Images from the Wild: Surviving Man - David Chancellor
Tuesday, November 3 | 6:30 p.m. | Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.
David Chancellor, one of the world's most decorated photographers, has increasingly focused his attention on the complex relationship between man and wildlife, between the hunter and the hunted, and on the commodification of animals on the African plains. It's a subject that burst into the news earlier this year, when a Minnesota dentist on an illegal hunt brought down a beloved lion in Zimbabwe.
In conjunction with the Pictures of the Year International exhibit Visions of Excellence on display at the Library through November 29, the South Africa-based Chancellor presents an illustrated talk about his work — which most recently earned POYi's Environmental Vision Award.
Co-presented by Pictures of the Year International, administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism, and the Kansas City/Mid-America chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers.
The Cherokee Kid: Will Rogers, Tribal Identity, and the Making of an American Icon — Amy M. Ware
Wednesday, November 4 | 6:30 p.m. | Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.
Will Rogers would joke that his ancestors didn't come to America on the Mayflower but they "met the boat," a wry reference to his family heritage. The most famous cowboy of the early 20th century was more than a quarter Cherokee, also making him the most famous American Indian of his time even if most in his vast audience didn't know it.
On what would be his 136th birthday — Rogers was born in Indian Territory in Oklahoma on November 4, 1879 — author Amy Ware of the University of Texas examines his roots and upbringing and their impact on his life and career. Rogers made much of his Native American background. In doing so, he made Cherokee artistry a fundamental part of American popular culture.
Shadow Work: The Unpaid, Unseen Jobs That Fill Your Day — Craig Lambert
Thursday, November 5 | 6:30 p.m. | Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.
Think about some of the little tasks you routinely perform. Scanning and bagging your own groceries. Filling your car with gas. Assembling the bedroom wardrobe you lugged home from IKEA.
Former Harvard Magazine deputy editor Craig Lambert calls it "shadow work" - things you take time to do for free, often via automated tools, that once were done by others for pay. In a discussion of his new book, he examines the roots and consequences of the modern-day phenomenon. There's a cost in face-to-face human contact, in personal service, in entry-level jobs.
Thomas Hart Benton and Kansas City — Henry Adams
Sunday, November 8 | 2 p.m. | Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.
Thomas Hart Benton's national notoriety - as one of the most visible and controversial American painters of the 1930s - has overshadowed his time as a Kansas City resident.
Benton scholar Henry Adams, author of the new book Thomas Hart Benton: Discoveries and Interpretations, reveals an intriguingly different artist than the one known to historians. Benton had a complex involvement in the city's great social and cultural renaissance, which included the establishment of a symphony, university, and great art museum. Often at odds with the staff of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, he drew most of his support from Jewish patrons who were largely excluded from the museum's activities. His father had connections to Tom Pendergast, but some of Benton's closest friends were involved in the overthrow of the Boss' political machine.
Programming is free at the Kansas City Public Library and free parking is available at all Library locations. Event attendees can RSVP at kclibrary.org or at 816.701.3407.