lexnonscripta
..lex.non.scripta..
art. design. illustrations. queer curations.
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[SUBMISSION] Please read & share Hannah Black’s open letter to the curators and staff of the Whitney Biennial
To the curators and staff of the Whitney biennial:
I am writing to ask you to remove Dana Schutz’s painting “Open Casket” and with the urgent recommendation that the painting be destroyed and not entered into any market or museum.
As you know, this painting depicts the dead body of 14-year-old Emmett Till in the open casket that his mother chose, saying, “Let the people see what I’ve seen.” That even the disfigured corpse of a child was not sufficient to move the white gaze from its habitual cold calculation is evident daily and in a myriad of ways, not least the fact that this painting exists at all. In brief: the painting should not be acceptable to anyone who cares or pretends to care about Black people because it is not acceptable for a white person to transmute Black suffering into profit and fun, though the practice has been normalized for a long time.
Although Schutz’s intention may be to present white shame, this shame is not correctly represented as a painting of a dead Black boy by a white artist – those non-Black artists who sincerely wish to highlight the shameful nature of white violence should first of all stop treating Black pain as raw material. The subject matter is not Schutz’s; white free speech and white creative freedom have been founded on the constraint of others, and are not natural rights. The painting must go.
Emmett Till’s name has circulated widely since his death. It has come to stand not only for Till himself but also for the mournability (to each other, if not to everyone) of people marked as disposable, for the weight so often given to a white woman’s word above a Black child’s comfort or survival, and for the injustice of anti-Black legal systems. Through his mother’s courage, Till was made available to Black people as an inspiration and warning. Non-Black people must accept that they will never embody and cannot understand this gesture: the evidence of their collective lack of understanding is that Black people go on dying at the hands of white supremacists, that Black communities go on living in desperate poverty not far from the museum where this valuable painting hangs, that Black children are still denied childhood. Even if Schutz has not been gifted with any real sensitivity to history, if Black people are telling her that the painting has caused unnecessary hurt, she and you must accept the truth of this. The painting must go.
Ongoing debates on the appropriation of Black culture by non-Black artists have highlighted the relation of these appropriations to the systematic oppression of Black communities in the US and worldwide, and, in a wider historical view, to the capitalist appropriation of the lives and bodies of Black people with which our present era began. Meanwhile, a similarly high-stakes conversation has been going on about the willingness of a largely non-Black media to share images and footage of Black people in torment and distress or even at the moment of death, evoking deeply shameful white American traditions such as the public lynching. Although derided by many white and white-affiliated critics as trivial and naive, discussions of appropriation and representation go to the heart of the question of how we might seek to live in a reparative mode, with humility, clarity, humour and hope, given the barbaric realities of racial and gendered violence on which our lives are founded. I see no more important foundational consideration for art than this question, which otherwise dissolves into empty formalism or irony, into a pastime or a therapy.
The curators of the Whitney biennial surely agree, because they have staged a show in which Black life and anti-Black violence feature as themes, and been approvingly reviewed in major publications for doing so. Although it is possible that this inclusion means no more than that blackness is hot right now, driven into non-Black consciousness by prominent Black uprisings and struggles across the US and elsewhere, I choose to assume as much capacity for insight and sincerity in the biennial curators as I do in myself. Which is to say – we all make terrible mistakes sometimes, but through effort the more important thing could be how we move to make amends for them and what we learn in the process. The painting must go.
