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OUR COMMON STRENGTH

By Tessie M. Lopez

HUMAN BEING FORMULA

By Tessie M. Lopez

MONOLITICS

By Tessie M. Lopez

WHATEVER

By Tessie M. Lopez

The Mind Will Never Die

By Tessie M. Lopez

Death Not For All But Some

By Tessie M. Lopez

Intriguing Art

Flamenco as Art, Olé!

Pablo Picasso once said, “Painting is just a way of keeping a diary”. A diary captures details of a subject in a particular moment in time, as a painting can. Unlike a diary, a painting can express more than the details of words because a painting uses colors, styles, and techniques to create a visual representation of a subject. In the painting Torment Flamenco Dancer by Layla Elamrani, the subject of a female dancer expresses happiness and freedom through the artist’s representation of Flamenco.

Torment Flamenco Dancer by Layla Elamrani

The acrylic painting on canvas, Torment Flamenco Dancer has at its center a beautiful woman wearing a long black ruffled dress, a black and white printed shawl, a red Spanish comb, and red ballet shoes. While standing on a grey floor, her posture is complex since she sways her right arm across her torso as her left arm extends above her head, holding her shawl with both hands as she performs this movement. At the same time, her right leg pushes the tail of her ruffled dress back while standing tipped toed on her left foot. Her posture shows a combination of Flamenco and Ballet movements. The dancer’s skin is very fair, her lips are pink, and her brushed back hair is arguably dark brown; the color of her hair is slightly lighter than the black dress. Thick brush strokes of red, orange, and yellow colors are blended in a half circular background, creating a look of vibrancy in the painting.

With the complex position of the subject, the details on the subject, and the combination of colors, the painting is overall aesthetically pleasant. The painting is intended for an audience that has an interest in Flamenco and or enjoys the artistic Spanish cultural representation through Flamenco. One can find Torment Flamenco Dancer for sale on most websites or painting stores that sell paintings in this cultural genre.

EXPRESSION OF HAPPINESS

The facial expression of the dancer indicates that she is happy with what she does. She has a closed smile indicated by the slight stretch of her lips and lower cheeks and a small but visible inundation below her high cheek bone reveals a dimple. Her eyes are also closed leading a viewer to imagine that they are closed because she enjoys the dance she is performing and she is feeling an emotion that leads her to dance in such a way. One can argue that her facial expression indicates happiness in that point in time the moment was captured in the painting (whether the moment was imaginary or real).

One can interpret the vibrant colors of red, orange, and yellow in the background as a representation of what the dancer feels as she dances, a mixture of vibrant emotion, meaning happiness. The thick strokes form a half circular pattern in the background, as if suggesting the dancer is about to make a twirl with her current posture. Or, the background can also represent the twirls the dance requires as well as the twirl of emotions the dance requires. Anna Kisselgoff of the New York Times describes the art and passion of the Flamenco dancer as “self-absorbed, reaching inward- a soloist even when dancing with a partner”. She describes the cultural meaning of Flamenco at its essence: “complex rhythms, structures and most important, the distilled cries of joy and pain that lie at its base”. The word torment implies emotion. In English, torment can refer to anguish but in Spanish it not only means anguish but also storm. The facial expression of the dancer does not indicate anguish but a storm of emotion as does the background of colors.

FREEDOM AND FLAMENCO

As described in The Passion of Flamenco: When dance speaks the unspoken and no language is, from the Dean Lesher Theater, one can consider Flamenco as the experience of fierce pride, love, happiness, and tears. The art of Flamenco is the completeness of being. In Spanish this completeness is regarded as “Duende”, meaning passion of the soul and expression through the sole (the tapping of shoes). The expression of a dancer’s emotions through Flamenco casts a spell over the audience and everyone becomes involved.

The dancer’s body language and attire implies a combination of Flamenco and Ballet movements. The upper part her body displays a very common position of Flamenco movement prior to a twirl. The position of her head facing her right shoulder leads the direction of the turn. The lower half of her body shows a pair of ballet slippers and her feet twisted in a way not common to Flamenco but to Ballet. In traditional Flamenco, shoes require heels for the complex beats and tap movements the feet make. The dancer’s freedom is represented through the lack of tension in her posture, a tension that is required in traditional Flamenco.

