Why Art?

Art is to transcend, to engender, to create, love and laugh...to go beyond, to love beyond limits, to create beyond limits, exercise joy, experience pain to your extreme sensorial capacities. Art is to render, commit, suicide of the ego...expand inertia, to light a fire in heaven...grow ice in the desert, cross the universe and extend what GOD has created...embody yourself and all things in creation at once, to let go of an inflatable balloon, to chase thought rockets, to be inebriated with the soul of the universe, to hear a baby crying and an old man dying, to flex an internal muscle in your heart, to twist science inside out and play it back on an LP on a cold day, a morsel of creative lust, another seed planted in the collective consciousness, art is to be.....................................................

Hello Kitty Channeled & Ako Pepeye

Over the past few days, I have been blessed with being able to experience such beautiful expressions of art. It all happened so unexpectedly when I went to the Hello Kitty exhibit curated by Japan In L.A at the Royal T Cafe. I have been a fan of Hello Kitty since diapers and actually, one of the first spankings I ever received was over my love of Hello Kitty. My mother came home to find Hello Kitty stickers stuck on all of the cabinets in the kitchen!!! I remember having an all Hello Kitty "school supplies" year in the fifth grade and the great heartbreak I felt at 8 years old after having loss a bag full of Hello Kitty goodies at a mall in Dallas. Ahhhh, the memories. So needless to say, I was completely overwhelmed by fond childhood memories at this exhibit. At a time when "Hello Kitty" has become so cliche', overly indulged and frankly corny, I was amazed at the artistry and originality that these artists were sincerely able to express. Along the walls and hallways of the Royal T Cafe, there Kitty was, rendered in every manifestation imaginable: Mona Lisa Kitty, Kemetic Metu Neter Kitty, Sugar Skull Dia De Los Muertos Kitty, Blinged Out Kitty, Old Skool Kitty, and finally, a giant robotic Kitty etching out her carbon foot on mother earth. I mean, can we all collectively say "WOW" in Omish and Flava Flav unity?

I was also unexpectedly blessed with experiencing the Nigerian (Yoruba) movie Ako Pepeye. Absolutely AMAZING!!! Steeped in Yoruba tradition and beliefs, Ako Pepeye is one of the most beautiful love stories I have ever seen told. I have long been a fan of Nigerian movies and other foreign films, but the simplicity and richness of this film was outstanding. It was almost like a Nigerian Lord of the Rings meets Romeo and Juliet. This film was well worth enduring the subtitles that were going too fast.

Ako Pepeye is the story of a young man named Odewale who was conceived through the help of a tree spirit to barren parents. Having had a normal and happy life in the village as a boy, he grows into a young man and falls in love with a girl from his village named Omolara. However, right before the marriage was to take place, Odewale falls victim to a powerful curse thrown on him by an evil ex-girlfriend named Ajibike. Odewale becomes gravely ill, and the only way his life can be spared is if Omolara is sacrificed to the same tree spirit that brought Odewale into being. OMG, can we say DRAMATIC!!! It's already hard enough for a young man to deal with a scorned woman, but curses and talking trees too? Could you imagine if a tree wanted to eat your fiancee??? Talking about a tear jerker. I cried and cried, and had to press pause several times, just to get through the movie. Filled with poetic language, humor, suspense, and magic realism, I was captivated and awestruck. SIGH, where would I be without great art? Thanks Hello Kitty and Ako Pepeye.

Le Mat: You're a Fool!!!

The "fool" exists in this liminal space on the cusp of both "good" and "evil." The fool both positive and negative, is a kind of purgatory that has manifested into a physical being to remind us of the necessity of these contrasting elements. Many times, the "fool" is seen as a symbol for the deliberate and unmitigated oversight in judgment that we sometimes make. However, the "fool" represents how fate still yields freedom of choice and decision making. A royal messenger of the unexpected, the fool represents our personal journey.
In the works of Shakespeare, the tumultuous journey of the protagonist is often accompanied by the presence of the "fool." Shakespeare uses the "fool" as both literary device and "joker" to keep us cognizant of the struggle between "good" and "evil" that resides in all of us and the absurdity of it.
In the global context, the "fool" is also known as a "trickster" and a divine messenger of sorts. This "trickster" figure has the potential to turn what may be perceived as "bad" into "good" and vice verse, while holding the key to our wildest dreams and our worst nightmare simultaneously. What we are many times unaware of is that we have subconsciously and consciously made moves towards both outcomes. All it takes is the slight flick of a mirror to see that the "joke" is on you! Even in a card game, it is the "joker" who has the power to turn your fate around. So spread your cards out on the table and play. The "trickster" or the "fool," while abiding on the portal of consciousness and decision making, always has one foot firmly planted and the other on a banana peel to remind us of the "foolishness" of the human experience.

Sky Blue Passions

The sky is blue today, but what is under it has changed. So much transitioning in such short time. We have lost many gifted and tender spirits in this cosmic clash of thunder storms, but life continues. It's almost as if God is preparing us for something major, but what? If I were a nebulous cloud, I would cry, not for those who have gloriously transitioned, but for those of us who are left behind with little understanding.
I think about Michael Jackson in the Bashears documentary and how this complicated spirit was so misunderstood, it's really sad how the world that created him, is ultimately the same world that destroyed him. He brought joy and happiness to the world and the world brought him pain and despair in return. All great artists seem to posses an otherworldly sadness that ultimately claims the vehicle of it's artistic creator. Much of what MJ said in the interview seemed to make perfect sense to me but somehow got perverted and twisted in order to capitalize on sensationalism. Who were the real perverts? MJ or the media? There are so many different realities that are ever present, you as the enlightened soul choose one that resonates with you best.
The sky is bright and blue, but what is it that is left below it? We all have to take responsibility for what we say and do: what we create. Are you adding to life? Or are you taking away from it? Are you sharing love, or are you taking away from it? If I want a plant to stay green I have to water it and love it and then it can give me oxygen in return. If we want our creativity to grow, we have to nurture and love it. Thank you MJ and all of those brilliant spirits who have gone on before you, for I am left inspired by the wonderful gifts you so graciously shared with us. MJ as you make that magical journey back to Guinea, please know that we thank you so much for stopping by to share your gifts along the way. The sky is so bright and blue today.

Get Your Gear On

Ladies, Get your gear on! That's right, I said it. In these rough times and hard economy and what not, you need to go shopping. Yeah, a bill or two may need to get paid, but so what! It can wait, just like everything else in life. So get your box of keenex, some visine, call PG & E and get that extension as well as your Oscar nomination. I know in these days in times with recessions and layoffs spirits can get down, so what's my remedy you ask? Shop! That's right, shop till' you drop! Who knows when you'll ever be able to shop again, as a matter a fact, your favorite boutique may not even be there the next time you return in a few months. Not only that, but look at it as you doing your part to help a broke down economy. Low on funds? Sell some of your old goods on ebay or borrow a credit card. Ask your man, and tell him if your happy, he's happy (wink). But all jokes aside ladies, the last time I went shopping I felt as I had done three hours of post-stress syndrome therapy. I felt like I had lost 10 pounds, got a raise instead of a layoff, had my rent reduced and fifty dollars dropped off of my cell phone bill. Weeeeew, I had a new lease on life and looked like a million dollars. And you can do the same, Get Your Gear On Ladies!!!

P.S- Old Navy has $2 tanks tomorrow!!!

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