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Heidi Paster Harf + Ezra Axelrod Make “Torah Tropical”

HEIDI PASTER HARF is a photographer from Eastern Long Island, who spent the last 15 years photographing daily life in Cali, Colombia, where she lived for two decades. EZRA AXELROD is creative director of ThisTopia, producing Colombian film projects focused on countercultures, regenerative psychoactive plant economies, and social and environmental justice.. Together they made the film “Torah Tropical.”

Artist José Bedia

Posted by Raymond Elman

JOSÉ BEDIA (b.1959) was born in La Havana, Cuba. He was a pioneer of the radical transformation of Cuban Art that inaugurated the Exhibition Volumen 1, which Bedia was an integral part of. His passion for the primal Amerindians complemented his anthropological studies on Afro-Transatlantic cultures, studying in depth the faith, believes and religion of the “La Regla Kongo” (in which he was initiated in 1983), the “ Regla de Ocha”, and the Leopard Society of Abakuas, among many others.

Anya Wallace: Artist, Scholar, Curator

Posted by Elman + Skye

ANYA WALLACE is a visual artist, scholar, and community educator. Her artwork and scholarship are shaped by a desire to narrate the lessons and pleasures existent in Black Girlhood. Wallace holds a doctorate in Art Education and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Penn State University. And studied photographic critical theory and craft at the Savannah College of Art and Design. She is currently the Florence Levy Kay Postdoctoral Fellow in Black Feminist Studies at Brandeis University.

Photographer Alessandro Sarno: From Milano to Miami

Posted by Elman + Bolivar

Introduction to Alessandro Sarno. 1:19 min. Interview: Raymond Elman. Post-Production: Sophia Bolivar. Music: Ana Camacaro Gomez. ...

José Bedia Back Then (1999)

Posted by Raymond Elman

Editor’s Note: This article, “José Bedia Explores Links Between Cuban and African Art,” by award-winning art critic Elisa Turner was originally published in the Miami Herald in February, 1999. It highlights both the inspirations for José Bedia’s vision, and his unique imagery. You can also watch our 2023 video conversation with José Bedia’s in ArtSpeak.

In Memoriam: Renowned MAD Magazine Cartoonist Al Jaffee (1921-2023)

Posted by Elman + Perez-Trujillo + Richland

FROM 2015: Al Jaffee (b. 1921) is an American cartoonist who is still making cartoons for MAD magazine and, at the age of 94, remembers every cartoon and human interaction we discussed (during our video conversation) in great detail. Al is best known for his work at MAD magazine, where his cartoons have appeared in every issue except one, and he is revered for his signature innovation, the MAD Fold-In.

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Al Jaffee Sets a New World Record

By Leticia Cobas 98-year-old cartoonist Al Jaffee, whose work has appeared in every issue of MAD magazine save one, is perhaps best known for inventing the “fold-in” -- the publication’s back cover feature which reveals a surprise message and image once the page is folded. In 2016, Jaffee made history when he was recognized as the cartoonist with the longest active career, which landed him in the Guinness Book of World Records. Jaffee’s career as a cartoonist spans over 75 years, 60 years working for MAD. Jaffe’s two best-known comics series, “MAD’s Fold-In” (1964) and “Snappy Answers To Stupid Questions” (1965) are among the oldest continuous features in MAD. In 2017, Jaffee made one of his iconic Fold-Ins about President Trump’s approach to health care. The cartoonist asks: “Who stands to benefit most from Trumpcare?” Once the image of the traumatizing hospital scene is folded-in, it reveals a casket with the answer, “Funeral directors.” Jaffee began satirizing political candidates in MAD’s pages in the 1960s and has illustrated almost 500 fold-ins.