More stories

  • in

    Advice on Mammograms

    Doctors at Weill Cornell emphasize their importance. Also: Immigrant children; flaws in the justice system; graffiti; clothes and memories.More from our inbox:Children at the BorderBetter Ways to JusticeDefaced Art? ‘How Could One Tell?’A New Life for My Mother’s ScarvesA debate persists over screening frequency for breast cancer — the second leading cause of cancer death for women after lung cancer.Njeri Mwangi/ReutersTo the Editor:Re “Breast Cancer Centers Urge Early, Annual Scans, Countering U.S. Guidelines” (nytimes.com, April 6):We take issue with an editorial in JAMA Internal Medicine that said frequent screening of younger women for breast cancer can do “more harm than good.” As physicians who diagnose and treat breast cancer at Weill Cornell Medicine, we seek to minimize the impact of this disease, which continues to kill about 44,000 American women a year.We are especially concerned about the effect of such misinformation on the health of African-American women, who are more likely to receive a diagnosis of breast cancer at younger ages and are more likely to die from breast cancer at all ages.Covid forced us to delay routine screening. The devastating impact of the pandemic on communities of color risks magnifying existing disparities in breast cancer outcomes.We welcome research seeking to improve and personalize breast cancer risk assessment to inform screening. Screening mammography, while imperfect, is the best approach available for early detection and to reduce morbidity and mortality.Lisa NewmanTessa CiglerSilvia FormentiNew YorkChildren at the BorderYoung children were being cared for by older siblings in a playpen area in the border processing facility in Donna, Texas.Pool photo by Dario Lopez-MillsTo the Editor:Re “‘No Place for a Child’: Inside a Packed Tent Camp for Migrant Children” (news article, March 31):Countless Central American families and children have made the excruciating decision to flee acute violence, poverty and danger in their home countries, and now children languish in U.S. government reception centers. There can be no doubt that these are children who, mere weeks ago, would have been callously turned away at the border. But that does not mean we can’t do better for them now.We must ensure that children are swiftly reunified with safe caregivers in the United States and that those who have been trafficked, abandoned, abused or neglected, and those who are seeking asylum, obtain meaningful access to protection under our laws.Vice President Kamala Harris must receive the resources she needs to promote efforts to address the conditions that drive these children north. As children are processed out of places like the center in Donna, Texas, they must be connected with legal services so that they can get protection. We can do better as a country.Mary Meg McCarthyJonathan RyanMs. McCarthy is executive director of the National Immigrant Justice Center. Mr. Ryan is president and chief executive of the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (Raices).Better Ways to Justice  Jim Wilson/The New York TimesTo the Editor:Re “Excessive Punishment” (editorial, March 30):I applaud your suggested property crime reforms alongside other efforts to break our country’s decades-long addiction to incarceration. They should happen immediately.And if we’re serious about ending mass incarceration, we must also acknowledge the abject failure of making punishment, rather than safety and accountability, the bedrock of justice.Our justice system claims that punishment is a one-size-fits-all solution to such a wide array of needs as to be fantastical: healing for victims, accountability, prevention of future harm, rebuilding lives, safety for the community, a sense of justice and more. Inflicting more pain and trauma not only fails at those goals, but it also puts them largely out of reach.True accountability requires an acknowledgment of the harm done, efforts to repair it and concrete change that will prevent future harm and strengthen community safety.We’ll never end mass incarceration — and its egregious racial inequities — until we embrace this common-sense vision of justice that offers real healing and safety for all.Shari SilbersteinNew YorkThe writer is executive director of Equal Justice USA.Defaced Art? ‘How Could One Tell?’  Minwoo Park/ReutersTo the Editor:Re “Defacing a $400,000 Painting, All Because of a Mix-Up” (news article, April 8):JonOne is a graffiti artist, which means that he paints things on other people’s walls, buildings, sign boards and the like. At the site of his work in Seoul (described as a “paint-splattered canvas”), he left paint cans and brushes. Did he truly not expect that this was an open invitation to others to add to the work? Weren’t they simply doing graffiti on another person’s surface?And yet JonOne claims that the couple who took him up on his implicit invitation “defaced” his work, which he likened to defacing a church. Defaced? My response, after looking at the “before” and “after” versions on the Times website, is “How could one tell?”Finally, does he not realize that the couple who added dark green patches were really engaged in performance art?David WinterAlbuquerqueA New Life for My Mother’s Scarves  Catherine Lai/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesTo the Editor:Re “We Wear Memories, Not Just Clothes,” by Chris Vognar (Reporter’s Notebook, Arts pages, April 9):After losing both of my parents within months of each other five years ago, I had to clean out the apartment they shared for almost 50 years.In my mother’s drawer, I found a collection of scarves, which I took, rather than donate it. When I now see my three young granddaughters (one of whom is named for her) dancing around the room or playing peek-a-boo with them, I feel her presence, and I believe that she would be happy.Ronnie SchwartzBaldwin Harbor, N.Y. More

