#Tao Art Gallery

[beyondtheadobe]

[beautifulwomanart]

Kujou Sara

九条裟羅

[tellusbane]

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[uwmspeccoll]

Indigenous People's Day

DR. HENRIETTA MANN Cheyenne

On this Indigenous People’s Day, we are featuring Matika Wilbur’s recent publication Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America, published by Ten Speed Press in 2023. Wilbur (b. 1984) is a visual storyteller and member of the Swinomish and Tulalip peoples of coastal Washington. She holds a degree from the Brooks Institute of Photography alongside a teaching certificate that has shaped her style of educating through narrative portraits.  

Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America, a book born from a documentary project of the same name, resolves to share contemporary Native issues and culture. In 2012 Wilbur set out from Seattle to visit and photograph all 562 plus Native American sovereign territories in the United States.

Wilbur’s engagement with the communities she visited resulted in the creation of hundreds of dynamic portraits and documentation of conversations about “tribal sovereignty, self-determination, wellness, recovery from historical trauma, decolonization of the mind, and revitalization of culture.” She refers to her portraiture approach as “an indigenous photography method” that includes several hours and sometimes days of interaction with the participants, an exchange of energy and gifts, and asking sitters to choose their portrait location. The outcome is a stunning collection of Native narratives and portraits.  

GREG BISKAKONE JOHNSON Lac Du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians

HOLLY MITITQUQ NORDLUM  Iñupiaq

J. MIKO THOMAS Chickasaw Nation

MOIRA REDCORN Osage, Caddo

HELENA and PRESTON ARROW-WEED Taos Pueblo/Kwaatsaan, Kamia

STEPHEN YELLOWTAIL Apsáalooke (Crow Nation)

LEI'OHU and LA'AKEA CHUN Kānaka Maoli

ORLANDO BEGAY Diné

KALE NISSEN Colville Tribes

GRACE ROMERO PACHECO Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians

ISABELLA and ALYSSA KLAIN Diné

NANCY WILBUR Swinomish

DR. JEREMIAH "JERRY" WOLFE Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

RUTH DEMMERT Tlingit

MARVA SII~XUUTESNA JONES Tolowa Dee-Ni' Nation, Yurok, Karuk, Wintu

Matika Wilbur will be speaking on UW-Milwaukee's campus Thursday, November 16 from 6-7p.m. in conjunction with her exhibition Seeds of Culture: The Portraits and Voices of Native American Women on view at the Union Art Gallery November 16 through December 15, 2023. 

-Jenna, Special Collections Graduate Intern 

We acknowledge that in Milwaukee we live and work on traditional Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk, and Menominee homelands along the southwest shores of Michigami, part of North America’s largest system of freshwater lakes, where the Milwaukee, Menominee, and Kinnickinnic rivers meet and the people of Wisconsin’s sovereign Anishinaabe, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Oneida, and Mohican nations remain present.

[yourdailyqueer]

R. C. Gorman (deceased)

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Gay

DOB: 26 July 1931

RIP: 3 November 2005

Ethnicity: Native American (Navajo)

Occupation: Artist, sculptor

Note 1: Opened the Navajo Gallery in Taos in 1968. It was the first Native American-owned art gallery. In 1973, he was the only living artist whose work was shown in the "Masterworks from the Museum of the American Indian" exhibition held at Metropolitan Museum in New York City. Two of his pieces were selected for the cover of the exhibit's catalog.

Note 2: Upon his death, New Mexico's governor Bill Richardson ordered flags flown at half-staff in his honor.

Note 3: Referred to as "the Picasso of American Indian artists" by The New York Times.

[thedecadenceofwar]

Elle Argent as Jesus Christ: Heartstopper art analysis.

Yesterday, I made this post where I wordlessly compared Elle's art piece for the Lambert School to the painting that draws her attention at the Louvre, Caravaggio's Supper at Emmaus, a depiction of Jesus breaking bread for his disciples after his crucifixion and subsequent rising.

