Nicholas Galanin
1. Get Comfortable
2. Things Are Looking Native, Native’s Looking Whiter
3. Inert
4-6. Imaginary Indian
7. White Carver
8. Video stills from ’Beat Nation’
9-10. I think it goes like this?
Artist Statement:
I work with concepts; the medium follows. In the business of this “Indian Art World,” I have become impatient with the institutional prescription and its monolithic attempt to define culture as it unfolds. Native American Art cannot be commonly defined as our work moves freely through time. The viewer, collector, or curators’ definition will often convey more about themselves than that of the “Native Artist.” In the past I have struggled with this title, though I now embrace my position as a contemporary indigenous artist with belief that some forms of resistance often carry equal amounts of persistence. My current collection of work presents visual experiences in hope of inspiring creative dialogue with the viewer. I often work with an intention to contribute towards contemporary cultural development. Through education and creative risk-taking, I hope to progress cultural awareness both in and out of this Indigenous world. Let us leave fucked up stereotypes. While moving forward, we liberate the Indian artist.
*video from Beat Nation embedded below:
(Source: 5centsapound)
By Yagazie Emezi
R.I.P. Roy Hargrove …
Floriane De Lassée “How Much Can You Carry?” (artist statement) a tribute to the bearers of life; those whose life is heavy and where smiles and laughter run in surplus”
Kevin Osepa: Mester Blousé
Two mothers are speaking about ones beautiful looking baby: “You have to rub him with laundry blue; "Mester blousé” she said. With real indigo laundry bluing compound. - Brenneker, P (1975). Part 7 Sambumbu Willemstad, Curacao
In ‘Mester blousé’ examines the photographer Kevin Osepa how his identity was formed by the spiritual beliefs, rituals and culture of his island. His emigration from Curaçao to the Netherlands at a young age has changed him not only as a person but also as a visual artist; the shift in his view of the world was tremendous.
Within this project he uses the symbolism of the culture of his island that he grew up with to tell the history of him and his family. As a man of colour who grew up in a religious and ‘brua practicing’ environment. Whilst exploring intense themes such as colonialism, the afrocaribiën, diaspora and religion, 'Mester blousé tells a story where reality and magic can coexist without prejudice or interference.
* Brua is a collective word for spirituality, superstition, charlatanism, spirit leather, scaremongering and rituals with secrecy. Which is mainly practiced on Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire.
Dia de los Muertos—Day of the Dead, —is a holiday that spans November 1 and 2nd.
Don’t confuse Dia de los Muertos with Halloween. With roots in indigenous Aztec rituals, Dia de los Muertos starts on the first of November (corresponding with All Saints Day, when the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead is believed to be thinnest).
But the holiday has nothing to do with scares or hauntings—it’s a joyful statement of death acceptance and a moment to honor loved ones who have died. “You’re celebrating that person like you would a birthday, with all the things they loved most”. Families make altars called ofrendas (offerings) decorated with marigolds, ornate sugar skulls, photos, and the deceased’s favorite possessions. Gifts are brought to loved ones’ graves, where everyone has a little party—playing Grandma’s favorite music, sipping her favorite coffee, telling stories, and sharing laughs.
Kristin-Lee Mooman (Johannesburg, SA)
Moolman is based in Johannesburg and says she is inspired by “the contrasting nature of the city” as well as its diverse creative community. She grew up in a small town in Karoo, a semi-desert region of South Africa, and studied art before taking up photography.
Her aim, she says, is to present an alternative to stereotypical images of the continent often presented in local and international media.
“[It’s] the idea of creating a fictional mythology or place based on the synthesis of political, personal and visual stimuli experienced while living in this particular place at this particular time,” she explains. “Essentially the idea of a ‘new’ Africa existing in a separate reality where themes like sexuality, violence and black magic are prevalent – explored alongside concepts of security, segregation and the conflict between the constructed and the natural.”
currently showing as part of the Dandyism and Black Masculinity show