art
I have mixed feelings coming out of the Kara Walker exhibit at the Domino Sugae Factory. The work was particularly amazing. It was all strongly executed and amazing to behold. The only sticking point, the mass consumption atmospher of the crowds. It was a sugary delight for a Friday evening. I am sure the history behind the pieces was lost to 99% of the audience. What did they really wait in line for?
model #22 Ameria Lennard, hair and make up by Jose L. Lopez
an outtake from the very first reImagining shoot! here's to the next 99!
I just braved the cold for the most amazing exhibition in Harlem - the Belletrix exhibit currently showing at ImageNation!
These amazing artists created a beautiful multi-media exhibition that expressed the diversity of the Black female artist's work.
And it was wonderfully received! Make sure to catch it before it closes May 1st!
If you have not been to this amazing exhibition currently at the Guggenheim, you must go!
I am a huge Weems fan girl, but have never seen the entire Kitchen Table Series exhibited together. It is so intricately woven, it made me want to weep! Check it out on level 2!
Then head to level 4 for the ground breaking From Here... Series and just bask in the brilliance of her ability to make text and image bend to her will!
Out of my overwhelming respect for the artist, I will not post the few picks of the exhibit I was able to sneak in, but I will show you how well received her work was. I heart you Carrie Mae!
Can you feel the history embedded in every nook and cranny of these tiles? They have born witness to so much of the theater that is New York City!
Honestly words can not describe how amazing this night was for me - so I will let our resident genius videographer Aulistar Mark demonstrate his skills with this amazing recap of an extraordinary night:
A huge thank you to BFB Architect and Balance Integration for letting us meet in your beautiful office space!
The reImagining Speaks is a video series that gives voice to the women lending their images to the reImagining. This series allows you to hear for yourself why this project is so important to me and these 100 women. Listen closely:
A versatile actor, vocalist and writer, Daralyn Jay has worked in theater, film, commercials and voiceover. She is also a regular performer on the New York jazz scene and contributes to lifestyle/arts publications VEVLYN’S PEN and NeoBlack Cinema. http://www.Daralyn.net Twitter:@DaralynJay
The reImagining Speaks is a video series that gives voice to the women lending their images to the reImagining. This series allows you to hear for yourself why this project is so important to me and these 100 women. Listen closely:
Shonda is a 42 y/o single mother of three. She is a LPN working in home care for the last 5 years who hopes to earn her RN within the next year. I spend most of my time supporting my children's endeavors ( cheer leading coach , Girl Scout leader , gymnastics team mom for football , basketball and track ). I no longer want to be judged by my title or what appears upon first impression rough no nonsense exterior. I am a fun loving extrovert who enjoys making people laugh and loving life with all it's ebbs and flows.
The reImagining Speaks is a video series that gives voice to the women lending their images to the reImagining. This series allows you to hear for yourself why this project is so important to me and these 100 women. Listen closely:
Hi my name is Melissa, I want to be known as someone who is hard working, Intelligent and Strong willed to say the least. I am human and neither my hair nor race will define me! Let my efforts and abilities shine through. Founder of The Bronx Naturals LLC An All Natural Soy Candle Company.
