Michèle Plott
@micheleplott.bsky.social
Historian of the emotions, visual & material culture, (sometimes) gender, lately monuments & memory in the urban landscape
Pinned
Elegy to the Spanish Republic No. 110 by Robert Motherwell, 1971
https://botfrens.com/collections/212/contents/137843
https://botfrens.com/collections/212/contents/137843
motherwell hitting harder w/this today.
Reposted by Michèle Plott
AOC: Zohran Mamdani will be the first Muslim mayor of our great city. He will be our first immigrant mayor in over a century. He will be the youngest mayor of New York City in generations. Most importantly, Zohran will be a mayor for all of us .
January 1, 2026 at 6:49 PM
AOC: Zohran Mamdani will be the first Muslim mayor of our great city. He will be our first immigrant mayor in over a century. He will be the youngest mayor of New York City in generations. Most importantly, Zohran will be a mayor for all of us .
Reposted by Michèle Plott
I described Zohran Mamdani as "charming"
What’s the funniest reason someone got mad at you on Bluesky this year?
December 31, 2025 at 11:44 PM
I described Zohran Mamdani as "charming"
Reposted by Michèle Plott
Yes, this.
László Moholy-Nagy. 7am, New Year’s Morning, Berlin, 1930
January 1, 2026 at 4:19 PM
Yes, this.
Reposted by Michèle Plott
"It has a deep red binding with a simple floral medallion and is written in black and red ink. The script is plain and readable, suggesting it was created for everyday use rather than ceremonial display.
'The importance of this Quran lies not in luxury, but in accessibility.'"
'The importance of this Quran lies not in luxury, but in accessibility.'"
Zohran Mamdani chose a Quran full of symbolism for his mayoral oath
Incoming New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will make history as the city's first mayor to take the oath of office on a Quran.
apnews.com
January 1, 2026 at 3:07 PM
"It has a deep red binding with a simple floral medallion and is written in black and red ink. The script is plain and readable, suggesting it was created for everyday use rather than ceremonial display.
'The importance of this Quran lies not in luxury, but in accessibility.'"
'The importance of this Quran lies not in luxury, but in accessibility.'"
Reposted by Michèle Plott
happy new year socialists, we are so back
Zohran Mamdani was officially sworn in as mayor of New York City early on Thursday, just after the New Year’s Eve ball dropped in Times Square. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/n...
January 1, 2026 at 2:57 PM
happy new year socialists, we are so back
Reposted by Michèle Plott
The politics here are reprehensible but also really sad. He was a great scholar once. He had philological skills that no one has anymore. There are very few people who could produce that kind of work today. And to some extent, that's what this is about. He's mad that our field lost its former status
The reason this Harvard history professor decided he was done with one of the best and most privileged jobs in the world was, in his own words, because he was forced to lecture in a mask during peak Covid.
I’m not making this up.
I’m not making this up.
December 31, 2025 at 2:50 PM
The politics here are reprehensible but also really sad. He was a great scholar once. He had philological skills that no one has anymore. There are very few people who could produce that kind of work today. And to some extent, that's what this is about. He's mad that our field lost its former status
Reposted by Michèle Plott
@bostonglobe.com I get what you’re trying to do here, but there really is a distinction between conservatives feeling their views weren’t as welcome as they’d like and faculty losing jobs for teaching about gender or ICE hauling someone in and detaining her for weeks for an op-ed.
January 1, 2026 at 2:52 PM
@bostonglobe.com I get what you’re trying to do here, but there really is a distinction between conservatives feeling their views weren’t as welcome as they’d like and faculty losing jobs for teaching about gender or ICE hauling someone in and detaining her for weeks for an op-ed.
Reposted by Michèle Plott
There is much else virtuous in the editorial, including the commentary on voters learning to recognize when social media algorithms are trying to produce outrage, which they don’t have to share.
But let’s be clear: one “swing” (as @bostonglobe.com calls it) is far more consequential & dangerous.
But let’s be clear: one “swing” (as @bostonglobe.com calls it) is far more consequential & dangerous.