  • in

    Couple Who Defaced $400,000 Painting in South Korea Thought It Was a Public Art Project

    The vandalism of a piece by the graffiti artist JonOne at a gallery in South Korea has prompted a debate about contemporary art.SEOUL — The couple saw brushes and paint cans in front of a paint-splattered canvas at a gallery in a Seoul shopping mall. So they added a few brush strokes, assuming it was a participatory mural.Not quite: The painting was a finished work by an American artist whose abstract aesthetic riffs on street art. The piece is worth more than $400,000, according to the organizers of the exhibition that featured the painting.Now it’s hard to tell where the artist’s work ends and the vandalism begins. “Graffitied graffiti,” a local newspaper headline said last week.Either way, the piece, “Untitled,” by John Andrew Perello, the graffiti artist known as JonOne, is now a magnet for selfies. And on social media, South Koreans are debating what the vandalism illustrates about art, authorship and authenticity.The artwork is displayed with paint cans, brushes and shoes that the artist used when he worked on it, one of the exhibition’s organizers, Kang Wook, said in an interview. He added, “There were guidelines and a notice, but the couple did not pay attention.”Some social media users have echoed Mr. Kang’s reasoning. Others say the sign was confusing and the couple should not be blamed.Views of “Untitled,” a painting by the artist JonOne, before (top) and after it was vandalized. The extra brush strokes are hard to spot.Organizers of the “Street Noise” exhibitionA few suggest that the incident itself was a form of contemporary art, or that the couple’s abstract brush strokes — three dark-green blotches covering an area about 35 inches by 11 inches — have improved the piece.The debate is notable in part because the crime was not intentional and the painting can be restored, said Ken Kim, an art restoration expert in Seoul who has seen the vandalized work.The painting is part of “Street Noise,” an exhibition that opened at Lotte World Mall in Seoul in February and features about 130 artworks by an international group of more than a dozen graffiti artists. Mr. Kang said the staff at the mall noticed on March 28 that the painting had been vandalized, and identified the couple by checking security footage.The couple were arrested but released after the police determined that the vandalism was accidental, the local news media reported. Mr. Kang said the couple told the police that they had thought the artwork was open to public participation.The couple have not been identified and could not be reached for comment.The artist, JonOne, said in an interview on Wednesday that he was disappointed and angry that his work had been “defaced,” although some people have said the publicity could work in his favor.“Art should be religious,” he said. “You don’t paint on a church.”The artist JonOne has described his work as “abstract expressionist graffiti.”Bruno BrounchJonOne said the vandalism of his work in Seoul reminded him of growing up in New York City and the feeling that his talent was not appreciated.As a teenager, he would sign his graffiti with the tag “JonOne.” His style later became more abstract, although he continued to use graffiti lettering as the foundation for his work. Now 57 and living in Paris, he has described his aesthetic as “abstract expressionist graffiti,” a nod to Jackson Pollock and other American artists who redefined modern painting in the years after World War II.Julien Kolly, a gallerist in Zurich who specializes in graffiti art and has exhibited JonOne paintings over the years, said that they often prompted strong reactions from viewers.“Some are full of praise and others think that a child could do better,” he said. “Of course, I am in the first category.”Mr. Kolly said that he wondered why the couple who vandalized “Untitled” in Seoul thought they could “intervene” in an artwork that was hanging in a gallery — but also that he did not think they intended to “destroy” it.“I can understand that people may have thought that they could, at the very least, do better than the artist by participating in this work,” he added.Mr. Kang said a decision about whether to restore “Untitled” would be made before the exhibition ends on June 13. The restoration could cost about $9,000, he added, and the insurance company may find the couple partially liable for the cost.“But we are concerned,” he added, “because there are many comments saying that the artwork should not be restored, and remain as it is.”The couple added the three dark-green blotches that are circled in red.Organizers of the “Street Noise” exhibition More

