#i am working on a BUNCH of jedi series pieces for may 4 it's been a lot of fun ;u;

[beedeewun]

he sit

[digital-arts-etc]

This Woman Reimagined Michelangelo's "The Creation Of Adam"

With Black Women  * And It's Beautiful

Michelangelo who?

Posted on May 16, 2017 Michael Blackmon - BuzzFeed News Reporter

This is Harmonia Rosales, a 33-year-old artist living in Chicago.

"I was raised in a creative environment," she said. Rosales also noted that "artistic expression was floating in the air" in her household growing up. Her mother is an artist and her father, a musically inclined guy, played the congas. 

Rosales credited her parents for sparking her interest in the arts. "Kids imitate their parents and my parents were great models for me. I repeated visuals of my mother hunched over her art table churning out illustration after illustration starting with a blank canvas and a vision of a full one. I often would crawl under my mother's art table and track her movements, her brushstrokes, her ideas, her illustrations. She would let me experiment with all her expensive oils and brushes, never once telling me what to paint or how, but letting me find my own style."

One of Rosales' pieces, which she calls "The Creation of God" recently went viral.

The piece is based on Michelangelo 's "The Creation of Adam," famously displayed in the Sistine Chapel. "I wanted to take a significant painting, a widely recognized painting that subconsciously or consciously conditions us to see white male figures as powerful and authoritative and flip the script, establish a counter narrative," she told BuzzFeed News, elaborating on why she decided to make reimagine the well-known work of art with black women.

Says Rosales, "White figures are a staple in classic art featured in major museums. They are the 'masters' of the masterpieces. Why should that continue?

Replacing the white male figures — the most represented— with people I believe have been the least represented can begin to recondition our minds to accept new concepts of human value. ... If I can touch even a small group of people and empower them through the power of art, then I've succeeded in helping to change the way we see the world. ... And when you consider that all human life came out of Africa, the Garden of Eden and all, then it only makes sense to paint God as a black woman, sparking life in her own image." "In the essence of Picasso, my whole life," Rosales said when asked how long it took her to create her latest piece. "Every skill, life experience, and emotion has led me straight to this particular piece and every piece thereafter."

And the way in which her ideas form, and the way she's acted on them, is a very organic process.

"I have an idea, it might not be fully thought out, but first the idea. Then I let it marinate. Often I'll place a blank canvas by my bed so that I may wake up and sleep to it. And, while I sleep, it speaks to me," Rosales said. She also said that she doesn't sketch her creations, everything happens at once on the canvas by which they are brought to life. "My subjects morph and their expressions change as they speak to me and reveal themselves to me. Sometimes I will go over an area multiple times until they virtually come to life." Rosales' work definitely has a recurring theme: women of color. "I paint women darker than me because I want no one to mistake who I'm representing. I paint what I know, who I identify with," she told BuzzFeed News.

We have been underrepresented and misrepresented for so long that I feel I should paint to empower us. We need powerful images for our youth to see." Her daughter is another reason why Rosales is passionate about the work she does. "I want my daughter to grow up proud of her curls and coils, her brown skin, and for her to identify as a woman of color, a woman of value."

What I do with my art contributes to the way she and all other little girls like her will come to recognize themselves."

Rosales' "The Creation of God" will be part of an exhibited series in the near future.

She also plans to work with fellow artist Aldis Hodge on a series about persecution that will debut at the end of the year. "This particular series will relate to the masses," she said.

Critics Disgusted With Artist’s Painting of God As a Black Woman

By: Seth D. Mills  - May. 31, 2017

The painting (above photo) The Creation of God by artist Harmonia Rosales of Chicago has caused a lot of controversy throughout the last 3 weeks. Since it was first shared on Instagram, the painting has had at least 7,000 likes.

But some people on Twitter have called it a “disgrace”, while others stated that it was “cultural appropriation” and “disgusting”. In The Creation of God, Harmonia showed God as a black woman touching the hand of another black woman, much like The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo.

Harmonia said the painting was meant to show that “we have created God in our own image. So ‘God’ is whoever we want God to be, a representation of the ideal, of the divine, of wisdom and love and pure creativity.”