Elle's perspective on the painting / a full view of the painting (source)

The first thing I noticed that helped me draw the connection between these two paintings was their composition, the basic triangular lines that guide the eye in each painting; from Jesus and Elle in the center to the innkeeper and Tao at the top.

Heartstopper also clearly wanted us to make some connection between Elle and this Caravaggio: they focus on her face before they show us the painting, so we wonder what exactly it is she's seeing, which increases its narrative importance. I assumed she recognized herself in a painting; she did, but not in the way I expected.

The National Gallery (see above source) has this to say about the Caravaggio:

On the third day after the Crucifixion two of Jesus’s disciples were walking to Emmaus when they met the resurrected Christ. They failed to recognise him, but that evening at supper he ‘... took bread, and blessed it, and brake and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight’ (Luke 24: 30–31). Painted at the height of Caravaggio’s fame, this is among his most impressive domestic religious pictures. He brilliantly captures the dramatic climax of the story, the moment when the disciples suddenly see what has been in front of them all along. Their actions convey their astonishment: one is about to leap out of his chair while the other throws out his arms in a gesture of disbelief. The stark lighting underlines the dramatic intensity of the scene. Typically for Caravaggio, he has shown the disciples as ordinary working men, with bearded, lined faces and ragged clothes, in contrast to the youthful beardless Christ, who seems to have come from a different world.

Jesus, in the story, opens the eyes of his disciples in more ways than one (I pulled my Bible out for this!). First, in the scene depicted in the painting, the disciples do not know that this man is Jesus until he blesses the bread and breaks it for them, revealing himself as Christ. Second is the context in which Jesus comes to share dinner with his disciples: they meet him on the road during the day before, and he interprets the Old Testament for them: (stay with me I promise we'll leave the Biblical stuff and get back to the gay stuff soon)

Luke 24:13-16 Now on that same day two of [the disciples] were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. Luke 24:25-27 Then he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?" Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

If Safe Space is an exact analogue to Supper at Emmaus, then Elle takes the position of Jesus, and she draws from the story of Christ's crucifixion and rising a trans metaphor.

Death does not always mean death. For example, in the world of tarot, the card of Death does not signify literal Death, but a transformation: that the idea of death is a catalyst for change. If you're trans or non-binary, you understand the idea of the person you were being dead; that's why they call it a deadname. For me, the girl I was is dead. The person I am now, a living, breathing, non-binary person, is alive.

Jesus died and lived again; the boy Elle was died and the girl Elle is lived. Elle takes the spot of Jesus. Elle is risen.

There's another half to this metaphor: of the disciples that don't recognize Jesus. See where I'm going with this? At first, after Jesus had undergone his transformation, the disciples do not recognize him; literally "Their eyes were kept from recognizing him." The fault is not on them – it is another stronger force that maintains their blindness. But Jesus stays with them, despite the fact that they don't know who he is, and he talks to them about the scriptures.

We don't know much about Elle, pre-transition. But we know that Elle, Tao, and Charlie, at least, were friends before Elle's transition, and she had to come out to them at some point. So, in essence, she is Jesus on the road to Emmaus; unrecognized, a stranger, until she reveals herself for who she is.

She takes the moment Jesus tells his disciples who he is and shows what happens when Elle stays. We don't all have the luxury of being the Son of God, who can just pop away at a moment's notice after coming back from the dead (which is what he does, in the story: once the disciples have their eyes opened, he leaves). But this is Elle, out, resurrected, staying.

"So. There've been a lot of changes in my life over the last couple years. But with this piece I guess I wanted to capture a place that holds a lot of happy memories. Even in the darker times. Somewhere I always felt safe."

Safe Space comes after the moment of realization, after Elle comes out, after her friends' eyes are opened. But implied in its source and its inspiration is the moment of truth, the moment of coming out. There's been a lot of that, this season, coming out. There's people that want to and are scared, and people that refuse to and walk away. We never had to go on that journey with Elle. But she's telling us about it, now. She's telling us that it was glorious, that it was godly, that it was religious, that she died and was resurrected.