January 1, 2026 at 2:59 PM
There is much else virtuous in the editorial, including the commentary on voters learning to recognize when social media algorithms are trying to produce outrage, which they don’t have to share.
But let’s be clear: one “swing” (as @bostonglobe.com calls it) is far more consequential & dangerous.
But let’s be clear: one “swing” (as @bostonglobe.com calls it) is far more consequential & dangerous.
Reposted by Michèle Plott
just want to remind folks that pushback and public outrage stopped them from closing the CDC library. i bet pushback will stop them here, too
“The Trump administration is closing NASA’s largest research library on Friday, a facility that houses tens of thousands of books, documents and journals — many of them not digitized or available anywhere else.”
NASA’s Largest Library Is Closing Amid Staff and Lab Cuts
www.nytimes.com
December 31, 2025 at 11:12 PM
just want to remind folks that pushback and public outrage stopped them from closing the CDC library. i bet pushback will stop them here, too
Yes, this.
László Moholy-Nagy. 7am, New Year’s Morning, Berlin, 1930
January 1, 2026 at 4:19 PM
Yes, this.
Reposted by Michèle Plott
Antisemitism is structurally necessary for the project of Elon Musk, not merely coincidental, because his brand is the scrappy underdog fighting the powers that be, but as the world's wealthiest person, he cannot define the powerful by material wealth, corporate ownership, or political connections.
Elon Musk calling himself a "maker," in contrast to Bernie Sanders, is a classic example of producerism, which shows how the Jew can be labeled both ur-Communist and ur-Capitalist at the same time. "Good" wealth is people engaged in tangible productive labor, while "bad" wealth is extractive.
January 1, 2026 at 2:53 PM
Antisemitism is structurally necessary for the project of Elon Musk, not merely coincidental, because his brand is the scrappy underdog fighting the powers that be, but as the world's wealthiest person, he cannot define the powerful by material wealth, corporate ownership, or political connections.
Reposted by Michèle Plott
"According to one July poll by Zenith Research, two-thirds of Jews under age 40 supported Mamdani." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
They tried to smear him as an antisemite – but Mayor Zohran Mamdani walks in a rich Jewish tradition | Molly Crabapple
When I look at Mamdani, I don’t see some radical departure. I see him an heir to the Yiddish socialism that helped build New York
www.theguardian.com
January 1, 2026 at 3:21 PM
"According to one July poll by Zenith Research, two-thirds of Jews under age 40 supported Mamdani." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Michèle Plott
Ring in the new year with the greatest and wildest pamphlet that ever blasted monarchy at the root. 9 days until COMMON SENSE turns 250
Thomas Paine began 1776 with _Common Sense_ and the call to reject monarchy, and ended with _The American Crisis_, warning that "these are the times that try men's souls."
Like many in my field, I've spent the last dozen years preparing for 2026, sure that the fullest histories serve us best. 1/
Like many in my field, I've spent the last dozen years preparing for 2026, sure that the fullest histories serve us best. 1/
January 1, 2026 at 2:28 PM
Ring in the new year with the greatest and wildest pamphlet that ever blasted monarchy at the root. 9 days until COMMON SENSE turns 250
Reposted by Michèle Plott
Pope Leo: “The world is not saved by sharpening swords, nor by judging, oppressing or eliminating our brothers and sisters. Rather, it is saved by tirelessly striving to understand, forgive, liberate and welcome everyone, without calculation and without fear.” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...
January 1, 2026 at 11:57 AM
Pope Leo: “The world is not saved by sharpening swords, nor by judging, oppressing or eliminating our brothers and sisters. Rather, it is saved by tirelessly striving to understand, forgive, liberate and welcome everyone, without calculation and without fear.” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...
Reposted by Michèle Plott
Reposted by Michèle Plott
Zohran Mamdani sworn in as mayor of New York City
Zohran Mamdani sworn in as mayor of New York City
New mayor, 34, was sworn in by state attorney general Letitia James in old beaux arts city hall subway station
Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as mayor of New York City soon after midnight in a private ceremony in an abandoned beaux arts subway station – a prelude to daylong celebrations set to include a second, public swearing-in and a block party outside city hall.
