Someone in Detroit celebrated Columbus Day this year by taping an ax to a bust commemorating the explorer, splashing on some red paint for full dramatic effect.
Christopher Columbus
Posted inIn Brief
Researchers Decipher the Map That May Have Guided Columbus Westward
You might call Henricus Martellus’s 1491 world map — which many believe Christopher Columbus consulted before setting out on his voyage — a symbol of the limits of human knowledge.
Posted inArt
Hanging Out with Christopher Columbus, the Oversized Diva
From down on the ground, if you didn’t know what it was, it might be hard to figure it out. Given the massive amounts of scaffolding, the big structure currently occupying the middle of Columbus Circle looks basically like a construction project with nifty yellow signs attached. It’s actually the Public Art Fund’s latest project, “Discovering Columbus,” by Japanese artist Tatzu Nishi.
Posted inArt
The Many Views of Christopher Columbus
October 12, observed yesterday as a holiday, is most commonly known as Columbus Day in the United States, but is also recognized as Dia de la Raza throughout Latin America, as well as Indigenous People’s Day. Fraught with controversy, the various iterations of this holiday reflect the range of perspectives on Christopher Columbus and his legacies. The Columbus Day of my youth celebrates the heroic “discoverer” of the Americas, playing up mythical stories of his genius on insisting the world was round, and often neglecting the icky bits about the ensuing genocide of the indigenous peoples of the Americas.