But not everyone agrees.

What do you think? Did she go too far?

http://www.wbls.com/news/d%C3%A9j%C3%A0-vu-afternoon/critics-disgusted-artist%E2%80%99s-painting-god-black-woman

Hannah Marie there are so many people in these comments that think they know what they are talking about but really don't. culturally appropriating something is taking something from another culture saying "it's mine i created it" profiting from and creating an entirely new meaning, while the (almost always) disadvantaged are left in the same position having their object devalued for the same things that are valued in said appropriated object. you can't culturally appropriate an image like this, it's literally impossible. if that was so then there are hundreds/thousands of images that have been by musicians, directors, artists, everyday people god damn photo-shopping themselves into images. why can't y'all just see the beauty and let it be ---------------------* James   "Cultural appropriation is the adoption or use of the elements of one culture by members of another culture.[1] Cultural appropriation is sometimes portrayed as harmful, framed as cultural misappropriation, and claimed to be a violation of the collective intellectual property rights of the originating culture.[2][3][4][5] Often unavoidable when multiple cultures come together, cultural appropriation can include using other cultures' traditions, fashion, symbols, language, and cultural songs without permission" Its the definition of cultural appropriation. News Flash: You cant just make up your own definitions of things. ---------------------* Hannah Marie James Nino didn't make up a definition, i never said i defined what it was, i was giving informed examples. what did i say exactly that was wrong? ---------------------* Bon N Why can't you see the gross double standards at play ---------------------* Hannah Marie Bon Nord but why do you think it's cultural appropriation? just because it's got black people in it? (genuine question) ---------------------* Aaron L Hannah Marie-Nova St Jean maybe because she literally said white people shouldn't dominate classic art and then literally stole someone's theme for a piece? ---------------------* Hannah Marie Aaron Lonnergan and you think they should dominate???? seems bizarre to me as there are millions of people in the world and one race should dominate? and if you see the work of Warhol and other pop art artists you'll see there is a heavy tradition of using other peoples images and making them ones own while still referencing the original work (like she clearly has done) but the difference is that she isn't making millions from the work. and this image has been so widely used in so many different re-imaginations, where people make fun of and transpose whatever image they want on to it doesn't make sense for this image to be so contested as cultural appropriation when people have literally put Ronald McDonald in the position of god and an overweight person, there's a Simpsons version too i just think it doesn't make sense. people interpret and re-imagine images all the time, the issue comes when someone claims the work as their own, purely original idea. that's when issues begin to arise ---------------------* Nicholas S That last sentence right there - buzz Feed makes it nearly impossible. Last year one of their big topics was how a white girl with dreadlocks was stealing from another culture. And it's just idiotic. ---------------------* Pepe C   Everything is cultural appropriation now so everybody might as well stop crying about it. Just like everybody is racist now these words have no meaning anymore. ---------------------* Igor R Yet another cultural appropriation, sure. Or is it a parody as a form of flattery? Celebration of the absent fathers, spending time in prison, while the girls are being raised by their mothers in the 'hoods? Brown skin and coils is nothing to be proud of, unless you think just an abundance of melanin is something to be proud of. But melanin is not the magic powder, not the midichlorians to make you into a Jedi. So far what I am seeing is one second-rate painter apeing the great and original artist of the past, with unintentionally funny results. ---------------------* Mathew B Isn't this just cultural appropriation? ---------------------* Daniel Z Apparently not, you know, Europe doesn't have culture apparently ---------------------* Danni T She gave credit to Michelangelo so no it is not. 😌 ---------------------* James N Danni Turner So if a bunch of white people in black face doing racist skits give credit to Bojangles then its not cultural appropriation or racist right? I mean they gave credit... ---------------------* Danni T It's racist for black face due to the derogatory comparison of said black person, but it isn't appropriating because it was made by Caucasians. So if anything, if a minority donned black face or made their face darker it would be appropriating idiocy from said Caucasian race lol. However, I would like to see you adorn black face in an all black neighborhood. It would be an exquisite scene to watch. ---------------------* Maximus Autizmus Fucking hilarious. A white girl can't braid her hair but blacks can "re-imagine" one of the most iconic European masterpieces? Double standard much ---------------------*

https://www.buzzfeed.com/michaelblackmon/god-is-a-black-woman?bftw&utm_term=.etzgENVRP#.ne0xA2KbZ

[maychorian]

Weekly Voltron Fic Recs #24

Rules: You can find past weekly rec lists here, and non-list recs in my general fic rec tag. This is stuff I like, and I have a huge bias toward Lance, hurt/comfort, and general fluff, in that order. Gen unless otherwise noted. Please comment on the fics if you read and enjoy them!