Before I leave, I want to touch on Tao's importance in this piece. The disciples in Supper are the two men that are seated; the man standing is the innkeeper, who is not quite a part of Jesus' world. Interesting, that Charlie and Isaac, the two people of Elle's group who are part of the queer community, take the place of the two disciples, and Tao, the token straight friend, is standing in the place of the innkeeper; not a follower of Jesus but a witness to the miracle of his resurrection anyway. They are all different people in this painting; different identities, different lives, different loves. But they were all there to witness Elle revealing herself in her resurrection. Tao, afraid of being left alone, is brought into this inner sanctum of Elle's world. Into her safe space.

[1264doghouse]

A band celbrates the 4th among art galleries and American flags in Taos, New Mexico, 4 July 1940 in a photograph by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration, Library of Congress.

[yama-bato]

National Gallery of Art

Ranchos de Taos Church, New Mexico

Paul Strand

  Ranchos de Taos Church, New Mexico [recto], 1931

[longlistshort]

Peter Opheim has created a charming, colorful world for Cocoon at The Hole. It’s worth bending down to get a closer look at the little clay creatures that helped form the basis for the characters in his paintings.

From the press release-

After a 25-year career as an abstract painter, Opheim started anew; “since everything we see in the world around us has already been painted”, a family of imaginary creatures and Opheim’s career-defining style was born. His works are an intuitive manifestation of emergence: sculpting the figures first in clay, Opheim removes roadblocks to his imagination. Working intuitively with his hands, the creatures reveal themselves to him and he then paints “from life”.

Not focused on conveying a snapshot of our contemporary world or visual markers of the present day, the sculptural approach to making the subjects of the paintings results in works that exist out of time—the characters are transient yet grounded in subdued color fields, their bodies and borders ambiguous and hazy. In Meadow of My Heart, Holding You and others, multiple figures fill the canvas, an assortment of semi-recognizable parts from a few fuzzy friends fill the canvas, cat-like ears, skinny arms or blobby bodies, with many large eyeballs blinking. In paintings such as Thinking of You a lone figure presents themselves, staring right back at you.

Rather than conveying grandiosity, Opheim instead is in the pursuit of emotional impact. The exhibition includes smaller paintings than ever before, making viewers look closely and the textural brush strokes more prominent. In the large rear gallery, small sculptures are positioned on the floor, barely visible from the other side of the room and dwarfed by 17-foot ceilings. Above the paintings, large woven flowers climb the length of the wall, further figures revealing themselves at the base of the stems: a sense of coziness and protection settles in with clay figures nestled in a small wooden home carved by a fallen tree on his property in Taos, New Mexico.

For this recent body of work there is a shift to a different type of subtlety based on concepts of emergence, interconnectedness, and growth. The title Cocoon is a multifaceted metaphor for these themes, as when a caterpillar spins its body transforming into a chrysalis and cocoon, it is surrendering to transform. This emergence can’t be expedited; patience and independence are crucial, a butterfly must emerge on its own. In the work we see an emergence of form, skillful blurred brush marks of creatures in a softer, hazier palette than when we first showed Opheim in 2018 and an emergence of emotions, a warm joy, the sensation of standing in the sun. These new paintings were difficult to make, notes Opheim, with the figures only starting to reveal themself once the painting was close to completion. Opheim notes the importance of an intuitive organic emergence: “we can have preconceptions on how something is supposed to be, but that’s not how they are made”.

Standing In The Sun, I Feel Your Arms Around Me the title of one of the larger paintings in the show and one of the potential titles for the exhibition, evokes the physical warmth that you feel in these paintings. The hues and figures are inviting yet the asymmetric, spherical bodies have just enough wonkiness to not be classified as overly “cute”. Opheim has shown extensively in Asia where Kawaii culture is widely pervasive and appreciated: New York is known for many things, but cuteness would not be one of them. While foreign, Opheim’s visual language feels refreshing and necessary, inviting curiosity and play through imagery we don’t often see in Western art. Here, Opheim is deliberately moving on from a lot of what we see in galleries at the moment and instead gives us enough room to think on our own, leaving space for our own joy and pleasure.

