My Binki.

"Everywhere I go, I see the same hoe."

Today, Alex && I will celebrate 12-glorious years together...

...apart.








.loveyoufam.

"Yer Hairs: From Faux Hawks to Pixie Cuts" - Post-Production

After hunting down some of my closest friends in order to gather some pretty fresh "hair" footage, the video is complete. I am pretty proud of my video, really, I am. I worked hard in selecting the best candidates for the job. Friends of mine that are very different from each other, that have very diverse looks, not only when it comes to their hair, but in general. All of my friends have extremely different personalities anyway, so that helped to make a very dynamic video.

All in all, I wouldn't say that the video project was difficult. I would say in short, it just took a good time management. It was up to us as students to set aside the time to get out there and shoot the footage that we needed. Not only did we have to align our schedules properly with those that we got footage of, but we had to do out best to make the footage that we were able to get, work best for our video.

I learned so much about iMovie and the ability to edit something that may seem set in stone. That was one really nice feature that I found very useful in doing the project. There were some parts of my footage that were too loud and others that were just way to quite. But, with the help of some research and playing around with iMovie, I was really able to put my own spin on the footage that I shot and add some really great final touches.

I've yet to show my friends that helped me create this video the final project. But I can't wait to do so. Many of them, if not all, have already asked me about it. They're just as enthusiastic about seeing the final product as they were about actually being in the video in the first place. I was lucky enough to have a group of people by my side that were willing from the very beginning to help out and be apart of such a cool project.

Abstract Portraiture.

When it comes to being able to identify myself for others, that’s where my artwork comes in to play. I mainly work with portraiture, abstracly. Ever since I began painting, I have been working on perfecting the portrait, self-portrait especially. But, not in a way that has been done before or that is traditional. I work with a lot of abstract imagery like pixalation, distortion, life-size and/or miniature. I am currently in progress with a series of art deco inspired self-portraits that have a bit of a 50’s pin-up girl like twist. I’ve yet to settle on exactly where I want to go with the concept, but I do know that I want to create a challenge for myself because I really think that as an artist, self-portraits are one of the concepts that we should be constatnly perfecting. When I say perfecting, I don’t mean creating them so that each and everyone turns out a certain way, but I mean developing them to the point where we’ve tried all kinds of ways to create images of our true self until we feel we’ve reached the highest peak, and even then, continue on. We are ever changing human beings, no matter how much we feel as though we’ve “found our true self”, there is always some growth to be done, so why put a standstill to said growth and its continuous process.

.Photoshop. Identity. Self-Identity.

Identity.

In philosophy, personal identity refers to the numerical identity of persons through time. That is to say, the conditions under which a person is said to be identical to himself or herself through time. Identity is an issue for both Continental Philosophy and Analytic Philosophy. A key question in Continental Philosophy is in what sense we can maintain the modern conception of identity, while realizing many of prior assumptions about the world are incorrect.

Self-Identity.

To me, identity is the make-up of an individual. The characteristics, the qualities, the specifics of a certain individual that makes them unique. People should want to set themselves apart from each other. Who would want to live in a world where everyone looked the same, dressed the same, acted the same, like all of the same things. One of the reasons why our world is so diverse are because differences lie within every individual in it. Being able to share one another’s interests and capabilities, hobbies, likes and dislikes is what makes this world one maginificent motropolis to live in and we should be grateful and apprecitive of such.

If I had to define myself, I would say that I am versitile and adaptable. I can really adapty myself to most any situation as well as demographic. I try to always make the best of any situation, and I know for a fact that that has helped me to successfully accomplish so much in my short thwenty-three years. I know there is a lot more for me to learn as I have a lot more life to live, but from my life experiences so far, I think the traits that I’ve adapted have served me well.

I think that identity is a little bit of who we are and who we would like to be in the future. Since many of us are still fairly young, I do think that we all have a lot more to learn about our character as young adults, but at the same time, we’ve reached an age where we can and still should be responsible for our actions and how we act, which is in a way, our character in itself. The people that we tend to spend most of our time with are the ones that help us to form our identity. Often times we tend to act a certain way, or say certain things in order to conform or adapt to the people that we’re around or the people we enjoy being around. I think that has a lot to do with modling into the kind of person you ultimately want to be, even if just for the time being.