Mamdani, 34, was sworn into office by the New York attorney general, Letitia James, surrounded by wife, Rama Duwaji, members of his immediate family, including Mira Nair, his mother and a film-maker, and his father, Mahmood Mamdani, a professor of African studies at Columbia University. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
January 1, 2026 at 6:13 AM
Zohran Mamdani sworn in as mayor of New York City
Reposted by Michèle Plott
Diana Ross & Steve Rubell at Studio 54’s New Year's Eve party 🎉
📷 Allan Tannenbaum, December 31, 1978
📷 Allan Tannenbaum, December 31, 1978
December 31, 2025 at 6:11 AM
Diana Ross & Steve Rubell at Studio 54’s New Year's Eve party 🎉
📷 Allan Tannenbaum, December 31, 1978
📷 Allan Tannenbaum, December 31, 1978
Reposted by Michèle Plott
Yeah. Probably this.
"Happiness is too many things these days for anyone to wish it on anyone lightly. So let's just wish each other a bileless New Year and leave it at that."
- Dorothy Parker
Parker & Alan Campbell at a Webster Hall New Year’s Party 🥳
📷 Peter Stackpole, 1938
- Dorothy Parker
Parker & Alan Campbell at a Webster Hall New Year’s Party 🥳
📷 Peter Stackpole, 1938
January 1, 2026 at 1:04 AM
Yeah. Probably this.
Reposted by Michèle Plott
Always worth a post
December 31, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Always worth a post
Reposted by Michèle Plott
When Mamdani becomes Mayor at midnight, it is a real political feat. Remember that. There aren't many of those. They won against the odds by getting their man into living rooms and churches. The press came late. We'll see what he does with it, but that is worthy of respect.
January 1, 2026 at 12:36 AM
When Mamdani becomes Mayor at midnight, it is a real political feat. Remember that. There aren't many of those. They won against the odds by getting their man into living rooms and churches. The press came late. We'll see what he does with it, but that is worthy of respect.
Yeah. Probably this.
"Happiness is too many things these days for anyone to wish it on anyone lightly. So let's just wish each other a bileless New Year and leave it at that."
- Dorothy Parker
Parker & Alan Campbell at a Webster Hall New Year’s Party 🥳
📷 Peter Stackpole, 1938
- Dorothy Parker
Parker & Alan Campbell at a Webster Hall New Year’s Party 🥳
📷 Peter Stackpole, 1938
January 1, 2026 at 1:04 AM
Yeah. Probably this.
Reposted by Michèle Plott
Fantastic portrait of don Andrés de Andrade y la Cal and his excellent dog, painted in the 1660s by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, whose day is today.
December 30, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Fantastic portrait of don Andrés de Andrade y la Cal and his excellent dog, painted in the 1660s by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, whose day is today.
Reposted by Michèle Plott
Talking Heads: "Once in a Lifetime" from the album Remain in Light, 1980
Directed by Toni Basil & David Byrne
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IsS...
Directed by Toni Basil & David Byrne
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IsS...
December 31, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Talking Heads: "Once in a Lifetime" from the album Remain in Light, 1980
Directed by Toni Basil & David Byrne
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IsS...
Directed by Toni Basil & David Byrne
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IsS...
Reposted by Michèle Plott
Carol Kane in Valentino (1977)
December 31, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Carol Kane in Valentino (1977)
Reposted by Michèle Plott
not the real answer but my personal favorite will always be the time I sent my friend Eva a photo of my outfit for some event and she said “you look like Tár AND like someone Tár isn’t allowed to email anymore”
Forget insults, what’s the most unhinged *compliment* you’ve ever received?
December 31, 2025 at 8:26 PM
not the real answer but my personal favorite will always be the time I sent my friend Eva a photo of my outfit for some event and she said “you look like Tár AND like someone Tár isn’t allowed to email anymore”