A Life Without Art

And this is what she’s settled on: she can go without food (she will not wither). She can go without heat (the cold will not kill her). But a life without art, without wonder, without beautiful things- she would go mad. She has gone mad.
What she needs are stories.
Stories are a way to preserve one’s self. To be remembered. And to forget.
Stories come in so many forms: in charcoal, and in song, in paintings, poems, films. And books.
Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives- or to find strength in a very long one

Artist: Silvana Cimieri

That’s What Art Is

Those moments you feel alone, those moments you are alone and storytelling, be it in the form of film, song, some medium that drags you from the depths of despair. That is what art has done since the beginning of time, that’s why humans value it so much. It saves us and keeps us going when nobody else can. For all those who contribute to that, thank you. When was the last time art held you when a body could not?

On My Gratitude List

Just thankful that these two queens exist. Their creations have gotten me through life’s rough moments, happy moments, lost moments and everything in between. That is the beauty of artist. Thank you for you legacies. Just happy I get to see it in real time. Photo: Lawless Bey

Giambattista Valli Couture 18

Honest to god, it was like pulling my arm out of the socket narrowing down which looks to post. The whole collection is breathtaking. Orgasmic. The blue dress with the orange feathers, looks like koi fish jumping out of a pond filled with water lilies. Stunning. Which look is your favorite?

Mark Tennant

The blurred out faces give the sense that it can be you, or anyone you know. It’s fascinating that he manages to bring structure and form out of what seems unfinished, due to the strokes being so prominent in his pieces. Yet it’s that exact technique that create the details, the wall behind the man smoking a cigarette, those strokes give shadow and depth to the painting. He perfectly captures the YOLO, entitlement, boundary breaking, privilege of white America. Well done.

Jurell Cayetano

The colors remind me of saturated pastels, which is one of the reasons I’m drawn to Jurell Cayetano’s work. I love that he captures his subjects in intimate, private moments, “the ones others overlook”, but are integral to self-care and reflection. It’s not the conventional portrait, posed, poised, creatively directed. Its capturing a glimpse of someone’s life, drinking a PBR while getting your hair done, the relationship between a black woman and her hair (which is both rigorous and ritualistic), the sushi coma in picture six. It resonates.