  • in

    How to Remove Graffiti

    AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyTip How to Remove GraffitiHumans have been marking up walls for millenniums. Carry the paint colors you’re most likely to need, but never get attached to a clean, monochromatic surface.Credit…RadioFeb. 23, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ET“Graffiti is not going away ever,” says Thomas Corrales, 53, who works for the Los Angeles Department of Public Works training and overseeing crews of graffiti cleaners. Some 175 cleaners fan out across the city every day; in the second half of last year, they removed 3.5 million square feet of graffiti. Corrales grew up in a neighborhood where spray-painted tags were so pervasive that he became almost blind to them. Then one day in 1993, the unemployment office got him a graffiti-abatement job. Now he can’t help spotting even the tiniest Sharpie tags.Unauthorized paint on a wall can be many things — art, hate speech, social and political messaging, vandalism, the claiming of space. However it manifests, it often has a multiplier effect: Graffiti begets more graffiti, and tags will be tagged over. On occasion, when Corrales paints over graffiti, someone shows up to tag it anew before he can even drive away. Remember that humans have been marking up walls for millenniums; don’t get angry or take it personally. “We’re trained not to confront anyone,” Corrales says. If you ever feel unsafe, leave and come back later. Wear long pants and boots, preferably the steel-toed kind if you plan to use a water blaster (water sprayed at 3,500 pounds per square inch can take off skin). As you traverse streets, carry the paint colors you’re most likely to need, including gray, beige, tan and white. If you don’t have the exact color, use a spectrophotometer to measure hue and make a match. For walls, paint with either a roller or a paint sprayer. For stop signs, murals and most metal surfaces, use a water-based chemical remover mostly known by its brand name, Krud Kutter. City-approved murals are sealed with a clear coat that makes them easier to wipe clean. For the multistory spatterings that people make by filling fire hoses with paint and shooting it out with a fire extinguisher, you’ll want cherry-picker trucks. Clean sidewalks with a high-pressure water and sand blaster.Cityscapes are covered in layer after layer of paint, like an ever thickening skin. Never get attached to a clean, monochromatic surface. “You know that it’s going to be retagged,” Corrales says. “And you’re going to come back again, too.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

  • in

    Catch a Fish in Paris. Post on Social Media. Release.

    AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyParis DispatchCatch a Fish in Paris. Post on Social Media. Release.A new, younger generation of fishers is taking over the banks of the Seine, transforming a centuries-old tradition into an underground culture.The Seine used to be the fishing playground of older, working-class men who whiled away their retirement days at the river. These days, a younger and more diverse generation is disrupting the scene.Credit…Andrea Mantovani for The New York TimesJan. 11, 2021, 12:01 a.m. ETLire en françaisPARIS — On a recent wintry afternoon along the Seine, a Parisian teenager took a fishing rod out of a narrow holster, stuck a glittery rubber fish on a hook and cast his line into the water.The fisherman, Eliot Malherbe, 19, was soon joined at the river’s edge by his friend Kacim Machline, 22, an art student. But first, Mr. Machline spray painted a greenish striped fish on the concrete walls by their spot on the river, in an renovated former industrial area near the Jardin des Plantes on the Left Bank.The Seine used to be the fishing playground of older, working-class men who whiled away their retirement days at the river. These days, a younger and more diverse generation is disrupting the scene.Many of the younger anglers were first drawn to the Seine by the promise of other adventures. The city’s quays offer some of the city’s prime skateboarding territory, and for graffiti artists, it provides areas with little traffic so they can discreetly spray their tags during the night.While fishing’s more sedate pleasures might seem to lack the same thrill, that’s not the case, said Manuel Obadia-Wills, 40, a former graffiti artist and skateboarder — and now a fisherman during his free time.Kacim Machline creating some art before fishing.Credit…Andrea Mantovani for The New York Times“There is a buzz, an addictive side, a repetition until you reach the moment of grace,” Mr. Obadia-Wills said. “In skateboarding, it’s the perfect trick. As for graffiti, it’s all about the adrenaline rush when you are in a forbidden place. When you fish, it’s about the most beautiful catch.”Like skateboarding and drawing graffiti, fishing in the Seine, too, sometimes flirts with legality. Many fishers go out after work or school — although France has officially forbidden fishing after sunset since 1669 even during wintertime.During the official fishing season from May to January, young fishers meet at certain spots — near barges stretching for miles along the river and under which fish shelter, or by the Canal Saint-Martin or Canal de l’Ourcq, where the water is calmer and warmer than in the Seine.Eager to find unexplored grounds, though, some venture to restricted areas like under the Bastille square at “the tunnel,” as it’s known, a mile-long underground canal covered by a stone vault. The city recently sealed off its entrance to try to prevent people from getting in.The “tunnel” is a mile-long underground canal under the Bastille square.Credit…Andrea Mantovani for The New York TimesAlthough they are carrying on a centuries-old tradition of fishing in the shadows of Notre-Dame or below the Eiffel Tower, younger fishers have brought with them updated rules and codes.Foremost among them: The ultimate aim of the day’s catch is no longer about sharing a meal with friends and family. Instead, the goal is to share on social media close-up images of the pikes, perches, zanders, wels catfish and other species — and then releasing them back in the river.“Fishing is a sport and fish are our game partners, that’s why we release them,” said Grégoire Auffert, 21, squatting on a parapet of the Quai Anatole France facing the Tuileries Garden across the river. “You would never ask a tennis player to eat the ball.”Also, the new generation uses plastic artificial baits to lure the fish, not the natural baits like the worms still favored by beret-wearing retirees. The fish don’t swallow the lures, and fishers can hook them by their mouth cartilage, causing the least possible harm.The new customs are aimed at protecting the increasing biodiversity in the Seine. In the 1970s, there were only three fish species left in the river, but after decades of water purification policies, there are now more than 30 — although plastic bags, industrial waste and, lately, electric scooters with lithium batteries keep contaminating the river.