30 Americans

As the years have passed, I've grown more and more fond of contemporary art, most notably African American Contemporary Art. There was a time not too long ago where Black artistry only existed through the filtered perceptions of the Caucasian eye. It was only when the Black Arts Movement came along, a new Black aesthetic was born, an aesthetic that was far too long needed, in order to create a vision of beauty with a black face. During my break from school, I took a train ride to go see the absolutely breathtaking work of 30 of the most influential and talented African American contemporary artists, in the Corcoran Museum. This thought provoking and captivating exhibit not only focused on the contemporary racial, social, and sexual identity of the African but also gave a stage to its rich historical legacy as the American.

Two of my personal favorite artists in the exhibit were young Kehide Wiley and the ever-famous Xaviera Simmons. 

Kehide Wiley

"Sleep"

This painting is almost 25 feet high and takes up an entire wall in the Corcoran. This photo does not do it justice. The immaculate details are jaw dropping. 

Xaviera Simmons

"One Day and Back Then"

Xaviera Simmons

"One Day Back Then"

The exhibit displayed various mediums of artwork like photography, video, painting, mixed media, and sculpture. Often times I found myself wondering, what was this particular artist thinking when he or she began this project. How was it that a single mind could create such captivating pieces of beauty? It was then I understood, that even though an artist may act alone, his artistry is undoubtedly fueled by the experiences of self and of those existing around him. But nonetheless, I can say that though this was a spectacular exhibit some of the pieces were rather dull and left me uninspired. And I assume that's true of all art; you either love it or you don’t. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. I do rather hope that Corcoran decides to continue to do exhibit's such as this, label-less and unsuspecting, 30 Americans is a jab at our human tendency to assume the normative, and filter what we consider to subjective and objective through the racial eye, only to remind us that everything is not as it seems.  

Time to Bundle Up!

Seems like fur is a never dying trend of the winter time and each year it just gets better and better! So why don't you join in?! Fur coats are no longer limited to grandma's long mink that she once paid $3000 dollars for many moons ago but they have evolved! Coming in all shapes, sizes and colors and have they become the chicest thing to wear with a cheaper price tag. No longer remaining in the $1,000 dollar or better range, you can now find faux fur that is just as warm and perhaps even nicer for under $400. So get out there and get some fur. Its time to bundle up and dont forget to spruce things up with your own personal style!! And if you cant think of anything try a small belt, a colorful scarf, or broach and maybe even some sky high heals if your feeling daring!
-monet

Coat Mae Collarless Fur Coat with Tie Belt

$354.51

River Island Faux Fur Coat in Dalmatian

$163.62

Keith Striped Faux Fur Coat

$328.00

Asos Faux Fur in Color Black

$120.90

Dreams are Illegal in the Ghetto

Back with a little more poetry! I am such a fan of Def Jam Poetry... I think they definitely elevated poetry to a higher place by placing it on such a scale forum like television. As of right now I have tons of Def Jam Poetry YouTube clips that I think are not only inspiring but engaging, well written, and mentally stimulating. This poem is called "Dreams are Illegal in the Ghetto". After I heard it, I was immediately struck by how honest and true it was for me. Growing up as a young black girl, I constantly saw the dreams of my friends crushed and their innocence stolen because someone told them "No" or said "You aren't good enough to do or have...". When you live on the wrong side of the tracks you can appreciate someone acknowledging the suffering that you may have felt. And I think whether Black, White or indifferent, we can all feel this poem pull at our heart strings. So I am sharing this with you and I hope you enjoy it.
-monet

Release

Ready to Release the Shakles

Art by Doc 

Danny O'Connor

Today was an absolutely gorgeous moment! I'm really feeling like things are coming together. I came across this art piece, like I always do, by Danny O'Connor and I really felt like this captured my emotions today. It seems like everything has been swirling around in my mind and I am constantly thinking thinking thinking and worried about things I have no control over. And then I saw this and I stopped, I gazed at it and time stood still for a moment. I'm not sure who Danny O'Connor is but this piece of work gave me piece of mind today. I wanted to share this with you all, in hopes that you would be inspired to find peace in your own life. Stop... smell the flowers and release your shackles.-monet

"I Will Wait for You"

Hey all. I have been gone for awhile. I haven't had much to blog about but my friend L. Monique showed me this poem clip a while back and I came across it again tonight while surfing the web at 6:08 am. I loved it so much I had to share it with you all. I'm not sure why it was put on my heart to share it but I feel like I am waiting. Waiting for God to speak life into me so that I can go forth into the world and accomplish all that he has for me. I know that I have many of my own dreams but somehow I know that God's dreams are bigger than I will ever know. I am not what you would consider the ideal religious person but I am deeply spiritual. I will continue to wait until God feels it is my time to be the person he made me to be, and just knowing that I have a purpose drives me everyday to be better. I hope you can take something from this video. Enjoy.

