#Exploring Cultural Identity Through the Artwork of Colonial Latin American Artists

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Maison AfriKin: A Celebration of African Contemporary Art and Culture in Miami

Introduction

Miami’s art scene is globally renowned for its rich diversity and innovative expression, but few spaces celebrate the breadth and depth of African contemporary art like Maison AfriKin. Located in the heart of the city, Maison AfriKin is a dynamic art gallery and cultural platform that elevates Black Art in Miami. This institution shines a spotlight on African and Afro-Caribbean artistry, blending tradition with modernity to create a unique artistic experience. As Miami Art Week and Art Basel Miami Beach approach, Maison AfriKin takes center stage with exhibitions that explore African heritage, identity, and culture.

Through a thoughtfully curated collection of works, Maison AfriKin provides a space for visitors to engage with the rich history and contemporary narratives of Africa and the African diaspora. This gallery stands as a cultural hub where art, culture, and education intersect, making it a key player in promoting African Contemporary Art and culture in Miami.

Black Art in Miami: A Growing Movement

Over the past few decades, Black Art in Miami has seen tremendous growth, becoming a vital part of the city's creative landscape. Miami’s cultural diversity has allowed African American and African artists to thrive, contributing to the larger narrative of identity, resistance, and empowerment. Maison AfriKin is at the forefront of this movement, ensuring that the voices of African artists are heard, celebrated, and showcased on a global stage.

What makes Black Art in Miami particularly special is its fusion of African traditions with the cultural flavors of the Caribbean and Latin America. At Maison AfriKin, visitors encounter artwork that reflects the lived experiences of Black communities, exploring themes of migration, diaspora, and racial identity. Through painting, sculpture, multimedia, and performance, Maison AfriKin offers a platform for African artists to express their creative visions while contributing to Miami’s artistic identity.

African Contemporary Art and Culture in Miami

Maison AfriKin is committed to representing African Contemporary Art and culture in Miami. By curating exhibitions that feature both established and emerging African artists, the gallery bridges the gap between traditional African art forms and modern artistic expressions. It challenges the boundaries of what African art is and what it can be, offering new perspectives on African culture.

African contemporary art is a diverse and complex field that reflects the political, social, and economic realities of the continent. At Maison AfriKin, these realities are presented in visually stunning and thought-provoking ways. The gallery’s exhibitions often delve into the history of African art while also highlighting the current socio-political landscape of African nations, offering Miami audiences a deeper understanding of African culture. As Miami’s cultural diversity continues to expand, African contemporary art plays a vital role in enriching the city’s vibrant art scene.

Miami Art Week: A Global Platform for African Art

One of the most anticipated events in Miami’s cultural calendar is Miami Art Week, an annual celebration of art that attracts visitors, collectors, and curators from all over the world. During this week, Maison AfriKin hosts special exhibitions that focus on African contemporary art, drawing attention to the works of African artists who are often underrepresented in mainstream art spaces.

Miami Art Week provides Maison AfriKin with an unparalleled platform to showcase its unique exhibitions, creating an opportunity for Miami’s diverse audience to engage with African art in meaningful ways. These exhibitions often explore themes such as colonialism, cultural identity, and the African diaspora, using art as a medium for storytelling and cultural expression. As part of Miami Art Week, Maison AfriKin’s gallery space becomes a focal point for Black Art in Miami, allowing visitors to explore the richness and diversity of African contemporary art.

Art Basel Miami Beach: Spotlight on Black Art Exhibit

No discussion of Miami’s art scene is complete without mentioning Art Basel Miami Beach, one of the largest and most prestigious art fairs in the world. Maison AfriKin takes part in this international event, showcasing its renowned Art Basel Miami Beach Black Art Exhibit. This exhibit highlights the works of African and Afro-Caribbean artists, focusing on themes of identity, heritage, and cultural resistance.

The Art Basel Miami Beach Black Art Exhibit at Maison AfriKin is an opportunity for African artists to engage with a global audience, breaking down barriers and challenging the traditional narratives that have often excluded Black art from mainstream platforms. Through bold and innovative exhibitions, Maison AfriKin is contributing to a larger dialogue about race, identity, and the role of art in shaping cultural understanding. For collectors and art enthusiasts attending Art Basel Miami Beach, this exhibit offers an important space to experience the profound impact of African contemporary art.

The African Art Gallery in Miami: A Cultural Sanctuary

Maison AfriKin is not just an art gallery; it is a cultural sanctuary where African art and culture are preserved, celebrated, and shared with the world. As an African art gallery in Miami, Maison AfriKin curates collections that are deeply rooted in African history, culture, and heritage. The gallery serves as a bridge between the African continent and the African diaspora, fostering cultural exchange and understanding through the medium of art.

What sets Maison AfriKin apart from other galleries is its commitment to promoting African artists and cultural practitioners who often face limited access to mainstream art platforms. By offering them a space to showcase their work, Maison AfriKin plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of African contemporary art. The gallery's exhibitions are not only visually captivating but also intellectually stimulating, offering Miami's art lovers an immersive experience that challenges their perceptions of African art.

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Faculty Guest BloggerS: Dr. Christ Irwin & Dr. Ashley Hartman

Dr. Irwin & Dr. Hartman: In November 2019, we had the great opportunity to visit Buenos Aires, Argentina to present our work at the Twelfth International Conference on The Inclusive Museum at the Museo de la Inmigracion MUNTREF.  The Inclusive Museum conference offers opportunities for conversation among international scholars and curators about interdisciplinary work, emphasizing inclusive and interactive practices in the museum.

We organized a session at the conference to explore how we might collaborate to draw on each other’s research.  Our session was a focused discussion titled Exploring Cultural Identity Through the Artwork of Colonial Latin American Artists.  While it is more typical at academic conferences for scholars to organize sessions composed of a handful of speakers who each present 20-minute papers that are united by some theme, we opted for a focused discussion so that we could each briefly present our research, and then pose questions to the audience in order to generate productive conversations about our ideas.

We are both expanding on the themes relevant to each of their dissertation research emphases, and since Marywood’s Art Department offers the opportunity for such interdisciplinary connections, they have been exploring ways in which art history and art therapy can work together intellectually, conceptually, and in practice. We had discussed possible collaborations since beginning to work together in Fall 2018, but found an opportunity to attend a conference together when this event came up. Below is a brief summary of our work, from each of our points of view.

Dr. Irwin:

“My research focuses on three Italian artists who traveled to Lima, Peru in the sixteenth century as part of the Spanish mission to convert the indigenous populations to Christianity.  Their Christian-themed paintings served to teach religious narrative and ideals.  The paintings also introduced the European Renaissance style of art.  I am interested in considering these paintings as tools used not only to teach Christianity, but also weapons used in the campaign to destroy indigenous belief and culture. These Italian paintings are dramatically different in style and conception from the traditions of local art that had persisted for centuries in the Andes prior to Spanish conquest.  The European art represents one way of seeing the world and making art, while Andean art represents a very different way of seeing.”

Dr. Hartman:

“This opportunity allowed the stimulation and discussion of a continuation of my work in exploring the interdisciplinary nature of museum-based art therapy. It allowed us to emphasize the importance of identity development, particularly how art therapists can use different processes in the museum to promote self-expression and dialogue about convoluted sociopolitical issues as well as offer the facilitation of exploration of cultural identity through engaging with artworks and museum objects in the gallery, and subsequently creating personal artwork and reflecting on such themes.”

We plan to continue approaching ways to collaborate through pedagogical practice as well as conceptually and theoretically.

While our primary reason for visiting Argentina was to present at this conference, we did take some time to tour Buenos Aires, including visits to the Latin American Art Museum (MALBA) and the Fine Arts Museum (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes).  We also enjoyed the local cuisine (a lot of it!), including Argentinian barbecue, Cafe con Leche, empanadas, and arepas, to name just a few of our indulgences.  Buenos Aires is a large, cosmopolitan, international city—we both commented that at times we felt we were in Paris, and at other times, Brooklyn!

