Moral Blots.

"Tattoo the pristine flesh
What is permanent anyway?
This ink only lasts 'til the grave,
Skin and ideas decompose
That which we did compose."
-Corri Alius

La Belle Personne

La Belle Personne perfectly worked together with the cold dreary weather, just as Chelsea had pointed out before showing the film. This French film directed by Christophe Honoré was filled with scenes of the characters interacting in a local coffee shop which sparked a craving for a warm cup of coffee, and its somber tone made me feeling like I needed a pick me up. After getting home I couldn’t stop myself from grabbing my coat and walking down the street to get a warm cup of coffee from the Daily Press.

I really enjoyed this post. “Their solidarity centered on the expressive power of documentary photography and on a progressive alliance in the 30’s of socialist ideas and art” reminded me of Rivera’s exhibition and Zach’s post on Banksy and their roads of resistance, attempting to change and challenge their society’s accepted paradigms of Visual Art. Hopefully this is an exhibition I can get around to visiting.

oopsidid:

In 1936 a group of young, idealistic photographers (most first generation Jewish Americans) formed an organization in Manhattan called The Photo League. Their solidarity centered on the expressive power of documentary photography and on a progressive alliance in the 30’s of socialist ideas and art. They rejected the prevailing style of modernism to engage the gritty realities of daily life, exploring the city street by street. The photographers explored the tumultuous period that spanned the New Deal reforms after the Depression, World War II and the Cold War. The photographs, showing now at the Jewish Museum, are divided into separate projects such as “The Harlem Document,” “The War Years,” and “The Red Scare.” The United States Attorney General blacklisted the Photo League in 1947, calling them “totalitarian, fascist, communist and subversive.” Members faced loss of work, investigation and imprisonment despite their efforts to write a letter to repudiate this misinterpretation of their purposes. The league’s loose association with the Radical Left continued being exploited, showing this conservative climate of post-WWII America. The Photo League was officially closed in 1951 and is rarely credited for its pivotal role in redefining the documentary photograph. 

This reminds me, New York is amazing. 

An Archaeology of NYC Visual Culture: Rivera, Rockefeller, and the Capitalist Limitations on Visual Space

I had always really admired the work of Banksy especially the cojones he must have had to do some of what I found was some of his most impressive murals that he made on the West Bank Barrier in Palestine. I loved his ideas of visual public space and breaking the boundaries of a “capitalist” owned space, making his art a statement that challenge the notions created by our modern society. Both Banksy and Rivera’s “forged route of resistance” is something that I personally find compelling.

archaeovisualnyc:

 In 1933, the famous Mexican muralist Diego Rivera was commissioned by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to paint a mural for Rockefeller Center, which was then being constructed. Before Rivera even finished painting, Rockefeller revoked his commission and destroyed the painting. The most commonly…

The Papaya Dog

This monday for class, we all met at MoMA to see the current exhibition of Diego Rivera’s murals which I was excited to see. I haven’t seen much of his work before but had a romantic vision of his revolutionary spirit that I had built from the movies, the stories and the wikipedia pages that I had came across when looking at the life and works of Frida Kahlo. I wass seriously impressed by the full scale drawings that stood alone which were drawn with extreme precision, with bold lines that defined the figures. After seeing the exhibition I wondered with my roommate up to the 6th floor to see the works by Cindy Sherman which I found really interesting. I had seen the Art21 special on and was excited to see her pieces in person.

We left MoMA late in the afternoon and decided to make a stop at West 4th on our way home to get a papaya dog. Scrimmaging for the dimes and pennies in our pockets to gather the 3.00$, we paid with our handfulls of loose change for our two hot dogs, smothered in onions and sauerkraut and a pina colada, which I personally believe is the only way to go.  We left manhattan and ventured back to brooklyn more than satisfied.