Yes, it has been a full two weeks since the last “weekly” rec list. I have a good excuse. TOO MANY fics. There have been SO MANY excellent gen fics in the last two weeks, mostly because of @platonicvldweek​, that I simply could not stop reading long enough to make a list. I am serious. And if I listed all of them, it would be just...ridiculously long. So many fantastic authors participated, and most of them posted seven stories, one for each day, and I just can’t do a rec for every single one.

So this week only, the rec list is going to be different than usual. For a bunch of the recs, it’ll a link either to an author’s collection of Platonic VLD Week fics, or one in particular that I consider my favorite, and I’ll make a few comments about how awesome they are, though that really should be a given. And I’ll ask you, my dear rec consumers, to go and read EVERYTHING each author wrote and comment as much as you can, because we need to keep encouraging this to keep the train going. IT’S BEEN WORKING SO WELL! Gen in this fandom is flourishing! It’s SO much better than other fandoms I’ve been in! That’s awesome, and it makes me really happy, but we gotta keep it going.

Not every fic here was written for the event, so some will be regular recs the way I typically do them.

So Here's what You're Not Going to Do by BreakTheDawn Words:  19,572 (WIP 9/?) Author’s Summary: He lets them take out the frustrations on him. Encourages it really, because people need an outlet for their anger, and Lance has always been the best at making people angry at him. (And if his heart twinges a little every time he has to let someone be particularly mean to him, then he just has to remember that this is what he's good at. What he's good for.) But Lance is an older brother, and an uncle, and a younger brother. He learned sometimes keeping people means sacrificing his own feelings for a bit. He's been taught that he can't always let his feelings take a back seat though. After all, what happens if the rock falls apart? So, while Lance is always prepared to be the enemy on any given day, there are certain days and certain things that he will not let fly. Or, What happens when Lance is sick of his teammate's shit. My Comments: At first I was afraid this was going to be one of those fics where everyone feels OOC in order to make Lance into the perfect woobie, but it’s really not. Everyone (except Hunk and Coran) is just having a bad day, or misunderstanding things, and they take it out on Lance because he’s an easy target for one reason or another. But Lance doesn’t take it lying down, which is good to see, though it eventually becomes too much for him. I really like these kind of emotional breakdown fics, not gonna lie, and I’m very much looking forward the healing that I know is coming. Can’t wait for more.

Friends in Space Places by VelkynKarma My Comments: I’ve recced this author before, so you should KNOW how good she is, but holy crap, she pulled out all the stops for this week. By far the highest word count, and every single word is absolute gold. I have a VERY hard time picking a favorite from this collection, but the day 7 fic is a multi-chapter How to Train Your Dragon AU that’s still being posted, and holy crap, it’s so good. SOO GOOD. But they’re all good! So much hurt/comfort, so much protective paladins, so much badassery all in one place. Just read them. Read them all.

Hand-Me-Downs, Leftovers by yet_intrepid Words: 1,181 Author's Summary: “You don’t have to lie to make me feel better,” says Keith. “I’m not lying,” Shiro says. He takes a bite of his pizza; Keith mirrors him with the burrito. “Every step is a good step.” My Comments: Short and sweet and perfect. So much feeling in a cold piece of pizza and a microwaved burrito. And I feel like I’ve had the same conversation during my college years.

A Dream Away by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) Words: 1,143 (WIP 1/?) Author's Summary: The Gen fics from my 1000 Followers Special. My Comments: Just subscribe now so you won’t miss any. The first chapter is Shiro comforting a distraught Hunk, and the rest are going to be just as high-quality.