One can see the lack of tension with her shoulders, they are not held back. Her hands do not grip the shawl as traditional Flamenco requires, but rather she loosely holds the shawl. Hands require particular tensions and positions that the Torment Flamenco Dancer does not demonstrate. It is typical for the dancer to kick the tail of her dress back, but the movement requires the leg to lift and form a straight angle whereas, in the painting, the dancer wraps her left leg back as she kicks the tail of her dress. The tipped toed position implies a ballet movement since in traditional Flamenco, the dancer will never stand tipped toed but rather maintain a firm stand on the floor as a bull firmly stands in a bullfighting arena.

In regards to her attire, the cultural representation of Spain is present, as is usually with traditional Flamenco. The way her hair is slicked back and fastened with a Spanish comb, also known as a Peinetta, and the style of her dress containing ruffles, is very much an image claimed by the Spanish culture. Elamrani unmistakably appropriates the clothing to make clear that the Torment Flamenco Dancer is in fact a Flamenco dancer, since her posture can lead one to confuse her for a Ballet dancer instead of Flamenco dancer.

If Elamrani painted the dancer with the same posture but with different clothes, would one be able to guess she was a Flamenco dancer? Perhaps no because of the lack of tension in her posture. Yet the vibrant colors in the background (colors typically associated with happiness and passion in the Spanish culture), the position of the dancer’s upper body, and her facial expression may lead one to consider the possibility. However, without the Spanish attire, one would have only guessed, especially if the dancer were wearing ballet slippers instead of Flamenco taps.

The traditional dance of Flamenco- composed of complex rhythmic foot steps, tense body movements, and the expression of passionate emotion- represents the Spanish culture. In contrast to traditional Flamenco, as shown in the painting by Layla Elamrani, we can see the representation of freedom in the tension-free posture of a modern Flamenco-ballet dancer. As described by the article from the Dean Lesher Theater in Walnut Creek, Flamenco is emotion expressed through dance and is regarded as the heart of a dancer’s work. One can see the emotion of happiness expressed in the Flamenco dancer’s facial expression and we can see the freedom from tension demonstrated in her posture.

Inspiring Music

Music as a Tool to Stop Violence

Find this photo at http://www.krsone.biz

Empathy can overwhelm a person’s feelings when hearing of violence occurring in the world, but when an individual personally experiences violence, then motivation to act becomes a response to violence. In a similar way, that is how Kris Parker (KRS-One) describes his view of violence in an interview on the Alex Jones Show. Parker, a Rapper who formed the group BDP- Boogie Down Productions with Dj Scott LaRock in 1986, witnessed the fatal shooting of LaRock during a BDP concert in 1987. Parker’s inspiration against violence, rather than a rage contributing to violence, led to the creation of the album Stop the Violence, released in 1989. The song “Stop the Violence” helped generate the creation of a non-profit organization called The Temple of Hip Hop- an organization leading an ambitious movement, attempting to redirect the Hip Hop industry towards influencing its audience to prevent and stop black-on-black violence.

Would hip hop be popular if lyrics promoting violence were someday eradicated? Is Parker’s goal of redirecting hip hop, an industry worth billions, a realistic one? In the remake of Stop the Violence in the album entitled, Self Construction, released in 2008, Parker along with twelve other artists remind the audience of Hip Hop the legacy the music has- seeking freedom from oppression. In this case, with the oppression of black-on-black violence, Parker and his fellow artists ambitiously desire to influence people’s behavior to reject violence.

To answer the question if Hip Hop can succeed without violent lyrics, we can consider the history of Hip Hop- it did not start out promoting violence. According to the Harvard Dictionary of Music, Hip Hop emerged in New York around the 1970s. The music, influenced by African Americans and Jamaican immigrants, used freestyle and rap to express concerns of political, social, and personal issues. Although Rap and Hip Hop can be considered different genres, it is important to note that Hip Hop developed as a music genre along side the Hip Hop culture- an artistic improvisation movement composed of break dancing, graffiti writing, and rapping expressing freedom from Black and Latin American social oppression (Chang 90).

Since the 1970s, Hip Hop has been used to express more than societal oppressions. An increasing percentage of Hip Hop depicts sex, profanity, and violence. Much of the music requires censorship due to profane language. Parker’s goal of shifting Hip Hop back to the roots of uncovering oppressions sets a realistic goal of stopping violence through the influence of music. The contribution of opinions provided by twelve other Hip Hop artists, displays unity to stopping black-on-black violence, they thus, set an example of stopping violence through unity.