Ms. Armstrong’s tattoo

Ms. Armstrong’s tattoo

Miss Armstrong

  • MB: so tell me about your tattoos
  • MA: ok, I have two tattoos, the first one I got is a peace sign on the inside of my right ankle, my second tattoo is a treble clef on my bikini line.
  • MB: why did you decide to get it?
  • MA: the first one I got to remind myself to first of all be peaceful, and keep what my grandparents taught me always with me. They are very peaceful loving people. the second one I got because I want to remind myself to always keep music in my life. It always makes me happy, and it is something that I love to do more than anything, whether its singing or playing piano. even thought I decided not to major in music in college I want it to stay a part of my life forever, because it has already changed it in so many great ways.
  • MB: Is there a reason why you got it in the places you did
  • MA: The peace sign is on my ankle because I just think its a nice place for a tattoo, its my first one. I never want to get one thats in a place that would prevent me from getting a job or something, and that seemed like a good place to get it. My second one actually does have meaning to its placement. My mom has a tattoo in the same spot that she got when she was 16 shortly after I was born. It's of a rose, and I just wanted to have something to match her, I love my mom! haha
  • MB: What were your parent's reactions to your tattoo?
  • MA: oh my parents dont care haha. my grandma took me to get my first tattoo, and the second one I got on my 18th birthday...but no no one cares either way.
  • MB: What are some people's general reactions to your tattoo
  • MA: well, I think because of the general personality I have people are pretty shocked when I say I have tattoos...haha they never believe me and its always a little awkward showing them the one near my bikini line, but some people just dont quit bugging me about it. Also the people in my highschool thought I drew on the one on my ankle everyday! haha. which is pretty ridiculous. oh and they always ask, oh did it hurt?
Ms. Squires’ tattoo

Ms. Squires’ tattoo

Miss Squires

  • MB: Tell me about your tattoos
  • MS: okay so, I'm in the writing program here, and writing is like the most important thing to me. I wanted to get something that had something to do with that before coming to school. So I started thinking about what could represent that for me. I already had this key that my dad gave me that I wore around my neck for almost a year.
  • I was thinking about how when something bad happens to you, you shouldn't lock it inside of you, but take it and make something beautiful or inspiring or useful out of it. That's what writing is for me, and so a key reminds me of that.
  • MB: Is there a reason why you placed it where it is?
  • MS: It's on the inside of my wrist, on my right hand because I'm right handed
  • MB: What were your parent's reaction to your tattoo?
  • MS: Both of my parents are really lenient. My dad doesn't love tattoos but I think since it's meaningful he really likes it and he's really open-minded to it. My mom was like ecstatic, haha. She wanted me to get one when I was sixteen, and it was her birthday present to me. She has more than me, and the day I got it she got my nickname tattooed on her ankle.
  • MB: What are some kind of people's responses to your tattoos? Any negative reactions?
  • MS: I don't think so. One kid who has some like really shitty huge tattoos told me that I shouldn't have gotten it on my wrist because who knows what I'll do in life and it's not easy to hide, but he has "business" in huge letters down his side so I didn't really take it to heart.
Mr. Portes’ tattoo

Mr. Portes’ tattoo

Mister Portes

  • MB: So, tell me about your tattoo.
  • MP: It's on my shoulder I have the country of Brazil with the flag of Brazil embedded in it. It's basically for my dads side. He is Brazilian and heritage means a lot to me
  • MB: Is there a reason why you got this design?
  • MP: No good reason. I came up with the design and I didn't want a typical design like other people. Most Brazilians get this bird and I just wanted to be different.
  • MB: Why did you decide to put it on your shoulder?
  • MP: I felt like it would be awkward anywhere else and I didn't want to put it on my arm where everyone could see.
  • MB: Is there a reason for that?
  • MP: For professional careers stuff like that.
  • MB: What was your parent's reaction to it?
  • MP: They don't even know. My mom would flip shit. Especially because it's not her culture
  • MB: Do you know why?
  • MP: I don't know... I mean my mom, she hated when I got my ears done and she just doesn’t believe you should mark your body
  • MB: What are most people's reactions to your tattoos?
  • MP: They're usually psyched out that I'm Brazilian they're usually think its pretty cool. Nothing negative.