’s Audience Connection
By Grant
Rosenberg
WEDNESDAY
ART
Vernacular
Drawings:
Sketchbooks
of the cartoonist "Seth"
Blue:
The History of a Color
By
Michel Pastoureau*
THURSDAY
BOOK
Bill
Moody's Looking for Chet Baker
By
Neal Shaffer
BOOK
EXCERPT
"A
Problem From Hell"
By
Samantha Power*
Plus:
BOOKS
OF NOTE
FRIDAY
FILM
Headshrinking
Horrors:
How the current formula for scary blockbusters
fails to deliver true fear
By Lisa Lambert