Thank you for reading
Hannah Black
Artist/writer
Whitney ISP 2013-14
Co-signatories/with the support of:
Amal Alhaag
Hannah Assebe
Anwar Batte
Charmaine Bee
Parker Bright
Vivian Crockett
Jareh Das
Aria Dean
Chrissy Etienne
Hamishi Farah
Ja'Tovia Gary
Juliana Huxtable
Anisa Jackson
Hannah Catherine Jones
Devin Kenny
Carolyn Lazard
Taylor LeMelle
Tiona Nekkia McClodden
Sandra Mujinga
Precious Okoyomon
Emmanuel Olunkwa
Imani Robinson
Andrew Ross
Christina Sharpe
Misu Simbiatu
Dominique White
Kandis Williams
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THANK YOU to everyone who purchased and spread the word about my #WaterIsLife print in the last couple weeks. The print run is **SOLD OUT** and I just sent the donation to the #StandingRockSioux. Keep donating, keep calling, keep loving, keep fighting. . . . . . . #standwithstandingrock #ocetisakowin #standingrock #nodapl #nodapl🚫 #nodapl🚫👊🏽✌🏽️ #solidarity #solidaritywithstandingrock #waterprotectors #istandwithstandingrock #art4 #art4change #art4justice #✊🏽
#waterislife#nodapl🚫👊🏽✌🏽️#ocetisakowin#art4#standwithstandingrock#✊🏽#art4change#solidaritywithstandingrock#standingrocksioux#art4justice#istandwithstandingrock#standingrock#nodapl🚫#nodapl#solidarity#waterprotectors
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12 of these left! 100% of proceeds will be donated directly to the Standing Rock Sioux. Get yours, tell your friends to get theirs – help me send $1000 to Standing Rock this week! 💗 bit.ly/waterislifeLNS ✊🏽 Huge thanks to everyone who's already supported and is supporting by making the phone calls, raising dollars, sending supplies, and putting their bodies on the line. . . . . . #standwithstandingrock #solidaritywithstandingrock #waterislife #waterprotector #waterprotectors #nodapl #art4 #standingrocksioux #ocetisakowin #ocetisakowincamp #art4justice #waterislife #waterprotectors #nodakotaaccesspipeline #wemustloveeachotherandsupporteachother #supporttribalsovereignty
#waterislife#ocetisakowin#art4#standwithstandingrock#ocetisakowincamp#solidaritywithstandingrock#waterprotector#standingrocksioux#art4justice#nodakotaaccesspipeline#nodapl#wemustloveeachotherandsupporteachother#supporttribalsovereignty#waterprotectors
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Some #WaterIsLife prints are still left! Help hit $1000! All proceeds go directly to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to bolster their organizing efforts, legal support, and the resources required to host all the amazing organizers and water protectors. bit.ly/waterislifeLNS While you're waiting for your print, you can voice your support by calling the White House, the US Army Corps of Engineers, US Department of Justice, DAPL funders, and your local representatives – if you need help locating any of this info or phone numbers, DM me. ✊🏽💖 . . . . #NoDAPL #standingrock #standwithstandingrock #standingrocksioux #waterprotectors #solidarity #✊🏻 #✊🏼 #✊🏽 #✊🏾 #✊🏿
#waterislife#✊🏼#✊🏾#✊🏿#standwithstandingrock#✊🏻#✊🏽#standingrocksioux#standingrock#nodapl#solidarity#waterprotectors
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Thank you to everyone who has pledged their support of the Water Protectors at Oceti Sakowin & the Standing Rock Sioux – 1/3 of this print run sold in the first day of it being available! . . 100% of proceeds from each print will be sent directly to the Standing Rock Sioux. bit.ly/waterislifeLNS . . . #waterislife #nodapl #standingrock #donate #art4change #art4justice
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These just made their first appearance – individually and as a set – in my etsy shop; the first batch is headed out into the world. I'm eternally enamored of the ways folks react to and support my work – thank you! 💘🎁 . . . . . . #water #fire #air #earth #elements #waves #ocean #saltwater #clouds #moon #dandelion #cicada #movement #magic #elementalmagic #art #queerart #witch #inspiration #creativity #growth #destruction #healing #purification #gouache #acrylagouache #lexnonscripta
#art#lexnonscripta#cicada#saltwater#earth#queerart#elementalmagic#ocean#creativity#acrylagouache#purification#moon#destruction#movement#elements#dandelion#fire#water#gouache#witch#healing#waves#clouds#inspiration#magic#air#growth
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#WaterIsLife print just dropped in my shop! Help me raise $1000 to support the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Oceti Sakowin Camp in their struggle to defend their land, protect the waterways that supply drinking waters to millions of people in the midwest, protest corporate greed, and resist the state and national police forces that have surrounded the camp. All proceeds will be donated directly to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Donate & share! 💗✊🏽 etsy.me/waterislifeLNS . . . . . . #nodapl #waterislife #standingrock #standwithstandingrock #ocetisakowin #standingrocksioux #istandwithstandingrock #solidarity #solidaritywithstandingrock #art4change #art4 #water #illustration #artistactivist #✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿
