slavoj zizek and cornel west-belief, commodity fetishism, disillusionment; belief without belief

psy and mc hammer

hughie lee-smith

Thanks to Harold for pointing out this awesome guy's work I LOVE it.

"Mr. Lee-Smith's paintings usually have spare settings suggestive of theater stages or bleak urban or seaside landscapes. Walls stretch out under gray skies. Men and women, as lithe as dancers, seem frozen in place. Most are dressed in street clothes; some wear exotic masks. Children frequently appear, as do props reminiscent of circuses. The work has an air of mystery associated with the paintings of Giorgio de Chirico and Edward Hopper."

Untitled (Two Figures and Beach), 1955


While I totally agree with the quote above (from Wikipedia) I like that Lee-Smith lets the brushstrokes show a little more, is expressive and less 'clean' than hopper and de chirico (both very polished while like Lee-Smith, contain elements of loneliness and mystery). I also like that this composition has approx. equal amounts sky and land, the big house at left balanced with the distant houses at right, the male figure and the caped figure, and the tall pole/tree at right contrasted with the small horseshoe shape at lower left.

rip donald byrd feb 4

nytimes
npr

safeway diversifies c. 1961 because of this sign right here

Seattle's Congress Of Racial Equality (CORE) used these signs in successful picketing and boycott againstemploymentdiscrimination in October 1961. At the start only 6 out of 1,700 Safeway employees were black; three months later, there were 28.

s.a.p.e.

BAUDOUIN MOUANDA, SAPEURS, JAN 25- MAR 2, 2013 @ M-I-A Gallery:

cf. and solange knowles (thanks jeff b!!!)

adrian piper

Powerful~15 min. art video in honor of black history month! Mesmerizing powerful and intense. My friend R.A.W. has reviewed the piece in the upcoming issue of La Especiale Norte, to be titled "the critical organic catalyst issue, or, who's that brooooown?" Details and arts forthcoming!

Adrian Piper is a conceptual artist and philosopher. Cornered was at the SAM recently and she also had a piece at the Henry in The Talent Show.

and

When installed, there are two birth certificates for the same person on either side of the screen hung on the wall. The video was installed on a CRT tv in the corner of a room, with successively larger rows of chairs in front of it,starting with one chair right in front of the screen. The screen is cornered in by a big table so that Adrian speaks to you from a 'trapped' position. She remains deadpan, serious, and forthright throughout the message. One birth certificate listed "white" and one listed "octoroon."

bearing witness from another place

beautiful exhibit at the NAAM right now.