Last weekend checked out a dope show at a gallery in Crown Heights, Five Myles. The latest show is called Fortune Tellers. Info below. Go check it out…you won’t regret it. And definitely be sure to catch Karma Mayet Johnson’s performance on Friday night:
Karma Mayet Johnson will present an Earth-based Mysticism and Black Lesbian Herstory evening performance accompanying song-cycle, rooted in the Delta: “Thunderbook: Readings from the Indigo Manuscripts.” The performance takes place onFriday, October 2 at 7:30 pm.
Fortune Tellers
Organized by Kimberly Mayhorn
Artists: Sandra Brewster . Torkwase Dyson . Kimberly Mayhorn . Jasmine Murrell . Marisa Swangha . Simone Leigh . Adjua Williams
Date:September 13 to October 18, 2009
Gallery Hours:Thur, Fri, Sat, Sun, 1 – 6 p.m.
Location:FiveMyles
558 St. Johns Place
Brooklyn, NY 11238
FiveMyles has invited visual artist Kimberly Mayhorn to organize an exhibition based on a question she has asked herself: are artists the fortune-tellers in their societies? The six artists Mayhorn has invited to exhibit with her at FiveMyles use the principles of Fortune Telling as their muse: they have examined sacred languages and mysteries to gain insight into questions and situations that may seem disjointed or without clarity.
Several of the artists dissect ancient methodologies in relation to African-American culture and issues.. In her installation of a ghetto in a bottle, Jasmine Murrell uses empty liquor bottles as her crystal ball through which to understand the present. Torkwase Dyson’s animations deal with her concept of The Black Eco Imagination. For her this means her involvement as an artist with the future and the history of black ecological innovation through technological and creative eco intelligence. In her installation of a ghetto in a bottle, Adjua Williams uses wood panels adorned with acrylic painted beaded ropes to represent thoughts in transition. Simone Leigh evokes both the concerns of feminist production as well as the 1970s Pan-Africanist and outer-space themed gestures of Afro-Futurism. Using graphite, terracotta and TV antennae, Leigh references historical iconography linked to processes of identity-formation.
Planet earth becomes Kimberly Mayhorn’s canvas by incorporating an anchor, rope, 12lb. weight, clocks, and religious texts to create a mixed-media environment of a paradise lost. As a prophesier, the Canadian artist Marisa Swangha hints at unspoken words tightly bound, by creating a polyptych incorporating miniscule books into the seven three-dimensional paintings. Her fellow Canadian Sandra Brewster, through her visual narratives, brings to life the story of her friend who answered a call from the ancestors to practice Sangoma, a traditional healer in the Zulu, Swazi, Xhosa and Ndebele traditions in Southern Africa.
Kimberly Mayhorn graduated from Howard University in 1991. She received a Whitney Museum Independent Study Fellowship in 2000 and has received art residencies at the Bronx Museum; Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts; Sculpture Space; Aljira; HERE Arts Center and was recently nominated for a daytime Emmy for editing.
September 29, 2009 at 1:09 am / / View Brew's Profile / Follow this Maroon on Twitter!
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September 26, 2009 at 3:40 pm / / View M.J.'s Profile / Follow this Maroon on Twitter!
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Up and coming Music Producer/Graphic Designer ALEX GOOSE submitted tracks for Jay Z’s Blueprint 3. Unfortunately, none of his tracks were chosen for the project. ARMED with POSITIVE FEEDBACK and SUPPORT for the TRACKS, Goose decided to release the tracks for the world to hear.
“The Blueprint 3 Outtakes” is what “The Blueprint 3″ could have been.
Click here to download “The Blueprint 3 Outtakes”
September 24, 2009 at 2:23 pm / / View Selah Says's Profile /
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I’m a little late on this, especially since I’m sure your appetite was whet with The Messengers Episode #1: Fela, but Episode #2: Bob Marley and Episode #3: Bob Dylan are here, featuring K’Naan’s rhymes to Bob Marley’s unifying voice…
Download The Messengers Episode #2: Bob Marley here.