So, who are the contributing artists in Stop the Violence? Jamal Bush-The Rock, Nelly, Styles P., Redman, The Game, Ne-Yo, Method Man, Busta Rhymes, Talib Kweli, David Banner, and Lil Mama together rap about stopping black-on-black violence. Hip Hop uses its own style of language or slang, and the language used in the chorus penetrates the message: “Self Construction I said what we doin to each other What we need self construction. Cryin Mothers, dying brothers What we need self construction Never ever ran from the Klu Klux Klan. Shouldn’t have to run from a black man…” (KRS- One et al). The last line in the chorus evokes complex emotions and leaves one to consider the oppression African Americans have faced through out the history of the US. To consider the violence imposed on African Americans by other races throughout the past two-hundred years, allows one to question, should not African Americans be more united rather than divided? The division of black-on-black street violence should not exist, but rather the black community should unite to fight other oppressions and injustices they face together. By uniting, they can fight violence rather than encourage it. That is a message one can perceive from the Chorus.

Talib Kweli reinforces the notion of the responsibility Hip Hop has on society and the influence it has to encourage people to take action rather than simply discussing the issues: “Hip-Hop’s responsibility goes far beyond rappin we can talk about the happens, sing songs with action. Activist lyricism must enforce your lyricism This is how you gunna add violence and lying politicians” (KRS- One et al). The Game raps an important message of how witnessing violence motivated him to take action:

I never thought I’d tell anybody to put a gun down till last week I saw a 12 year old kid gunned down This ain’t what life’s about All this shoot em up bang bang you never think twice about that’s somebody’s son you shot somebody’s daughter you slaughtered I shed tears for our dearly departed and the shooters get Xd like Malcolm One dead in the grave one behind bars is the outcome (KRS- One et al).

Many important messages are embedded in this lyrical composition. The Game points out how he reacts to witnessing violence and he makes a clear point of the tragic outcomes of violence. Why live from violence when nothing good can possibly come of it? Unlike the other artists who rap about the violence, they are clearly trying to reach a young audience and influence them to reject violence. The Game not only reaches to a younger audience, he specifically addresses the perpetrators of violence and directly raps to the individuals who kill. He asks them to consider what they may not have considered before: “…think twice about that’s somebody’s son you shot, somebody’s daughter you slaughtered” (KRS- One et al).

Busta Rhymes discusses optimism of spreading the message of unity to stop violence: “Ayo, I’d like to see us open the lines of communication prioritizing and dealing with self preservation Being constructive is something I’m completing endorsing cuz the mind state of the youth kinda needed some reinforcing” (KRS- One et al). Again, Busta Rhymes adds strength to the goal that Hip Hop can influence and help structure a positive message for a young audience. He also brings about the concept of self preservation, like in the chorus, why should black-on-black violence exist after all of the injustices the African American race has faced and continues to face? By encouraging self construction, the artists remind the audience that they have the power to take control of their lives and make positive decisions that will increase unity among Blacks rather than division.

Parker’s movement for the black community to “self construct” rather than “self destruct” has inspired other famous hip hop artists to join in directing Hip Hop back to the roots of spreading an awareness to influence society of the negative reality the black community faces- one of black-on-black violence. Hip Hop has evolved since the 1970s to include a variety of styles and topics. Many songs in Hip Hop have included messages of profanity, sex, and violence. For this reason, rappers like Parker have taken on the role of spreading positive messages through music like the song Stop the Violence with hopes of inspiring action against violence. The lyrical composition includes messages directed to a young audience and messages directed to those who perpetrate violence. The message that “Together we can stop the violence” (KRS- One et al), reminds the audience that they too can take action and not just discuss, or listen to the issues. The fact that the black community faced so many injustices throughout history, evokes a strong emotion that because of that reason, the audience should “never ever have to run from a black man” (KRS- One et al).

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PINK MARTINI

Photo taken from http://pinkmartini.com/about/bio/

I’ve posted here some of my favorite songs from a Portland based music group called Pink Martini, formed in 1994. I would consider Pink Martini a classical jazz band that epitomizes interdependence  because they include music from all over the world in their creations. They encompass music with the inclusion of various cultures worldwide. The band’s director is Thomas Lauderdale- a Harvard graduate and remarkable pianist. Talented and beautiful China Forbes is the band’s vocal artist. They have been an international sensation and continue to appeal to  individuals of various musical preferences.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=08791D62DA3E256C