August Alsina: Debut Album Testimony Cover Art Work

New Orleans Singer August Alsina will be debuting his first album in April. August Alsina decided to release the artwork of his debut album "Testimony", and the album cover is pretty simple and nice. In the image he is dressed nicely, bowing his head as if he is praying. There is a lot of emotion in this picture. August has been through a lot and has made some changes and revisions from his life so I feel within this picture you can feel his emotion from his face with his eyes being closed, and the title being "Testimony". It really gives a feel of sincerity. It seems the emotion of the picture is saying so much, and for someone that listens to his music and hears what he talks about mainly including situations in his life, and the passing of his brother, this picture is saying a lot without saying nothing.  I feel the colors in the image fits the emotion he is trying to give in the artwork. The image is straight to the point in my opinion. The title helps and what also helps is there isn't to much going on in the image.  If this image had to be summed up in one word it definitely would be emotion.

W.E.B - My Double Conscious Experience

W.E.B Double Conscious is an experience if not everyone has gone through they have at least been victim to doing it or even are still doing it today. It definitely is a struggle and a sad one at that. To not be able to fully be happy, comfortable and own yourself be in your own skin seems very sad even maybe depressing depending on the person. To battle yourself and your true identity as far as are you pleasing society and their expectations they want you to live up to and try to be yourself is like being two people trapped in one. I feel I've seen this more than have personally been in this position. I feel I experienced this when I was a little younger than I am now. I felt like this because in school everyone was cliqued up and I didn't know where I belonged but I knew I wanted to belong. I didn't want to feel or be left out; so I would try to mingle in a way that I would try to be the one everyone wanted to hangout with, be around and etc. This caused me to go through so many stages when I was younger because I wanted to be the it girl. I would change my hair color, clothes, it was a lot looking back at it. I felt obligated to try to please everyone as far as what people liked and was interested in. When I would be around certain people and I would say something people would just assume oh your this ethnic or that right off the jump because of how I would say something. Another thing I dealt with within myself was should I talk like this around this group of people and should I do this around a certain group of people. I pretty much tried to live by being the fit in girl. This caused me to know a lot of people, befriend quite a bit of people but it also caused me for that time being to lose myself and who I really was. Sometimes when I would be alone I'd think to myself what do I need to do now; but some days I would feel like I was not really myself. I at that time had to pull back and re-evaluate myself. Figure who I was, Be comfortable with being Me. So as I grew up I started being comfortable with myself; do what made me happy, what I liked to do, how I liked to do it. I found this didn't drive people away it actually attracted people and the ones that did disappear from my life I took it as they weren't meant to be there in the first place. I actually started being an example as well and had a great reputation for myself. I really feel W.E.B double conscious concept will continue to live on through people. As long as people, society keeps these expectations depended on your ethnic, the way you look and etc to it in motion people will always feel they have to live up to it. People will always be judged and feel they have to change who they are to fit a good judgement; and as long as we feel we're suppose to live up to what other people will say people will continue to experience this. That is why it's important to be you! Love yourself, grow, and do what's right to you and makes you you because in the end of the day you only will be you no one else! So an example needs to be made to accept yourself and whoever accepts you is meant to be there and whoever doesn't isn't meant to! I know I learned lessons, anyone who goes through this and is able to be one conscious which is theirself I feel will learn lessons and grow. I know what makes me and that creates my individuality. You never know by accepting someone you can save them from losing theirself in their self cause they tried to live up to the expectations of others.

Art is a Lie that Makes Us Realize the Truth.

The image I chose is a piece done by the graffiti artist known as Banksy. He is a graffiti artist who chooses to open the eyes of the world to the corruption that many people do not realize that is underlying the government. The real quote written on this wall is “If you repeat a lie enough, it becomes truth”. This quote is often used amongst people to justify their lies. In the image, the artist Banksy crossed out the word truth and replaced it with the world politics. This just shows that lies are politics. With the word truth being replaced with politics, it shows the amount of wrong in the government. As seen in many places, a majority of the government feeds lies to the public saying that everything they do is for the better, or that everything will benefit the people. Banksy exposes this truth, this real truth that uncovers the lies of the government. These are things that many people would not think of, or give a second thought and just move on with their days. Amongst the younger generation, social media spreads images like this one to show others the small truths.

I feel that the title I chose relates to this image well. “Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth” is a Picasso quote. One of the greatest artists of all time directly states that art is a medium used to dig out the truths that are covered up. In my opinion, this quote goes hand in hand with the Banksy’s stencil piece. They both use art to show the truth behind the lies. Picasso says that art is the lie that opens the world to the truth while Banksy uses art to open the world to the truth. These two artists show the corruption and lies in different mediums.

