Dekit Magazine: Issue #5 Meme

5: SUMMER/ FALL 2015

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Inspired by the word, created by author Richard Dawkins, we present issue #5 MEME. Culture shapes our identity and our behaviors.

From the moment when we are born, culture affirms the language we speak, the foods we eat, our beliefs, the clothes we wear, and our relationships.

We are often times influenced by ideas, behaviors and styles without realizing it, without a choice or consideration. There are those who stand up against opposition; who challenge our identity and behaviors with their questions or ideas; who usher perspectives that create choices and ultimately refine or redefine a culture.

We present CREATORS whose work aims to challenge societal norms with new language and rejection of old molds. We are sharing CREATORS that bring attention to aspects of culture that are either, widely visible, or grossly overlooked. We explore the phenomena of memes through CREATORS, as they are, by design: historians and architects of culture.

To meme or not to meme: that is the question.

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SWAY

Wi n ter 201 5

table of contents

radiate racy

rap

SOPHIA WALLACE 98 E. JAGUAR Are You Cliterate?

Best of Both Worlds BECKFORD 1 36 Rainbow Fashion Week JONATHAN STEIN 46 JEFFERY ONYANGO OTIENO 36 Super Sized and Blinged LMNOPI 74 21 st Cenutry Youth The Art of Protest DALE GRIMSHAW 1 4 RICHARD PRINCE 83 DZO OLIVIER & People of Intense Gaze If OnlyWe Could Interview MYRANDA ESCAMILLA SANDRA CHEVRIER You 20 1 28 Vulture Culture RAIN DOVE 11 8 The Juxtaposition of Women and Superheroes What is Gender Neutrality? GABY CEPEDA FERNANDEZ 56 BOOK REVIEW: 11 0 Girls on the Web Eren Saracevic's Nostalgia SAM KIRK 8 AYAKAMAY 62

dekit dek on music: scene:

Through Eyes of Culture

@dekitdekit: TO #MEME OR NOT TO #MEME? 4 | SUMMER/FALL| 201 5

TIRON & AYOMARI

New York, NY

I F IGHT D RAGONS RAURY

D ORIAN CONCEPT

editor, creative director, founder Stephanie Harris editorial interns Clare Schubert Samantha Flores contributors Ayakamay Dale Grimshaw Derrick Carter DZO Olivier Eren Saracevic Gaby Cepeda Fernandez E.Jaguar Beckford Jeffery Onyango Otieno Jonathan Stein LMNOPI Myranda Escamilla Nazya Ayaz Rain Dove Sam Kirk Sandra Chevrier Sophia Wallace Dekit Magazine is published by Dekit,LLC. Š201 5 All rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited. Unless otherwise noted, artist retain copyright to their work. The publisher will be pleased to correct any mistakes in our next issue. info@dekitdekit.com www.dekitdekit.com

Cover Sophia Wallace Photograph by Stephanie Harris dekit |

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WITHOUT MEMORY, THERE IS NO CULTURE. WITHOUT MEMORY, THERE WOULD BE NO CIVILIZATION, NO SOCIETY, NO FUTURE. 足 ELIE WIESEL (JEWISH WRITER, PROFESSOR, POLITICAL ACTIVIST)

Model: Nazya Ayaz of StyleMeister Photographer: DDOTCARTER Creative Director: Stephanie Harris

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Through eyes of Culture

By Clare Schubert Photography courtesy of Sam Kirk

"In addition to my own culture, I celebrate other cultures. As people move around the world, they merge their ethnic culture with community culture, which plays a role in developing their identity." ­SAM KIRK

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aised in a multicultural family, surrounded by an array of cultures and traditions, Sam Kirk was often found mingling with various ethnic groups. From an early age, she was exposed to the melting pot that now defines the United States. As seen in her work today, Kirk plays with the intersection of culture and identity to raise cultural awareness and tolerance of those around us.

She wants her subjects to be known and recognized; in contrast to artists who simply paint their muses. Instead, she develops a full narrative which often address controversial topics such as race, sex trafficking, gentrification, poverty, and homelessness.

Now, splitting her time between New York City and Chicago, Kirk still seeks inspirations on the streets of her two beloved cities. Above all, Kirk refuses to be another face in the crowd. She has chosen to take a stance against injustice and uses her artwork as a platform for generating effective dialogues about the future.

Kirk serves as a representative for urban communities; we can only applaud her efforts and admire her determination for change.

While her use of vibrant colors, and playful imagery are sure to delight, what most impresses us about her work is the passion and inspiration behind it all. Activist, artist, and storyteller, Kirk beautifully captures the stories of those she meets. In 201 2, Kirk launched her site Provoke Culture which celebrates multiculturalism and dedicates itself towards Let’s first talk about Provoke Culture. The facilitating a more integrated United States.

concept of ‘culture’ can reveal itself in Kirk wants viewers to take notice and connect a different shapes and forms. The word itself of numerous components ranging specific story, cause or purpose to each piece. consists from identity, heritage, social behaviors, and dekit |

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traditions. Looking at your dynamic body of work, it appears that you want to talk about many social issues. What does the title ‘Provoke Culture’ represent, and how does it describe your brand and artwork?

The only reason I feel a clear difference between my European and Latin cultures is because American culture has made it that way.

