The art of Race

Arts & Culture, Writings on Race No Responses »
Dec 172006

I love the idea of creating art. I’d forgotten that I had this dude in my collection of links: www.nathangibbs.com

Crayola Monologues
http://www.nathangibbs.com/crayola-monologues/
Crayola Monologues (2003) uses the crayon as a human metaphor for exploring color and identity in the United States. This animated video features crayons expressing how color hierarchies have shaped their lives. These crayons live in a world much like our own, complete with prejudice, class boundaries, social hierarchies and those who fall between the lines. Crayola Monologues also reveals the politics behind Crayola label changes, and gives a voice to the previously unheard perspective of crayons.

Race Cube
http://www.nathangibbs.com/race-cube/
Race Cube (2003) remodels the classic Rubik’s Cube with a racial twist. Rather than the abstract color separation of the original, the Race Cube poses a more concrete challenge: aligning images of people into categories based on race. Race Cube challenges not only the player’s ability to determine the race to which each face belongs, but also the fundamental assumption that distinct racial lines exist.

Self-Portrait
http://www.nathangibbs.com/self-portrait/
Self-Portrait (2002) questions purity, identity and identification, consumer culture, as well as the use of skin color as racial signifier in the United States. The work displays Ralph Lauren paint swatches arranged in a grid and held between two sheets of transparent acrylic. Together, the colored swatches form an image of the artist’s face. Self-Portrait is not only a representation of identity in terms of the artist’s self-image, but also a symbol of how people unknowingly frame their judgments using a limited palette.

Posted by Lady Kona at 10:51 pm Tagged with: , ,

Trademarking Pride III

Arts & Culture, Dykes, Sapphists & Other Cousins No Responses »
Jun 062006

I’m not the only one thinking about this and there is lots of talk in the community in general. Someone suggested that the non-profit use some of it’s money to set up smaller businesses which might, if successful, fund the parent organization. Well…

*standing on the shards of the soapbox*
Continue reading »

Posted by Lady Kona at 9:58 pm Tagged with: , , ,

Trademarking Pride II

Arts & Culture, Dykes, Sapphists & Other Cousins No Responses »
Jun 062006

I’m still thinking about this.

Who is going to pay for the things we all like to do as a community? The parades, the marches, the dances, the play parties, the street events, the printed communications, etc.

From the Vancouver Pride Society website:

    * Approximate Expenditures 2005 = $75,133

    * Insurance for Pride events: $30,000
    * City of Vancouver: $18,000 (police, transit, park permits, sanitation)
    * First Aid & Disability: $4,500 (BC Ambulance, Disabled Access)
    * Festival Equipment: $25,000 (stage, tents, speakers, stereo equip)
    * Communications: $7,500 (printers, graphics, advertising, website)

My question is: WHO IS GOING TO PAY FOR THIS?

Hell, it is a matter of public record (2006 Celebration Grants Recommendations, Spring Deadline) that the City of Vancouver provided funding for both the Vancouver Pride Society and the Vancouver Dyke March. If there was tons of extra money floating around to pay for these expenditures, they wouldn’t be approaching government for support. And since government can’t/doesn’t fund the whole thing, and because the community wants/needs free/low-cost events, then these groups go out to the corporate world to find additional funds. And like patrons to a queer event who want a good show for their money, those corporate guys want value too. Like humans, they have egos and those egos want recognotion. And those events can very quickly find that their capacity to raise those funds is diluted if they do not have control over their name because someone else is using or devaluing it.

Now. If folks want to dig deep and show up to everything and donate on top of production costs so that members of our community do not have to subsidize by volunteering… then fine. I say, fuck the trademarkign and let the people have it. But that is NOT the reality.

And I request another model that is viable in place of the imperfect one that we have currently. And until we have it then I can see no other option than to *try* to dig deep and *try* show up to everything and *try* donate on top of it and to support organizations who find themselves having to do the direct negotiation of prostitution in private, so that they can earn the lucre that allows us to feast at the table they are trying to spread.