Back to the original point, the image shows the truth behind politics. It is just a lie told often enough, repeated to the point where people believe that it is true. No one would doubt something said by hundreds of people. Such repetition would cause a brainwashing “truth” 

If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes "politics"

Two Masks, One Face

The image I analyzed is a digital image in Sara G. Umenoto’s third gallery called Histrionic Alpha Wave. The title helps anticipates the drama the image is trying to proclaim. The image has a woman laying her head down on what seems to be a counter with two drama masks, one in red and one in blue. While holding the red, happy faced mask, her eyes are closed and she seems to be lost in deep sleep or thought. Her face mostly blank with a slight frown makes it seem as though she is contradicting herself when holding the happy faced mask. The blue frown faced mask is tied to a pulley that the string is in woman’s hand. It almost as if the happy face is what she wants to show but the sad, depressed face will always be dragging along. The faces are extreme in there emotions, almost as if she couldn’t be able to find a happy medium. The happy mask is almost going to cover her face. The way she holds the mask in her hand gently gives off the idea that she doesn’t strongly feel happy. The sad mask is getting lightly pulled up, which could signify the idea of her getting closer and closer to putting on her true mask.

In the background, waves are going diagonally across with a dark black backdrop. They could represent the alpha waves from the sleeping cycle. Alpha waves are most associated with relaxation and peacefulness. That can be linked to how calm the woman’s face is. Umenoto seems to have a message of a melodramatic woman going through the stages of being happy and sad instead of being at peace. Maybe her most peaceful time is when she is sleeping when happiness isn’t completely on but sadness is still there. It’s a medium that she can’t reach otherwise. The peacefulness she wishes to achieve could be possible if the drama masks were put of the picture.

I enjoyed this image because of how it is difficult to be extremely happy and sadness does creep up on you. Reaching the peacefulness endured during sleep’s alpha period can be hard when awake. Her use of colors also helps emphasize the message. Each of the masks have the right color to represent the extremity of happy versus sad. Red is an intense color while blue is the blue she choose is more mellow. The darkness gives the image an edge on how its not a happy piece there are deep meanings that have a negative connotation. As a mood artist,, Umento was able to portray her message of drama and feeling digitally while still making the image realistic with the woman and fantasy like with the background.

Alleged Lady Liberty

National Park Service 

Recently, while scrolling down my Instagram timeline I came across a profound image. This image was a statue that looked as if it was a replication of the Statue of Liberty, but it was a black woman instead holding what looked like a kerosene lamp. After my discovery of this picture I started to conduct some research and found really interesting information. It is rumored that this statue which is located in France is the original Statue of Liberty, it is said that this statue was given to America by France to pay homage to the African slaves that were brought to America by force.  According to feminist, historian, and blogger Toni La Nae, “the original Intent behind Lady Liberty... The Statue of Liberty was originally a Black woman, the original concept of the Statue of Liberty, Black soldiers played in the ending of Black African Bondage in the United States. French historian Edourd de Laboulaye, Chairman of the French  Anti-Slavery Society, who together with the help of sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, proposed to the French government that the people of France give the citizens of the United States through the American Abolitionist Society, the gift of a Statue of Liberty in recognition of the fact that Black soldiers won the Civil War in the United States.” When this statue was given to America it was seen as despicable because of the African features and the artist was told to construct another statue with white features, but because of the often fabrication of history I am not completely sure if this statue was absolutely the original state of Liberty. However, despite the controversy around this statue the details and structure of it is making a profound argument. A black woman holding a light to me is a representation of slaves not only paving their path towards freedom, but the process that it took for them to get to that point also. The light could be the light at the end of a dark tunnel, a representation of the North Star and Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad, or a symbol of freedom in itself. I suggest that the statue is a woman and not a man for several reasons. First, women had to be the for their family, not only did they have to keep their own spirits lifted, but the spirit of their men and children also. Back in slavery blacks were not allowed to build their own family structure if a slave owner noticed that his slaves were married or with child they would separate the men from the women leaving the kids with the woman placing more responsibility on the women. They had to juggle caring for their master, themselves, and their children while trying to maintain strength through it all. If it was not for the strength of the black woman I do not think many of the slaves would have made it through this horrendous time of their life which makes this statue even more of an accurate depiction of black women roles in society during slavery. Even if it is not true about this statue being the original statue of Liberty the fact that black women, slavery, and freedom was contextualized and recognized in a statue makes this piece of art a favorite of mine.

image

The Confederate Flag

This image holds a lot of emotions and different outlooks on it. What do you think of when you see the flag above? What message do you think it sends? Racism? Slavery? Hatred? White Supremacy? I honestly feel people are so quick to judge and just assume what this flag means with out doing the research on it. I am not going to lie me moving to georgia in seventh grad and not knowing much I thought every one that had this flag on there shirt or truck were racists. But now me being older and all I can understand things better and I understand that a lot of people have these flags on a belt buckle or truck because they have a lot of pride from where they are from and shows their heritage. But on that note there are ways you should not display this flag and in doing so can turn the whole meaning of this flag around and turn it into the negative way which a lot of people have towards it. 