Learn more about Dr Irwin

Learn more about Dr Hartman

This month's faculty guest blog post features 2 faculty, Dr Irwin & Dr Hartman in "The Inclusive Museum Conference" Faculty Guest BloggerS: Dr. Christ Irwin & Dr. Ashley Hartman Dr. Irwin & Dr. Hartman: In November 2019, we had the great opportunity to visit Buenos Aires, Argentina to present our work at the Twelfth International Conference on The Inclusive Museum at the Museo de la Inmigracion MUNTREF. 

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Looks Like Frida: The Problem with the Frida Barbie

Recently, Mattel produced a new range of Barbie dolls. The range, designed to represent inspiring women, features dolls based on athletes, artists, scientists and film directors, amongst other professions. In the glossy publicity images, nestled snugly between Amelia Earhart and Katherine Johnson, sits a doll with flowers on her dark up-do, a few stray hairs between her brows suggesting her iconic monobrow.

Amelia Earhart, Frida Kahlo and Katherine Johnson as Barbie dolls 

Of course, Mattel is striving to keep its profit margins healthy in a struggling industry of toy manufacturing. The corporation is also trying to deflect years of criticism around the Barbie franchise and the hideously unrealistic proportions of the Barbie body. Unsurprisingly, the Frida doll has drawn a huge amount of criticism.

A lot of this criticism comes from feminist circles, where the idea of a Frida doll, softened and sculpted into a vaguely ethnic Barbie mould, has been thoroughly rejected. And that criticism has a lot of merit. Frida has become a feminist icon, inspiring generations with her fearless exploration of femininity, the body and the self.

But western feminist thought cannot completely contain the entire argument as to why the Frida Kahlo Barbie not only disrespects her memory, but also the politics in which she very deliberately placed herself. While it is fine to discuss the way Kahlo would have likely abhorred the unrealistic body proportions of her little plastic representation, it is also important to discuss how Kahlo, and her legacy, have become distilled down into a toothless symbol of generic resistance, stripped of her ethnic heritage until she becomes a universal catch-all for womanhood, performed as fridge magnets, phone cases and tote bags.

Frida as a symbol

Firstly, we must look at how Fridamania became as it was. Although Kahlo enjoyed a relatively successful career in her lifetime, it wasn’t until after she died that she began to be lauded as an international feminist symbol. After a biography was published by 1983 by Hayden Herrera, Kahlo shot from artist to celebrity. Her work underwent a massive revival and during the 1980s and 1990s, the price of her work skyrocketed. In fact, it wasn’t only her artwork which shot up in value - in November 2000, at a Sotheby's Latin American art auction in New York, a box of Kahlo memorabilia, including ribbons, photographs and dried flowers, sold for over $55,000 USD. At exhibitions of her work, you will find not only the usual memorabilia of postcards, posters or t-shirts. Now, the ranges of Frida-inspired products include jewellery, cosmetics and cookbooks. A quick search on Google reveals depictions of Kahlo on nail varnish bottles, back packs and even, bizarrely, as a Daft Punk fan.

Whoever made this, turn on your location. I just want to talk. 

Kahlo was even the subject of a 2003 biopic, Frida, perhaps the nail that sealed the coffin - we can no longer differentiate between Kahlo’s work and the enthralling drama of her life. In Devouring Frida: Art History and Popular Celebrity of Frida Kahlo, 1999, Margaret Lindauer writes, 

'the drama of her life has become zealously coupled with her paintings. Indeed, there often is little distinction between Kahlo and her paintings, which converge into a single entity, Frida's-life-and-art.'

Of course, it is natural in some ways to want to relate the life of an artist to their work - it is an established technique of literary and art criticism. But to solely interpret Kahlo’s art through her life is to do a great injustice to her work and reduces it to the story of a single woman, as opposed to recognising it as a rich tapestry which draws upon a vivid cultural and political landscape.

To truly understand the essentialism of Kahlo, we have to look at the wider view of how artists from outside the traditionally narrow scope of the Western art canon - in particular, Latin American artists - have been interpreted.

Looks like Frida

Gerardo Mosquera wrote in his 1992 essay, The Marco Polo Syndrome, Some Problems Around Art and Eurocentrism,

Third World artists are constantly asked to display their identity, to be fantastic, to look like no one else or to look like Frida... The relatively high prices achieved by Latin American art at the great auctions have been assigned to painters who satisfy the expectations of a more or less stereotyped Latin-Americanicity, able to fulfil the new demand for exoticism at the centres. As a consequence, Rivera is valued well above Orozco, Remedios Varo more than Torres García, and Botero considerably more than Reverón.

By this, Mosquera means that the Western art world - and the Western art market - demands a sort of twisted “authenticity” from artists from outside of its narrow scope. These artists must be completely unique or must fit into an already established, comfortable, understandable mould, shaped by artists like Kahlo who have been accepted into the canon (in a narrow, binding way, something that we’ll return to later). Where those artists do not comply with this, they are undervalued and held to be “derivative” of Western practice.

This was horribly exemplified by Jean Fisher, who, in her essay The Syncretic Turn, Cross-Cultural Practises in the Age of Multiculturalism, 1996, wrote about the posthumous retrospective of the Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica at the Witte de With in Rotterdam in 1992. European art critics were heard to remark that, while they recognised Oiticica's conceptual thinking, it was “inauthentic” - his practise was just a reflection of Euroamerican practice, and therefore was not “Brazilian” enough.

Hélio Oiticica’s Grand Nucleus Grande Núcleo, 1960–66

Kahlo as a brand

Unlike poor Oiticica, Kahlo has remained as the commercially and critically acceptable face of Latin American art, and much of this is due to the Kahlo brand and the way that her identity was boiled down. The essentialism of Frida Kahlo allowed her to be turned into a non-threatening and marketable product. In Isabel Molina-Guzman’s 2010 book, Dangerous Curves: Latina Bodies in the Media, the author writes:

Central to mainstream media representations of Latinidad is the production of ethnic authenticity, of an authentic ethnic or panethnic identity often grounded in familiar and marketable characteristics. Furthermore, media produced by U.S. ethnic and racial minorities equally depend on a mode of 'strategic essentialism' to produce authenticity.

Molina-Guzman was writing specifically about the film Frida, but her words are applicable too to the mass-branding of Kahlo. “Strategic essentialism” here refers to a strategy which is discussed in post-colonial theory where oppressed groups simplify their mass identity, even when there are vast differences between members of the group, in order to achieve certain goals. However, as Molina-Guzman writes, this same tactic is also used by the creators of the film - and the wider art market and media - in order to create the kind of “authentic” identity that was not granted to Hélio Oiticica. The producers and director of the film created a very specific interpretation of Mexican identity in order to create a piece of media which is commercially viable in the Western world. Molina-Guzman writes:

the characterization of Kahlo as an anti-establishment, defiant rule-breaker remains consistently romanticized within global popular culture—making her an alluring and profitable multicultural and political icon for contemporary audiences invested in multicultural identity politics.

This essentialism of Kahlo’s identity is applicable not just to the biographical film made about her, but also to the way that Kahlo is now interpreted by the Western art world as a whole, and by the audiences hungry for a taste of non-threatening ethnic glamour.

Frida as generic radicalism

This essentialism of Kahlo, and therefore the distillation of the Mexican identity into a marketable product, is of course something that can - and has been - exploited by the free market in order to make profit. Not only can one buy countless Frida-inspired products, but one can now also use them to signal a type of political affiliation which says very little at all, a politics which has been watered down by capitalism into easy to swallow, vague ideas of non-conformity. These politics have little to nothing left of Frida’s revolutionary spirit.