Growing up, my mom had a heavy influence on us, she made sure we were in diverse schools and programs where we were engaging with Provoke Culture is a call to action; encouraging cultures other than our own, but back at home people to explore culture and become familiar my father reminded us that we were less than with communities outside of their scope. My him. work dissects the intersections of culture and identity. Often throughout my research there are He made sure we knew we were Latinos and social behaviors, issues, and politics that come tried to teach us a "white" way of living. It was into play while studying these layers. I view my confusing as a child, but as I grew older, with work as a visual journal that shares features that strongly resembled my mother's, experiences that I or others have had as we my experiences shaped my perspective. search for our unique selves.

The truth is my father’s choice in speech was You did a series that focuses on sex emotionally damaging to my natural interest in trafficking. What is the link between the use his culture. The combination of his language of actual trafficking tickets and the imagery toward us, and the obstacles faced in society, you created? Do you feel that sex trafficking has become too common like the thousands caused a delay in my desire to want to understand his culture or Anglo-European of traffic tickets given out daily? cultures.

Sex trafficking is so common we don't even see it as it is happening right before our eyes. I I have since explored European cultures during started this series because there is a significant my travels and through my own research. As I number of youth, specifically LGBTQ youth, that am able to formulate my thoughts on more of participate in sex trafficking as survival sex. In these experiences, they will manifest in my many cases this is due to homelessness, which work. is often the result of family rejection. Social issues arise in my work as part of the story Your work largely deals with identity and because it plays an integral role in the lives of how to express oneself. Every artist chooses how much of themselves they want the people that I encounter.

to insert in their art. After coming out, did find satisfaction and freedom in being I utilize traffic tickets as my canvas because it is you able to express another part of your own a representation of a violation. Traffic tickets are identity? given out daily, and people are violated in the sex trade daily. Additionally, I thought the image of a ticket and its unnerving coloration would draw attention.

There are substantial differences between European culture and Latin culture. Do you ever feel torn or conflicted between the two spheres of your background, and how does this manifest itself in your paintings?

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I CAME OUT WHEN I WAS 1 5, AND IN MY TEENAGE YEARS , I USED ART AS A WAY TO UNDERSTAND MYSELF.

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Photography by Stephanie Harris

THE PEOPLE THAT I PORTRAY IN MY WORK ARE INTERPRETATIONS OF PEOPLE I HAVE MET AND /OR EXPERIENCES I HAVE HAD .

I came out when I was 1 5, and in my teenage years, I used art as a way to understand myself.

I look back at my high school sketchbooks and am amazed. Between 2002 and 2008 I took a break from art. As I began to experience what life was really like as a gay woman of color, I stopped creating art and spent most of my time discovering who I was. In many ways I still am.

specific elements that are part of my interactions.

A series of relationships with people who came from unaccepting families took a toll on me, and it wasn’t until recently (in 201 2), that I opened that door again to put my full self into my work. The work I am creating now is extremely fulfilling. Every year, I open up another door to letting go and put it out into the world.

The people that I portray in my work are interpretations of people I have met and/or experiences I have had. Meeting new people and learning about their life is the part of my process that I appreciate the most.

What grabs viewers immediately is a sense of raw emotion and vulnerability in these portraits. We feel connected to these people and want to know more about them and their stories. Are all of your characters based on real encounters and meetings?

The idea of ‘urban culture’ lies around the number of people in one concentrated space: often strangers and of different cultural groups. How are you attempting to bring these divergent cultures together through your art?

Your most recent series of portraits seems to deal more with urban culture. The work aims to portray a narrative, to show a full image, to introduce a certain ethnic group, figure, or character to your audience. How do you represent your character’s unique In addition to my own culture, I celebrate other personality and showcase their story cultures. As people move around the world, through one, solid image?

The subject of my work has many layers; providing the full story on a flat surface is a challenge, but that is part of the reason why I work in multiple mediums.

they merge their ethnic culture with community culture, which plays a role in developing their identity. I will maintain my focus on placing myself in a variety of new environments where I can continue to experience these intersections.

This is how I will carry forward in creating art which celebrates everyone.

My work is very exploratory. I spend a good amount of my time experimenting with materials to find the best way to deliver my message. My work varies, but in regard to my portraits which For more information about Sam Kirk visit, are usually 2D, I focus on characteristics that www.iamsamkirk.com combine cultural or daily practices, landscapes, personality, expressions, body language, and dekit | 1 3

INDIGENOUS GAZE DALE GRIMSHAW

by Stephanie Harris Interview by Samantha Flores Photography coutresy of Dale Grimshaw 1 4 | SUMMER/FALL| 201 5

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like on record sleeves. Also, artists like John Heartfield - where ideas would be collected from various places and then all placed together. I like the idea of using incongruous elements to make a strange or surreal image. I was thinking about the remote tribes around the world and then conjured up images that represented the polarized opposite to them and the way they live. There is the obvious Images of indigenous cultures juxtaposed with political/environmental angle to what I'm doing those of a "modern" world, serve to remind too. viewers of the often forgotten tribes of people; people whose lives are more intimately shared The portraits that you create have the realism of a photo but the aesthetic of a with the Earth and its resources. ich with vibrant color and intense gazes that are slightly haunting, Dale Grimshaw’s work aims to draw our attention to those whose worlds seem to be distant, yet are adversely affected by our consumption, waste and forces of corporate profit.

Grimshaw is a London based artist. His largescale portraits of indigenous people have been found all over the UK, on the surface of corporate buildings and places such as Disney World London.

Your portraits have intense gazes. What do you see them saying to the people that look at them? What message do you want society to take with them?

