Life ,,, is Like a box of chocolates for Black Women.
“Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between.” Maya Angelou “ I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.”
“The Black female is assaulted in her tender years by all those common forces of nature at the same time that she is caught in the tripartite crossfire of masculine prejudice, white illogical hate and Black lack of power.
The fact that the adult American Negro female emerges a formidable character is often met with amazement, distaste and even belligerence. It is seldom accepted as an inevitable outcome of the struggle won by survivors and deserves respect if not enthusiastic acceptance.”
― Maya Angelou, “
“ I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.”
2nd photo credit :Mucubal Woman Holding Her Baby, Virie Area, Angola
nine of swords territory
Black and White Works …. The Mods Remeber “It’s easy to face the music if you know the style”
Algerian-born Yves Saint Laurent launched ‘Le Smoking’ Look in 1966, his couture collection featured a style that divided fashion critics: a black tailored tuxedo with a classic satin side stripe (similar to adidas 3 stripe today), worn with a white ruffled shirt.
Responses were tepid – it was the first time that any couturier had presented trousers as an option for eveningwear, and women wearing it were refused entry by some restaurants the following season.. My How Times have changed, this is prety tame..
Historical POV
Politics and Fashion
Lets take the 70′s , This time period was alive with political activism , Feminism. environmentalism, and fights for Racial Justice. Sound Familiar? Fashion was Democratized by the Fashion Designers of the socialites Halston and Yves Saint Laurent and Couture was no longer just for the elites it was accessible to every one.
Ettiquette was broken and replaced with Do you (Tommy) .. ONE way to express oneself was through Color.
Queen Tings Original Muva Beverly Johnson 70
Lovr these Classic black and white photos
Human Butterflies …… Fashion and The Lens…
Seydou Keïta
❤💕❤💕❤💕❤💕
West African Photographer
A self-taught photographer, he opened a studio in 1948 and specialized in portraiture.
His clients were drawn by the quality of his photos and his great sense of aesthetics. Many were young men, dressed in European style clothing. Some customers brought in items they wanted to be photographed with but Keita also had a choice of European clothing and accessories - watches, pens, radios, scooter, etc. - which he put at their disposal in his studio. The women came in flowing robes often covering their legs and their throats, only beginning to wear Western outfits in the late 60s. Beautiful shots of West African life.
Late Night Mood , perusing favorite illustrators in this case Bill Donovan and listening to Dilla homages.
Bills sketches of Black Woman are just gorgeous , litterally i can envision these women in waking life.
Bill works in watercolor and gouache , he is artist in residence for Christian Dior. To add to this hectic schecule Bil is the author of Advanced Fashion Drawing / Lifestyle Illustration and has illustrated a number of books including The Dress Doctor, from the original by costume designer Edith Head and Birds of a Feather Shop Together, a collection of fashion fables, both for Harper Collins and more recently, The Pursuit of Style for the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
The Talisman , Fragments of Time Lost
Cameos were used as talismans. These particular Cameos were created during the Renaissance era through the Victorian era. Little is known about the African models, were they Nobility? Slaves? Indentured servants?
COLOR SHE-RO
Love everything she created….
Sonia Delaunay (14 November 1885 – 5 December 1979) was a Ukrainian-born Russian artist, who
formally trained in Russia and Germany and spent most of her working life in Paris. She co-founded the Orphism art movement, noted for its use of strong colors and geometric shapes . Check out some of her films below and most of all listen to Mile Davis Sketches of Spain.
Indigenous First People of the Americas Mask Art
Two Wolves – A Cherokee Parable“ An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life…
‘A fight is going on inside me,’ he said to the boy.
‘It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.
One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed,
arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies,
false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.
The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope,
serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy,
generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.
This same fight is going on inside you
and inside every other person, too.’
The grandson thought about it for a minute
and then asked his grandfather,
‘Which wolf will win?’
The old chief simply replied,
‘The one you feed.”We all wear masks since the begining of time . Today’s masks consist of ‘Brands and snap chat filters
Edward S. Curtis often asked natives to recreate their ceremonies wearing traditional garb so he could capture them on camera.
Amazing looks like Mario , butit’s Sengbe Pieh ( Joseph Cinque} Leader of the Seirra Leoneans of the Amistad , painted by Nathaniel Jocelyn1840S
Mario…….2002 The resemblance is uncanny what say you ?
Color Mood…..
“I believe that something else, the substance of your spirit, stays incorporated in the work. The work is made to transmit emotion. The starting point of the artist, if they are figurative, is the world. … The material with which you work is the objective world, but you incorporate some of your soul, and that is art.” Antonio Lopez
“If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.” – Audre Lorde
Haitian-born, New York-raised artist Fabiola Jean-Louis powerful series
of painterly photographs aptly entitiled “Rewriting History” juxtaposes imagery typically associated with European nobility of the 15th to 19th century explored through a Black perspective.
Color Color . Form Sashay. Love Sam Gilliam’s work full of Freedom..
“ I was free to try anything i wanted to do i was free to be easy or mysterious , free to be the artist I wanted to be” Sam Gilliam
Sam Gilliam is and lyrical abstractionist artist also a associate of the Washington Color School. “