Do you want to suggest - but not too radically - a half-hearted idea of individualism? Why not use the Frida Kahlo emoji pack (the creator of which, Sam Cantor, by the way, said: “Frida was just perfect for the project. She conveyed her emotions so honestly and openly in her work. What better artist to translate into emoji, which we use to express emotion today?”)? Like Theresa May, do you want to project an image that of feminism, of loving and protecting women, while actively working to destroy the support systems which have helped to provide women with a basic standard of living? Why not wear a bracelet with her self portraits on it as you rally your troops to further dismantle the welfare state?

Honestly, I have no idea what emotion this is supposed to convey. 

The image of Frida Kahlo has become so generic now that Oriana Baddeley, in her essay Reflecting on Kahlo: Mirrors, Masquerade and the Politics of Identification, wrote:

By the end of the twentieth century Kahlo's signature mono-brow had become recognisable to a mass audience outside of those interested in Mexican art history or Surrealism. Her self-portraits appeared on fashionable clothing and accessories. The face of Frida was used with the same regularity, and often with a shared symbolism, as images of Che Guevara or Bob Marley, so that her art and her appearance were forever confused in the public imagination. By buying into this Frida, the consumer can declare a non-specific radicalism, an acceptable declaration of nonconformity. As one contemporary website sales line puts it: 'Give your vehicle the revolutionary spirit with a Frida Kahlo car window decal.'

The image of Kahlo has become so distorted that we can no longer differentiate between Kahlo, the revolutionary Marxist artist, and the Barbie doll wearing a red shawl as a subtle nod towards her ethnicity.

Frida Kahlo’s politics

Of course, there is another reason why Kahlo would have likely hated the legacy which has resulted in the doll. While the world has not dwelled heavily on Kahlo’s politics, she was a communist, her politics and world view heavily influenced by Marx. She was a member of the Mexican Communist Party, although left when her husband, Diego Rivera, was expelled. At her funeral, her casket was draped with a red flag as mourners sang The Internationale.

Her 1954 painting, Marxism Will Give Health to the Ill, depicts the disembodied head of Karl Marx floating above her, his god-like hands gently embracing her as she casts off her crutches and walks unaided. The painting, a metaphor for her belief that Marxism could heal the world, shows the strangling of a bald eagle, neatly dividing the image into good versus evil, the power of the people versus the imperialism of the powerful state.  

Marxism Will Give Health to the Ill, 1954

In order to truly do justice to Kahlo’s work, we must never forget the politics which shaped her worldview and influenced her art. Part of this is about rejecting the vapid representations of her which have been so readily commercialised - the fashionable t-shirts, the twee cookbooks and, yes, the doll. But we must also remember that Kahlo’s identity was not a tool to be used to signal our own radicalness or gender politics. We must remember that it is not useful to pick or choose from her rich, complex identity the parts which best support our own agendas. As Kahlo wrote in her diary, she was:

Always revolutionary, never dead, never useless

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Tattoo Art: Living Galleries Through History

Tattoos have existed for millennia. Currently, the oldest known tattoos are from the Alps mountains on Ötzi which date from 3250BC and the oldest known decorative tattoos are from Egypt dating to 3351 - 3017BCE. They existed as a form of magic or medicine or branding for slaves and criminals, before becoming a form of identity, expression and artwork. Since around the 1800's, though, tattoos have been increasing in sophistication, design, artform and popularity. Tattoos are now incredibly popular and probably every city in the world has at least one, if not many more, tattoo shops and artists. Tattooing was by no means 'discovered' by white people but since the practice had been through phases of popularity in Europe, they were quick to forget and quick to become fascinated by tattoos. Following the age of colonialism and ideas of European superiority, tattoos were often labelled as barbaric or primitive and were used as a way to further discriminate against people in 'discovered' lands. A really surprising fact that I discovered while researching this topic was that in Latin the word used to refer to tattoos was 'stigmata' which is also the root word for stigmatise, tattoos often literally were symbols of stigmas.

Tattoos Through Ancient History

One of the most common misconceptions in the history of tattooing is that tattoos were brought back to the UK and the West on the Cook voyages of the 1790s. As can be seen from tattooed mummies across the globe and dating from across almost the entire history of humanity, tattooing as a practice has been recurrent. Whatever the context or purpose of the tattoo, whether for identity, medicine, status, religion, or whatever tattoos have been used across many cultures and times. The cook voyages simply brought back the word tattoo - from the Polynesian tatau or tatu. Before Cook's journeys introduced this word tattooing was known as 'painting' 'scarring' 'staining' stitching' and a host of other words were used to describe the practice. Tattoos have been used as a means of identifying people and animals, along with branding, for centuries: facial tattoos to denote punishment for crimes or to indicate status as a slave were used in the Chinese Zhou and Roman Empire time periods - until Emperor Constantine banned the practice of facial tattoos in AD330 and the Second Council of Nicaea banned all tattooing as 'pagan' in AD787. Runaway slaves were commonly tattooed on their face with 'FUG' for fugitive. In ancient Egypt there is evidence of medical tattooing first 'discovered' by Daniel Fouquet in 1898. He found mummies with tattoos and scarification which didn't appear to be decorative and speculated that they were "an established treatment for a condition of the pelvis, very probably chronic pelvic peritonitis."

The negative European influence on the Maori population of New Zealand first started with trading for moko tattoos, which were acquired by Maori people hunting and decapitating each other, and later by imposed Christian values by missionaries who discouraged and disliked the tattooing practice, something that has been repeated the world over. Tattooing was practiced widely in the Austronesian region, thought to have been developed before 1500BCE. 'Needles' were commonly made from Citrus thorns, fish bone, bone and oyster shells. Other ethnolinguistic groups who observed a practice of tattooing include the Ainu of Japan, some Austroasians of Indochina, Berber women of Tamazgha, Yoruba, Fulani and Hausa of Nigeria, Pre-Columbian Native Americans, and Iron Age British Picts.

Throughout history from around the 1500s to 1900s many many people were kidnapped or tricked into travelling back to Europe by early explorers and were often presented at the royal court or put on display as 'curiosities' to be gawked at, especially if they had tattoos across their bodies. Many of these are terribly sad stories of exploitation by white Europeans and often end in death by being exposed to illnesses their immune systems could not handle. "In 1565, French sailors abducted from Canada an Inuit woman with facial tattoos and her daughter. They put them on public display in Antwerp, the Netherlands, drawing crowds for money. Sir Martin Frobisher, an English privateer, also abducted an Inuit man from Baffin Island, putting him on display in London before he died from European diseases. Frobisher returned to Baffin Island and abducted a man, a woman, and a child, also taking them back to London for public display. They also died from illness shortly afterwards." William Dampier, a member and financier of Captain Cook's famous voyages bought a slave called Jeoly from Miangas Island in 1690. Jeoly, nicknamed the 'painted prince' was put on display across Europe and Dampier described his tattoos as covering most of his body with a 'great variety of lines, flourishes, chequered-work, &c.'

Tattoos Through Cultural Context

The methods of tattooing are varied and extensive, but they all involve puncturing the skin to insert a pigment into the epidermis where it remains trapped as the body heals the wound. Some cultures created tattoos by fashioning 'needles' out of shell or bone and creating lines by joining punctured dots of pigment together. Some cultures cut the design into the skin first and then rubbed the pigment into the wound. Today, the tattoo machine is most commonly used to insert pigment into the skin which utilises modern hygiene methods to reduce the risk of infection.

Among men of Austronesian societies, such as the Ifugao and Dayak, tattooing was an integral part of head-hunting culture where they served as a record of the number of kills a warrior had done in battle. Tattoos were also used in initiation rites into adulthood across Austronesia. A warrior's status was inscribed into his skin; the design, placement and number of tattoos indicated prowess and success in battle. Among Austronesian women, facial tattoos denoted status, skill and beauty and were often used as a symbol that a girl had reached marriageable age. Among Visayans of the Phillipines, tattoos were worn by nobility and warriors as records success in mangayaw raids.