This exhibition closes 5/25/24.

[justanothersimsblog]

Summary: Ulene and Katra

During Ulene’s childhood, he met Katra. She had just moved into town when he met her on his way to the art gallery. He was instantly enchanted and was happy to learn he’ll see her at school from now on. They hung out every day and talked about their love of art and videogames. However, when the incident with Tao happened, Katra told Ulene that she had to go back to Dragon Valley to live with her family again since she had been staying in St Erast with some old lady that was teaching her ‘special skills’. Ulene missed her but they stayed in contact thanks to the internet.

He was now a teen and had no friends in school except for Ethan and Mirah. Thankfully new families had moved into town including the Slater siblings (both vampires). One afternoon at art club Ulene met Fabian and instantly became friends.

Lots of wild crazy parties happened but the first one Ulene officially threw was the one where Fabian met Katra via webcam. This was also the party where Ulene met Fabian’s older sister: Jenna. Ulene realized he liked Jenna and after a lot of convincing he got her to agree to be his girlfriend at her Sweet 16. Next summer though, Katra comes back.

Katra hangs out with Fabian and Ulene. Fabian and Katra start developing feelings for each other but nothing happens right away. That summer after, Ryker and Jenna graduate which causes her and Ulene to break up. Fabian and Katra had been secretly seeing each other while Fabian and Ulene had started to smoke pot (unknown to anyone else). When Ethan finds out about the pot he gets Ulene to stop. Katra and Fabian’s relationship comes out to the open but when Katra finds out about Fabian’s smoking and he doesn’t quit she breaks up with him. Katra finally admits to her friends about being a witch. During their last high school year Ulene finally realizes he likes Katra and asks her to prom.

Everyone in this year goes to college together. Ethan and Mirah major in sports. Fabian studies music, Katra studies videogame design and Ulene studies architecture. After finally having a talk with Fabian to clear the air, Ulene and Katra get together. Over the next years in college they live together in an apartment on campus. Fabian sluts around. Ethan and Mirah get engaged in the last game of the year.

After Ulene finishes college he heads to Bridgeport. The people at his clan were going to inevitably go look for him so he decides to beat them to the punch. He has no intention of leading a clan of killer vampires and that’s what he goes there to say. The older residents don’t like the news because ‘It’s tradition for the pink haired one to lead us and bring us good fortune’ while the newer residents think that the way things are running now are fine. Grayson, who’s the acting leader, wants to be the official leader and had tried to marry Lara in order to achieve this. The Elders, the actual people controlling the clan, want Ulene to stay and lead and won’t just let him pass his position to Grayson or anyone but another pink haired vampire. This is when Ulene finds out that Katra is pregnant. Because of the possibility of a new heir being on the way Ulene is off the hook and is told to go take care of his family. Grayson mentions his plans to try to marry his daughter too.

Ulene and Katra move together to Fairhaven City, where Vera and her new family lives and where there is supposed to be stricter security preventing people from his clan to just wander in town. Twins Etrigan and Ariani are born. They get married, she drinks a never aging potion, and they move back to St Erast. Ulene starts his own architecture firm and they welcome more kids: Ashlyn, and then after quadruplets Bennet, Blaze, Ibis and Timothy. Katra starts her career in a videogame company.

[tenicola]

It only occurred to me moments after sharing my full-colored art for my Genshin OCs that I never shared their digital concepts, lmao >>

This is a good time as any to share some retouched sketches, along with some newer stuff. Some more details can be found in my ongoing Twitter thread for my eInk sketches, and in my Ko-fi gallery!

Also, the notes for their kits are just based on how I'd want each of them to feel in Genshin's gameplay. Some parts are in need of an update, but this gives a good gist. I'll add some more details under the cut /o/!

Clarabelle -> Jinkzdraws @ Twitter

Character Portfolio >> https://colacanvas.com/

Twitter / Instagram / Artfol / Carrd / Ko-Fi

---

[1] -- Shuili's kit concept. A Hydro Claymore, she's meant as a Sub-DPS, Shielder, Enabler, and Healing support. Think... Xinyan and Barbara, but without the annoying wet status.