The Confederate Flag is not racist because it did not represent slavery. No slave ship ever sailed under the rebel flag. They sailed under the American Flag actually. The Confederate flag (rebel flag) represents heritage, not hate. It is true that racists have used the flag as their symbol, in hate crimes or like I said they displayed it in a racism manner, but the actions of few should not represent this flag as being a racism symbol. If you want to say because of the idea of slavery being behind the Confederate that the flag itself is racist than that is fine, but by the same logic that makes the American flag the most racists symbol ever because behind it is the idea that killing Native Americans is okay, nuking cities that have Japanese civilians is okay, and that declaring war upon peaceful nations is okay.

To me this flag is ok to have pride in, and if people have a problem with it they should sit in a history class again and actually learn their stuff before they judge some one else for what they believe in. When I look at this flag I see thirteen stars which stands for the thirteen colonies, and I see red white and blue. If this flag actually represented slavery, hatred, white suprimacy, or something worse, as so many biased and uneducated people so foolishly believe, then its design would reflect that by incorporating images of those whom it stood against in my opinion. Believe what you believe but please make sure you do your research on the topic before you speak out makes you look stupid. Me not being born in the south and kinda looking at it from my side and reading thru history that is my opinion. Crazy how one image and start a full blown argument, that really shows you how strong certain images are when it comes down to advertising and all of that. You can read up on the civil war on this website http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/Confederate_Flag.htm

Kanye West's Portrait of Power

Rapper Kanye West has been called a lot of things, but when it comes to creativity he’s second to none.  In 2010 Kanye released the song entitled “Power ” from his fifth Album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Later that summer West released the video to go along with the song, and it caused quite a stir in the pop culture world.  The video itself was a little under two minutes of the song, but what made it so different was that it was actually a “live portrait” or in Kanye’s words a “moving painting.”  
As the song begins, the camera slowly pans out in one continuous shot to show Kanye standing at the end of a hallway of dark columns, surrounded by women half-dressed in sashes. Some of the women are kneeling before him as if to worship him, some have long horns like an ibex, and some are upside down pouring water that flows upwards. There are two horned female figures on either side of Kanye bearing a staff each, loosely resembling interpretations of the Egyptian goddesses Isis and Hathor.  There is a sword hanging over Kanye’s head which is most likely the Sword of Domocles of Greek mythology.  It represents an allusion to imminent and ever-present peril faced by those in positions of POWER.  We then see that the video seems to be about the death of Kanye because the image of two men with swords come closing in on either side of him, and just before they make contact the video goes black.  The way the image was created makes it look almost like old Roman Catholic religious paintings, and the colors are very dark but regal.  The presence of aspects from the Greek and Egyptian cultures and West in the epicenter of it all gives the viewer a sense that Kanye West thinks of himself as a man with enough power to be greater than the gods of the ancient cultures. Horus, the Egyptian god of the skies, vengeance, protection, and war was considered in many ancient Egyptian civilizations as the patron god.  This means that out of all the other gods, Horus was the entrusted protector of all these various civilizations, and in this portrait Kanye wears him in a gold chain around his neck.  With the two men charging their swords at West’s head in the video, Kanye means to say that because he is so powerful he has people with ill intentions towards him.  Kanye knows that the sword is over his head, meaning he knows people are trying to bring him down because like the song says, “No one man should have all that power.” 
   

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlem_Riot_of_1943

Moon over Harlem

            Moon over Harlem was a painting by famous African-American painter, William H. Johnson. Done in his famous folk-art style, Johnson depicts police officers being increasingly rough with an already battered public. We see the officers hauling away a load of blood splattered African Americans, and being particularly rough with one woman towards the center of the painting. This painting is his interpretation of the Harlem Riots of 1943, during which rioters, most of whom were African American, caused millions of dollars of damage to businesses around Harlem, after a the African American Soldier was shot by a police officer when trying to defend a woman.

It’s interesting to note that although the riots were reportedly racially motivated, Johnson chose not to depict any white officers. Maybe this exclusion was intentional and meant to imply that Harlem’s residents and culture were becoming increasingly self-destructive, and that New York’s African American citizens were doing more harm to their own communities than whites were. Maybe, Johnson intended to examine and portray the behavior of black Harlem residents in a vacuum. Maybe he ran out of white paint.

            Strung about the lower half of the painting, there are empty bottles of various colors, shapes, and sizes. This might be a commentary on the excessive consumption of alcohol in Harlem. In the aftermath of the Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance, Harlem became known as the epicenter for debauchery in New York. Alcoholism, as well as heroin addiction, was becoming more and more prevalent around the neighborhood.