#RandallCole

[scenefromthesidewalk]

"FATHERS AND DAUGHTERS"

by RBCole

Forgive the hubris of including my own first mural in this collection...

In 1914 Piet Mondrian reportedly said “Art is higher than reality, and has no relationship to reality.” Three years later Mondrian was a co-founder of the Dutch De Stijl movement, promoting the idea that purity in art required the elimination of anything organic or representational. As a graphic designer in the 70s and 80s, before computers completely revolutionized not only the way we operated but the physical space in which we worked, I was always dabbling with art of some kind and in the mid-80s briefly contemplated an alternate history in which Mondrian applied the style he is most closely associated with to a series of secret figure studies. Picking up that idea in my retirement and expanding on it, @GabbaGallery was kind enough to let me experiment with my first mural in Alley 2 of their nearby Gabba Arts District.  @rbcole/

[50shadesblack]

#Repost @printbyprint // “Malcolm X touched me in my 20s; Baldwin in my 30s,” Shaw told CNN. “Now in my 40s, as I am watching my daughter grow into womanhood, it’s Nina Simone.” Born in 1933 as Eunice Kathleen Waymon, the aspiring classical pianist changed her name to Nina Simone when race limited her options and she didn’t want her family to know she was being forced to turn to “The Devil’s Music”—playing jazz in Atlantic City. Despite having recorded more than 40 albums between 1958 and 1974 her story and her activism were largely unrecognized before the 2015 film “What Happened, Miss Simone.” Raised in West Baltimore by parents who insisted on his learning the history and culture of black America, #ErnestShawJr. says Simone’s story “could be a case study for what a lot of black women deal with.” Shaw’s powerful tribute to his influencers is at Barclay and E. Lafayette in #Baltimore’s Greenmount West neighborhood. @eshaw_art #streetart (Source: scene from the sidewalk) 📸: #RandallCole