“The milieu has been constantly improving and the coronavirus pandemic intensified it” by offering a quieter environment to fish, said Bill François, a marine scientist. He pointed out that this past year there have been fewer tourist boats running on the Seine. During the summer, he said, “we observed a very good reproduction.”Mr. Machline displaying  a perch he caught in the area of the Seine that connects to the Canal Saint-Martin.Credit…Andrea Mantovani for The New York TimesThierry Paquot, who studies urban life and teaches at the Paris Urban Planning Institute, sees the urban anglers as part of a push by city dwellers across France to be more in tune with nature.“There is a whole new range of practices heading in the same direction, like urban agriculture,” he said.He said a generation of young adults, suffering from growing economic precariousness, find a sense of community in the tradition of fishing, which they have transformed by an ecological awareness and by sharing their passion through technology.The fishing federation of the Parisian region has 8,500 members, all of whom buy an annual license for about $120. Add in those who occasionally purchase a daily license for $15, and those who fish illegally, and the total number of people who fish in the capital could be over 30,000, according to fishing store owners.“The number of fishermen remains quite stable, but now young people clearly outnumber people of a certain age,” said Marcelo D’Amore, who has been selling fishing gear in Paris for the past 30 years, first at a sporting goods chain and now at “Giga-pêche” — which means something like “mega-fishing” — a store he opened in 2016 in eastern Paris.The growing appeal of Parisian fishing to the younger crowd has drawn the attention of entrepreneurs like Fred Miessner, who says he noticed the trend in the early 2000s and nicknamed it “street-fishing.” With a business partner, Mr. Miessner — who also fishes in the Seine — launched French Touch Fishing, a fishing items wholesale company, and Big Fish 1983, a streetwear collection for urban fishers including hats, printed T-shirts and polarized sunglasses.Fred Miessner, right, with his business partner, William Fichard, in front of the office of French Touch Fishing and Big Fish 1983.Credit…Andrea Mantovani for The New York Times“We didn’t recognize ourselves in the old codes,” Mr. Miessner said. “We didn’t wear plastic boots, military fatigues or closefitting jerseys. We fished, and after, we went to parties with our friends without changing clothes.”His brand and others like it sponsor young fishermen who have become social media influencers in the community. Mr. Machline, the art student, receives hundreds of dollars’ worth of goods from a company in exchange for posts mentioning the brand to his 4,000 followers on Instagram.Some fishing customs remain unchanged in the social media age. While sharing photos of the day’s trophy catch is essential, fishers tend to avoid making their exact locations obvious to protect them from “crabbers” — as they call those who identify good spots from pictures.And bragging about the size of one’s catch continues unabated.On a recent late afternoon, after a day roaming the banks, Mr. Machline caught a plump 15-inch perch in the Bassin de l’Arsenal, a barge port near the Place de la Bastille where the Canal Saint-Martin meets the Seine. Mr. Malherbe, his friend, captured the moment on his cellphone, then the fish was re-immersed in the water.“I always stretch out my arms in front of me,” Mr. Machline said with a proud smile. “That way, the fish looks bigger in the picture.”A lesson for children organized by the fishing school Naturlish on the Canal de Saint-Denis.Credit…Andrea Mantovani for The New York TimesAdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