I'm just very interested in producing strong imagery. I don't always know what I'm looking for when it comes to the overall expression or mood. I certainly don't go for anything sentimental - I hope I'm catching a defiance, a pride or a feeling of wisdom in the people I paint, if anything else. Although extinction isn't really a new concept to the world, we are changing the face of the planet and the living, breathing creatures on it at an alarming rate. I imagine the people in the images are saying, “How long now before all the things we are and love is carried away?"

painting. When you look into their eyes, you can see they have a story to tell. As if they are desperately trying to communicate with us. Are the subjects in your work imagined or taken from real life? Do you have any connection with the indigenous people?

The images come from all over the place, some are made up of various faces in Photoshop to get the right look or feel I want. But yes, the eyes are important and they will often anchor a piece - so they have to be intense enough to get people's attention. I've always been interested in military or ceremonial costume since I was young, so the connection is a very visual one.

I'm going to be doing a mural in London for the Free West Papua Campaign; the West Papua people are brutalized on a daily basis by the Indonesian military, while all forms of protest are being crushed, along with a media blackout.

Seeing the indigenous people in vibrant color against the muted, grey landscape of our corporate world, it invokes a feeling that our society has lost something the Where did the idea of placing the indigenous have. Do you believe that, as we indigenous culture, with vibrant color, become a more advanced civilization, we are against the mute and colorless landscape of losing some of the richness of culture? the corporate background come from?

Unlike the Indonesian and African communities?

I used to like a lot of the punk collage art,

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WE LIVE IN A

CAPITALIST SOCIETY WHERE THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE DONT THINK ABOUT WHERE ALL THE DAILY LUXURIES COME FROM .

'2 Worlds' was a working title that just ended up outstaying it's welcome! I don't think we are fundamentally different as people. My two worlds focus is more on a visual one using references to Hollywood, Disneyland, fast food chains, as well as war technology. These are all juxtaposed with images of authentic people that live largely by what is known as primitive culture.

Disney World is considered "The Happiest Place on Earth." Are you challenging this constructed concept of happiness by placing the indigenous people in the forefront and making them more vibrant and alive than Disney?

Yes, I think we are losing touch with the basics.

The internet means we can buy things online without any interaction with other people. We can buy cheaply priced products, probably made by someone less fortunate than us on the other side of the world. We live in a capitalist society where the majority of people don't think about where all the daily luxuries come from. If you look at the food industry for instance, (meat and poultry in particular), we are so removed from the products we eat.

Why is your project called ‘2 Worlds’? What do you believe separates our culture from theirs besides our advancements?

I would say I am challenging that concept to a certain degree. I use a lot of references to Americanisms, but not for the reasons you've mentioned. I'm simply placing something that represents an organic, grass roots, age-old and ceremonial approach next to another element that is equally colourful but yet is contrivedsomething that for me represents, and is rooted to, imperialism and globalization.

By using the blurred lines, you give your portraits a bit of a haunting presence. It forces the audience to notice them among their daily lives. How do you see your work calling attention to a culture that is widely ignored?

The blurred lines or haunting presence is really a stylistic approach for me. I like to give the figures a feeling of movement or energy sometimes this comes out looking like an aura or as you say, haunting. I like this as I find a lot of figurative painting, whether it's with oil paint or a spray can, to be a little lifeless and rigid.

For more information about Dale Grimshaw visit, www.dalegrimshaw.com

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by Samantha Flores

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ulture Culture is an art movement that celebrates the death, and life, of an animal by taking a piece of bone or skull and giving it a rebirth through the creative process. By adorning bones and skulls with foliage, drawing on them with ink, or even dipping them in gold, artists pay homage to the animal’s past and give it a new life. This art is a commentary about changing how we perceive death and tries to show audiences how everything, even themselves, can be reborn. Nothing is ever truly dead and gone. These artists breathe vitality into history and make it relevant for everyday life.

Their pieces tell us not to fear death, but embrace it as a chance to become something more.

Photo courtesy of DZO Olivier

Photo courtesy of DZO Olivier

Photo courtesy of DZO Olivier

I SEE THIS AS A KIND OF HOMAGE TO THE PAST OF THE ANIMAL' S LIFE AND CONSECRATION OF HIS PASSAGE ON E ARTH . P EOPLE SEE DEATH LOOKING AT A SKULL, BUT I SEE LIFE .

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elf-taught French artist DZO Olivier creates meticulous hand drawn pieces without using any type of eraser. He celebrates the mistakes, spontaneity, and organic lines that go into his work without any kind of sketch or draft to follow. Creating this way allows his work to comment on the unexpected paths and journeys we take in life.

His designs intertwine with one another to build a bigger picture that comments on life, death, and rebirth.

single dimension of being and non-being.

As you paint on a skull, do you see yourself celebrating death?

I do not celebrate death. I study it and I play with these obvious residual signs. Like the old adage "Memento Mori", mortuary signs invite us to enjoy life by reminding us that everything has an end. I will recall this principle continuously. It helps to fight against fear.

How does the type of skull/bone affect what you create?