Blue and Bruised by DizzyBunnies  Words: 13,196 (WIP 5/?) Author's Summary: While saving innocent citizens from a minefield, Lance and the Blue Lion take a beating. Lance's high brain activity threatens the use of a healing pod, so the team venture out to find a plant that may help Lance's healing process. Hunk stays behind to watch after Lance, but will he be able to hold down the fort on his own? My Comments: It’s hurt!Lance, and you know how much I like that. I really like the character interactions in this one.

How Much is that Doggy in the Window by isabeau25 Words: 1,039 Author's Summary: Prequel to "What Every Little Kid Wants." Keith finds Shiro's birthday present and the rest of the team makes sure it will work out the way he thinks it will. My Comments: I’m going to say this a lot, but read the whole series. The younger paladins work together to get a puppy for Shiro, and it’s adorable and wonderful. The first fic in the series is about Keith adopting a pet for himself, and it’s absolutely perfect.

Dream, Seam by ardett Words: 4,937 Author's Summary: Lance is the blue paladin. The Galra realize this before he does. My Comments: I’ve screamed before here about how thoroughly this fic wrecked me, but I mean it. It WRECKED me. The author and I are gonna try to co-write a sequel, because I lost control of myself and wrote a thousand words of aftermath headcanons in the comments. So yeah. Look forward to that. Also read the rest of this author’s fics for Platonic VLD Week. They’re all great. You're The Only North Star (Platonic VLD Week) by story_monger My Comments: Oh, man, so hard to pick a favorite. They’re all so GOOD, and they’re scattered evenly across the entire crew. I’m tempted to say Moonshadow, because it has hurt!Lance, but I think my favorite is actually The Beat Down for Coran just being absolutely BADASS and AMAZING and also interacting with Lance and reassuring him and just being...amazing. Gah, that fic made me love Coran so much, and I already adore him. Read it. Read them all.

Platonic VLD Week by hufflepirate My Comments: Again, pretty much impossible to pick a favorite, but the Pacific Rim AU is SO COOL. And also sad and heartbreaking, but mostly cool. Coran is an amazing mentor to Shiro, and so smart and kind despite his unease with the way the Voltron jaeger works. And his relationship with Allura and backstory with Alfor were beautiful and tragic, respectively. Read read read.

Maja's Platonic VLD Week 2017 by windscryer My Comments: Such excellent, excellent hurt/comfort, and a lot of focus on Pidge, which is refreshing. I think my favorite is Break on Me for the protective Lance, but again, they’re all amazing. Read them all.

Impulsive/Spontaneous by gringle Words: 9,230 Author's Summary: Lance and Allura finally have a bonding moment. Part of Platonic VLD week: Day 6 Injury/Healing My Comments: Such an EXCELLENT Lance, and great interaction for him and Allura. I love stories where Lance becomes a diplomat for team Voltron and uses his social skills to be amazing and badass. Yes, yes, baby, you have a thing, and it’s a fantastic thing that not everyone can do (I certainly can’t, myself), and you should be proud. I was so happy when Allura got angry, holy crap. Protective Allura is my jam. One of my jams. I have a lot of jams, but this one is delicious.

Small Fierce Things by playswithworms Words: 5,241 Author's Summary: Pidge is badly injured. Shiro does his best to angst over it, but is foiled. My Comments: Pidge is an absolute badass, and so adorable, and the way she was EXCITED about the possibilities in what most would see as a horrible, unredeemable situation was amazing, and so her. Love this one. Love Pidge. Love Shiro.

Platonic VLD Week by BrOwNiEfOx My Comments: I think my favorite is Pride as Family. Love that lion bonding, and everyone gets a chance to shine. It’s all good.

Measuring Up by MoonlitWaterSunnyRiver Words: 1,092 Author's Summary: Keith has insomnia, and finally decides to *do* something about it. Turns out he's not the only one up at night. Keith & Lance friendship, written for Platonic VLD Week. My Comments: Aw, boys. Good talk.