Tattoos were also commonly used across the globe as magical wards against dangerous spirits or illnesses. Among the Ainu of Japan, who have mythology of tattooing practice coming from the sister of the creator god, Turesh Machi, and who faced much persecution by the Japanese authorities for continuing this culturally significant practice, tattoos were believed to stop evil spirits from entering the body and causing illness or misfortune. They also had specific tattoos placed around the body to serve as charms against illness and disease. Tattoos were used by Ancient Egyptians to depict dedication to a God and protection from evils. As Vanishing Tattoo states, "Largely administered by holy monks, sagacious tribal elders, and layman tattooists, the esoteric art was not only believed to provide its wearers with indelible protection from a variety of misfortunes, but also the mystical power to influence other peoples’ behaviour, carry the deceased safely into the afterlife, or simply increase a person’s 'luck.'" It could also be argued that the Catholic Croats in Bosnia tattooed women and children to protect them against a perceived 'evil', that of conversion to Islam during the Ottoman rule.

Native Americans, such as Seminole, Cherokee, Cree, Yurok, Tolowa, Hupa, Chimariko and Creek, used tattooing as a form of identity and belonging to their tribe. Obviously there is a huge range of cultural differences between each Native American community: the Cree had men covered entirely with tattoos while restricting women to only three or four lines on the face; for the Yurok tattooing was more popular among the women than the men, where a woman's age would be indicated by a line tattooed on the chin roughly every five years. Some communities even had tattooed size guides for seashells which were used as a form of currency. The Yuma used tattoos to denote status and community as well as to decorate warriors to appear more fierce - "they believed access to the afterlife would be denied to those who wore no tattoos."

Because tattoos were used to mark criminals and slaves, tattoos themselves, and by extension the people who have them, often face stigma and discrimination - the ink in their skin being culturally associated with criminality and deviance for centuries. In many cases, tattoos are considered an integral part of gang and mafia culture - often specific images and words are used to indicate membership and allegiance. Since the 60s and 70s tattoos have also been associated with social outcast groups such as bikers and prisoners, which has further played into the stereotypes of people with tattoos. Many prison inmates still tattoo themselves today, using whatever materials they can get their hands on. In China, tattoos are still considered taboo. The association between criminals and tattoos was a huge influence on this. Criminals were often tattooed to mark them and ostracise them from society. In Japan, tattoos were outlawed in the 19th Century by the Meiji Government - this wasn't repealed until 1948. In the city of Osaka employees are forbidden from getting new tattoos and all pre-existing tattoos are required to be covered completely, or removed. There is a strong and prevailing cultural link in Japan between tattoos and organised crime, yakuza. A project by Fukushi Masaichi's tattoo association was undertaken to collect and preserve the tattooed skins of dead Japanese people. A similar project to promote the art of tattoos was an exhibition by the Museum of Croydon called Beyond Skin.

Tattoos are often used symbolically to represent everything from a loved one, to a favourite sport, to prison sentences. For example, the teardrop tattoo has been said to represent murders committed or the death of a friend. US military personnel have an equally symbolic use of tattoos to mark identity, membership of particular regiments, battles participated in, murders and loved ones. Many companies now are trying to promote diversity and inclusion in employees, and many people are seeing less discrimination based on tattoos and their negative stereotypes.

Many different religions have expressed as many different viewpoints and levels of acceptance or tolerance towards tattoos - some completely prohibit their followers from getting tattoos, such as some Jewish traditions and Sunni Islam, while others, such as Hinduism and Neopaganism, show acceptance. Others still, such as Christianity remain undecided and some religions like Buddhism incorporate tattoos into their spiritual practice, known as sak yant.

Tattoos Through the 19th and 20th Centuries

Tattoos have been used administratively as a very literal form of identity. In 18th Century Thailand, tattoos were used to denote administrative identity - army officers, couriers, grass cutters, slaves and criminals all had distinctly unique tattoo designs and placements to denote their profession and to distinguish themselves from other departments. There were even different tattoos for corvée exemption due to illness or old age. As is commonly known, tattoos were used by the Nazi's in Auschwitz to identify registered prisoners with a complex numerical system. Many people alive today still bear this mark of their horror and trauma from life under the Nazi's. The SS were also tattooed with their blood group in WW2 to aid in any necessary medical treatment. Many SS members later shot themselves in the arm so as to remove the very identifying symbol of their Nazi involvement.

In Britain the first person to define their profession as 'tattoo artist' was Sutherland MacDonald in London in 1894. Prior to the 1870s tattoos were still very much associated with the 'lower classes' i.e. criminals and sailors, however the practice was soon coveted by the wealthy upper classes of Britain. Many of the royal family sported tattoos as a symbol of their wealth and style - since tattooing in the late 1800s was still a very time consuming and expensive practice. The invention in 1891 by Samuel O'Reilly of the tattoo machine, an adaptation of Thomas Edison's electric pen machine, meant that tattoos became cheaper and easier to produce so the practice dropped out of fashion among wealthier citizens. Tattoo art didn't really become considered as a legitimate career choice until the 1980s. More than 5000 people declared 'tattoo artist' as their professional title when in 1975 there had only been 40. In Australia, Fred Harris was considered the only tattoo artist in Sydney between 1916 and 1943. Throughout Harris' career, he tattooed mostly sailors but he also saw a trend of women getting their legs tattooed so the designs could be seen through their stockings. Throughout the 20th Century there is evidence of women getting tattoos, often ones that could be hidden well under clothing. There are even records of a female tattoo artist from the 1920s called Jessie Knight. An interesting exhibition which really put her work and career on display was held in Cornwall in the Maritime Museum.

The use of tattoos as a distinguishing identification feature was established in the 1800s as part of the 'protection papers' as a way for American sailors to avoid being impressed to the British royal navy. Prior to the use of tattoos as identification in the papers, the descriptions of the named individuals were too generic and often not accepted by British Captains. "In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, tattoos were as much about self-expression as they were about having a unique way to identify a sailor's body should he be lost at sea or impressed by the British navy." Until the onset of World War One there was a huge demand by sailors, usually British and American, for tattoo artists in ports across the world. This demand was addressed by the the first recorded professional tattoo artist German born Martin Hildebrandt who opened a shop in New York City in 1846. His career mostly consisted of travelling between camps of soldiers in the American Civil War. Following the 1960s and 70s there was a marked increase in bikers' groups and tattooing became a strong marker of identity for these groups - similar to other groups like gangs and prisoners.

Tattoos Today

In 2006 the results of a survey by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that 36% of Americans aged 18-29, 24% of 30-40 year olds and 15% of Americans who were 41-51 had a tattoo. A similar survey by the Pew Research Centre found that 40% of Americans aged 26-40 had a tattoo. "They concluded that Generation X and Millennials express themselves through their appearance, and tattoos are a popular form of self-expression." Tattoos have even been used as the basis for, and advertisement of, logo designs. For example, Macy's logo is based off of a tattoo that the founder had on his hand. The practice of "skinvertising" has been used by brands such as HBO, Red Bull, ASOS and Sailor Jerry's.

Growing popularity can be seen for permanent makeup tattoos and for artistic tattoos to be used to cover up scars, such as from mastectomy, and perceived imperfections, like stretch marks. There is also high popularity for tattooing nipples after breast reconstruction following mastectomy. Permanent makeup includes tattooing pigment on eyebrows, lips and eyes - usually done with very natural colour shades to enhance a persons appearance. More recently, there has been a marked increase in the trend of 'stick and poke' or 'DIY' tattoos - with a few companies even offering complete kits to ensure hygienic practice. There is a motive for girls and women with low self-esteem and negative body feelings to get tattoos as a way to reclaim control of their bodies and search for their own identities. The increase of women getting tattoos, especially visible tattoos, is helping to change the stereotypes and stigmas associated with tattoos. Beverly Yuen Thompson interviewed many women across America in 'Covered in Ink' to look at the interaction between reactions to tattooed women in the general public and within families. She found that younger generations tend to be more accepting and generally unbothered by other's tattoos as compared to their older counterparts. Within family units, the reactions that women faced after getting a tattoo ranged from acceptance to disowning. Thompson noticed a correlation between the existing familial relationship and the post-tattoo reaction - those that were emotionally accepting of their female relatives were able to maintain close relationships despite a personal dislike to inked art.

