Art

Misrach has been photographing the American West since the mid-70s. His new collection, "Bravo 20," is a photo essay on a region of the Nevada desert that has been illegally used as a bombing range by the Navy for the past 30 years. He hopes that the site can eventually be turned into a national park.

The photographer is known for both her freelance work and portraits of famous and ordinary people in her home city. Aperture Press has recently released a new book of her photos.

Parks directed the early black action film, Shaft. His son, who died in 1979, was also a director. The elder Parks began his career as a photographer for Vogue and Life, and documented difficult aspects of the African American experience. He's just written his memoir, "Voices in the Mirror."

Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Stephan Salisbury talks with Terry about the most recent news regarding the National Endowment for the Arts. The agency has been re-authorized by Congress, but some artists aren't satisfied by its revised provisions.

Photographer and video artist Wegman is best known for his portraits of Man Ray, his pet dog. Man Ray has since passed away; Wegman has new dog named Faye Ray. A collection of his work is called William Wegman: Paintings, Drawings, Photographs, Videotapes.

O'Keefe, who wrote the performance piece Shimmer, returns to read excerpts from his newest work, VID.

Gray has a new piece called Monster in a Box, about the wending process of writing an as-yet unpublished, 1600 page novel, titled Impossible Vacations. He says that his autobiographical writing distances him from his real life, including his experience of pleasure.

The brothers team up to create strips, panels, and movie poster take-offs that appear in Spy Magazine, National Lampoon, and Raw. They are known for their realistic drawings and caustic wit. Their new book is called Warts and All.

Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Stephen Salisbury returns to Fresh Air to discuss the state of proposed legislation affecting the National Endowment of the Arts.

Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Stephan Salisbury discusses the internal reforms that are redefining the mission of the National Endowment for the Arts, including an elimination of smaller grants and a reconsiderations of what topics and images are acceptable. In the long term, such changes may influence facts Congressional action.

Since 1987, Maya has been performing his one-man show at clubs and performance spaces, mostly around New York. His style of observational humor focuses on his suburbia, current events, and gay politics. Maya came out publicly this year; he believes its important to emphasize his identity in his act to boost representation of gay people in popular culture.

Performance artists Karen Finley and Holly Hughes, whose work is often sexual and political in nature, recently had their NEA grants vetoed, despite a recommendation by the organization's peer review board. Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Stephan Salisbury speaks to Fresh Air about the controversy.

A new edition of photographer David Douglas Duncan's 1951 book This is War, which captures images of Marines in Korea, has just been published. Duncan is also known for his several photos of Pablo Picasso.

Artist David Wojnarowicz (voy-nah-ro-vich). His work has twice been the cause of controversy, once, when a political essay accompanying his work caused the NEA to suspend funding to a gallery, and more recently, when a conservative organization excerpted parts of his work to dramatize what it calls pornographic art. Wojnarowicz is now suing that organization for copyright infringement and libel.

Photographer William P. Gottlieb. In the 40s, Gottlieb learned photography and took hundreds of shots of the jazz greats of the time. Many of those shots are now well known through album covers, books, and posters. 200 of those photos appear in Gottlieb's new book, "The Golden Age of Jazz." It's published by Da Capo Press

Art critic and philosopher Arthur Danto. His latest collection of essays is called "Encounters and Reflections." It's published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

Television critic David Bianculli takes another look at the ABC series "Twin Peaks."

Cartoonist and Animator Bill Plympton. His work combines the humorous and the grotesque. Most recently his "Plymptoons" have been showing on MTV. His award-winning animated cartoons, "25 Ways to Quit Smoking," "How to Kiss," "Your Face," and "Drawing Lesson," have appeared in numerous animated film festivals. Before he took up animation, Plympton's political cartoon strip was syndicated in 25 newspapers. His other illustrations and cartoons have been featured in Harpers, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, The New York Times, and others.

Photographer Jan Staller. His photographs capture the well-traveled outskirts of cities. His subjects are viaducts, tunnels, piers, and subway entrances - the places we pass on the way to somewhere else. He's just published a new collection of such photographs taken around New York over the past ten years, "Frontier New York" published by Hudson Hills Press. In the book's introduction Paul Goldberger writes, "To look at New York through Staller's photographs is to feel that the familiar city has become somehow mystical, ephemeral, almost haunted."

Critic Laurie Stone reviews British performer and clown Geoff Hoyle. In his solo piece, "Feast of Fools," Hoyke uses physical and verbal comedy to portray a series of caricatures. Though Hoyle has training in classical theatre and mime, STONE says his performance is anything but refined. Hoyle is performing "Feast of Fools," in New York.