-monet

Thanksgiving

So I am sitting in the Corner Bakery of Union Station. There is so much buzz here. It makes me think of how much I really love the holidays. People going to and fro in order to spend a few moments with the ones that they love. Suitcases packed with unnecessary clothing; pajamas are the most comfortable. Small children skipping while being dragged by their caretakers so they dont miss the train. Umbrellas shaking off bad weather DC rains. Necks being zipped up in facetious coat zippers. Scarves flying away to heavens. Old ladies congregating next to families of two and three, waiting for the Washington Tours bus. And every now and again in the midst of the hustle and bustle you find someone stopped, turning a hot chocolate or coffee to their lips, someone lost and looking for the baggage claim, a mouth enjoying a sandwich and a child reading the pictures of a book in the Barnes and Noble. But thats not it. As people leave and get into there cars and cabs, I am reminded that this is the first Thanksgiving I wont spend with my family. My new family is awaiting my arrival and counting the stove minutes until the turkey is ready. And I am glad. Glad to know that as we come and go, to and fro to our destinations someone is always watching for us to come home. And the beauty of things dies outside with the change of the leaves, the beauty of our life shrinks to the inside of a home, a hug, a fireplace; somewhere warm and familiar.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

"He dug so deeply into her sentiments that in search of interest he found love, because by trying to make her love him he ended up falling in love with her. Petra Cotes, for her part, loved him more and more as she felt his love increasing, and that was how in the ripeness of autumn she began to believe once more in the youthful superstition that poverty was the servitude of love. Both looked back then on the wild revelry, the gaudy wealth, and the unbridled fornication as an annoyance and they lamented that it had cost them so much of their lives to find the paradise of shared solitude. Madly in love after so many years of sterile complicity, they enjoyed the miracle of living each other as much at the table as in bed, and they grew to be so happy that even when they were two worn-out people they kept on blooming like little children and playing together like dogs."

Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude 

Dear Claude

  Once again, I am sitting in front of my computer on a late night. I'm inspired to paint but sadly have no money for brushes, seeing as I am a college student and all. But none the less, Claude Monet popped into my head. The other day I showcased African born artist Peju Alatise, and today I just felt like a good Monet. 

  Ever since I can remember, I have been drawn to the works of Claude Monet. Believe it or not my middle name is Monet, so I do attribute many of my artistic blessings to him. Besides all of that, truth be told, I was in a funky mood today. I really was feeling burn of betrayal and I wasn't to sure how to deal with what I was feeling and I began to sink. 

  So as I was looking for my happy place, these paintings flashed through my mind, just flittering images of color and softness and somehow I still felt an overwhelming sadness. It never ceases to amaze me how life can continue to go on around us, when we are hurting. It's as if you have a wound that wont bleed, so people never really know its there. Ive heard that saying, "The eyes are the windows to the soul..." and I'm sure if someone really "looked" at me and "saw" me, they could experience, if just for a moment, the pain of that wound. The eyes of Claude Monet saw beauty and he put it on a canvas. He painted his pain away and made it something beautiful for us to see. Thats what I want for myself and you...a moment where pain is no longer pain but a beautiful moment in our individual worlds, where time doesn't stop and you can "see" yourself and the beauty of your pains.

-monet

Claude Monet-Self Portrait

Water Lilies

Palazzo da Mula-Venice 1908

The Path

Peju Alatise

The other day I was surfing the web and came across this absolutely beautiful piece of artwork. I wasn't sure who it was by so I did some fishing around and I found the name Peju Alatise. Being an artist myself I was absolutely blown away by the talent of this young woman. There was something about her work that spoke to my inner artist, and woman.Her works seem to capture the essence of one's raw emotion. And the color and technique are just ones to be in awe of.

-monet

"Peju Alatise, born 1975 is a mixed-medium artist and a writer with educational background in architecture. She has practiced as a studio artist for thirteen years alongside renovating buildings and publishing 2 fiction novels. Peju in the past has done a lot of artwork on women as subject matter, capturing the joys and pains of womanhood as experienced here in modern-life-African traditions with consequences. Her subject matter has evolved with her continued experiences moving her focus from advocating the equal rights of women to politics and philosophical inclination. Peju resides in her home country Nigeria."

"As an artist, I have learned to become a medium for a viewer to observe through to attain a different perspective. Just as a pair spectacles would either alter or enhance the wearer's vision, I lend myself to an onlooker to see a subject matter through my own eyes to observe differently."

This is excerpt about Peju comes directly from her website http://www.pejualatise.com/about/. I do not take credit for any of the details and I felt that only she could explain herself best. Please look at some of her other works. Im sure you will fall in love with them like I did and perhaps even find your own inner artist.