You began drawing on skulls, bone, and rocks because you ran out of paper. Why Its surface affects my pencil's traits. The did you turn to this new medium? What different textures force me to continually adapt to its irregularities. It is a gentle test both about it drew you in?

physical and mental. It takes a lot of patience This is not the first time I've changed mediums. and Zen. This opportunity came and I entered. This provides new sensations and develops the Do you look to change the public’s imagination. I am always attracted by new kinds perspective about death? of graphics or experiences. It breaks the Yes I do. I think this is one of my posts. But routine. beyond the topic of death, I want to explain that Does creating art using a skull/bone give it a one can die and be reborn several times in a new form of life or does it celebrate the life it lifetime. Certain factors can extend our worldview. Sometimes these parameters are lived? shocking because they take us out of our Definitely! I see this as a kind of homage to the mental habits. If we accept them, we are reborn past of the animal life and consecration of his on new foundations. passage on Earth. People see death looking at a skull, but I see life. I also note the Whenever our perspectives expand, our horizon psychological blocks. The majority of people recedes, our worldview lies beyond the visible who don’t have awareness. They focus on a world...we put our finger on the dimensional dekit |

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I WAS ATTRACTED TO SPIRITUALISM , AND THE

DEATH OF SOME MEMBERS OF MY FAMILY MADE ME THINK ABOUT THE IRREVERSIBILITY OF THE P ASSAGE .

My first experience with death dates back to my childhood. I was attracted to spiritualism, and the death of some members of my family made me think about the irreversibility of the Passage.

This is an ongoing relationship that allows me to see things positively. Today, I am against everything that relates to the anticipated destruction of life (military, weapons, neo liberalism, extractivism, destructive energy, etc).

I am an environmentalist and I struggle for survival of life.

Many of your other works involve death and rebirth; does drawing on a skull elevate this How was death celebrated in your family? message more than on paper?

The skull is one of those factors you need to know how not to overstep. This is a very strong symbol that conveys a negative image when our mind is trapped in superficial concepts. So, yes. Drawing on a skull promotes a more open mind than a sheet of paper.

We think that everything is over. So we cry because we remember that one day it will be our turn. Believing in the survival of the soul is a belief that prepares for a departure in peace.

How do you pay homage to the animal you use in your work?

Many people associate bones with decay Being a vegetarian and thinking about HIM/HER and rot, do you think this elevates or when I’m drawing on HIS/HER temple’s detracts from your message? structure.

No. It only reveals a very low level of reading Does the animal change how you see the signs. This shows how we are paralyzed and project? constrained by our aseptic education.

No. The animal just accepts me to be linked to How do you find, and treat, the bones you him/her. My art can still be aleatory.

create with?

How would you describe your work to those

The skull was found on a vulture area. The that say it is morbid? animal naturally died and was cleaned up by the birds in the mountains.

It’s their own soul mirror. They only can see morbid things because they are ‘morbids’ and What was your first experience with death? they surely are afraid in front of a powerful How did that influence your relationship symbol. Symbols are the language of our with it? unconsciousness. You should work to 24 | SUMMER/FALL | 201 5

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I CAN IMAGINE AN EMPATHIC WORLD

WHERE EACH LIVING BEING CAN FEEL AND SUPPORT THE FEELING OF EACH OTHER. understand this hidden part of your being. But, So, you're right. My drawings are often created this is impossible for most of people. to impulse this energy. The difficulty is to deliver a message without giving a definition. All people Doors are closed and locks are rusty by limited who discover my artwork should understand and oriented beliefs. this but I can't explain it too much. Everyone to find their own way. It works like this.

You mention the ‘psychological blocks’ that has people have. Why do you believe that the Symbols work like this.

majority of people have only a single Can you explain a bit more about your dimension of being and non-being? perception of the ‘limited perspective’ that have? What would the world look like I believe that all people have the ability to people if everyone expanded his or her access more dimensions, but they are perspectives? maintained in a single one. It's just a point of view that we all use to look in the same direction. This direction is subject to manipulation through the media that depletes the culture and guide to overlook the infinity of possibilities.

You also mention being able to be reborn several times during a lifetime. Do you try to give your audience this perspective through your drawings?

We could write a book to describe this world! A lot of people have already written about this.

But if you want a simple answer, I can imagine an empathic world where each living being can feel and support the feeling of each other. There would be no personal interest, selfcenteredness, or greed. The world would be doomed to a universal good. Religion and science would be hand in hand. Imagination and reason work together. The door of the invisible world would be opened. The unit would be realized in the acceptance of diversity. This is my utopia but I believe in it.

I'm not "able" to be reborn several times during a lifetime. Each time a 'key' opens your mind, you are reborn. It's not an ability. It is an awareness that allows you to discover the world in a different light. This awareness is exponential. It's difficult to keep your eyes open. But, when it's done, when your eyes are opened enough to keep your awareness For more information about DZO Olivier, visit stimulated, you can't come back to the basic www.dzo.com life. It's a sign of being reborn.

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I AM CONSTANTLY RIDDLED WITH ANXIETY AND HEAVY THOUGHTS . S O THE CONTRAST - BEAUTY AGAINST DARKNESS , IS THERAPEUTIC, INTOXICATING .

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Photography courtesy of Myranda Escamilla

Time disappears in the process; it is like a meditation. It allows me to take in and filter stimuli, internal and external. I dwell on death, life, and transformation, but most of the time I just focus on the task at hand: following each line, enhancing curvatures, making the piece my own, and celebrating its lost life. It is a selfish process. I am constantly riddled with anxiety and heavy thoughts. So, the contrast beauty against darkness, is therapeutic, and intoxicating. It takes me away from conscious Does creating art using a skull give it a new pain. It puts the unease to sleep and awakens form of life or does it celebrate the life it peace and courage. So, the entire thing can be lived? all consuming and has brought me to tears a few times. I don’t know what it is.