In 2006 the results of a survey by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that 36% of Americans aged 18-29, 24% of 30-40 year olds and 15% of Americans who were 41-51 had a tattoo. A similar survey by the Pew Research Centre found that 40% of Americans aged 26-40 had a tattoo. "They concluded that Generation X and Millennials express themselves through their appearance, and tattoos are a popular form of self-expression." (wiki/tattoo) Tattoos have even been used as the basis for, and advertisement of, logo designs. For example, Macy's logo is based off of a tattoo that the founder had on his hand. The practice of "skinvertising" has been used by brands such as HBO, Red Bull, ASOS and Sailor Jerry's.

Further Reading and References

Tattoos

Tattooing Among the Ainu

Tattoos in Indochina

Berber Womens Tattoos

Last Batok Artist in the Philipines

Lady of Cao

Ta Moko of New Zealand

Tattoos in the Arctic Circle

Tattooing History

Permanent Makeup

Medical Tattoos

Religious Perspectives

Tattoos in Papua New Guinea

Cook Tattoo Myth

Nazi Prisoner Tattoos

Mastectomy Tattoos

Nipple Reconstruction Tattoos

Tattooed Mummy

Otzi’s Tattoos

Egyptian Mummy Tattoos

Indian King’s Tattoos

Religious Opinions

Tattoo Gallery

Psychology of Tattoos

Why Do People Get Tattoos

Jessie Knight - Britain’s First Female Tattoo Artist

Native American Tattoos

[tropicalfete]

New Post has been published on http://tropicalfete.com/2018/02/27/bordering-the-imaginary-art-from-dominican-republic-haiti-and-their-diasporas-at-bric-march-15-april-9/

"Bordering the Imaginary: Art from Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Their Diasporas" at BRIC, March 15 - April 9

Exhibition Brings Together Dominican and Haitian Artists Who Investigate the Complicated Relationship Between the Two Nations

an exhibition of contemporary artworks using an array of media tomine the interrelated histories of two Caribbean countries that share a single island, their tradition of cultural and social exchange, and the racism and social injustices that have long impacted the people of both nations. The exhibition, sponsored by Goya, brings together Dominican and Haitian artists based in both the island and in the U.S., creating a vivid visual narrative and opportunities for discourse that reconsider differences and commonalities between the distinct but intertwined communities of these countries. Through the exhibition, accompanying catalogue, and public programs, Bordering the Imaginary investigates definitions of nationhood as it relates to these two adjacent countries whose shared border bears a brutally racialized history, yet has also managed to persist as a space of cultural fluidity and collaboration.

“We’re very excited to present a rich cross-cultural dialogue that underscores the possibility of exchange, interaction, and open borders,” said Elizabeth Ferrer, BRIC’s Vice President of Contemporary Art. “Focusing on the vital artistic contributions of artists of Haitian and Dominican descent, this exhibition amply reflects BRIC’s mission to reflect the creativity and diversity of Brooklyn as well as to make cultural programming genuinely accessible and relevant to a broad public.”

Bordering the Imaginary features artwork by Edouard Duval-Carrié, Vladimir Cybil Charlier, Patrick Eugène, iliana emilia garcia, Scherezade Garcia, Leah Gordon with André Eugène & Evel Romain from atis rezistans, Fabiola Jean-Louis, Tessa Mars, Pascal Meccariello, Groana Meléndez, Alex Morel, Raquel Paiewonsky, Raúl Recio, Freddy Rodríguez, Julia Santos Solomon, Nyugen E. Smith, and Roberto Stephenson.

The exhibit, curated by Abigail Lapin Dardashti, a Franco-Dominican American Ph.D. candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center and specialist in postwar Latin American art, is organized into four parts. The first, Revolutions and Unifications: The Contemporary Resonance of 19th Century History,explores how both Dominican and Haitian contemporary artists repurpose images and ideas from the 19th century in order to recover the history of cultural and socio-political exchange during this period, up until the murderous anti-Haitian reign of Dominican Dictator Rafael Trujillo. In the works here, artists like Freddy Rodríguez and Vladimir Cybil Charlier take up subjects such as the Maroons—Africans who escaped slavery and lived in hiding in the island’s mountainous regions, who managed to organize and insurrect. Other artists explore the 1791 slave revolt that evolved into the Haitian Revolution. The latter is illustrated in work by Tessa Mars, whose self-portraits see her envisioning herself as various Haitian revolutionary leaders.

The 1800s saw moments of unity on Hispaniola, and the embrace of blackness in the Dominican Republic, prior to Trujillo’s tyrannically “whitening” rule. Works in this section also look into the religious impositions of colonialism, the sexual economy of slavery, the exploitation of black bodies in the creation of white wealth, and the Dominican Republic’s independence.

The second part of the exhibit, Borders, Fragmentations, and Intertwinings, explores the border itself, a political demarcation that has been both the site of violence and porous exchange between Dominicans and Haitians. Dominican artist Pascal Meccariello’s installation Mapping on Broken History, for instance, uses fragmented maps and pages from Dominican and Haitian history textbooks; he covers his fluid rendering of the island with images of Trujillo, at once demonstrating the remnants of colonialism and the endurance of fluidity despite it. Edourd Duval-Carrié’s acrylic work, El tigere y el congo, pictured above, depicts, on either side of the river that runs along the border, concepts of masculinity and power in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Another work, the film Ti tonton bat tanbou (Little Uncle Plays the Drums), made by Haitian artists André Eugène and Evel Romain and British artist Leah Gordon, is an artistic gesture towards the transcendence of the borderline, and a transnational Hispaniolan sensibility, documenting wooden figurines made in the artists’ studio crossing the border and being sold to tourists in the Dominican Republic. The works in this section depict how the identities of residents in Hispaniola and the diaspora intertwine and crystallize, forming new characteristics that go beyond those assigned by the nation-states.

Bodies Transformed, the third section, features works that reject traditional portraiture while representing identity through commonplace objects specific to Hispaniola in order to challenge race-based definitions of identity. Responding to this idea, Dominican-American artist iliana emilia garcía contributes a major, site-specific installation, The Sage and the Dreamer, composed of handmade wood and straw chairs sold throughout the countryside in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Wrapped around a pillar in BRIC’s gallery and approximately 20 feet tall, the chairs resemble a tree and act as a symbol of individuality, domesticity and communal exchange between Haitians and Dominicans. Also drawing on objects’ ability to elicit the complexities of a place, in his Made in Haiti series, photographer Roberto Stephenson collects handmade objects from the streets of Port-au-Prince, and sheds new light on their intricate detail and the creative ingenuity of people who make due with so little.

The final section of the exhibition, Memories of a Utopian Island and the Future, is a collaboration between Haitian-American artist Vladimir Cybil Charlier and Dominican-American artist Scherezade Garcia to be presented in BRIC’s Project Room. It features animated videos and an installation, and addresses various contemporary issues related to the diaspora. One such video is Conversation Thread, which sees the artists speaking French, English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole as their silhouettes intertwine. Lapin Dardashti writes, “Memories of a Utopian Island does not claim a sameness between the two countries. Indeed, numerous works in Bordering the Imaginary express distinct aspects of each nation … The countries maintain different cultures and modes of self-definition, but also share many cultural, economic, and historical notions that complicate the kinds of identities constructed by political powers.” Bordering the Imaginary aims to challenge these historically embedded categories, wrought as they often are by racist ideologies, through creativity and collaboration.

