Njideka Akunyili Crosby, I Refuse to Be Invisible (2013)
My silence these past few days has not been intentional. I lost my mojo. Art classes are on break, human contact is absent, the news that I thought was bad, got worse. I was at a loss for what to send you. Black artists. Black artists. More black artists.
Hank Willis Thomas, Raise Up (2014). Courtesy of nsuartmuseum
The last time there was racial injustice at the top of the news, I sent out black artists. The time before that, I sent out other black artists. I am not tired of sending out black artists, but I need to do something different today.
“BLACK LIVES MATTER” painted on the road to the White House, an order and a message from DC’s mayor Muriel E. Bowser. – Washington Post
For the black artists who have not had the lives, the respect, the resources, the peace, the prosperity, or the credit they deserved. For the living black artists who find themselves choosing how to use their work to express issues of black strength and survival, instead of assuming the ease and variety of artistic exploration and expression that I myself enjoy. For the black artists that I post, and the black artists that I miss, because I am specifically looking for “10 black artists that I should know” instead of choosing something from the 1,000 white artists that I do know.
For more black voices, take action with me today: write your mayor and tell her we want more restrictions on use of force by police – the 8 Can’t Wait.
Robert Pruitt, Creator and Redeemer, 2016 Conté, pastel, colored pencil and charcoal, tea dyed paper, 84” × 60” “Their tattoos on their skin appear as arbitrary, and upon close inspection reveal a religious Virgin Mary as Harriet Tubman and NK-33, a former soviet rocket, inked on their bodies. The symbolism, typography and calligraphy of the tattoo design, and the element of bold red color that stands out in the women’s clothing all work to transform these two regular girls into angels of hope for the black community.” – medium.com
For more black artists, make one contact for 8 Can’t Wait today:
I’m emailing Mayor Jenny Durkan to urge them to take the pledge to enact the #8CantWait Use of Force policies. I live in SEATTLE, WA in the [neighborhood] and I know our city would benefit from these policies. The #8CantWait policies are simple, common-sense and would make our community safer. SEATTLE, WA has 6 policies that are part of the #8CantWait pledge. Can you commit to enacting these additional policies right now? – Requires Exhaust All Alternatives Before Shooting – Ban Shooting at Moving Vehicles
In the late 1940s, several prominent artists of the New York School– including Robert Rauschenberg, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko and Frank Stella–were intently studying the color black. That work, interrelated but not collaborative, resulted in 20 years of black: textured black, striped black, blue-black, brown-black, black-black, blackish, and blackity-black-black paintings. With a Google image search, …
I was a week late getting the news. Jen Graves resigns her position as Art Critic at the Stranger on February 8th. From ArtNews: “I spent months resisting the reality that The Stranger is not currently a viable place for me to do the work I’ve always cared about,” she said, announcing her departure on …
Today’s challenge is from Catherine Lepp, our newest instructor from the New York Studio School. Catherine is teaching Drawing and Painting the Head and Beginning Watercolor this quarter. She joins us from the New York Studio School. Draw the head of a classical sculpture using only circles and straight lines. #circlesandstraights Something like a ruler will be helpful. …
Take a class with SAL – anywhere! In 1998, a referendum to legalize abortion failed in Portugal. In direct response, Portuguese artist Paula Rego painted the Abortion series, 10 pastel paintings that drew attention to the experience of women. “It highlights the fear and pain and danger of an illegal abortion, which is what desperate …
More Black Artists
My silence these past few days has not been intentional. I lost my mojo. Art classes are on break, human contact is absent, the news that I thought was bad, got worse. I was at a loss for what to send you. Black artists. Black artists. More black artists.
The last time there was racial injustice at the top of the news, I sent out black artists. The time before that, I sent out other black artists. I am not tired of sending out black artists, but I need to do something different today.
For the black artists who have not had the lives, the respect, the resources, the peace, the prosperity, or the credit they deserved. For the living black artists who find themselves choosing how to use their work to express issues of black strength and survival, instead of assuming the ease and variety of artistic exploration and expression that I myself enjoy. For the black artists that I post, and the black artists that I miss, because I am specifically looking for “10 black artists that I should know” instead of choosing something from the 1,000 white artists that I do know.
For more black voices, take action with me today: write your mayor and tell her we want more restrictions on use of force by police – the 8 Can’t Wait.
Conté, pastel, colored pencil and charcoal, tea dyed paper, 84” × 60”
“Their tattoos on their skin appear as arbitrary, and upon close inspection reveal a religious Virgin Mary as Harriet Tubman and NK-33, a former soviet rocket, inked on their bodies. The symbolism, typography and calligraphy of the tattoo design, and the element of bold red color that stands out in the women’s clothing all work to transform these two regular girls into angels of hope for the black community.” – medium.com
For more black artists, make one contact for 8 Can’t Wait today:
If you live in Seattle, email: jenny.durkan@seattle.gov
Not sure what to say? Here’s a script:
I’m emailing Mayor Jenny Durkan to urge them to take the pledge to enact the #8CantWait Use of Force policies. I live in SEATTLE, WA in the [neighborhood] and I know our city would benefit from these policies.
The #8CantWait policies are simple, common-sense and would make our community safer. SEATTLE, WA has 6 policies that are part of the #8CantWait pledge. Can you commit to enacting these additional policies right now?
– Requires Exhaust All Alternatives Before Shooting
– Ban Shooting at Moving Vehicles
Don’t live in Seattle? Go here: https://8cantwait.org/
Because I want to post more black artists, but not like this.
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In the late 1940s, several prominent artists of the New York School– including Robert Rauschenberg, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko and Frank Stella–were intently studying the color black. That work, interrelated but not collaborative, resulted in 20 years of black: textured black, striped black, blue-black, brown-black, black-black, blackish, and blackity-black-black paintings. With a Google image search, …
Jen Graves
I was a week late getting the news. Jen Graves resigns her position as Art Critic at the Stranger on February 8th. From ArtNews: “I spent months resisting the reality that The Stranger is not currently a viable place for me to do the work I’ve always cared about,” she said, announcing her departure on …
Day 17: Circles and Straights #30SAL
Today’s challenge is from Catherine Lepp, our newest instructor from the New York Studio School. Catherine is teaching Drawing and Painting the Head and Beginning Watercolor this quarter. She joins us from the New York Studio School. Draw the head of a classical sculpture using only circles and straight lines. #circlesandstraights Something like a ruler will be helpful. …
Paula Rego’s Abortion Series
Take a class with SAL – anywhere! In 1998, a referendum to legalize abortion failed in Portugal. In direct response, Portuguese artist Paula Rego painted the Abortion series, 10 pastel paintings that drew attention to the experience of women. “It highlights the fear and pain and danger of an illegal abortion, which is what desperate …