Saturday, July 28, 2012
Jewelry and Art for Sale
In the near future we will be featuring handmade crafts, art and jewelry. Content has been inconsistent and we wish to apologise to our readers. Unfortunately our announcements are equal to our content and in the future we hope to rectify this. Please check back in the near future for new content.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Dion J. Pollard - Black Culture Artist Spotlight
Having just seen for the first time, the work of Dion J. Pollard, sometimes known by his pseudonym, "Dion Jay," it seemed appropriate to bring the artist's work to light.
The author's work, "Tree of Knowledge," [pictured below] inspired a sense of curiosity as to what the author might look like, the expectation was not anything like the reality. He looks more like a Sherman tank than an artist. Like I am pretty sure this guy gets Mr. T cloned, just so that he can eat him for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Having said that, let us discuss, "Tree of Knowledge." The image depicts a black man, with lean and sinewy arms, his face concealed behind a book with the title, "Who Am I?" The clothes worn by the man pictured are not very modern or expensive looking, in fact they seem reminiscent of workman clothes worn in the 1800s; a white shirt, canvas blue jeans rolled up and shoes that are rather ambiguously drawn and non-descript. A book entitled, "English," and the bible are also visibly located nearby.
There are several things to analyse just in the title of this book. Though certain things are left to chance and fate and are unchangeable, your race, your social circumstance, location etc. Some things may be improved just by allowing yourself an education, Frederick Douglass was a major proponent of this belief, as were many reformed "radicals," in the 1960s.
The picture represents the reconciliation of ingrained circumstance with self-improvement and effort to change for the better, in spite of negative surroundings.
Although this could take place in any era and the depicted character may very well be anyone from any circumstance, he does look very much like the archetypal early American civil war era slave. If this is the case, then there is a further message; he is not picking cotton, being hurt or tortured, he is not ploughing the dirt of a field; the message is that only when man acquires education can he truly be free.
The picture has an aesthetic similar to a cartoon, despite the detail and easily apparent tremendous amount of effort put into it. There is a divine simplicity behind the work that makes it all the more complex; still the message is clear, it is not hard to look at this and understand what you see.
Pollard has proven himself a valuable asset to not only the African American community, but the art community. The painting was clearly not made by a simple-minded person, "Dion Jay," has the kind of bright mind and potential that allow a a simple image and medium to depict a profound and complex thought. Though oppression and slavery may be inflicted upon one by another, the only person subject to mental slavery and servitude is he who inflicts it upon himself.
The author's work, "Tree of Knowledge," [pictured below] inspired a sense of curiosity as to what the author might look like, the expectation was not anything like the reality. He looks more like a Sherman tank than an artist. Like I am pretty sure this guy gets Mr. T cloned, just so that he can eat him for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Having said that, let us discuss, "Tree of Knowledge." The image depicts a black man, with lean and sinewy arms, his face concealed behind a book with the title, "Who Am I?" The clothes worn by the man pictured are not very modern or expensive looking, in fact they seem reminiscent of workman clothes worn in the 1800s; a white shirt, canvas blue jeans rolled up and shoes that are rather ambiguously drawn and non-descript. A book entitled, "English," and the bible are also visibly located nearby.
There are several things to analyse just in the title of this book. Though certain things are left to chance and fate and are unchangeable, your race, your social circumstance, location etc. Some things may be improved just by allowing yourself an education, Frederick Douglass was a major proponent of this belief, as were many reformed "radicals," in the 1960s.
The picture represents the reconciliation of ingrained circumstance with self-improvement and effort to change for the better, in spite of negative surroundings.
Although this could take place in any era and the depicted character may very well be anyone from any circumstance, he does look very much like the archetypal early American civil war era slave. If this is the case, then there is a further message; he is not picking cotton, being hurt or tortured, he is not ploughing the dirt of a field; the message is that only when man acquires education can he truly be free.
The picture has an aesthetic similar to a cartoon, despite the detail and easily apparent tremendous amount of effort put into it. There is a divine simplicity behind the work that makes it all the more complex; still the message is clear, it is not hard to look at this and understand what you see.
Pollard has proven himself a valuable asset to not only the African American community, but the art community. The painting was clearly not made by a simple-minded person, "Dion Jay," has the kind of bright mind and potential that allow a a simple image and medium to depict a profound and complex thought. Though oppression and slavery may be inflicted upon one by another, the only person subject to mental slavery and servitude is he who inflicts it upon himself.
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