Angel of History

<p><em>Angel of History</em> brings together voices from around the country to explore how traumas of the past transcend time and progress, their stories and artifacts offering a lens through which we can better understand and influence the present and approaching future. Together the issue’s contributors — who collectively represent a wide range of backgrounds and creative practices — express an urgent need for presence and intention in actively shaping the events of the day. Throughout the issue, they examine the relentless human desire for safety and the ways that desire leads to systems of calculated predictability. But what dangers must emerge in moments of crisis, catastrophe, or change? Who bears the brunt of them?</p> <p>Published by the Jacob Lawrence Gallery at the University of Washington, MONDAY presents experiments in arts writing that invite readers to imagine future forms of criticism. In a range of accessible and rigorous forms, its contributors dig into subjects that extend from fine arts to all manner of cultural expression, reminding us that approaches to cultural criticism can be as heterogeneous as the themes they address. Each year, one of MONDAY’s biannual print publications is created under the editorial guidance of the Jacob Lawrence Legacy Resident.</p>