2008
2008: a year of sweeping political change, jarring economic upheaval, and amidst it all, the official launch of a plucky little weblog called The Abbeville Manual of Style. Most people won’t be sorry to see this year end, but for us it’ll always hold a touch of nostalgic appeal, so we thought we’d take a moment to look back at, and link back to, our favorite 2008 posts. As we noted recently, we couldn’t have picked a wilder year in which to start writing about art, publishing, and New York City, since all are currently undergoing volatile transformations. Perhaps, in hindsight, the Exploding Motorcycle Incident from this summer—which we’ve listed under “Miscellaneous” below—wasn’t so random after all; perhaps it was just a sign of the times.
Art
Travels in Italy, Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3
Gustave Courbet: The Origin of Style
Whitney Museum Hijinx and Those Interstitial Spaces
Books/Publishing
Literacy Declines; The Semicolon Trembles
Interviews
Raymond Hammond, Editor of The New York Quarterly
Miscellaneous
“Abbeville Gallery” Photography
And that was the year that was.
Wow! I made the 2008 highlights. That means either that you like me, you really like me, or that you only had four interviews this year. Either way, I’ll take it.
All the best to the Arbiters in 2009, which should be bigger, better, and Barack-er than 2008!
–Bob