Friday, November 24, 2017

THE DESIGNER WHO TOOK TIME: Azzedine Alaïa


Fashion's most independent designer, whose work was more architecture and sculpture ("I dress women directly on their body, by intuition") than fashion. 

He dedicated his life to the belief that fashion was more than just garments; to him, they were as much an element in the empowerment of women and of a broader cultural conversation. He used leather and knits to shape and support the body, transforming it into the best version of itself. He eschewed external decoration for internal integrity, weaving pattern and adornment into the weft of the garment itself in ways that were almost undetectable to the outside eye.

His introduction to art came from Madame Pinot, a midwife who helped birth the children in his family, including him. "She gave me books and pamphlets to art exhibitions" and, against his father's wishes, registered him at the School of Fine Arts in Tunis.

AA passed away suddenly last weekend at age 82.


watch a 26 minute untitled homage to Azzedine Alaïa. 




Thursday, November 23, 2017

Simon Moya Smith

Native American Heritage Day falls on the one day each year
when Americans ravenously indulge in material possessions
— Black Friday. So is this an insult to Native Americans?
Of course it is. How could it not be?
If Native American Heritage Day fell on Nov. 5, for example,
then students would be in the classroom and teachers could
offer lessons about the Native American today. But no.
Instead, streams of bundled-up shoppers are standing in
line to make their purchases, with the class the last thing on any kids’ minds as they sit watching TV.
If we’re going to choose a day for Native American Heritage
Day when school is out, then how about Thanksgiving Day
itself? Why not? That way we could learn about the real
history of the holiday, and not the romanticized version
we all hear about.
Simon Moya Smith
Essay on CNN

Winona LaDuke

There is this magical made-up time between Columbus Day
(or Indigenous People’s Day for the enlightened) and Thanksgiving,
where white Americans think about native people. That’s sort of
our window.
November is Native American Heritage Month. Before that, of course,
is Halloween. Until about three years ago, one of the most popular
Halloween costumes was Pocahontas. People know nothing about
us, but they like to dress up like us or have us as a mascot.
We are invisible. Take it from me. I travel a lot, and often ask this
question: Can you name 10 indigenous nations? Often, no one can
name us. The most common nations named are Lakota, Cherokee,
Navajo, Cheyenne and Blackfeet — mostly native people from western
movies. This is the problem with history. If you make the victim
disappear, there is no crime. And we just disappeared. When I
travel, I get this feeling someone has seen a unicorn in the airport.
Winona LaDuke
Essay in Inforum

Sherman Alexie


Q. Do you feel like you’ve been able to make Thanksgiving your own?
A. You take the holiday and make it yours. That doesn’t strip it of its 
original meaning or its context. There’s still the really sad holiday as well. 
It is a holiday that commemorates the beginning of the end for us, the 
death of a culture. I guess you could say Thanksgiving is also about survival, 
look how strong we are.
Q. How do you talk to your kids about the Thanksgiving story?
A. You just tell them the truth, the long historical nature of it. They’re 
quite aware of what happened to us, the genocide and the way in which 
we survive and the way in which my wife and I have survived our individual 
Indian autobiographies.
I guess it’s trash talking: “Look, you tried to kill us all, and you couldn’t.” 
We’re still here, waving the turkey leg in the face of evil.
Sherman Alexie
Interview in Bitch Media

Thursday, November 16, 2017


radish tips in the sink.

Monday, November 13, 2017

parler parlay


a friend in India sent this to me today.


Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Anita Hill



“I was able to tell the truth of what happened in the face of all those people trying to completely silence me."

+ this

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Dee Rees



Dee Rees.

Pariah (2011) with Adepero Oduye as Alike
Bessie (2015) with Queen Latifah as Bessie Smith 
Mudbound (2017) with Mary J. Blige as Florence Jackson


tautog