#waterislife#ocetisakowin#artistactivist#art4#standwithstandingrock#art4change#water#solidaritywithstandingrock#illustration#standingrocksioux#solidarity#standingrock#nodapl#istandwithstandingrock#✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿
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It's a gorgeous day in San Francisco and I'm surrounded by art and queers @somarts. The Queer It Yourself Expo & Fair goes til 5. New and old prints and a ton of new @wildfancydesign pieces....plus a bunch of amazing other vendors, performance, and visual art. ✨🦄✨
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#fbf On this day in #queerhistory in 2012, @caitlinrosesweet & I presented Best Revenge as part of the National Queer Arts Festival. Best Revenge brought together 50+ queer artists in a roving show that included multiple venues (the #deappropriationproject wall on Valencia St, two long standing queer coop houses, and @alleycatbooks) street corner performances, multiple dance parties, and several visits by the cops. I created this stencil as part of our early promo then later turned the image into a pen & ink piece. . . . . #queerart #queerartists #sanfrancisco #whenSFwaswildandweird #nationalqueerartsfestival #queerculturalcenter
#deappropriationproject#sanfrancisco#queerartists#queerculturalcenter#fbf#queerhistory#queerart#nationalqueerartsfestival#whensfwaswildandweird
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From the #FemmeBestiary: meet Scylla, a sea monster/goddess originally appearing in Homer's Odyssey. Scylla sits atop a rock across a narrow strait of water opposite her fellow sea monster/goddess Charybdis, an angry whirlpool that swirls beneath a rock and an enormous fig tree (more on this one later). Some of Scylla's origin stories tell us that she was turned into a monster by goddesses who were jealous of her beauty in human form. Scylla has six heads, each with three rows of ravenous teeth, twelve tentacles, and a waist encircled with snarling, angry dogs. When, on the way to war, seafarers and sailors trespass in the strait, one of Scylla's six heads dart out and swallow the men whole. If these ships manage to evade Scylla's wrath, they are usually sucked to the bottom of the sea by Charybdis. . . . . . . . #scylla #skylla #monsters #beasts #goddess #charybdis #femme #bestiary #sailors #sea #deathtopatriarchy #nowar #mythology #lore #queerart #lexnonscripta #illustration
#deathtopatriarchy#goddess#mythology#sailors#beasts#nowar#scylla#illustration#monsters#sea#lexnonscripta#lore#queerart#charybdis#bestiary#femmebestiary#skylla#femme
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Al-nakba Day is commemorated on May 15 to mark the forced displacement of Palestinians in the wake of the 1948 Palestinian War and the declaration of the establishment of the state of Israel. Today, 68 years later, Israel continues this displacement, genocide & expansion with the financial, tactical & strategic support of the US (among others). Support Palestinian sovereignty and resistance by learning about and committing to the BDS movement (boycott, divestment, & sanctions: bdsmovement.net) and donating to rad orgs like ASWAT (who advocate/organize for Palestinian trans & queer women: aswatgroup.org). This image is from a series of BDS posters I'm working on. If you wanna help with it and love research and fact checking, get in touch! #nakba #alnakba #supportpalestinians #bdsmovement #🇸🇩 #✊🏽 #❤️
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Just another day in paradise. #🔻 #✨ #🔥#🦄 #✊🏽 #🚫👮🚫 #flaminghomosexuality #unicorns #fisting #nocopsnotever #dreambigger #queer #pansies #pearlnecklace #dagger #art #queerart #illustration #painting #gouche #ink #lexnonscripta
#art#🦄#unicorns#lexnonscripta#dagger#🔥#✨#nocopsnotever#ink#fisting#🔻#queerart#illustration#dreambigger#queer#pearlnecklace#✊🏽#🚫👮🚫#pansies#gouche#painting#flaminghomosexuality
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I've been working a new series about femme, feminine, and otherwise perceived/assigned female monsters, beasts, and God/desses in mythology and lore, the #FemmeBestiary. This is Echidna, from Greek mythology, said to be The Mother of the Greek monsters. She was a bloodthirsty spinster that lived in a cave at the end of the earth and is said to represent the destruction of man. #echidna #ekhidna #mythology #lore #deathtopatriarchy #illustration #gouache #femme #beasts #monster #queerart #lexnonscripta
#deathtopatriarchy#monster#beasts#ekhidna#illustration#gouache#echidna#lexnonscripta#lore#queerart#mythology#femmebestiary#femme
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POWER & MAGIC: A Queer Witch Comics Anthology…
…About Women of Color, By Women of Color!
Accepting submissions between February 15th - March 15th 2016.
Who Are You? And Why Queer Witches?
I’m Joamette Gil, a contributing cartoonist for EverydayFeminism.com as well as an all-around comics maker and social justice pusher. My heart belongs to speculative fiction and watching badass women of color get ahead.
