http://www.posthuxtabletheory.com/

Christie’s has created this infographic (click to see it in all...

Thu, 16 May 2013 21:43:20 -0500

Christie’s has created this infographic (click to see it in all its huge glory) about painter Jean-Michel Basquiat along with a series of videos that range from poignant to bathetic. Two of Basquiat’s compadres, Al Diaz and Torrick Ablack, remind us that the young Haitian painter was a difficult person and inspiring mentor. More on Art Market Monitor

"Style has a profound meaning to Black Americans. If we can’t drive, we will invent walks and the..."

Thu, 16 May 2013 21:42:30 -0500

“Style has a profound meaning to Black Americans. If we can’t drive, we will invent walks and...

Memorandum* To: All Nostalgians From: A Hybrid...

Sat, 04 May 2013 14:27:00 -0500

Memorandum*

To: All Nostalgians

From: A Hybrid Chic

Subject: Innovation

Date: Now

“…constant evolution causes expansion”

(Lewis, “Evolution” Black Cool: One Thousand Streams of Blackness 130).

Here lies a brief assertion, which deconstructs a thought I have had over a year, on the crippling effects nostalgians can have on the creative culture—when they are afraid of the future. It is with great hope that you will read the following words and evolve courageously, so that our world may expand with the most peculiar and brilliant minds that our culture has ever known.

The Post Neo-Romantics:

Who’s Afraid of the Future?

March 31, 2013

The Problem

For the past six years, the U.S. has shifted in what many deem a downward motion of economic and social uncertainties, and the view of the good ole days can seem so much brighter. Just as nostalgia was utilized as a trope in Neo-Romanticism, so has it reappeared—remixed—in a Postmodern utopian cultural landscape of the Post Neo-Romantics. As we wrestle with the prefixes ‘post,’ and ‘neo,’ we question ourselves, and therefore deconstruct the notions of newness and originality. How can anything old become new again—without it being just redundant? The simple answer: change the mentality behind the question.

Post Neo-romantics are too in love with the past, yet critical of tradition and uncertain of the future. Ironically, a large population of the inhabitants of this utopian cultural landscape, are mental wanderlusters: people who were not born in a certain decade, in which they culturally identify with, yet they have mentally travelled to that specific space in time, and adopted the cultural, not social, characteristics of decades past—as if it were present day—so, they are unable to connect to present culture, nor add to future culture.

Being too nostalgic can cripple creativity as a thinker is solely stuck at looking only at the past. Yet, if the creative takes inspiration from his/her heroes’ works, eras, cultural concepts, etc., and studies and analyzes it, then add their personal touch to it—innovation ultimately occurs.

I have written this brief memo as a starting point: to cease imitation, which is caused by fear, and to create innovation.

A Solution

“There is no creativity and innovation without failure.”- Dr. Brené Brown

Cliché as it may be, change is inevitable; nothing stays the same, so you might as well suit up and go for the ride—of course, with plan a, b + c in hand—then again, those plans may require plan d.

Innovation Is Queen

Call it the new Feminist Theory, or just what it is—if “the idea is king,” innovation is queen (Katzenberg, 1991). Sitting on a throne all her own, she is an analytic problem solver, quick witted, charismatic and even ideas are strategically protected by her. Although there are a lot of oppositions to ideas, there is no limit to her innovative moves—don’t give up, victory is a process that sometimes, takes us off course.

……..

pre-order volume II of neonV ”the magazine for the contemporary peculiar woman,” to read this article in its entirety and more, here.

Source:

Photo: *Edited version via @stopbeingfamous

The End of eating Everything

Wed, 01 May 2013 12:57:46 -0500

The End of eating Everything

On the explosive renewal after the consumption of everything. I...

Wed, 01 May 2013 12:56:24 -0500

On the explosive renewal after the consumption of everything. I love how Santigold breaks down the continuum of our cultural shift.

The first day the Quarterly Co. x Pharrell...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:25:29 -0500

The first day the Quarterly Co. x Pharrell Williams announcement was made—I subscribed. Having been a fan of Quarterly for a very long time, their model is flat out genius and my purpose is to bridge tradition and innovation in everything that I do, so naturally I gravitate to others who authentically do the same.

If you haven’t checked out this no brainer collaboration do yourself a favor and get on board. While you are there, check out the other tastemakers, cultural initiators and cultural producers as it’s so hard not to subscribe to all of them—especially if you’re curious and have an intense hunger for knowledge. I have my eye on two more subscriptions: art, books and design rules everything around me.

hybridchic: I have always been interested in the process; as a...

