art + culture // writing + projects // by diana mcclure
(Image: Lisa Marie Thalhammer, Michelle Obama, 2009, oil on canvas, 86 inches x 67 inches.)
Like they say: Behind every good man, is a fantastic woman. In this case, beside. Nuff said.
This work was part of the MANIFEST HOPE: DC Art Exhibit held on Inauguration weekend 2009 in Washington, DC.
Kali Arulpragasam/SUPERFERTILE has done it again. Another line of jewels that illuminate global issues through beauty and creativity. Her latest line, HUNGER, highlights the global food crisis. Through the use of staple foods like wheat, chick peas, rice, beans and lentils, recreated in gold and silver, the HUNGER line highlights the priceless nature of essential foods. The cost of each piece depends on the weight and the work/staple food used. Kali’s premiere line, TOURISM (Terrorism affects Tourism), featured in the Feb ‘08 issue of Cultureserve, addressed the media’s focus on negative representations of countries like Iraq and Sri Lanka. Representations that highlight men with guns instead of women, children and the natural habitat. View the HUNGER look book at Superfertile.com.
(Image, concept and design: Black Milk-Tronic, album cover art by Fatbeats A&R Bill Sharp, Black Milk and Skinny Boys Graphix.)
What ever happened to album art? It’s around, but goes mostly unnoticed. Not only is the new Black Milk album, Tronic, a contender for the transformation of new millenium hip-hop to higher ground – its artwork makes you go hmmmm. The concept and design are simplistic but somehow speak to the world’s transitional state. One of movement and potential liberation from historical baggage to the future self-actualization of the planet. Like the album, the artwork is a bit old school. But, there’s something that takes you into the future that you can’t quite put your finger on. The albums special hologram cover might just make you want to own the hard copy and save the download for later.
Listen to Black Milk’s TRONIC…
(Jodie Lyn-Kee-Chow, Mildendranthema Grandeflorum, 2008, (detail), mixed media installation – steel, fabric, plastic, acrylic paint, glue)
Born in Jamaica and raised in Miami, artist Jodie Lyn-Kee-Chow says of her work, “…Ultimately, my work may read as sensual, romanticized and idiosyncratic versions of the feminine perspective. Surprise transformations seem to be a common link in my work from sculptures to videos, to performances. I wish to portray an ambiguous relationship between fantasy and reality while questioning the subject, the object and the interplay between the two.”
Lyn-Kee-Chow’s latest performative project, Mildendranthema Grandeflorum, combines photography, video, sculpture and installation. The work follows the protagonist, the “flower thief’ as she fiends to satisfy her unquenchable thirst for flowers. Her journey takes viewers through the landscapes of St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, the White House’s Rose Garden in Washington D.C., and Queens, New York. Inspired and influenced by Lyn-Kee-Chow’s grandmother, a prize winning horticulturist, Caribbean folklore and legends, and a preference for work that is beyond catergorization, Mildendranthema Grandeflorum is a captivating example of contemporary Caribbean art in a global context. At a moment when politics are looking a lot like Disneyland (i.e. Sarah Palin) and the diversity of the feminine experience is at center stage (i.e. Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton), Lyn-Kee-Chow’s out of the box questioning of the blurred interplay between fantasy and reality, from a feminine perspective, is quite timely. However, her use of flowers and landscape also speaks to a timeless global folklore on the divine feminine’s dominion over the earth, and her/its capacity to create, protect and destroy.
View photographs from the project or watch a video clip.
Mildendranthema Grandeflorum is currently on view at Rush Arts Gallery and Resource Center.
What if Andy Warhol was Latin? This is the question that M. Tony Peralta is bringing to the canvas/t-shirt matrix for his, Andrés Warhol-What if Andy Warhol was Latin?, project – out for viewing pleasure in 2009. Known for screen prints, paintings, illustration, design and assorted urban gear, the Tony Peralta aesthetic speaks on iconic individuals and ideas of a politicized pop culture populated by people-of-color.
Visit The Peralta Project…
Buy the GOYA CAN T-shirt…
(Image: MARK (iced out), from 2008 Kendell Carter exhibition, Common Ground, at moniquemeloche, Chicago.)
(Delphine Fawundu-Buford, 9th Ward Remains, New Orleans, 2006)
View more images of New Orleans on photographer Delphine Fawundu-Buford’s website…
(Sofia Maldonado, Skate Bowl, 2008. Photo: Alfred Ruiz. Location: Somewhere in Puerto Rico…)
Read Cultureserve’s Issue #4 feature on Sofia Maldonado, the artist behind Skate Bowl, here!
Sofia’s next show, The Tropical Storm, is a three-part project blending elements of street culture (skateboarding, punk rock and graffiti) with a feminine Latina aesthetic and the chaotic natural energy of the Caribbean. The different elements of the project -The Bowl, Broken Boards and The Skate Bags – originate from the artist’s objective to open up dialogue on the renovation of neglected public spaces and how fashion and consumerism influence counterculture youth movements (particularly how these movements are integrated into products and industries). A skate mini-ramp will be installed in the center of the gallery, designed and painted by the artist and will be available for local urban daredevils to attempt during the opening. On view at Magnan Emrich, NYC, 5/15/08 – 6/23/08. Contact Sofia!
“I was in Cuba in 2004, rented a car and drove around the island for three weeks. As you can easily imagine, I saw thousands of political images constantly, all of them trying to convey the message that the Cuban Revolution was more than a political fight. By using the universal values of igualdad, libertad, fraternidad, esperanza, justicia, educación, respeto y la idea de la posibilidad de construir un mundo mejor, the leader of the revolution is made to appear like the new Messiah. The way the leader and the message are represented sounds quite familiar to me. I am a Spanish artist who grew up in Franco’s time. Spain is deeply Catholic, and religion and politics are extremely united. I am very familiar with the manipulation that has constantly surrounded religion and politics for centuries. We now have new examples that try to replace a spiritual fight with a political revolution. However, show us political leaders like the spiritual ones? Ghandi, Jesús Cristo, Confucio, etc. are now el Che, Fidel, Mao, Stalin, etc…..We can not forget that the first leaders created a non-violent revolution with their ideas and the second created change through war and society. This painting represents in fact, how WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THE SAME VALUES with different tactics and different leaders and hence, different results….A universal hope for a better society, bienestar, libertad, igualdad, justicia, educación, and respeto, are what we have been fighting for since the beginning of our culture more than two thousand years…and still we are doing, como diria el Che, HASTA LA VICTORIA SIEMPRE.” – Vicente Lopez as told to Cultureserve.net.
Contact Vicente.
(Gloria, 2008, by MUCK) Installation at the Bronx Museum’s Making It Together: Women’s Collaborative Art and Community exhibition (see Art + Culture Diaries, below, for details). Who is Gloria?
The TOURISM (Terrorism Affects Tourism) line of jewels is available at www.superfertile.com. Read below in the Art + Culture Diaries section for more on Kali Arulpragasam’s mission…
Artwork by Featured Artist: Sofia Maldonado
(Images left to right: Coca Cola Can {limited edition graffiti series PR}, My Skate {Made in Puerto Rico})
A Marvin Gaye and Bob Marley remix! What??!!! For all the real lovers out there…Sexual Healing over the Waiting In Vain riddim track….right here…
Loading...This sweeeeet mash-up mixed by DJ JAWBREAKER was shared with Cultureserve by west coast connect, Carl[lo-key]…