In addition to being the title for the anthology, “POWER & MAGIC” is also the imprint name I’ve been sitting on for years for my non-autobio/educational comics work. I want POWER & MAGIC PRESS’s premiere anthology to encapsulate its mission: putting forth stories by myself and others that capture the relationships between us, the powers that be, and the magic of “we.”
Witches are icons of female power. They represent rebellion, transcendence, healing, feminine monstrosity, so-called “deviance,” and interconnectedness (with the earth, with their bodies, with each other).
And I’m a queer witch, of course.
Why Only Women of Color?
Because we exist and we matter!
Because our spirits soared for the Japanese magical girls on television. Because an avatar from the Southern Water Tribe captured our hearts. Because a black female protagonist is not “unbelievable” in a world where sorcery reigns and mythical beasts run amok.
Because queer women of color are on the front lines of fighting for change and justice in real life. Because the fierceness it takes to survive as both a queer person, a person of color, and a woman is worthy of legend. Because comics need women like us, and women like us need to get paid.
And because someone is going to ask this as well: yes, this anthology is open to all women of color, not just cisgender or single-gender women. Women are women!
The Nitty Gritty
Submission Period: Submissions will open at 12:00 am Pacific Standard Time on February 15th, 2016, and close at 11:59 pm on March 15th, 2016.
Acceptance and rejection letters will go out on March 31st, 2016.
Specs: All comics will be 6″ x 9″ (trim size) and in black & white (grayscale and tones okay). Stories will range between 3 - 13 pages long. More details will be provided to those accepted!
Instructions: Send an email to [email protected] with the subject line “Power & Magic Submission” including:
The name, pronouns, and role of everyone on your team. Solo submissions are fine, too!
A working title and page count for your comic (doesn’t have to be exact).
A synopsis of your story, including a beginning, middle, and end. Spoil everything relevant - I need to know! - but try to keep it under 500 words. Well under.
A list of any relevant publishing credits (whether you’re writing the comic, drawing it, lettering it, or doing everything yourself) plus links. Try to choose examples that best reflect the style you’re going for with the anthology comic. Self-published work/webcomics count! You can simply include a link to your art portfolio if you have no pre-existing credits, but please note that folks with examples of sequential storytelling will receive preference.
Tell me about yourself, your cultural and artistic background, and why you want to be in POWER & MAGIC. Short and sweet is best!
Rights: By accepting payment, you are ceding exclusive first worldwide rights to your story for a full calendar year from the date of publication, and non-exclusive worldwide reprint and digital rights in perpetuity. That means you are granting me permission to print, reprint, and sell the anthology with your work included in it (in both physical and digital format) indefinitely. It also means you are promising not to print or post your POWER & MAGIC submission until after the print copies of the anthology have been on sale for one calendar year. The *second* they have been, you can do literally anything you want with the comic pages you made - post them all on your Tumblr, reprint it as its own mini, sell that mini, submit it to other anthologies that except pre-existing work, etc - because they are YOUR sole intellectual property!
Compensation: $100 per page, per team, pending Kickstarter success.
If the Kickstarter does not succeed, for whatever reason, you are free to self-publish your submissions as you see fit, and I will have zero rights to publish your work! If everything goes well, compensation will also include a minimum of 10 complementary copies of the anthology for each creative team as well as the right to purchase more copies at 50% off the cover price for as long as I have copies in stock. If everything goes very well (overfunding), excess funds will be used to raise creator pay!
What Should I NOT Submit?
No fan comics. No autobio. No prose. No one-off illustrations. No unexamined bigotry. No genitals (sex and sexuality are fine so long as they service the plot). No excessive gore. No torture porn. No steampunk.
Wait! I have another question!
Pop it in here so I can build up a FAQ! :)
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A bunch of us have been talking for a long time about wanting to start a blog—one that fuses and fuels our interests in and obsessions with feminism and literature and pop culture, and the places w...
http://weird-sister.com/2014/10/31/welcome-to-weird-sister/
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"Pen Up the Pigs" is a handcrafted collage animation that explores connections between slavery and present day institutionalized racism and mass incarceration. Through chromatic animated histories and futures of radical collective power, the strength of left revolutionary thought and action found in every frame embeds in the viewer visual understandings of the imperative militant resistance required to combat white supremacy and racism. Animated by Kelly Gallagher, 2014. /// purpleriot.com
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SSISSTERSS is a new quarterly webzine highlighting the creative work of women who love women.
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