The image is stark. And shocking.
A black man, his ankles shackled, his head hanging away from the viewer, stands in relief on a field of white. Chains stretching to the image's borders on the left and right pull his arms taut. Fourteen crimson marks crosshatch his back. Within the dark fabric that frames "86 Lashes to Go," a small rectangle is labeled simply "salt."
"The massive "Above and Beyond Memorial" will be installed at the National Veterans Art Museum, The Harold Washington Library, and go on display starting Feb. 20, culminating a painstaking search to find a suitable — although temporary — home for the 58,000 replica dog tags honoring those who died as a result of their service in the war that stretched from March 1965 to May 1975.
If you've been to a Bay Area protest or community event, you've probably seen -- or even met those nuns in whiteface -- The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
Devoted to human rights globally and locally, AIDS education, and respect for diversity, this controversial Order of Queer Nuns has long been a staple of San Francisco's cultural fabric. They join host Joseph Pace for the hour.
Guests:
In a twist on the Broken Windows Theory, street artists are using their skills to combat urban blight in Baltimore with "The Slumlord Project". By drawing the attention of neighbors to abandoned and vacant properties and giving pertinent ownership information to take action on, 17 artists are spray painting and wheat-pasting in a D.I.Y.
A young Black boy, wearing deep red livery with gold trimming, a gold earring, and red-and-white turban secured with a jeweled brooch, stares out at the viewer. Standing before a ship at sea, he hands a letter, addressed to “Monsieur le chevalier de Rohan, captain of the King’s ships at Rochefort,” to an older white man, dressed in regal-looking steel armor.
A New York blogger impersonating David Koch successfully prank called Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. David Koch is one of the two wealthy brothers who were big donors to his political campaign and GOP efforts generally.
Beyoncé delivered an intensely, unapologetic celebration of Black and HBCU culture at the Coachella Festival 2 weekends in a row. Not only were her performances some of the best live performances to date but they sent a pretty significant message to the world.
Here are some assessments of this beautiful demonstration of Blackness and Black Girl Magic:
From BBC News:
Tina Takemoto is an artist and associate professor of visual studies at California College of the Arts in San Francisco. Her work examines issues of race, queer identity, memory, and grief. Her current project explores the hidden dimensions of same-sex intimacy and queer sexuality for Japanese Americans incarcerated by the US government during World War II.
In the past, prostitution was intrinsically tied to religion ritual and public policy, and it wasn't considered a taboo. Taking up from the idea of ancient sandals worn by prostitutes, the artist has created platform shoes that specifically focused on their protection and safety nowadays, with a GPS tracker that can send emergency signals to 911 or a sex workers' rights group.
The International Harlem Fine Arts Show (HFAS) is the largest traveling African Diasporic art show in the United States. Inspired by the Harlem Renaissance, HFAS provides a platform for African Diasporic visionaries and American visual artists to exhibit and sell their artwork. The show also aims to create economic empowerment, educational opportunities and professional recognition within the multicultural community.
On January 18, 2012, numerous website across the internet called for an internet blackout in protest of SOPA and PIPA. SOPA, or the Stop Online Piracy Act, and PIPA, the Protect IP Act, were a series of bills promoted by Hollywood in the US Congress that would have created a “blacklist” of censored websites.
Uncle Sam's Cultural Dissonance looks at the issues facing The United States, including Canada and Mexico. In countries like the United States, where some states are dotted with countless lakes and many people live within easy reach of an ocean, it may be easy to assume that drinking and recreational waters are limitless. This is absurd. This series focuses in on excessive overuse in by agricultural, residential, and industrial sectors.
The Guerilla Girls are masked art activists who seek to bring attention to women in the art world and expose the unfair dominance of white males in the field. Their research into the racial and gender inequality in the art world is exposed through ironically worded public posters and billboards.
Cassils' Becoming an Image confronts issues of queer and trans visibility, bodily violence, and the politics of witnessing. The performance uses a powerful blend of media—including live action in darkness, flash photography, clay sculpture, and sound—to explore how trauma and resilience are physically and symbolically inscribed onto the queer body.
Chanel Miller is a Palo Alto–born artist and writer. She first came into the public eye as “Emily Doe,” the victim of a 2015 Stanford University sexual assault whose impact statement presented in court went viral. Miller relinquished her anonymity in 2019, when she published the acclaimed memoir, “Know My Name.” "I was, I am, I will be" is Miller’s first commissioned artwork for a museum and is on view through February 2022.
The Photoshop action — a downloadable file that applies an action with a single click — is aimed at art directors who may be creating such ads. The action, which was disseminated on Reddit and other places where Dove thought such art directors might visit, promised to add a skin glow effect, but actually reverted the image to its original state.
On September 5th, 1991, I put a giant condom over Jesse Helms’ house. Why? Because, as the condom said, “Helms is deadlier than a virus.” Senator Jesse Helms was one of the chief architects of AIDS-related stigma in the U.S. He fought against any federal spending on HIV research, treatment or prevention.
Riot grrrl is a feminist punk rock movement started in the early 90's, particularly in Washington DC, Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. Bands that follow the movement include Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Jack Off Jill, Bratmobile, Adickdid, The Butchies, Heavens to Betsy, Huggy Bear, Bangs, and Calamity Jane, amongst others.
FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES:
" While filming a documentary about divisive oil refinery ventures in the subzero cold of Fort McMurray, Alberta, the director David Dufresne said he wasn’t considering only pollution in that Canadian boomtown or the vast tar sands beneath its frozen ground. He was also thinking deeply about technology, about making a new kind of hybrid media, a docugame.
LOS ANGELES — At the Grammy Awards on Sunday night, pop’s megastars will compete for the music industry’s most prestigious trophy, and put on flashy performances that are sure to ricochet through social media.
Last month, a graduate student by the name of Josh Treuhaft set up the Salvage Supperclub in New York City—an establishment where diners pay US$50 to eat a six course meal made from food scraps salvaged from the dumpster.
Chefs from the Natural Gourmet Institute created dishes using overripe fruits and vegetables that would normally be thrown away, calling into question what we perceive as waste.
By Thia Shi Min
Design Taxi
Untitled (Your Body is a Battleground) is an iconic 1989 silkscreen portrait made by artist, feminist and activist Barbara Kruger .
Though the poster was meant for the pro-choice march on April 9th, 1989, in DC, the portrait is now used mainly to voice the artist’s own opinion about gender inequality. The piece is much more relevant in today’s society, where it controls the way we view and treat women’s bodies.