Hey bloggers! New website update, check me out, commentary a plus! Your time and attention are more appreciated than you can imagine. www.IABTA.biz
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
I'm ba'ack!
Hey bloggers! New website update, check me out, commentary a plus! Your time and attention are more appreciated than you can imagine. www.IABTA.biz
Monday, June 14, 2010
My Miami
Recently I was in the presence of Najee Dorsey and Frank Frazier here in Miami on their way to cruise the Caribbean with Tom Joyner. Frank asked me "Where is the black art?" Excellent question. I have only been here for a few short months and have to say that I have been finding it in not so obvious or even traditional places.
I am a nightlife photographer and I witness some very good, bad, and ugly occurrences. The outrageous fashion of the ghetto has definitely caught my eye! Wild sculptural hair, clothing and nails that make me scream with horror, joy and extreme fascination lead me to think..."why aren't these ghetto fabulous innovations more readily accepted as art within the paradigm of art?" Just because Shawntanay Bonquisha Qwantayjah Jenkins (aka Jane Doe) didn't finish any sustainable level of education, it seems that her innately indigenous sense of design is not as readily appreciated as a celebrated fine art sculptor.
The young, jail bound, dope selling, uneducated past 4th grade reading level Black men dress in more custom designed, colorful, diamond filled jewelry than I saw at a recent exclusive Porsche event and it genuinely amazes me! I am forced to look past the ignorance and find a beauty in their "live now, don't worry 'bout money cuz I'ma King and can make it rain" mentality. How interesting. I often find myself staring in wonder as they throw money in the air to "make it rain". And even more appreciative as I collect $50 in singles to pay my cell phone bill. (smile) Seems like the action of a king to me.
The current state of the ghetto's hip hop culture has its ups and downs. For a long time I couldn't listen to mainstream rap music and now I say, at least there is a consistent outlet for self expression be it ignorant or not. Suddenly I have come to see the music as poetic depictions of the various real life situations the ghetto has come to know very well. There is a direct griot ability that has been handed down for centuries present, however, because of the lack of knowledge of the connection to African roots, those unique abilities are misdirected, and not by accident (hint hint). Does anyone realize that there are young people worldwide who mimic hip hop culture to the tee? The ghetto produces leaders!
The connection to African royal roots is quite evident. Natural leadership qualities, that built some of the greatest nations on this planet, are flowing through our very veins. What some people could describe as loud, gaudy and ghetto fabulous, I see as eloquently and undeniably African. I must ask the educators, artists, collectors, historians, Black people...What can be done to return this genre of creativity to its rightful place? How can the creative energy of the ghetto be properly directed?
Allow me to paint: Fallen African ancestors are resurrected to their rightful place in the sun, king and queen side by side floating above all falsehoods. They shed the physical aspects of their American experience, retaining necessary information for the growth of a new nation. The sky is a clear blue, clean water is rolling by, fish are jumping, and all is well.
From the hard hair to the disrespectful lyrics, it all has become art to me.
I am a nightlife photographer and I witness some very good, bad, and ugly occurrences. The outrageous fashion of the ghetto has definitely caught my eye! Wild sculptural hair, clothing and nails that make me scream with horror, joy and extreme fascination lead me to think..."why aren't these ghetto fabulous innovations more readily accepted as art within the paradigm of art?" Just because Shawntanay Bonquisha Qwantayjah Jenkins (aka Jane Doe) didn't finish any sustainable level of education, it seems that her innately indigenous sense of design is not as readily appreciated as a celebrated fine art sculptor.
The young, jail bound, dope selling, uneducated past 4th grade reading level Black men dress in more custom designed, colorful, diamond filled jewelry than I saw at a recent exclusive Porsche event and it genuinely amazes me! I am forced to look past the ignorance and find a beauty in their "live now, don't worry 'bout money cuz I'ma King and can make it rain" mentality. How interesting. I often find myself staring in wonder as they throw money in the air to "make it rain". And even more appreciative as I collect $50 in singles to pay my cell phone bill. (smile) Seems like the action of a king to me.
The current state of the ghetto's hip hop culture has its ups and downs. For a long time I couldn't listen to mainstream rap music and now I say, at least there is a consistent outlet for self expression be it ignorant or not. Suddenly I have come to see the music as poetic depictions of the various real life situations the ghetto has come to know very well. There is a direct griot ability that has been handed down for centuries present, however, because of the lack of knowledge of the connection to African roots, those unique abilities are misdirected, and not by accident (hint hint). Does anyone realize that there are young people worldwide who mimic hip hop culture to the tee? The ghetto produces leaders!
The connection to African royal roots is quite evident. Natural leadership qualities, that built some of the greatest nations on this planet, are flowing through our very veins. What some people could describe as loud, gaudy and ghetto fabulous, I see as eloquently and undeniably African. I must ask the educators, artists, collectors, historians, Black people...What can be done to return this genre of creativity to its rightful place? How can the creative energy of the ghetto be properly directed?
Allow me to paint: Fallen African ancestors are resurrected to their rightful place in the sun, king and queen side by side floating above all falsehoods. They shed the physical aspects of their American experience, retaining necessary information for the growth of a new nation. The sky is a clear blue, clean water is rolling by, fish are jumping, and all is well.
From the hard hair to the disrespectful lyrics, it all has become art to me.
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