No Land Grab ran this piece about the Footprints show at the Brooklyn Public Library which is causing lots of controversy about what it left out. Read more here.

Since when is “hagiography” on par with pornography? We’re not sure, but we know it when we see it.

The controversy over the Brooklyn Public Library’s possible censorship of the Footprints art exhibit now turns to Jay Kaplan, director of the Brooklyn Public Library’s programs and exhibitions. According to The New York Times, Kaplan “called the rejected painting of Mr. Goldstein ‘hagiographic.’” This makes us wonder if Kaplan has taken a casual glance at the current Footprints exhibit.

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines hagiography as “biography of saints or venerated persons.” Wikipedia’s explanation begins by stating plainly, “Hagiography is the study of saints.”

Hanging in the main gallery of the Central Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library is the most blatantly hagiographic portrait of the entire original “Footprints” collection, the oil painting of Joseph Pastore by Claire Wieting (click image to enlarge). Pastore, a 62-year-old retiree, is a 40-year resident of Dean Street and a plaintiff in the eminent domain lawsuit against the City and State of NY and developer Forest City Ratner. Earlier this month, his photo ran on the cover of the commuter daily AM New York, where he was featured with three other property owners who have held out against Ratner’s attempts to take their property for the arena-housing complex called “Atlantic Yards.”