Category: Pop Art/Culture
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Dispatches from Quarantine, March 2020
As we all try to make sense of this constantly fluid global pandemic, I have been wrestling with my definition of control. As a writer, I take solace in working alone in my own environment and over the last two weeks our Raleigh apartment has doubled as a co-working space, as my husband has…
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Booths Without Borders at DesignerCon 2017
For pop culture enthusiasts, there’s an unlimited number of conventions where you can connect with your tribe. There are gamer cons, comic cons, anime cons, dragon cons, quilt cons and even a con that celebrates inclusion. I love spaces where art and kitsch collide and for the past 10 years, DesignerCon has become one of…
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Yayoi Kusama Comes to the Broad in October
On September 1 the Broad will place 50,000 tickets on sale online for its highly anticipated fall show and anxious Angelenos hitting refresh on their browsers might end up feeling like they’re in an endless infinity loop. Consider it visual dexterity training for Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrors opening in October. The traveling exhibition’s L.A. layover will feature 6…
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Artist a Day Challenge (24): Mark Bradford’s Homage to the Roxy
I have this mythologized view of New York that I have created entirely from the city’s nightclub scene between 1973 and 1987. The Loft, the Gallery, the Paradise Garage and the Roxy sit at the center of this utopia, with the music in these venues acting as the heartbeat of the city. Notice I didn’t mention Studio 54, because in my…
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Artist a Day Challenge (21): Kahlil Joseph, Shabazz Palaces and Kelsey Lu present, “Music is My Mistress”
The Kenzo team snuck around and dropped off this video, tip toeing away like it was a secret gift. It’s a visual stunner which comes as no surprise with Kahlil Joseph as director. Music is My Mistress is a short film featuring Jesse Williams as an Easy Rawlins style private eye who’s tracking down a man and his mistress for Tracee Ellis Ross; Kelsey Lu and…
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In Memoriam: The Legacy of David Mancuso
In San Francisco in the 1990’s, the club scene fell into one of two camps: the heavily promoted, large scale parties at Club Townsend and the Sound Factory or the smaller word-of-mouth underground parties like Informal Nation, the Beer Cellar and Sophies, (Raves rested somewhere between the two). My world revolved around the underground. You wouldn’t hear about…
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Common Reveals Hip Hop’s Lost Soul
The beautifully close cropped faces staring into the camera for Common’s latest video for Black America Again dare the viewer to look each subject directly in the eye. Their gaze is strong, inquisitive and evocative; you quickly get the sense that their gaze is knowingly somehow directed at you, challenging you to see them as complex individuals with unique stories,…
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The Let Down: Netflix’s Ambitious Take on the Birth of Hip Hop Falls Flat
The 2015 Netflix trailer for the Get Down gave us a glimpse of 1970’s New York and the birth of hip hop with the fire and drama you would expect from a Baz Luhrmann production. When the show launched August 12, they managed to deliver on lush cinematography, stunning style and familiar hip hop samples, but well after an…
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The Legacy of Larry Levan, the Soul of Paradise Garage
Legendary producer/ DJ Larry Levan’s birthday is today, so I thought I would pay tribute to the musical master by giving you a sneak peek of a project I’m launching on TONDI soon. This piece is best read by listening to Levan’s music and this 1979 live recorded set at the Paradise Garage is about as good as it…
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Artist a Day Challenge 2016-12: Lakwena
The Friday before a long weekend holds so much promise. I’m counting down the minutes until 5:00, so until then I am living for the work of Lakwena Maciver. Her work combines the bold, geometric lines found in Sol LeWitt’s wall drawings with the colorful graphics of 8 bit video games. Lakwena’s energetic paintings are punctuated with woodblock…
Colony Little, Culture Shock Art 