  • in

    À Paris, on pêche, on poste, et on relâche

    AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyÀ Paris, on pêche, on poste, et on relâcheUne nouvelle génération de pêcheurs s’empare des berges de la Seine et une tradition centenaire se mue en véritable culture underground.La Seine a longtemps été le terrain de jeu de pêcheurs âgés issus des classes populaires, de retraités tuant le temps sur les bords du fleuve. Mais aujourd’hui, une génération plus jeune et diverse vient bouleverser ce tableau.Credit…Andrea Mantovani pour The New York TimesJan. 11, 2021, 12:01 a.m. ETRead in EnglishPARIS – Une brise hivernale souffle sur la Seine. Eliot Malherbe, un jeune Parisien de 19 ans, tire une canne à pêche de son fourreau, plante un poisson en plastique pailleté sur son hameçon et jette la ligne à l’eau.Son ami Kacim Machline, un étudiant en art, 22 ans, ne tarde pas à le rejoindre. Mais avant, il ajoute la dernière touche au poisson vert zébré qu’il a peint à la bombe sur un mur en béton à quelques pas du spot de pêche, dans un ancien quartier industriel désormais rénové près du Jardin des Plantes sur la Rive Gauche.La Seine a longtemps été le terrain de jeu de pêcheurs âgés issus des classes populaires, de retraités tuant le temps au bord du fleuve. Mais aujourd’hui, une génération plus jeune et diverse est venue bouleverser ce tableau.Nombre de ces jeunes pêcheurs ont été attirés sur les quais de la ville par la promesse qu’ils leur réservaient de nouvelles aventures. Les skateurs profitent déjà de cet espace dégagé, qui offre également aux graffeurs des coins avec peu de passage pour peindre leurs fresques, la nuit, à l’abri des regards.Pour un œil profane, la pêche ne semble pas pouvoir offrir une exaltation semblable. Pourtant, Manuel Obadia-Wills — un ancien graffeur et skateur désormais converti à la pêche pendant son temps libre — affirme le contraire.Kacim Machline peint un graffiti avant de se mettre à pêcher.Credit…Andrea Mantovani pour The New York Times“Il y a un ‘thrill’, un côté addictif, un côté répétitif pour arriver au moment de grâce”, explique l’homme de 40 ans. “En skateboard, c’est la figure parfaite. En graffiti, c’est la montée d’adrénaline dans un endroit où tu n’avais pas le droit d’aller. En pêche, c’est le plus beau poisson.”Comme le skateboard et le graffiti, la pêche en Seine outrepasse parfois la frontière de la légalité. Beaucoup de passionnés sortent pêcher après le travail ou les cours — même si la pêche de nuit est interdite en France depuis 1669, y compris pendant l’hiver.Pendant la période officielle d’ouverture de la pêche, de mai à janvier, les jeunes adeptes se retrouvent sur les spots incontournables — près des péniches amarrées sur des kilomètres le long du fleuve qui servent de refuge aux poissons, ou au bord du Canal Saint-Martin ou du Canal de l’Ourcq, là où l’eau est plus calme et plus chaude que celle de la Seine.À la recherche de coins inexplorés, certains s’aventurent dans des lieux interdits au public – comme le “tunnel”. C’est ainsi que les pêcheurs appellent le canal souterrain qui court sur plus d’un kilomètre sous une voûte de pierre depuis la place de la Bastille. La mairie en a récemment fermé l’entrée pour interdire tout passage aux piétons.Le “tunnel” est un canal souterrain de plus d’un kilomètre de long depuis la place de la Bastille.Credit…Andrea Mantovani pour The New York TimesCela fait des siècles qu’on trouve des Parisiens amateurs de pêche au pied de Notre-Dame ou de la Tour Eiffel. Ces jeunes-ci sont les héritiers de cette tradition, mais ils l’ont mise au goût du jour avec leurs propres règles et leurs codes.Désormais, une belle prise n’est plus synonyme de repas en famille ou entre amis. Au lieu de cela, les pêcheurs postent sur les réseaux sociaux des gros plans des perches, sandres, silures et autres espèces attrapées dans le fleuve — avant de les relâcher.“La pêche est un sport et les poissons sont nos partenaires de jeu, c’est pour ça qu’on les relâche”, explique Grégoire Auffret, accroupi sur un parapet du Quai Anatole France sur la berge opposée au Jardin des Tuileries. “On ne va jamais demander à un joueur de tennis de manger sa balle”, ajoute le jeune homme de 21 ans.Pour tromper le poisson, la jeune génération remplace les appâts naturels comme les vers — que les retraités coiffés de bérets privilégient encore — par des appâts artificiels en plastique. Le poisson n’avale pas le leurre, et les pêcheurs peuvent le ferrer par le cartilage de sa bouche, en le blessant le moins possible.Ces nouvelles pratiques visent à protéger la biodiversité de plus en plus importante de la Seine. Dans les années 1970, il ne restait que trois espèces de poissons dans le fleuve. Après des décennies de politiques d’assainissement de l’eau, on en compte désormais plus de trente – même si les sacs plastiques, les déchets industriels et, dernièrement, les trottinettes électriques avec des batteries au lithium polluent encore le fleuve.