Foundation by buttered_onions for mumblefox Words: 8,982 Author's Summary: “Wait,” Lance says, eyes narrowed in suspicion. “I thought you said you’ve known Shiro all your life.” “I might as well have,” Keith says. The story of how Keith and Shiro meet. My Comments: STAR WARS AU. This is so so so good, holy crap. And it’s a Jed Temple Star Wars AU, where the boys are Jedi with all of the Old Republic Jedi crap about how attachments are dangerous messing up both Keith and Shiro and making it hard for them to navigate the friendship that both of them desperately need. But they figure it out. Gorgeous stuff, gorgeously written. Read the whole series.

Haircut by earthstar Words: 1,946 Author's Summary: Keith is in dire need of a haircut. My Comments: I have previously recced other fics in this series. Just read it all. It’s all good. Then subscribe to the series so you don’t miss anything. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.

Hair Care In Space by earthstar, isabeau25 Words: 7,764 (WIP 4/8) Author's Summary: Just because you’re travelling in outer space in a flying castle, doesn’t mean you can skip out taking care of your hair. My Comments: Everyone is adorable and it’s all good.

Bridge This Gap by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) for mumblefox Words: 2,287 Author's Summary: Forming Voltron comes with side effects. A birthday fic My Comments: POST-DRIFT HANGOVER CUDDLE PUDDLE FIC YES.

Gunna Go Far, Kid by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) for buttered_onions Words: 3,034 Author's Summary: Shiro finds himself in the body of a six year old. Again. He's not any more happy about it. My Comments: You should just click on anything that has BossToaster as the author.

Come Back (as pure as gold) by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) Words: 3,567 Author's Summary: When Shiro steps out of his lion after the final battle with Zarkon, something is off. Seems like he missed something. Ten years of it. My Comments: See above. Also this ones hurts and I hate it.

the art of the trade by tuesdayandtuesday Words: 2,696  Author's Summary: day three of platonic vld week - lions/bonding in which keith and red share a moment or three. s2 spoilers. My Comments: This one is gorgeous and heartbreaking and so, so worth it.

Catch & Release by anonymous_scapegoat Words: 2,625 Author's Summary: Some Galra grunt makes the mistake of putting Pidge and Lance in the same cell. It goes about as well as you'd expect. My Comments: Pidge and Lance being smart and snarky and perfect and working together really, really well. It really felt like an episode of the show.

when it rains, it pours by tuesdayandtuesday Words: 2,461 Author's Summary: day three of platonic vld week - lions/bonding in which lance cannot bear to be himself, and blue cannot bear to have him otherwise. s2 spoilers. My Comments: I love Lance and Blue interaction so much, and this is beautiful.

Family is the Mixture of Chaos and Caring by CamillaLynne14 Words: 1,883 Author's Summary: The teams morning has been... Chaotic. With a rough start to the day, then right into an intense training exercise, Coran and Allura feel guilty for how hard they've been working them. So the two form a surprise that may not go as planned. My Comments: They tried, and no one should criticize them.

Hologram by AboveWeird Words: 1,302 Author's Summary: What Lance never anticipated was missing the stars. It felt so weird, so wrong to be out here among the stars when he knew nothing of their names or the myths they took part in. Most of all he missed the sun. It seemed like a silly thing. A giant ball of flaming gases shouldn’t be so dear, but yet no other star could ever mean as much. It had watched over him, looming and unseeing, for all of his life. It was a constant. And now, by an unthinkable turn of events, it was gone. All he had left was this hologram. My Comments: Cuddle pile on Lance! It’s good.

Previously Recced Fics That Updated: Handbook of Demonology by squirenonny for Pechat Scattered by avidbeader Someplace Like Home by squirenonny Bromances in Space by ptw30 Playing Catch-Up by 5557 Love and Other Questions by squirenonny In Sickness and Health by JamtheDingus Chrono Story by Crowoxy The Size Of Our Actions by buttered_onions Silver Lining by HeIsSoBlue Project G.A.L.R.A. by GemmaRose (now complete) Coming Undone by Emerald_Ashes Beautiful Minds by PotatoBender Mini Lions by earthstar Aid by Haurvatat