Using any form of taxidermy in art gives the specimen a new form of life while celebrating its How does the type of skull/bone affect what previous existence. Many of the pieces I have you create? worked on have been abandoned, left to be forgotten. As humans, we aim to leave legacies Every piece is different; each skull as unique as behind, we wish to be remembered. We are a fingerprint. The shape and feel, my mood, the conscious of this and work to much effort to music I listen to - it all determines the final look. attain the recognition we feel we deserve For commissions, people tend to request that I leaving us fearful of disappearing from the use elements from previous skulls. At times, timeline of human existence. Animals in the wild that can be frustrating for me. I prefer freedom. don't have the luxury (or burden) of consciousness. They live and die, remembered Do you look to change the public’s by few - leaving only remnants of themselves perspective about death? behind, their beautiful bones.

To be frank, I never took the audience into As you paint on a skull do you see yourself account. I did what I wanted, found it to be beautiful, and thought it was worth sharing. celebrating death? yranda Escamilla takes bleached skulls from antique shops, the internet, and a small taxidermy near her home, and gives them new life by painting them with vibrant colors and adorning the skull with flowers and foliage. She loses herself in her creative process and dives deep within her soul to create pieces that celebrate life on a foundation of death.

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M Y FATHER USED TO COLLECT SPECIMENS RAT BONES , DOG SKULLS , SKELETONS , SNAKE RATTLES , ETC. SO HIS HOBBY DEFINITELY INFLUENCED ME AND GAVE ME THE CHANCE TO ACCEPT THINGS WITHOUT WRINKLING MY NOSE .

Everything in the beginning was subconscious, much of it still is. I had no idea what kind of emotions it would stir or that my father ultimately played a huge role with my fascination for skulls, bones, and death. People need to understand that it is a part of being human. It is natural to ponder our demise and what becomes of us. Some simply think about it more than others and are much more willing to share those thoughts.

The contrast makes a strong statement.

How do you find, and treat, the bones you create with?

There is small taxidermy shop back home that sells clean and bleached skulls that were never picked up or paid for, the man who owns the place is great. Funny thing is we share the same last name (which is not very common).

There is no affiliation however, our family trees A lot of people associate bones with decay don’t intertwine. I also scour antique shops and and rot, do you think this elevates or online stores.

detracts from your message?

What was your first experience with death?

I can see how some people have their own How did that influence your relationship reservations about my work. Bones and death with it? are associated with fear, morbidity, darkness, disgust, and evil. I like to think that I somehow erase that perspective. Death is something to be embraced, everyone is to succumb at some point. For me the juxtaposition - life (color, foliage) on death (skulls as canvas) is striking.

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My father used to collect specimens - rat bones, dog skulls, skeletons, snake rattles, etc. so his hobby definitely influenced me and gave me the chance to accept things without wrinkling my nose. I only recently became aware of that so it

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is quite interesting to see how much can shape How would you describe your work to those our personalities without having any perception that say it’s morbid? of the fact. We are very impressionable at We all have our differing views. I would never youth! try to convince someone that my work wasn’t How was death celebrated in your family? morbid. I see how it might be considered as such but I simply don’t agree. I don’t hold Both my parents were very comfortable with seances and drink the blood of my subjects. I talking about death, neither made me feel like it take a clean skull and embellish respectfully. If was something to fear or should not be spoken handling bones and contemplating life and of. I always appreciated that. Death is indeed, death is repulsive, I guess I’ll always be after all, a very curious subject. considered morbid. I haven’t the energy to convince otherwise. Especially when I don’t How do you pay homage to the animal you have any intentions of offending.

use in your work?

By giving any living thing a second chance at For more information about Myranda Escamilla, visit life you respect its survival, existence. www.behance.net/MyrandaEscamilla

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PRESERVATION OF ONE'S OWN

CULTURE DOES NOT REQUIRE CONTEMPT OR DISRESPECT FOR OTHER CULTURES

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足CESAR CHAVEZ (AMERICAN ACTIVIST AND LABOR ORGANIZER)

Model: Nazya Ayaz of StyleMeister Photographer: DDOTCARTER Creative Director: Stephanie Harris

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JEFFREY OTIENO 21 ST CENTURY YOUTH

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by Samantha Flores Illustrations courtesy of Jeffery Otieno

effrey Otieno is an illustrator from Kenya who uses a caricature style to comment on social issues. In his project, 21st Century he protests against the issues that have become more prevalent as social media continues to affect how people connect with one another.

create emphasis. I wanted to communicate and draw attention.

Headless people to me symbolize ‘lost minds’. I try depicting people as not themselves. They are controlled by whatever is above their shoulders; they don’t think straight. They are fiends to it.

How do you see social media affecting our culture?

Heads are replaced with what I depict in the

piece as controlling whether it is money, social Social media has created an avenue to share media, or drugs. and explore different cultures from all over the world. It has made us appreciate other cultures As an artist, does society’s obsession with because they are different and so diverse. It is social media help or hurt your career? intriguing and fun to learn about other cultures.

It has both positive and negative aspects to me.

When exposure to anything new, there are new It’s an avenue I can use to market myself on a cultural practices being taken up all over the global level without stressing about money. It world. For example, we can see the African creates exposure for one’s work. The more you Kitenge on runways and even top celebrities put up your work on social media, the more rocking them. They appreciate the African people you reach; more people get to recognize you for your work which might bring forth motifs, colors, and designs. opportunities.