The reImagining Speaks is a video series that gives voice to the women lending their images to the reImagining. This series allows you to hear for yourself why this project is so important to me and these 100 women. Listen closely:
Solo Artist. Writer. And New York Times and New York Post Reviewed actress. Phipps is a woman in charge of her career having created her very own solo show infusing 27 characters and slam poetry. Following a young actress turned writer who finds herself through the spirit of her deceased mother. Phipps is gearing up for a 2013 college tour of this show. More info below. She will also be premiering her new project entitled, "She Who Struggles," a one act that follows two woman (one black the other white) as the tackle the issues of Gentrified harlem through love and poetry. Twitter: @latoniaphipps Facebook: Latonia Phipps (Like and stay updated on upcoming shows) Website: www.latoniaphipps.com
The reImagining Speaks is a video series that gives voice to the women lending their images to the reImagining. This series allows you to hear for yourself why this project is so important to me and these 100 women. Listen closely:
Dionne Grayman. Mother. Daughter. Sister. Educator. Blogger. Conversation Starter. Community Engagement Specialist. Co-Founder, Mothers Empowered. Chief Creative Officer, Power Mama Academy. Helping women to embrace the potential of who they can become by celebrating who they already are. The Movement is Mother'Hood Power-Full. Twitter: @MEmpowered
The reImagining Speaks is a video series that gives voice to the women lending their images to the reImagining. This series allows you to hear for yourself why this project is so important to me and these 100 women. Listen closely:
The reImagining Speaks is a video series that gives voice to the women lending their images to the reImagining. This series allows you to hear for yourself why this project is so important to me and these 100 women. Listen closely:
The reImagining Speaks is a video series that gives voice to the women lending their images to the reImagining. This series allows you to hear for yourself why this project is so important to me and these 100 women. Listen closely:
The reImagining Speaks is a video series that gives voice to the women lending their images to the reImagining. This series allows you to hear for yourself why this project is so important to me and these 100 women. Listen closely:
Ameria is a writer/poet, an open spirit, educator and is in the process of starting her own tutoring and editing papers business. Ameria is defined by her mind and experiences and continues to take a path of growth, learning and positivity. In this light she knows the need and significance of dialogue as a transformative tool to change. She is also looking to capture the love within people through her small photography project: Intimacy (a 3 part series). You can follow her tweets @trinipoetess or look her up on Facebook if you would like to learn more about her various moving ventures.
The reImagining Speaks is a video series that gives voice to the women lending their images to the reImagining. This series allows you to hear for yourself why this project is so important to me and these 100 women. Listen closely:
My name is Ebony Williams. I am a Black woman. I consider myself a quiet storm. I work extremely hard to be the best person that I can be and I make sure that I position myself towards the top. I am considered a very serious person; however, I'm driven. I tutor in my spare time and try to be a role model to my students when I'm not working in the magical land of healthcare IT.
The reImagining Speaks is a video series that gives voice to the women lending their images to the reImagining. This series allows you to hear for yourself why this project is so important to me and these 100 women. Listen closely:
Abigail Ekue is a writer and photographer. Her work focuses on the human experience. She is the author of the short story collection, The Darker Side of Lust. With a degree in Sports Sciences, her non-fiction focuses on health, fitness, nutrition, body image, sex and relationships. She also uses her photography to promote a positive body image - both as photographer and model. Abigail Ekue, writer, photographer, artist, provocateur.
The reImagining Speaks is a video series that gives voice to the women lending their images to the reImagining. This series allows you to hear for yourself why this project is so important to me and these 100 women. Listen closely:
Majella Mark is a 25 year old, MBA student working in the publishing industry in New York City. She has spent time conducting charity work for numerous organization such as the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society and the Thornhill Community Supportive Services. She hopes to earn her PhD in culture impacting media within developing non Western nations and help the media appreciate cultural differences in a subjective manner. She spends a good bit of her time volunteering and engaging in artistic expression through drawing and painting. Majella hopes to put her dent in the world in a unique way.
The Manipulated Light & Power Series is my latest series dealing with race and gender identity. I like to call it the prequel to the larger, still in production, the reImagining. While the reImagining deals with the fight against stereotyping, Manipulated Light & Power series speaks on the mental repercussion of the moment you first realize this stereotyping is happening to you. The exhibition is a series of five images depicting the progression of this realization, and the vicious cycle as it constantly occurs in the everyday life of Black women. Making literal the metaphor in Ralph Ellison's The Invisible Man, I used light as the protagonist in the images. I wanted the light to work to both hide and define the models identity in the same manner paralleling the ability of stereotypes to do the same. The actual physical installation to be creates for these images will heighten that disparity. By manipulating the images with a pulsating light source I want to make the viewer recognize the ease of identity manipulation. Putting that light source on an intensifying cycle will work to show that the moments of stereotyping are harsh, constant, and never ending.
As you can see, I have already started working on the prototype. I like the way the images are working together and flowing together. But, there is work to be done. My next steps include flushing out the design of the plexiglas cube. How constructed do I want the frame to be? How do I get lights to actually work and then pulsate in the cycle I want? Should there be sound? If I design it, can I find someone to fabricate it? Those are just a few of the questions I am working on. Feel free to stay tuned as I realize the last steps of this exhibition.
Just for fun - I am leaving you with an idea of the feeling I would like the install to feel. Yeah slow exposure!