Related BRIC Artist Residency (Dominican Republic)

In conjunction with Goya’s lead sponsorship of the exhibition and as part of the company’s Goya Gives initiative, BRIC will facilitate an artist residency at the Orfanato Niños de Cristo orphanage in La Romana, located on the Dominican / Haitian border, and founded by Henry Cardenas and Marc Anthony of the Maestro Cares Foundation.  “We are honored to be the lead sponsor of the new BRIC exhibition and value organizations like BRIC who share the same mission in bringing communities together,” said Rafael Toro, Director of Public Relations of Goya Foods.

Exhibiting artist iliana emilia garcía will travel to the Dominican Republic to spend time with the children and deliver hands-on art workshops over a number of days, with the sessions culminating in a group project for public installation. BRIC’s community investment begins in Brooklyn through our Arts for All approach but extends far beyond.

[isslibrary]

New Books (September Part II)

Sorted by Call Number / Author. New books are shelved in the "New Books" Section of the Slaughter Reading Room under the superhero posters. Books marked "On Reserve" are in Mrs VanHorn's office for use by faculty or students in particular classes-- just ask us if you can't find something. Librarians like to help you.

Thank you to the Wiatreks and Dr. Thomas for donating many of these materials!

142.78 B

Barrett, William, 1913-. Irrational man : a study in existential philosophy. Anchor Books ed. New York : Anchor Books, 1990. Addresses existentialist philosophy in America during the 1990s with a discussion of the roots of existentialism and personal views from some of the foremost existentialists such as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Sartre.

174.28 W

Washington, Harriet A. Medical apartheid : the dark history of medical experimentation on Black Americans from colonial times to the present. 1st Anchor Books (Broadway Books) ed. New York : Anchor Books, 2008. The first comprehensive history of medical experimentation on African Americans. Starting with the earliest encounters between Africans and Western medical researchers and the racist pseudoscience that resulted, it details the way both slaves and freedmen were used in hospitals for experiments conducted without a hint of informed consent--a tradition that continues today within some black populations. It shows how the pseudoscience of eugenics and social Darwinism was used to justify experimental exploitation and shoddy medical treatment of blacks, and a view that they were biologically inferior, oversexed, and unfit for adult responsibilities. New details about the government's Tuskegee experiment are revealed, as are similar, less well-known medical atrocities conducted by the government, the armed forces, and private institutions. This book reveals the hidden underbelly of scientific research and makes possible, for the first time, an understanding of the roots of the African American health deficit.--*** Recommended by Visiting Writer Kwoya Fagin Maples

180 A

Adamson, Peter. Classical Philosophy : A history of philosophy without any gaps. Oxford, UK : Oxford UP, 2014.

180 A

Adamson, Peter, 1972- author. Philosophy in the Hellenistic and Roman worlds : a history of philosophy without any gaps. First edition. Peter Adamson offers an accessible, humorous tour through a period of eight hundred years when some of the most influential of all schools of thought were formed: from the third century BC to the sixth century AD. He introduces us to Cynics and Skeptics, Epicureans and Stoics, emperors and slaves, and traces the development of Christian and Jewish philosophy and of ancient science. Chapters are devoted to such major figures as Epicurus, Lucretius, Cicero, Seneca, Plotinus, and Augustine. But in keeping with the motto of the series, the story is told 'without any gaps, ' providing an in-depth look at less familiar topics that remains suitable for the general reader. For instance, there are chapters on the fascinating but relatively obscure Cyrenaic philosophical school, on pagan philosophical figures like Porphyry and Iamblichus, and extensive coverage of the Greek and Latin Christian Fathers who are at best peripheral in most surveys of ancient philosophy. A major theme of the book is in fact the competition between pagan and Christian philosophy in this period, and the Jewish tradition also appears in the shape of Philo of Alexandria. Ancient science is also considered, with chapters on ancient medicine and the interaction between philosophy and astronomy. Considerable attention is paid also to the wider historical context, for instance by looking at the ascetic movement in Christianity and how it drew on ideas from Hellenic philosophy. From the counter-cultural witticisms of Diogenes the Cynic to the subtle skepticism of Sextus Empiricus, from the irreverent atheism of the Epicureans to the ambitious metaphysical speculation of Neoplatonism, from the ethical teachings of Marcus Aurelius to the political philosophy of Augustine, the book gathers together all aspects of later ancient thought in an accessible and entertaining way.

301 C

Hill Collins, Patricia, author. Intersectionality.

305 H

Hancock, Ange-Marie, author. Intersectionality : an intellectual history. Intersectionality theory has emerged over the past thirty years as a way to think about the avenues by which inequalities (most often dealing with, but not limited to, race, gender, class and sexuality) are produced. Rather than seeing such categories as signaling distinct identities that can be adopted, imposed or rejected, intersectionality theory considers the logic by which each of these categories is socially constructed as well as how they operate within the diffusion of power relations. In other words, social and political power are conferred through categories of identity, and these identities bear vastly material effects. Rather than look at inequalities as a relationship between those at the center and those on the margins, intersectionality maps the relative ways in which identity politics create power. Though intersectionality theory has emerged as a highly influential school of thought in ethnic studies, gender studies, law, political science, sociology and psychology, no scholarship to date exists on the evolution of the theory. In the absence of a comprehensive intellectual history of the theory, it is often discussed in vague, ahistorical terms. And while scholars have called for greater specificity and attention to the historical foundations of intersectionality theory, their idea of the history to be included is generally limited to the particular currents in the United States. This book seeks to remedy the vagueness and murkiness attributed to intersectionality by attending to the historical, geographical, and cross-disciplinary myopia afflicting current intersectionality scholarship. This comprehensive intellectual history is an agenda-setting work for the theory.

305.42 A

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi, 1977- author. We should all be feminists. Offers an updated definition of feminism for the twenty-first century, one rooted in inclusion and awareness. In this personal, eloquently-argued essay -- adapted from her much-admired TEDx talk of the same name -- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, award-winning author of Americanah, offers readers a unique definition of feminism for the twenty-first century, one rooted in inclusion and awareness. Drawing extensively on her own experiences and her deep understanding of the often masked realities of sexual politics, here is one remarkable author's exploration of what it means to be a woman now -- and an of-the-moment rallying cry for why we should all be feminists.

305.896 D

Davis, Angela Y. (Angela Yvonne), 1944- author. Freedom is a constant struggle : Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement. Chicago, IL : Haymarket Books, 2016. In these newly collected essays, interviews, and speeches, world-renowned activist and scholar Angela Y. Davis illuminates the connections between struggles against state violence and oppression throughout history and around the world. Reflecting on the importance of black feminism, intersectionality, and prison abolitionism for today's struggles, Davis discusses the legacies of previous liberation struggles, from the Black Freedom Movement to the South African anti-Apartheid movement. She highlights connections and analyzes today's struggles against state terror, from Ferguson to Palestine. Facing a world of outrageous injustice, Davis challenges us to imagine and build the movement for human liberation. And in doing so, she reminds us that "Freedom is a constant struggle."

306.362 D

Diouf, Sylviane A. (Sylviane Anna), 1952-. Dreams of Africa in Alabama : the slave ship Clotilda and the story of the last Africans brought to America. Oxford ; : Oxford University Press, 2007.  *** On Reserve

371.9 B

Intersectionality in action : a guide for faculty and campus leaders for creating inclusive classrooms and institutions. First edition.

428.2 F

Fogarty, Mignon. Grammar girl presents the ultimate writing guide for students. 1st ed. New York : Henry Holt, 2011. For beginners to advanced students, this warm and witty guide to writing includes a writing style chapter and a guide to writing everything from school papers to letters to e-mails.