A lot of your artwork that comments on society have no heads. Even though most of It is a networking avenue that you get to your other work is based around portraits. connect with other creative people both on a Why is that? local and international level. You can get mentorship easily, people to guide you through

21st Century was the first series of artworks your artistic journey, and also people to share

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M Y 21 ST CENTURY SERIES WERE IDEAS THAT CAME TO ME WHEN I LISTENED TO 2 PAC’ S SONG , ‘KRAZY' FOR OVER FIVE HOURS ON REPEAT. Social media also puts one in a position to see what’s out there in the market. This can, in turn, be inspiring and motivational enough to strive to level up your skill, and hunger to reach international standards according to what your goals and dreams are.

Social media starts hurting your career if you start comparing yourself to others. There will always be better creative, better ideas and executions. You just have to trust your progress.

Do you have any personal connections with the people in your artwork?

No and yes.

No I don’t have any connection to the people in my work—that I know them personally or on a one on one basis—but I feel I am connected to them as this is what is going on in society. We hear of the youth falling into depression, alcoholism, crime every now and then. Whether it is in the news, music, movies, or even poetry.

My 21st Century series were ideas that came to me when I listened to 2pac’s song, "Krazy" for over five hours on repeat. Listening to the track over and over I got to really listen and understand what he’s talking about. I tried relating it to how I felt the youth are affected Forgetting that you are using social media as a now. marketing avenue, and starting to post what your followers want, or what you think they Most of my ideas are inspired by music. The might like, instead of concentrating on growing TV/video games piece was also inspired by and improving as a creative can hurt your Nipsey Hussle’s, 'Outro' from his mix tape TMC. "I got the secret to success do your thing now, career too. or you can keep watching cable on the same I, at times, fall victim to these negative aspects couch." because at the end of the day your work is an extension of yourself, your thoughts; and you Musicians are known for expressing/airing still want people to appreciate and love your issues happening in society through their music, and I get lot of inspiration from them. work. dekit | 39 If one starts focusing more on number of followers and likes they get other than their craft it will definitely affect your growth. Less likes than your previous post can cause one to start doubting themselves.

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D IVERSITY IN CULTURES IS WHAT MAKES THE WORLD EXCITING AND ADVENTUROUS . YOU WOULDN ’ T WANT TO TRAVEL THE WORLD WHEN YOU KNOW YOU ’ LL FIND THINGS ARE THE SAME AS WHERE YOU ARE FROM .

My ‘Drinking Nation’ pieces were depictions of what was happening in the country some time back. Illicit brew had become a serious issue in the country and it was affecting families, jobs, and people died from it. I might not know them personally, but it’s happening in society and I am part of society so it affects me indirectly too.

One just has to make that choice.

Do you believe that the world, with the help of social media and technology, are on the track to becoming one culture? A kind of ‘sameness’ all around the world? Or do you believe that technology helps keep us separate?

In most of your pieces and 21st Century, the characters in the scenes are isolated. Can I believe social media and technology have created a kind of ‘sameness’ because there is you explain why?

more exposure to different cultures which are Characters are isolated because at the end of being shared and experienced all over the the day, it’s going to be an individual’s decision world. to either let their addiction consume them or get I however, don’t see cultures merging out. completely to become the same, just some Whether you got to that position because of aspects about them, as people tend to be loyal peer pressure or circumstances you had no and patriotic to their cultures, and would love to control over, we (as individuals) are the only preserve them for their uniqueness. ones that can dictate the direction of our lives Diversity in cultures is what makes the world no matter how much the odds are against us. exciting and adventurous. You wouldn’t want to Forgive me for quoting music, but that’s where I travel the world when you know you’ll find get most of my inspiration from. Nipsey Hussle things are the same as where you are from. in his track, "Summertime in that Cutlass" says, 'It was sad because we were puppets, had to learn so fast to switch hustles,' I believe he’s For more information about Jeffrey Otieno, visit referring to his gang banging upbringing but he www.behance.net/JeffRi had to make a decision to change the direction of his life to a better and safer lifestyle.

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Alex Bland's Black Lady Liberty A Cross Examination of Her History Interview by Stephanie Harris Photography by Alex Bland

Model: Sabibi Damachoua Make up: Pace Chen Stylist: Lana Burton dekit |

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I'M A GREAT BELIEVER THAT

ANY TOOL THAT ENHANCES COMMUNICATION HAS PROFOUND EFFECTS IN TERMS OF HOW PEOPLE CAN LEARN FROM EACH OTHER, AND HOW THEY CAN ACHIEVE THE KIND OF FREEDOMS THAT THEY'RE INTERESTED IN.

足BILL GATES

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FOR BEHIND THE SCENES FOLLOW US @DEKITDEKIT

MODEL NAZYA AYAZ OF STYLEMEISTER, PHOTOGRAPHER DDOTCARTER EDITOR STEPHANIE HARRIS

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by Clare Schubert

Photography courtesy of Jonathan Stein

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tein has been a full time artist since 201 0 and works out of Southern Florida. His sculptures flirt with size and scale and bring everyday objects to a different light. He works with tens of thousands of Swarovski crystals, expertly applied by hand to his works. Stein wants to ignite communal joy whether it be comical, interesting, or thoughtprovoking.

so central to today’s culture.

Stein’s larger than life sculptures evoke a sense of self reflectivity. It poses the question: how do our mass consumption habits affect us on a daily basis?

