Sam Ehmann AP Lit Summer Blog

For my independent reading novel, I have chosen to explore Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man . When I made this selection I mixed up the H.G Wells story of the same name I have read in the past, where a scientist accidently makes himself invisible and gets into some fun antics. So imagine my surprise when I grab the copy of Ellison's version off the shelf, flip it over and read the reviews given. "Ellison has talent and so far he has managed to stay away from being first a Negro, he is still first a writer. I think that he will go far." -William Faulkner. "The most impressive work of fiction by an American Negro which I have ever read... Mr. Ellison is a finished novelist who uses words with great skill..." -Orville Prescott, The New York Times. And some others in the same vein... Now I quickly realized my mistake in book choice, but these reviews really stuck with me. This book was originally published in 1947, a time when black people were still fightin...

"Work like a slave, order like a king, create like a god," the many quips and quotes from Mr. Tom Sachs paint a picture of genius that is harrowing, yet strangely inspiring. A sculptor by trade, his workshop named "The Studio," specializes in creating unique art pieces drawing inspiration from all sources in pop culture and our modern society. But Mr. Sachs himself is a character I find fascinating. He has a view and outlook on art and society that is really unique, and he finds appreciation for the most simple objects in every day life. "I want labor to be the point, because everything in our lives is miraculously made with no idea of how it's done. As an active and critical consumer, and as someone who has attempted to make the flawless and failed, I wanted a transparency of construction here. If we know how it is made and how it falls apart, we will know how to rebuild it." One of his main rules for creation is that an object has to show that it wa...