NUBIAN KNIGHTS NETWORK: Wednesday, January 20, 2010

QUOTATIONS OF "BLACK"

"Whenever I use BLACK it relates to some history of Africans in that particular place. It’s the idea of the color BLACK as a metaphor, or as a representation of African-Americans. It’s the notion of BLACK- BLACKNESS - and all its other meanings in relation to the history of race..."

- Fred Wilson

"Most of my fortitude to continue doing the work comes from the moral outrage I feel about the injustices that Black people endure disproportionately daily."

- N. Abdul-Wakil

"In the end, what matters is not skin shade but pan-African consciousness. Loving your complexion, your nose, lips, hair length and texture, no matter what the politics or trends decide, and simply be. That's the problem with us (African folks). We're still learning how to love ourselves. So used to glorifying others and putting others first..."

- Dredlocks Tree

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Kehinde Wiley: The World Stage > BRAZIL
A New Book Release

Hey Black Family,

I was window browsing at Amazon.com and discovered that Kehinde Wiley's latest book of art The World Stage: Brazil just came out. I have been waiting for this book for some time and about to place an order for it.

Kehinde Wiley is a young African-America male artist whose body of work encapsulate young men of African descent from around the world. I just discovered this brutha'z work a year or so ago. And believe me when I tell you, you cannot appreciate brutha Kehind's work until you see it in an art gallery. I mean the epic scale of his paintings are ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!! The average painting is about 20 feet long (landscape or portrait).

A little over a year ago on Sunday, December 28th, 2008 I put together a social event called BIG ROD's Brotherhood Gathering / Social Outing -> Kehinde Wiley: DOWN for Black SGL bruthaz at the Deitch Projects Art Gallery venue in Manhattan. I figured it'd be a great way for bruthaz to meet one another around the subject of art instead of bruthaz meeting at the same ol' tired club and bar scenes!! It was a small gathering, but we had a great time and we went around the gallery and discussed a lot of the different pieces of Kehinde's art and what it meant to us personally. I had so much FUN and glad bruthaz came out for that. A very different and refreshing social gathering for Black same gender loving men.

I LOVE Africentric art of the Diaspora and as a result of seeing the

art exhibit twice I became a big fan of Kehinde's work. I try to pick up as many books as possible with his published works of art! I LOVE his choice of models which are just regular guys from different neighborhoods from around the world. I find a lot of his choice of men attractive and some of the works homo-erotic in nature; on he other hand some of his paintings are poignant in their portrayal of the demise of Black men. A lot of his works have eurocentric slant to them via some settings or stature because Kehinde emulates a lot of historically famous poses or settings; thus, he puts men of African descent in a context a lot of audiences of his work are not used to seeing and it creates an interesting dichotomy or juxtaposition.

So, if you haven't seen Kehinde's work in an art gallery, please keep an eye out for an exhibit in your area, or if you cna travel to a neighboring town or city, it is well, well worth it in my opinion. The brutha simply INCREDIBLE and is such a talent! Also, don't forget to pick up Kehinde Wiley's latest book of art Kehinde Wiley: The World Stage > Brazil The price is not a back-breaker and costs about $26.00. Be qool y'all!

ROD

Kehinde Wiley: The World Stage > Brazil

Book Description

This volume includes a selection of 22 new portrait paintings from Kehinde Wiley's multinational World Stage series, which has included Africa, China and India in the past and now moves on to Brazil. Immersing himself in the local culture of Rio de Janeiro, Wiley incorporates the people, history and aesthetic of the city in each of his monumental male portraits. His models, chosen from the favela slums, reflect historically significant public sculptures found within the city. Oversize tropical flowers in full bloom, appropriated from Brazilian textiles, inundate the work with saturated, brightly hued colors suggestive of Brazilian exoticism. Likening African-descended, young Brazilian males to canonical figures from Western art history as well as Brazilian public monuments, Wiley renders masculinity both august and noble. Text in English and Portuguese.

Hardcover: 64 pages
Publisher: Roberts & Tilton (January 31, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1427613737
ISBN-13: 978-1427613738
Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 0.5 inches

This Is One Of My TOP, TOP FAVORITES!!!!!
From Kehinde Wiley: The World Stage > BRAZIL,
This Is A Very Sensual Portrait
And Portrays Men of African Descent
In A Way In Which You Don't See
In The Mainstream Arts.
A REAL BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF ART!!