What do you think about our mass consumption habits? Do you think we are too obsessed with consumer culture and the need to follow trends?

Mass consumption fascinates me and has been the root of my creative exploration for over 1 0 years. Consumerism is like a tidal wave that no one can avoid being swept up in. For most of us, it’s a love hate relationship between wanting to cultivate your own sense of taste and choice, while fighting the ever-addictive nature of advertising and succumbing to the never Upon first glance, viewers regard Jonathan's ceasing bombardment of corporate sponsors work as whimsical and glamorous. His biding for our focus. sculptures are decked out in crystals and blown What role did these objects play in your up to larger than life sizes. Few, however, think childhood, and did you find yourself easily to look beyond the crystal exterior and delve influenced by television ads and into the true meaning behind his work. While his commercials promoting specific products? works may incite a certain feeling of nostalgia, Stein wants to contribute something more to his I think food in general leaves us nostalgic. How viewers’ perceptions of consumerism. He can you not look back and draw personal comments on the oversized food portions, need connections to the first Happy Meal you opened to consume, and glorification of brand names as a child, or recall riffling through a Cracker His treatment of these inanimate items encrusted in crystals mimics our own treatment of popular culture today, working with objects that any American would recognize and probably have interacted with. In choosing these items, he brings a sense of familiarity to his work.

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I THINK ADVERTISERS ARE ENMESHED IN A

TREMENDOUS STRUGGLE TO CONTINUE TO DOMINATE AND MAINTAIN AN EMOTIONAL STRONGHOLD ON THE AMERICAN CONSUMER. Jacks box, or a beloved sugar cereal in search of a secret prize? I was a child of the 1 980’s who was addicted to television. Though I was always encouraged to create and to be active, any chance I could get, I sat poised in the flickering glow of the television light mesmerized. Like most of my contemporaries, I could recite every TV jingle by heart and knew every single lyric to any TV sitcom theme song.

I was trained well by the media, and I can say all throughout my youth, the seeds of pop culture, kitsch and the power of brand recognition were strongly watered.

comply as instructed.

In this issue we have explored the ‘meme,’ which is a simple photograph that is widely shared and distributed amongst various groups of people. While some may find them amusing, other mindlessly pass the image along without comprehending its meaning. Do you feel that we as Americans have lost our ability to challenge what is advertised to us--that we will hastily popularize and glorify anything in order to meet the “status quo”?

I also think age, gender, socio-economics, identity, ethnicity, religion, politics and geography, to name a few environmental factors, steer consumerism and advertisers, who have long focused their efforts on pandering to any audience they can sway into making sales.

I think they are riddled with the terrible burden of what’s next, and how can we still be fresh? I think half of our being wants to be pacified visually and reassured all is well with the trusted brands we rely on. The other portion craves to be wowed with newness. Advertising comes in themes and waves. One day we must all be “Green,” then that wave is ridden and becomes passé. We want ads that are gritty and raw; then we crave heartfelt ads that humanize 'big corporations' and restore our hope in humanity.

Did you work with any other objects or subjects before settling on food items, and could you explain to us the significance of Tough question. I think advertisers are these items in your own life today? enmeshed in a tremendous struggle to continue to dominate and maintain an emotional stronghold on the American consumer.

Advertising executives would never (and I believe) could never rest easily thinking we are all merely sheep that nod our heads and 48 | SUMMER/FALL| 201 5

I’ve always been a conceptual artist who allows each idea to dictate what creative medium I would work in, be it crotchet, mixed media installation, photography, and beyond. My more commercial jeweled artwork has always played

M Y WORK SUGGESTS THAT IF YOU

SIMPLY EMBELLISH THOSE ITEMS WITH BRIGHT AND SHINY PACKAGING OR POUR BILLIONS OF DOLLARS INTO MARKETING THESE FOODS ; OH HOW QUICKLY WE SOFTEN OUR STANCE AND DIG IN . with parody and issues of consumerism in a tongue-in-cheek lighthearted manner that honors beloved brands we have been raised on; while also calling into question the way we abuse and over consume these items--many of which are far from healthy. In my other personal work, I fervently explore strong socially relevant themes like homelessness, equality, the haves versus the have nots, and so forth. I then try to connect with and curate exhibitions designed to help raise awareness and sufficient funds for worthy non-profits combating a multitude of issues. I harbor the belief that art can still change the world. Artists can still be catalysts for social change if the respective powers that be foster nurturing locations to showcase such humanistic art.

Does your work with crystals aim to highlight the gluttony and artificial practices of our country?

Certainly. You can jam pack--or we 'used to' be able to jam pack--food with trans fats and other toxic preservatives. My work suggests that if you simply embellish those items with bright and shiny packaging or pour billions of dollars into marketing these foods; oh how quickly we soften our stance and dig in.

What sort of feelings, ideas, emotions do you want your viewers to experience

through your work?

With my jeweled art I want to simply make you smile. There are heavy concepts embedded in these pieces, but if you simply just read each artwork’s title and they make you chuckle, I feel I have succeeded. I can and do create very powerful art that isn’t always cheery and not bedazzled in Swarovski; but with my Shiny Sparkly Goes Down Easy Collection, I’m just grateful if I can tempt your stomach, dazzle your eye, and leave you hungry for more.

How do the varying sizes and scales of your sculptures create a different experience for viewers of your work?