[2] -- Huojin's kit concept. Pyro Sword, and your typical Main driver + On-field DPS, with some support capabilities for follow-up reactions. But his strength is a Pyro infusion -- think Diluc, Hu Tao, Alhaitham.

[3] -- Mist Unveiler, mother of the adepti siblings Shuili and Huojin (with her own adeptus title lmao). She's a supporting NPC in their team's story, but would be a Hydro Catalyst healer, similar to Kokomi.

[4] -- Baiyun's kit concept. Anemo Polearm, a crowd-control and Elemental damage support, kinda like Sucrose. Also, she's going to be revisited with a more Inazuma-style outfit (and vision case), but I've kept her name and adjust her story as an outlander there.

[5] -- This was from the last set of sketches I did, but it seemed more relevant here. An outdated concept for Shuili's fox form.

[6] -- Baiyun's Seelie pet! Just like the commemorative ones from the game, but more pointed ears and some small wings.

[7] -- Don't mind this, just Baiyun catching potential feels for the cute dancer Clarabelle, who belongs to Jinkz (I mostly wanted to doodle Clara, I added in Baiyun for fun haha--)

[beautifulwomanart]

Hu Tao

胡桃

[emptyingthebucket]

Day 39. Mile 3271.

We load up into cars and drive into the town of Taos. The trolleys are ready for us. We drive around the town and then we are dropped off north of town at Taos Pueblo, a world heritage site.

This is an ancient Indian town still inhabited. These homes have been in these families hands for centuries. First we visit the church. It's a mix of Catholicism and Indian beliefs.

We don't have much time to wander around the Pueblo, but we talk to some of the merchants. Their artwork and jewelry is beautiful. Several ladies buy items. Great stuff.

Only some of the families live full-time in their homes. Others, live off site, but maintain their ancestral homes for ceremonial purposed and to maintain the traditions. Extraordinary.

A small stream runs thru their community, Rio Pueblo de Taos. It is clean, fresh water. They restrict its usage to members of the community. It is water from the nearby mountains.

We end our tour and explore the town with our friends. The art galleries are fantastic. If I had more wall space in my house, I'd buy some art. But tiny houses have very little wall real estate!

[smashpages]

Knight Terrors: Angel Breaker (DC, July 2023) features the recent addition to Batman’s rogues gallery:

Deep in an abandoned Kobra safe house is a device able to access the dream powers of John Dee, a.k.a. Doctor Destiny. As heroes across the world succumb to nightmares, Angel Breaker wants it. Now, to infiltrate a hall of horrors, she’ll need the help of a professional thief—the man known as Raptor. But Angel Breaker and Raptor aren’t exactly friends. Can the mysterious merc trust a man who feels nothing but grudges as the strange pair encounter a horror as old as the Coda Sisterhood and even more dangerous? Written by Tim Seeley (Superman vs. Lobo), with art by Acky Bright (DC vs. Vampires), Knight Terrors: Angel Breaker #1 is available on July 25 with a main cover and 1:50 variant by Matteo Lolli, open-to-order variants by Ivan Tao and Leirix, a 1:25 variant by Chuma Hill, and a Midnight variant by Dustin Nguyen.

Above are Lolli’s main cover and black-and-white variant cover.

[kelleah-meah]

My Fourth Mabon – Plans for My 2023 Autumnal Equinox Celebration

Once again, I’m making plans for next week’s Autumnal Equinox, but for some reason, this year feels different. I can’t quite articulate why or how it feels different, but let’s just say my spidey sense is tingling. Not in a “beware of danger” kind of way. But in a “you’re on the precipice of something significant” kind of way. 

Edit: I've since learned why I feel my spidey sense tingling. It's because of the recent Nodal Shift into Aries/Libra. This is technically my reverse nodal return. My NN is in Libra and my SN is in Aries.