*steps off soapbox and proceeds to hack it to pieces*

Thank you for reading.

Posted by Lady Kona at 9:53 am Tagged with: , ,

Info Out: Leslie Feinberg in Vancouver

Arts & Culture, Dykes, Sapphists & Other Cousins, Education, Sex & Gender No Responses »
Apr 222006

Leslie Feinberg
The Maggie Benston lecture series at the SFU
Women’s Studies Department 30th Anniversary

broadcasts on Shaw TV channel 4
( lower mainland only )
Saturday April 22, 2006
@ 3:30 pm, 11:00 pm*, and 12:00 am ( midnight )
*normally @ 10 pm – moved to 11 pm this week for Hockey playoffs

Feinberg is well-known in the U.S. and many other parts of the world as an activist who works to help forge a strong bond between the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans communities. As a trade unionist, anti-racist and socialist, Feinberg also organizes to build strong bonds of unity between these struggles and those of movements in defense of oppressed nationalities, women, disabled, and the working class movement as a whole. Feinberg has worked for more than 25 years in defense of the sovereignty, self-determination and treaty rights of Native nations and for freedom of political prisoners in the U.S. Leslie is an internationalist and has been part of the anti-Pentagon movement since the U.S. war against Vietnam.

Leslie Feinberg’s Publications:

2000 Stone Butch Blues : Triangle Classic Edition
1998 Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue (Beacon Press)
1997 Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to Dennis Rodman (paperback, Beacon)
1996 Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to RuPaul (Beacon Press)
Stone Butch Blues (Firebrand Books)

Posted by Lady Kona at 1:59 am Tagged with: , , , , ,

Fierte Canada Pride - meet the queers!

Arts & Culture, Dykes, Sapphists & Other Cousins, Education, Sex & Gender No Responses »
Mar 302006

I recently found out about the 2007 Fiert? Canada Pride / Region 7 conference. A meeting of International Pride organizations. http://www.vancouverpride.ca/fcp/

And after continuing to dig around (who knew there was a Pride Celebration in Iquauit!? http://www.iqaluitpride.ca/) the decisions the board made around trade marking made even more sense to me. This wasn’t a decision being made by one community but a global movement that is seemingly well organized and growing. I’m glad that the power of the name is being retained within the community. I’d fucking SCREAM if Pride Pepsi was sold on shelves or at events.

And after digging around a bit more I discovered that there is going to be a community reception, so I headed out to meet the international queers.

Fierte Canada Pride / Region 7 Conference Community Reception
Friday, March 30

Meet representatives from Prides from across Canada and hear Senator Larry Campbell present the welcome address at 6pm. Appetizers will be served.

Price: $5 suggested donation
Venue: The Oasis
Address: 1230 Thurlow St (@ Davie St)

It was lovely. Missed Larry Campbell speakign however *shrug*

Met A___ and A___ on the street as I was headed over. I’ll let here tell you about the urine sample test tube races in the Oasis.It’s really too bad they didn’t join us on the excursion. It was GOOD FUN.

A group went to a place called Samba with a bunch of the delegates. All you can eat meat in 10 different flavours plus a salad bar. WHOA!

Then it was off to lick with a pile of the female delegates. There was a Burlesque show, we got in for half price and got out first drinlk free. I flirted up an AMAZING storm. And ended up being pretty dirty with a VERY cute boi I’ve seen around but not met.YUM!

Today, me and my hangover crashed the conference. I went to the Gender session. Lukas Walther was talking about Trans inclusion and outreach.

Good times. The international conference is being hosted here in Vancouver next year. They expect 3000 people! It is being run by a newly formed NFP That includes members of the Pride Board. Apparently ther is lots of room to join.

Posted by Lady Kona at 8:42 pm Tagged with: , , , ,
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