428.43 D

DiYanni, Robert. Frames of mind : a rhetorical reader with occasions for writing. 2nd ed. Belmont, CA : Wadsworth Cengage Learning, c2009.

468 M

Marinelli, Patti. Avenidas. Mason, OH : Cengage, 2007.

478 M

Minkova, Milena. Latin for the new millennium. Wauconda, Ill. : Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, 2008-.

512 B

Algebra 1. [Orlando, Fla.] : Holt McDougal, c2011.

574 B

Biggs, Alton. Biology : The dynamics of life. Texas Edition. Columbus, OH : McGraw-Hill, 2004.

700 B

Barrett, Terry, 1945-. Making art : form & meaning. New York, NY : McGraw-Hill, c2011. This comprehensive introduction to art and design explores making artifacts as a process of making meaning. Making Art: Form and Meaning offers a framework for understanding how all the aspects of an artwork--subject matter, medium, form, process, and contexts--interact. The text's wide array of examples and its emphasis on late-modernism and postmodern art give students a thorough look at the expressive possibilities of traditional design elements and principles and contemporary practices, including the use of computer-based, time-based, and lens-based media. *** On Reserve

700.4145 B

Breckman, Warren, 1963-. European romanticism : a brief history with documents. 1st ed. Boston : Bedford/St. Martins, c2008.

709 S

Strickland, Carol. The annotated Mona Lisa : a crash course in art history, from prehistoric to Post-modern. 2nd ed. Kansas, Mo. : Andrews McMeel Pub., c2007. Presents the history of art from prehistoric times to the present day, describes major artists and movements, and details the influence of art on society through the ages. *** On Reserve

709.03 G

Gardner, Helen, 1878-1946. Gardner's art through the ages : the Western perspective. 13th ed., Backpack ed. Australia ; : Wadsworth Cengage Learning, c2010. *** On Reserve

741.5 C

Coates, Ta-nehisi. Black Panther : A Nation under our feet: Book One. Salem, VA : Marvel, 2016.

770 C

Campany, David. The open road : photography & the American road trip. First edition. The road trip is an enduring symbol in American culture. Ever since cars became widely available, the road stretching over the horizon has represented a sense of possibility and freedom, discovery and escape--a place to get lost and find yourself in the process. The American road trip has appeared prominently in literature, music, and movies, but it has had an especially powerful influence on photography. As photographers have embarked on trips across the United States with the express purpose of making work, they have created some of the most important photographs in the history of the medium: from images by Walker Evans, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Berenice Abbott to Robert Frank's seminal 1950s odyssey, The Americans. From Stephen Shore to Ryan McGinley, hundreds of other photographers have continued the tradition. The Open Road is the first book to explore the photographic road trip as a genre. It opens with a comprehensive introduction, which traces the rise of road culture in America and considers photographers on the move across the country and across the century, from the early 1900s to present day. Each chapter explores one body of work in depth through informative texts and a portfolio of images, beginning with Robert Frank, and including such renowned work as Garry Winogrand's 1964, Joel Sternfeld's American Prospects, William Eggleston's Los Alamos, and Alec Soth's Sleeping by the Mississippi. The Open Road is a visual tour-de-force, presenting the story of photographers for whom the American road is muse. *** On Reserve

780.42 P

Poyner, Rick. Oh So Pretty : Punk in Print 1976-80. London, UK : Phaidon Press, 2016.

781 G

Gridley, Mark C. Jazz Styles History and Analysis : Test Item File. 4th. New Jersey : Prentice Hall, 1991.

781.65 G

Gridley, Mark C., 1947-. Jazz styles : history & analysis. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J. : Prentice Hall, c2003.

786.2 D

Doerschuk, Bob. 88 : the giants of jazz piano. San Francisco : Backbeat Books ;, c2001.

787.6 B

Brewster, David M. Teach Yourself to Play Guitar : A quick and easy introduction for beginners. Victoria, Australia : Hal Leonard Corporation, 2004.

787.6 N

Nelson, Troy. Guitar Aerobics : A 52-week, one-lick-per-day workout program for developing, improving, and maintaining guitar technique. Victoria, Australia : Hal Leonard Corporation, 2007.

787.871 C

Capone, Phil. Guitar chord Bible : over 500 illustrated chords for rock, blues, soul, country, jazz, and classical. Edison, N.J. : Cartwell Books, 2006. This compact dictionary is designed to fit in your bag and is complete with fingering diagrams for each chord and photographs showing how each one is played.

808 F

Foster, Thomas C., author. How to read literature like a professor : a lively and entertaining guide to reading between the lines. Revised edition. What does it mean when a fictional hero takes a journey? Shares a meal? Get drenched in a sudden rain shower? Often, there is much more going on in a novel or poem than is readily visible on the surface -- a symbol, maybe, that remains elusive, or an unexpected twist on a character - and there's that sneaking suspicion that the deeper meaning of a literary text keeps escaping you. In this practical and amusing guide to literature, Thomas C. Foster shows how easy and gratifying it is to unlock those hidden truths, and to discover a world where a road leads to a quest a shared meal may signify a communion and rain, whether cleansing or destructive, is never just rain. Ranging from major themes to literary models, narrative devices, and form, How to Read Literature Like a Professor is the perfect companion for making your reading experience more enriching, satisfying, and fun.

808.8 M

The Norton introduction to literature. Shorter 11th ed. New York : W.W. Norton & Co., c2013.

811.54 R

Rukeyser, Muriel, 1913-1980. Elegies.

811.6 L

Lewis, Erica. Daryl Hall is my Boyfriend : poems. Baltimore, MD : Barrelhouse Books, 2015.

822.33 S

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. Romeo and Juliet. 3rd ed. Cambridge, UK ; : Cambridge University Press, 2005.

851.1 A

Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321, author. The divine comedy : Volume 1. Inferno.

891.71 B

Barskova, Polina. Written in the Dark : Five Poets in the Siege of Leningrad. Brooklyn, NY : Ugly Duckling Presse, 2016.

909 M

McKay, John P., author. A history of world societies. Tenth edition.

909.09 K

Kagan, Donald. The Western heritage. Combined ed., 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J. : Prentice Hall, 1998. v. 1. To 1715 ; v. 2. 1300 to 1815.

941.067 P

Pincus, Steven C. A. England's glorious Revolution, 1688-1689 : a brief history with documents. 1st ed. Boston : Bedford/St. Martin's, c2006.

942.07 V

Voltaire, 1694-1778. Letters on England.

970.015 S

Symcox, Geoffrey. Christopher Columbus and the enterprise of the Indies : a brief history with documents. Boston, MA : Bedford/St. Martin's, c2005. A general introduction to Christopher Columbus' life and voyages, followed by a series of documents. These include excerpts from the log of his first voyage, his agreements with the Spanish crown, papal bulls concerning the colonial empires of Spain and Portugal, and judgments by contemporaries on Columbus and his achievements.

92 Coates

Coates, Ta-Nehisi. The beautiful struggle : a father, two sons and an unlikely road to manhood. 1st paperback ed. New York : Spiegel & Grau, 2009. A memoir of growing up in the tough world of Baltimore in the 1980s chronicles the relationship between the author and his father, a Vietnam vet and Black Panther affiliate, and his campaign to keep his sons from falling victim to the temptations of the streets. *** On Reserve

DVD Jaz

Jazz. Narrated by Keith David. 10 episodes tracing the history of Jazz from its roots in the African-American community of New Orleans to its heights and continuing presence.

DVD Mik

The mikado. Widescreen version. [United States] : A & E Home Video :, [2005].

F Adi

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi, 1977- author. Americanah : [a novel]. First Anchor Books edition. Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple with what it means to be black for the first time. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post-9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Fifteen years later, they reunite in a newly democratic Nigeria, and reignite their passion--for each other and for their homeland.