Anyway, until I can suss out the why of it all, I’ll just make plans for the equinox that feels in the spirit of what I’m sensing at the moment. Either way, I’m sure I’ll overdo it and put too much on my plate like I always do. 😏

Let’s dive in shall we … 

Since the equinox falls on a Saturday (September 23rd) when I have to work, this is going to be a little different from years past. My plans will likely fall over 2 or 3 days because that’s just how I roll when it comes to celebrating the arrival of my favorite season, so that part is actually the same as years’ past. 

Even though I have to work, it’s not all bad. It just so happens that I’ll be working outside at an arts & culture festival in the park, so it’s a chance to enjoy nature throughout most of the day (keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn’t rain though). 

But once my work day is over, my plans look like this: 

Note: The arts and culture festival has been cancelled due to a rainy forecast, so that changes my plans a little bit. Also, because we're behind at work, it looks like I'll have to work Monday and Tuesday next week. Oddly enough, I'm not too upset about that. 🙃 We have a lot going on that will finish off the year and kickoff the fall season like we haven't done before. A little extra work feels justified in order to pull it all together.

Friday (9/22) –

Prep & bake apple crisp dessert 🍎 ✅

Saturday (9/23) –

Meditation + Study of the Tao + a Tarot Spread for Mabon 🧘🏽 ✅

Work at the gallery 🖼️ ✅

Return home & cook Mabon dinner 🥘 ✅

Enjoy Mabon dinner 😋 ✅

Watch a movie from my Fall/Halloween theme list (probably Clue) 🎬 ✅

For dinner, here’s what I’m making:

- Hobo Meatball Stew (recipe found here, except I’m using ground turkey and adding tomato sauce, zucchini, corn, potatoes, carrots, garlic and paprika – and this year, instead of using the crockpot, I’m just going to cook it straight on the stove) ✅

- Cornbread (nothing fancy)

- Apple crisp topped with ice cream (for dessert, as a farewell to summer and hello to fall) ✅

I’ll probably have some hot chocolate later in the evening as a final hat tip to the beginning of autumn. 

Sunday (9/24) –

Join my hiking group for a morning hike 🥾 [cancelled due to rainy forecast]

Sleep in! 🛌 ✅

Read my book 📕 ✅

Do light cleaning around the house 🧽 ✅

Stretch 🤸

Shoot TT vid 🎥

Paint and reflect on my journey 🎨

Write in my journal ✒️

Monday (9/25) –

Work at the gallery 🖼️ ✅

Return home and relax 🏡 ✅

Continue organizing home office 🗄️

Lift weights or stretch 🏋🏽‍♀️

Do confidence spell 🕯️

Tuesday (9/26) – 

Work for gallery from home 🖼️

Go for a walk or ride bike in park 🚲

Continue organizing home office 🗄️ ✅

Write new blog post 🖥️

Promote new blog post 🎺 

Also, since I had lofty plans to do this last year, but didn’t even get close to starting it, let’s see if I can actually give the Fall Photo Challenge a genuine try this year. 

Here are the photo challenge prompts (forgive the blurry screenshot):

All in all, I’d say this is a reasonable plan for celebrating the spirit of the equinox and the start of my favorite season. I'm interested to see how it all turns out.

[samadalingsabi]

UP Fine Arts Gallery: Fotomoto 2022

Shots ni Jade yan. Natutuwa ako dahil wala naman akong candid shots dati. Hahahahaha! Dahil ako ang mahilig kumuha ng pictures. Malaking bagay talaga na pinapatulan niya ang mga ganitong interes ko. Nakakataba ng puso.

Maaga kaming dumating sa gallery. Mangilan-ngilan pa lang ang mga tao kaya okay maglibot. Nagkanya-kanya kami pagkarating sa gallery. Kapag nahanap na namin ang isa't isa nagtatanungan kami tungkol sa mga nakita naming tumatak.

Isa sa mga pakay namin sa exhibit ay ang mga shots ni Jilson Tiu. Iba talaga kapag printed ang mga photos. Maganda ang quality ng prints at hindi nabawasan ang quality ng mga kulay.

Naappreciate ko lalo ang gallery dahil sa natural lighting.