Given time, I truly believe that one can change their identity. Once you start to notice certain traits and qualities about yourself that you find endearing and charming, maybe you will do your best to actively adapt those qualities and use them to help formulate the you that you’re hoping for. If there are qualities that you know you could work on, or have any desire to change, you can do the same in that same respect.

Jessie Talks Hairs.

"Yer Hairs: From Faux Hawks to Pixie Cuts" - Pre-Production

What inspired me to focus on the topic of hair was a documentary that Chris Rock did in 2009. The documentary was a comedy && was sparked primarily by Chris Rock;s 5-year old daughter. She asked him "Daddy, how come I don't have good hair?" && from there, he visited barbershops, hair salons, hair styling conventions, all with the hopes of learning the science behind chemical relaxers and straight, "good" hair.

The statement that I want to make with this documentary is that as human beings of all different races and backgrounds, there is one common ground between us all, our hair. Yes, our hairs come in different colors, textures, lengths, thicknesses etc. But when it comes down to the base, we all have it. Whether it's very little, a ton of it, too much to manage or the desire for more.

My video project will most likely end up being very similar to a documentary due to the fact that each person I film, follow or interview will be discussing with the audience and in a way, educating them, about their specific day-to-day hair routine. I've done my own research on my own texture of hair, but I want to use my friends as resources for information on other cultures and how they care for their hair.

I already have in mind the people that I want to interview. Most likely many of them will be close friends of mine. Some may be just women that I've met at the hair salon over the years. I've been going to the same one since I was in middle school. I made sure to consider their age, their race and the kind of hair they have. (ie. texture, color, length, style, thickness, shape) I kind of want to give a little background of who each character is before we actually get into talking about their hair, but at the same time, I'm not entirely sure if that's necessary.

So far I don't have a set set-up of where or how I want to shoot the material. I want each setting to be kind of neutral && relaxing. Like my friends && I chatting about hair in a coffee shop, on our walk to class, at work or hanging out at someone's apartment. I want it to seem as though we're having regular conversation, in this case, about each other's hair. That tends to happen a lot, depending on the situation && I think that will help with the relaxed, conversational nature of this piece. I do, however, want there to be certain breaks where I am just filming the character answering certain questions about their hair, each of them, that I can piece together at different points relative to the topic later on in the movie.

Tim @ Tiff.

Explore the art && imagination of Tim Burton: http://tiff.net/

Smokey thrills me.

"This shameful waste WEAKENS America! Remember, only YOU can prevent the madness!"

.Burton.

Life isn't easy.

For the Pin Cushion Queen.

When she sits alone, on her throne.

Pins push through her spleen.

Pancakes Fo' Dinnah!

.my funny valentine.

.circa summer 2009.

Yesssir, that was me you just heard,

whistling this entire chorus,

on my way out of Lagniappes.

Might I add,

holding a giant cup of veggie gumbo.

Goodnight, mah babies.

'Til we meet again...

:om nom nom:

James Brown - Get Up Offa That Thing

Challenge: Press play to this track. Practice moving your body in ways you never even imagined possible. Ready? Set? Boogie!

Whudat?

If you don't know...

...you better ask somebody.

"My Umi Says..."

Wiley, Kehinde.

Wiley's painting style has been compared to that of such traditional portraitists as Reynolds, Gainsborough, Titian and Ingres. The Columbus Museum of Art, which hosted an exhibition of his work in 2007, describes his work with the following: "Kehinde Wiley has gained recent acclaim for his heroic portraits which address the image && status of young African-American men in contemporary culture."

Wiley’s paintings often blur the boundaries between traditional && contemporary modes of representation. Rendered in a realistic mode–while making references to specific Old Master paintings–Wiley creates a fusion of period styles, ranging from French Rococo, Islamic architecture && West African textile design to urban hip hop && the "Sea Foam Green" of a Martha Stewart Interiors color swatch. Wiley's slightly larger than life size figures are depicted in a heroic manner, as their poses connote power && spiritual awakening. Wiley’s portrayal of masculinity is filtered through these poses of power && spirituality.

From Lions to Bears

Dreaming of playing the livest of musics. No wonder he was keeping time with his foot on my shin. "Your shin is the bass drum of my dreams.", he says. His sleeping bag sheltered us in the living room woods where we learned how our bodies worked. Danger bears, stay away. Let racoon hearts twist in the night. Twist, indeed, beneath the picturesque waterfall. Tender sounds mimick tender yernings. mmmhmm.