Looking Aside, Pieter Hugo

I recently found an interesting photography project while scrolling through my Tumblr dashboard. The project, by Pieter Hugo, is called "Looking Aside" and is strictly photos of unique individuals from the shoulders up. Pieter Hugo specifically picked individuals who are seen as the least photogenic by society. His subjects include albino individuals from Johannesburg, the blind, the homeless and the elderly. He also includes photos of himself and his family in the project. The point of Pieter's project was to force viewers to come face to face with those individuals we may see on the street, but turn and look away from because of their appearance. When I first viewed the project, I was simply clicking through the reel of photos, and was near the end when I glanced down at the caption and realized the individuals were from Johannesburg in Africa. Their lack of pigment caused them to be unidentifiable to a specific background or ethnicity on first sight; I began to realize that maybe this group of individuals were being 'looked aside' in our society because of their inability to be identified on sight, making them seem peculiar and unusual. Personally, I thought this was a beautiful thing. Hugo's ability to convey such a deep and profound message in his project and leave his viewers confronting their fears and prejudices is remarkable. He has many other projects similar to these, all found on the website.

Looking Aside

Love Poem Medley by Rudy Francisco

This poem, written and spoken by rudy Francisco, is an amazing work of art. His ability to use words to string together an amazing verse that evokes such intense emotions is beyond amazing. The sensory words he uses causes the listener to envision what he is saying and all the while, the listener is also being drawn into this poem by the deep emotion behind it. The words and emotion cause every person that listens to be able to relate to his love poem and bring their own personal feelings to it. My favorite line from the poem is when Rudy says, "  I'm 'gunna be honest, I'm not a love poet... but if I was to wake up tomorrow morning and write about love, I swear that my first poem, it would be about you. About how I loved you the same way I learned how to ride a bike... scared. But reckless, with no training wheels or knee pads so my scars could tell the story of how I fell for you."  When I first heard this line, I was amazed at Rudy's ability to make the comparison between riding a bike and falling in love so vividly. He is able to take two experiences most people have shared and unite them into such a striking statement. I admire Rudy's ability to weave words together in such an artistic way. He is definitely an artist to be watched!

Maya Freelon Asante

Maya Asante has quickly become one of my favorite contemporary artists. After seeing her biography on an exhibit page, and then checking out her personal blog, I came to admire Ms. Asante's use of color, technique, and ability to range from different mediums. The first works of hers I viewed was her works in tissue paper. I thought this work to be extremely creative, since, to most, tissue paper is a simple commodity or use for elementary art rather than fixtures in an elaborate work of art. My favorite piece, The Blood of Our Ancestors, done with ink on paper, is definitely a thought-provoking piece. Her enticing use of colors brought my eye into the piece, and adding such an intense title makes the colors act as interpreters to viewers of the piece. Asante's inspiring works continue to be rewarded and admired by viewers everywhere, even world renowned poet and artist Maya Angelou is quoted for having admired her work. Maya Asante should definitely be brought up in the names of the exceptionally talented contemporary artists in the world today.