F Adi

Adiga, Aravind. The white tiger : a novel. Balram Halwai is a complicated man. Servant. Philosopher. Entrepreneur. Murderer. Over the course of seven nights, by the scattered light of a preposterous chandelier, Balram tells the terrible and transfixing story of how he came to be a success in life--having nothing but his own wits to help him along. *** Recommended by Visiting Writer Kwoya Fagin Maples

F Atw

Atwood, Margaret Eleanor, 1939-. The handmaid's tale. 1st Anchor Books ed. New York : Anchor Books, 1998, c1986. Set in the near future, America has become a puritanical theocracy and Offred tells her story as a Handmaid under the new social order.

F Fit

Fitzgerald, F. Scott (Francis Scott), 1896-1940. The great Gatsby. Scribner trade pbk. ed. New York : Scribner, 2004, c1953. Jay Gatsby had once loved beautiful, spoiled Daisy Buchanan, then lost her to a rich boy. Now, mysteriously wealthy, he is ready to risk everything to woo her back. This is the definitive, textually accurate edition of a classic of twentieth-century literature, The Great Gatsby.

F Row

Rowell, Rainbow. Eleanor & Park. First edition. Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits--smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

F Row

Rowling, J. K. The tales of Beedle the Bard. 1st ed. New York : Children's High Level Group in association with Arthur A. Levine Books, 2008. Contains five illustrated moral tales for children from the world of Harry Potter, reportedly discovered and translated by young witch Hermione Granger, with an introduction and commentary from Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

F Row

Whisp, Kennilworthy. Quidditch through the ages. 1st American ed. New York, NY : Arthur A. Levine Books ;, 2001.

R Test Prep

Teukolsky, Roselyn. AP Computer Science A : Barron's. Hauppauge, NY : Barron's Educational Series, Inc, 2015. *** On Reserve

[nofomoartworld]

Hyperallergic: ArtRx NYC

Juanli Carrión, “Pigmentum” (2016) (courtesy the artist and Y Gallery, via artingeneral.org)

 A Conversation about Brooklyn Culture

When: Tuesday, January 31, 6:30–8:30pm Where: BRIC (647 Fulton Street, Fort Greene, Brooklyn)

This year, New York will announce its first-ever citywide cultural plan, to be administered by the Department of Cultural Affairs. Join Downtown Brooklyn Arts Alliance (DBAA) on Tuesday for an open discussion about what this means for the community’s cultural life, and vocalize your hopes and expectations for the plan — or at least take in the ideas of others. If you can’t attend the forum in person, you can still contribute to the plan’s shaping: take DBAA’s Cultural Needs Survey, which allows you to share your thoughts on issues important to you. —CV

 Cooking with Corn

When: Wednesday, February 1, 6–8:30pm, & Saturday, February 4, 1–3:30pm (free with RSVP) Where: Art in General (145 Plymouth Street, Dumbo, Brooklyn)

Food isn’t just something we consume every day; it’s a potent symbol of political and economic forces. In a series of workshops and an accompanying installation commissioned by Art in General, Juanli Carrión will focus on corn and the way it’s used in the global economy. Participants will prepare dishes made from ground maize, while Carrión pushes them to think about the diversity, homogenization, and appropriation of Latin American cultures. —JS

David Horvitz, unique hand-blown sea-glass sculpture, dimensions variable (image courtesy Triple Canopy and Phoebe d’Heurle)

 The Glass Graveyard of Brooklyn

When: Opens Wednesday, February 1, 6–9pm Where: UrbanGlass (647 Fulton Street, Fort Greene, Brooklyn)

Dead Horse Bay is one of Brooklyn’s most haunting places, with the trash from an old landfill constantly being pulled to the water by the waves. It’s also been an unexpected artistic muse, whether for creators experimenting with this detritus of consumerism or as a place that represents environmental destruction by industry (the name comes from the old horse-rendering plants at the site) and the use of eminent domain to radically alter New York City’s geography. The 13 artists in this exhibition that I curated at UrbanGlass have distinct visions. From Alex Branch’s instrument made with seawater to David Horvitz’s blown-glass vessels made from collected shards, all are responding to this overlooked edge of the city. —AM

State of Exception, installation view at the University of Michigan Institute for the Humanities Gallery (photo by Richard Barnes)

 Remnants of Border Crossings

When: Opens Thursday, February 2, 6–8pm Where: Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, Parsons, The New School (2 West 13th Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan)

Anthropologist Jason De León has spent years in the desert of Arizona gathering the traces of human activity left behind by migrants crossing over from Mexico into the US. The latest installment of his collaboration with photographer Richard Barnes and curator Amanda Krugliak, State of Exception/Estado de Excepción, includes video shot along the US-Mexico border, an installation of backpacks, clothing, and other artifacts gathered by De León, and recordings of his interviews with migrants. With Donald Trump’s planned border wall looming large, De León’s work chronicling the human impact appears all the more vital. —BS

 Indigenous Identities and the Limitations of Canada

When: Thursday, February 2, 7:30pm Where: Silver Center, Room 300, New York University (31 Washington Place, Greenwich Village, Manhattan)

Produced for and shown as a part of Documenta 13, this 50-minute, silent, 16mm film by artists Brian Jungen and Duane Linklater documents two hunting trips to the Treaty 8 area, located in northeastern British Columbia. The first film work by either artist, “Modest Livelihood” (2012) explores the relationship of First Nations people to their land. In 1999, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the First Nations’ rights to fish and hunt on their own territory, but the decision stipulated that these activities should not exceed the sustenance of a “moderate livelihood.” The wording was highly controversial among indigenous communities, particular given the gluttony and hubris of the settler colonial culture around them. The screening will be following by a conversation between Linklater and myself. —HV

Trailer for Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust, part of BAM’s series showcasing black women filmmakers

 Black Women’s Cinema

When: Begins Friday, February 3 Where: BAM (30 Lafayette Avenue, Fort Greene, Brooklyn)

Throughout the month of February, BAM will be screening films made by black women directors between 1970 and 1991. A number of these movies were not screened publicly until years after they were shot, and most of them have remained overlooked. From Debra Robinson’s 1984 profile of four African-American female comedians to Liz White’s all-black cast adaption of Othello to a night dedicated to animation, this rich and eclectic series is well worth exploring. —EWA

 Futurism in the Southwest

When: Opens Saturday, February 4, 12–3pm Where: Loisaida Center (710 E 9th Street, Lower East Side, Manhattan)

On the occasion of its residency at the Loisaida Center, the collective Atomic Culture has invited 15 artists from the southwestern United States to discuss and respond to ideas at the intersection of futurism and geopolitics. The resulting exhibition and event series, Future Now // Futura Ahora, will examine how futurism can be used as a decolonizing tool to reclaim land, natural resources, and ways of living that occupying forces have sought to wipe out. —BS

Atomic Culture in collaboration with the Loisaida Inc Center as part of the 2017 Art Residency Program at Loisaida (image via loisaida.org)

 Talking About the Environment

When: Saturday, February 4, 3–6pm Where: Petzel Gallery (456 W 18th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan)

When Donald Trump was elected president, Petzel Gallery decided to scrap its immediate program and mount an exhibition in response. Titled We need to talk…, the show features artworks on display — a portion of whose sales go to “any organization that seems appropriate to artist and collector” — as well as opportunities for processing and discussing the current state of affairs, most notably in a series of Saturday symposia. This weekend’s event, the last, concentrates on the environment and features a screening of Doug McClean’s film about Standing Rock (necessary), a talk by the Natural History Museum’s Beka Economopolis on the important of alternative institutions (timely), and one by Dr. Karen Holmberg titled “A Meditation on the Future Environment Through the Eyes of an Archaeologist” (fascinating). —JS

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With contributions by Elisa Wouk Almino, Allison Meier, Benjamin Sutton, Hrag Vartanian, and Claire Voon

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