Lucid Tributes to Black Life

Good morning. ☀️ Today, activists are utilizing an ancient form of Arabic to bypass social media cens

May 20, 2021 • View in browser

Good morning. ☀️Today, activists are utilizing an ancient form of Arabic to bypass social media censors, a new book by Thomas Rinaldi delves into the fascinating history of design patents, and archaeologists are burying ancient mosaics as an unusual but effective method of conservation.— Jasmine Weber, News Editor

A Weird and Wonderful History of Design Patents Patented by Thomas Rinaldi is an illustrated journey through more than a century of American trends and technologies. Lauren Moya Ford

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Carrie Mae Weems, "Untitled" (1 of 7) (1996, printed 2020) inkjet print with sandblasted text on glass in wood frame (courtesy the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC)

To subvert Facebook and Instagram’s censoring of Palestinian content, Arabic-speaking social media users are reverting to a thousand-year-old version of the language that eliminates dots from the modern alphabet. Experts are burying ancient mosaics underground in order to preserve them. A Carrie Mae Weems piece was acquired by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and installed next to the 19th-century sculpture it references.

SPONSORED The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery Presents "The Obama Portraits Tour" Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald’s iconic portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama will travel to five cities across the US from June 2021 through May 2022.

Latest Reviews

Jennifer Packer’s Lucid Tributes to Black Life In Packer’s canvases, swathes of abstraction express aspects of human experience that lie beyond representation. Naomi Polonsky

SPONSORED Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival in Toronto Celebrates 25th Anniversary Edition The 2021 Festival focuses on public installations across the city for artists to meaningfully engage with audieces while examining critical issues.

Maia Ruth Lee’s Artworks Pick Up Where Language Falls Short In The Language of Grief, Lee’s canvases read like a fragmentary novel, building out the story of a year through mundane bits and extraordinary pieces. Kealey Boyd

SPONSORED A New Twist on Marine Painting at the Peabody Essex Museum Artist Alexis Rockman examines the future of our planet through historic shipwrecks.

Poetry

Raising Black Boys in a House of Love in this house black boys blossom black boys bloom JP Howard

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