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:32:00 -0500

hybridchic:

I have always been interested in the process; as a creative, the process is where I find out what I am made of, who I am in character and ultimately where I continue to discover my voice. I believe that the spaces, in which we work, hold the energy of us becoming who we were meant to be. So, I decided to archive [collect info] and document Black artistic cultural production in literature, design & the visual arts from artists/creatives of the Past & Present in their spaces.

Follow their creative process: http://blackartiststudio.tumblr.com/

Instagram: @blackartiststudio

Bravo’s Fashion Queen is basically a remix of In Living...

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 23:31:00 -0500

Bravo’s Fashion Queen is basically a remix of In Living Color’s Men On Film sketch series. Keenan was ahead of his time and may need to look into getting some royalties from Bravo.

March + April 2013 Covers: has U.S. Vogue ever had two covers...

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 10:47:00 -0500

March + April 2013 Covers: has U.S. Vogue ever had two covers right after the next like this? Talk about a shift, kudos.

She still has IT! Tina Turner photographed by Knoepfel &...

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 20:38:48 -0500

She still has IT!

Tina Turner photographed by Knoepfel & Indlekofer for Vogue Germany April 2013

Hair: Jennifer Wagner
Makeup: Luca Mannucci
Stylist: Nicola Knels

Contemporary Masks/Hair Sculptures. “Highness” Project Garb:...

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 20:37:47 -0500

Contemporary Masks/Hair Sculptures.

“Highness” ~~Project~~

Garb: BRZÈ

Jewel Adornment: Alkhemi9

Hair Sculpture: TresséAgoche

Captured: DelphineDiallo

openingceremony: Exclusive & Rare Edition of Solange’s...

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 00:59:51 -0500

openingceremony:

Exclusive & Rare Edition of Solange’s ‘True’ Featuring Artwork by Mickalene Thomas. Read more

vanityfair: Solange has found her niche! Performing at the...

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 00:57:53 -0500

vanityfair:

Solange has found her niche! Performing at the Armory Party, a benefit hosted by MoMA to celebrate the opening of the 2013 Armory Show, the demure diva sauntered onto the stage in the Agnes Gund Garden Lobby to take her place in front of Rodin’s formidable Monument to Balzac. Big sister Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Jessica Biel (sans Timberlake), DJ Harley Viera-Newton and style-maven Alexa Chung were among those who looked on as the effortlessly cool, 26-year-old chanteuse charmed the audience with her signature dance moves (check ’em out here) and songs from her newest album, True.

See photos of Solange at the V.F. Oscar party.

Photograph by Rachel Williams

She’s a favorite of mine, for so many reasons. I just...

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 13:17:51 -0600

Wangechi Mutu in her Brooklyn studio, 2012. Photo Credit, Kathryn Parker Almanas.

Wangechi Mutu, Riding Death in My Sleep 2002. Ink and collage on paper, 60 x 44 inches Collection of Peter Norton, New York. © Wangechi Mutu.

She’s a favorite of mine, for so many reasons. I just pre-ordered the exhibition catalogue and will certainly travel to BK this fall to indulge in this fantastic journey.

Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey, is on view March 21- July 21, 2013 at the Nasher Museum. The exhibit will travel to the Brooklyn Museum of Art in September 2013, the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami in April 2014 and the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University in September 2014.

Curated by Trevor Schoonmaker, Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher Curator of Contemporary Art at the Nasher Museum, this is the first survey of Mutu’s work in the United States, and the most comprehensive and experimental show to date for this internationally-renowned multidisciplinary artist. Approximately 34 works spanning from the mid 1990s to the present, the exhibition will incorporate all aspects of her current practice including collage, drawing, installation, sculpture, performance, video, as well as the unveiling of a new body of collages and her never-before-seen sketchbooks.

Throughout the exhibit there will be a series of events including the opportunity to meet Mutu during the Exhibition Preview and Artist Talk on Wednesday, March 20, 7 PM. You can also screen the The Triptych (which features Mutu and her work) on Thursday, May 2, 7 PM. More about the film in this post from the archives. View a list of other events happening in conjunction with the exhibit here and stay tuned for Mutu’s first ever animated video in collaboration with musician Santigold. You can watch Mutu on African Voices and learn more about her work in this post from the archives.

...