“Le milieu s’améliore constamment et le coronavirus a accentué le phénomène” en offrant un environnement plus calme aux poissons, explique Bill François, un océanographe. Il ajoute que les bateaux pour touristes n’ont quasiment pas navigué sur la Seine cette année. Pendant l’été, “on a constaté une très bonne reproduction.”Kacine Machline exhibe la perche qu’il vient de pêcher dans le Bassin de l’Arsenal, l’embouchure du Canal Saint-Martin sur la Seine.Credit…Andrea Mantovani pour The New York TimesSelon Thierry Paquot, philosophe de la ville et enseignant à l’Institut d’urbanisme de Paris, les pêcheurs urbains s’inscrivent dans un élan général qui pousse les citadins partout en France à se rapprocher de la nature.“Il y a un faisceau de nouvelles pratiques qui vont dans le même sens, comme l’agriculture urbaine”, dit-il.Il ajoute qu’une génération de jeunes adultes, confrontés à la précarité économique grandissante, trouve un sens de la communauté dans la tradition de la pêche, désormais transformée par leur conscience écologique et le recours aux nouvelles technologies pour partager leur passion.La Fédération de Pêche de Paris et de sa région compte 8500 membres détenteurs d’une carte de pêche annuelle coûtant 100 euros. Si on y ajoute ceux qui achètent occasionnellement une carte journalière à 12 euros et ceux qui pêchent illégalement, il y aurait plus de 30 000 pêcheurs dans la capitale, d’après les propriétaires de magasins de pêche.“Le nombre de pêcheurs reste assez stable, mais maintenant on voit clairement qu’il y a plus de jeunes que de gens d’un certain âge”, explique Marcelo D’Amore, qui a commencé à vendre des articles de pêche à Paris il y a trente ans dans une chaîne de magasins de sports. Il est désormais propriétaire du magasin “Giga-pêche” — ouvert en 2016 dans le 12ème arrondissement.L’engouement du jeune public pour la pêche à Paris n’est pas passé inaperçu auprès des entrepreneurs. Fred Miessner a découvert cette tendance au début des années 2000 et l’a surnommée le “street-fishing”. Avec son associé, ce pêcheur passionné a lancé French Touch Fishing, une entreprise de distribution d’articles de pêche, et Big Fish 1983, une collection de vêtements pour pêcheurs urbains avec des bonnets, des T-shirt à imprimés et des lunettes de soleil polarisées.Fred Miessner, à droite, avec son associé William Fichard, devant les bureaux de French Touch Fishing et Big Fish 1983, leurs entreprises d’articles et de vêtements pour pêcheur urbains.Credit…Andrea Mantovani pour The New York Times“On ne se reconnaissait pas dans les anciens codes”, explique M. Miessner. “On n’était pas en bottes en plastique, en treillis militaire ou en maillot Tour de France. On pêchait, et puis on pouvait aller en soirée avec des potes sans changer d’habits.”French Touch Fishing et d’autres marques sponsorisent des jeunes pêcheurs, qui deviennent des influenceurs sur les réseaux sociaux pour leur communauté. M. Machline, l’étudiant en art, reçoit l’équivalent de plusieurs centaines d’euros par an de la part de son sponsor en échange de publications faisant mention de la marque à ses 4000 abonnés sur Instagram.Mais certaines traditions restent inchangées, même à l’ère des réseaux sociaux. S’il est devenu essentiel de publier une photo de son plus beau poisson de la journée, les pêcheurs cachent toujours la localisation exacte de leurs prises pour éloigner les “crabbers” — surnom donné à ceux qui repèrent les bons spots de pêche grâce aux photos.Et bien sûr, se vanter de la taille de sa prise reste aussi de rigueur.Après une journée à parcourir les berges dans le froid de décembre, M. Machline finit par attraper une perche potelée de quarante centimètres dans le Bassin de l’Arsenal, le port de plaisance à l’embouchure du Canal Saint-Martin sur la Seine, près de la Place de la Bastille. M. Malherbe, son ami, immortalise l’instant avec son téléphone portable, avant que le poisson ne soit rejeté à l’eau.“Je tends toujours les bras devant moi”, sourit fièrement M. Machline. “Comme ça, le poisson a l’air plus gros sur la photo.”Une leçon de pêche organisée pour les enfants par l’école Naturlish sur le Canal Saint-Denis.Credit…Andrea Mantovani pour The New York TimesAdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