… And Bob Dylan’s beautiful poetry and soulful guitar strums…
Download The Messengers Episode #3: Bob Dylan here.
September 24, 2009 at 12:41 am / / View Brew's Profile / Follow this Maroon on Twitter!
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is the first solo exhibition in Cape Town, by young Zimbabwean artist Kudzanai Chiurai.
Born in 1981, one year after Zimbabwe established independence from Rhodesia, Chiurai is regarded as part of the “Born Free” generation. The first black student to complete a BAFA at the University of Pretoria Chiurai worked within the formal gallery system, but continued to practice in informal networks and situations.
His early works focused on the political, economic and social strife in his homeland and in the lead-up to the 2008 Zimbabwean elections Chiurai distributed stencils at solidarity meetings highlighting its political situation, creating a viral campaign in the streets of Johannesburg which was followed by the publication of a series of open edition agitprop posters. Seminal works like “presidential wallpaper” depicted Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe as a “sell-out” which ultimately led to Chiurai’s exile from Zimbabwe.
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The Minister of Finance
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The Minister of Education
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The Minister of Health
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The Minister of Defense
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The Minister of Foreign Affairs
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The Black President
Now based in Johannesburg, Chiurai’s practice as an artist and activist has garnered him considerable attention. “Dying to be Men” continues Chiurai’s interest in the aesthetics of propaganda, and interrogates the visual legacy of political representation. At the convergence of major political events – elections in South Africa, the USA and Zimbabwe – Chiurai hones in on aspects of the image of the black president and his cabinet in particular. As such, the works on show unpack notions of masculinity and power, as evocatively suggested by the title of the exhibition which was recently on display at the Goodman Gallery in Cape Town, South Africa.
*Shouts out to Scoop for modeling and to Spoek Mathambo on the heads up on this one.
September 16, 2009 at 10:31 am / / View M.J.'s Profile / Follow this Maroon on Twitter!
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Georgetown was quite an experience, but my favorite place was Mabaruma.
September 15, 2009 at 9:41 pm / / View King Texas's Profile / Follow this Maroon on Twitter!
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September 15, 2009 at 2:04 pm / / View King Texas's Profile / Follow this Maroon on Twitter!
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K’Naan (one of my favorite philosopher lyricists) has joined forced with J.Period, the mixtape master, to bring us The Messengers, a three-part mixtape series. The Messengers features the music of three of the most influential “messengers,” Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, and Fela Kuti. Episode #1 feature K’Naan’s rhymes to Fela’s Afro-beats. It’s definitely worth a listen, a download, a blast from the speakers….
The Messengers Episode #1: Fela Kuti
September 2, 2009 at 1:58 pm / / View Brew's Profile / Follow this Maroon on Twitter!
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Greetings,
I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to pull it together before King Texas had to leave to Guyana but we put the word up and the bodies showed up. It was a lovely night full of good cheer, sounds and libations. I have absolutely no complaints.
Looking forward to building on the fruits of our labor. Check out the behind the scenes shots courtesy of myself, Anthony Bryant & Wheeler. Enjoy!
August 31, 2009 at 4:04 am / / View M.J.'s Profile / Follow this Maroon on Twitter!
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Vogue Italia has long been considered the world’s top fashion magazine and the least commercial of the Vogue magazines. Their July 2008 “Black Issue” (pictured bottom left) broken sales records, selling out virtually everywhere hours after its release, prompting numerous reprints…I bought two. Vogue Italia came back last month, for their annual (seemingly) ‘Black issue,’ celebrating, with the rest of the fashion industry, Barbie’s 50th anniversary (seen below). News broke on Thrusday that Rihanna will grace the cover of Vogue Italia’s Septemeber 2009 Extreme Couture supplement.
Vogue Italia has consistently challenged fashion industry standards featuring Black models on their covers as well as editorials. The question is: When will the time come that an all Black issue, showcasing Black models, no longer be necessary?
August 30, 2009 at 11:55 pm / / View Brew's Profile / Follow this Maroon on Twitter!
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