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 20:13:00 -0600

Art X Nostalgia X Rap = Innovation

In Fall 2013, ABRAMS books, a publisher of high-quality art and illustrated books, will print Bun B’s Jumbo Coloring And Rap Activity Book.

Click here to download the Slick Rick rap libs activity page. Print it out. Color it. Read it to a friend. Ask him/her to fill in the necessary words along the way. Read it back to him/her. Smile. Listen to this afterwards.

"For those girls with “hard” names, we too become those women with powerful names. Teach them to..."

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 01:38:42 -0600

“For those girls with “hard” names, we too become those women with powerful names. Teach them...

photographer Clara Aranovich

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 00:39:55 -0600

photographer Clara Aranovich

Nice List. Huff Post, did well considering the limited amount of...

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:33:45 -0600

Nice List. Huff Post, did well considering the limited amount of space that they had. There are way more artists, than where listed, who are pushing the way society interprets Black Art. I am personally interested in the art that shows the shift in “race and representation in contemporary art.”

...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 12:09:00 -0600

Beyoncé: Re-branding Feminism

She works, She creates, She’s A Daughter, A Sister, A Friend, A Wife, A Mother, A Boss— She’s Beyoncé and She’s just like you. As a private person it is interesting to see Beyoncé’s major PR push to show her personal side versus her showmanship side. The concept of focusing solely on the art versus the personal becomes logically contradictory via the ebb + flow of the magazine features, documentary and interviews; yet, when viewers finally get that taste of the personal Bey—the thing that they have longed for for over a decade—they can only focus on that. As Beyoncé proclaims, “People are brainwashed” when it comes to media. Yet, media: digital and print [GQ, Vogue, the gentlewoman, Presidential Inauguration, Superbowl, Oprah OWN interview, HBO documentary], are the devices she chose to “intimately” communicate with the people. She knows how to meet the people where they are.

Beyoncé has introduced the world to her new brand in 2013. I must admit my biases: I admire the artist for her work ethic, discipline, respect for private life [I personally am a very private person as well] and showmanship as she is truly a master of her craft. I take nothing away from this Champion woman. Hence, my theoretical assessment lies in the savvy business re-branding strategy and its cultural implications—to personalize the super human persona that has followed Beyoncé over the span of her career while ushering in a balancing act of feminism—is the focus of this post, not the person.

Independence has afforded Beyoncé the power to control her image and enter into a new realm. Reaching all via sameness is key to becoming the people’s woman. Her edited “intimate” revelation repeated keywords of woman, world, independence, love, motherhood…Beyoncé has realized her power and is therefore free to revel in her purpose. It is now safe to integrate the superstar persona of her alter-ego Sasha Fierce as Beyoncé and re-emerge as self-assured and complete.

Part girl next door, part mistress of the universe, Beyoncé now exudes a hip-thrusting sensuality that can be a little…intimidating. She’s hot, no doubt, but her eminence, her independence, and her ambition make some label her cool to the touch. Her allure lies in the crux of that tension…

She is ultimately declaring, “Women, we can have everything: we can look sexy, be powerful, work hard, run the business be all about family and have equality in a patriarchal world. This is freedom, this is feminism, this is womanhood.” The best way to empower others and start a movement is to meet people where they are and show them where they could be. Beyoncé has something brewing and I am very interested in seeing where it all goes. Something tells me it will revolve around the balance in feminism. The way she will serve it is sure to be dichotomous.

After watching the Grammy’s I had an Aha moment, courtesy...

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 10:51:00 -0600

After watching the Grammy’s I had an Aha moment, courtesy of Oprah, I could see the shift, in Black music, the torch being finessed from the hands of those of the 90s and early 2000’s is coming to a close. I have met so many talented musicians who seemed ahead of their time as they fused various genres into one sound. They are indie, without a label and after years of searching for a label have come to the conclusion that they will create their own space—not label. This means collaborating with like-minded individuals, building strong + loyal communities + going after partnerships and various platforms to show the many different sides of the person behind the music. Solange reminds me that the shift is happening.

Solange shows you that timing is everything + everything has its time. Always be True to yourself! Don’t search for validation with your craft, continue to master it, continue to believe in yourself. Note: you are already there, especially if you are ahead of your time you’ll have plenty stored in the decks for when the world is ready to receive you with open arms.

Read the Cover Story

Source:

FADER Photographer: Jason Nocito & Style Editor-At-Large Mobolaji Dawodu