  • in

    First Inventory of Damage to U.S. Capitol Building Released

    #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Presidential TransitionliveLatest UpdatesCalls for Impeachment25th Amendment ExplainedTrump Officials ResignHow Mob Stormed CapitolAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyFirst Inventory of Damage to U.S. Capitol Building ReleasedThe damage was largely limited to broken glass, busted doors and graffiti, the report said.Capitol Police surveyed the damage to an entrance to the U.S. Capitol building on Thursday, a day after a mob of Trump supporters broke in and vandalized the building.Credit…Jason Andrew for The New York TimesJan. 8, 2021, 6:07 p.m. ETThe office of the Architect of the Capitol in Washington, the office that preserves and maintains the building’s art and architecture, released Friday the first inventory of the damage sustained during Wednesday’s riot.Damage to the interior of the building was largely limited to broken glass, busted doors and graffiti, the report said, though it noted that statues, murals and historic benches displayed the residue of various pepper sprays, tear gas and fire extinguishers deployed by both rioters and law enforcement personnel. They will need to be carefully cleaned and conserved, the report said.Outside the building, two bronze light fixtures designed in the late 19th century by Frederick Law Olmsted, the American landscape architect, and that illuminate the grounds at night, were broken. The report also noted graffiti on the west side of the building near stands which are being constructed for the inauguration of Joseph R. Biden Jr. later this month.The Rotunda doors of the U.S. Capitol building sustained damage after rioters broke in on Wednesday. Credit…Jonathan Ernst/ReutersRioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday afteroon overturned tables and smashed windows, but left the singular artwork intact.Credit…Andrew Harnik/Associated PressNo major artworks were reported damaged, despite the violent demonstrations inside the building by Trump supporters that took the Capitol Police nearly four hours to quell. A mob broke into rooms on the south side of the Capitol (including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office), smashed windows and then marched through the National Statuary Hall, waving American, Confederate and “Trump Is My President” flags.Vandals in red “Make America Great Again” hats, many of whom photographed and recorded themselves, wreaked havoc in Congressional offices and the Rotunda. One man crammed a framed photo of the Dalai Lama into his backpack, while another smoked marijuana in a room with maps of Oregon on the wall. A 19th-century marble bust of former President Zachary Taylor was defaced with a red substance that looked like blood.Workers cleaned up broken glass and debris inside the U.S. Capitol building on Thursday.Credit…Brendan Smialowski/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesBut the large-scale, 18-foot paintings by Trumbull and other artists that depict scenes from the republic’s founding in the Rotunda, and the dozens of statues that fill the National Statuary Hall to the south that filled the background of many of the rioters’ photos, all appear to have escaped damage.The office noted on Thursday that many of its employees had worked through the night to clean up the trash, glass and other debris that littered the building and begin repair work.“Wednesday was a difficult day for our campus,” the architect of the Capitol, J. Brett Blanton, said in a statement. “As the Architect of the Capitol mission calls us to serve, preserve and inspire, it was particularly hard to watch the scene unfold.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

  • in

    Futura, a King of Graffiti, Returns to His Roots

    #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Best of 2020Best ComedyBest TV ShowsBest BooksBest MoviesBest AlbumsThe graffiti artist Futura, born Leonard McGurr, near the Eric Firestone Gallery in Manhattan, where “Futura 2020,” his first solo exhibition in New York in 30 years, is on view.Credit…Celeste Sloman for The New York TimesSkip to contentSkip to site indexFutura, a King of Graffiti, Returns to His RootsThe artist has gone from painting subway cars to the runways of Comme des Garçons. After a hiatus, his two exhibitions are his first in his hometown in 30 years.The graffiti artist Futura, born Leonard McGurr, near the Eric Firestone Gallery in Manhattan, where “Futura 2020,” his first solo exhibition in New York in 30 years, is on view.Credit…Celeste Sloman for The New York TimesSupported byContinue reading the main storyPublished More