We are a 'Super-Sized' nation that favors ALL YOU CAN EAT. So why should we be any different when it comes to consuming art? My work is usually 3-5 times the average size of the everyday items I honor. My Mid-Life Crisis (a half eaten roll of Lifesaver candies) is a hand cast bronze and resin work that is over 3 feet tall. Ultimately, and if I could afford to make even larger works at this time, you would be welcomed into my Willy Wonka world of bling.

Surely then could I visually prove that our eyes are bigger than our stomachs and in the Art World no matter what anyone says, SIZE MATTERS greatly!! dekit |

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Do changes in consumer tastes affect the seek out great partnerships with famous food subjects of your work? brands, celebrities, and advertisers to help raise I try to work with iconic brands that have and ideally will stand the test of time. That being said, sometimes I choose items that are at risk of falling out of relevance. My Going Going Gone piece (an oversized replica of Twinkies) was released on the cusp just before the final verdict would determine whether this culinary dynasty, Hostess, would live on. I feel that brand loyalty is always subject to shifts, but the works I aim to do in this series are truly designed to herald where we’ve come from, what we love now, and ideally in 50 years, what still will be brands we count on.

support for hunger/poverty organizations and initiatives. Each day I devote hours beyond doing my artwork to plan exhibitions that can educate the public about those whom suffer without adequate food and shelter. I’d love to fashion creative platforms that offer 'starving artists' an opportunity to be validated in museum shows, while aiding organizations like Feed America simultaneously. Hundreds of thousands of Swarovski crystals allow my work to shine long after I am gone, but I would wish to be remembered as an artist whom often used his art to illuminate the lives of those less fortunate.

What lasting affect do you want your pieces to have on the public?

For more information about Jonathan Stein, visit So much of my spare time is devoted to volunteering and doing charity work. I actively 54 | SUMMER/FALL| 201 5

www.jonathan-stein.com

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GIRLS ON THE WEB

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ince its launch, the internet has been used for an array of purposes. Its ability to reach a wider audience and growing ambiguity between users has fostered an unhealthy pattern of slut-shaming, hypercriticism, and extreme dieting tactics.

Women are quick to comment and evaluate each other’s bodies, pointing out their flawed figures. Images of airbrushed models and celebrity figures, with perfect complexions and bodies have been burned into the minds of young women worldwide; images that perpetrate false realities and expectations of what a woman should be. Beside them all, lies Gaby Cepeda Fernandez, who is using this powerful device to bring women together again; to form an inclusive and safe environment for women to support and empower one another.

Gaby is reconfiguring the term ‘museum’ into a more flexible conceptualization--one that is more accessible. With her GIM (Girls of the Internet Museum) project, Gaby has redirected the negativity and competitiveness amongst girls into something entirely different: an online collective for women to freely and fully express themselves. With her color GIFS, Gaby deconstructs the public’s view of celebrities.

by Clare Schubert Images courtesy of Gaby Cepeda Fernandez Rather than glorify them and their ‘perfect’ physical appearances, her take on celebrity figures shows them in a different light, reminding us of their normalcy. In a world buzzing with mindless electronic activity, Gaby works to talk about real issues and facilitate an open, supportive space for women.

How does your Mexican heritage and female experiences bring different insights to the profession of curating?

More than my Mexican heritage, I feel like it’s Mexican contemporaneity that really shapes my experiences. México has been going through a lot ever since I can remember, and those issues, along with the genuine richness of our culture, are what stick with me wherever I go. I guess the same could be said about identifying as a woman. So whatever I’m looking at, or questioning, it’s always through those undeniable facts: I am Mexican, and I am a woman. Those two things go hand in hand with my commitment to Intersectional Feminism.

Let’s talk about the GIM project that you founded. The collective serves as an online museum, and a safe space for women to fully express their ideas. Do you think there is some exclusivity of physical museums dekit |

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THE I NTERNET DOESN ’ T EXIST APART FROM THE HARSH REALITIES OF SEXISM AND RACISM , AND IN SOME WAYS IT INTENSIFIES THEM ; IT HAS ALSO ALLOWED SELF - IDENTIFIED WOMEN TO CREATE SAFE AND INCLUSIVE SPACES FOR DISCUSSIONS ABOUT FEMINISM AND ART.

that tend to favor male versus female artists?

these spaces and these networks of women willing to have a fair discussion about art has also inspired artists to post their work outside of them. In a way providing answers for the potential questioning and/or backlash they could face.

Traditionally speaking, curators are described as keepers of a cultural heritage or institution. In picking your pieces to display on GIM, you must take into account all that particular artist stands for, and be certain it correlates with your objective.

What types of culture are you trying to preserve and support with your work?

Initially I was trying to preserve the interactions of self-identified girl artists on the Internet, a sort of generational portrait. It quickly became obvious that a universal “girl experience on the web” did not exist, and that certain experiences were over-represented or just thought of as given. So now, I focus on showing as many as possible artistic experiences, by girl artists with different backgrounds, working on the internet as I can find. Diversity is a goal that takes hard work, and the total eradication of what I call ‘lazy curating.’

Yeah, I do. Even when things have greatly advanced in the last few decades, the number of women artists being shown and collected by institutions remains unfairly unequal. It gets worse when one looks at the representation of women of color. There are obviously many This site promotes a positive attitude for all complex factors, but I think a white-male driven the female artists and creates a sense of market lends a lot of weight towards that bias. community. Rather than competing with

How does the accessibility of the internet and the “hyper-connected existence” of these female artists help foster a safe, inclusive environment? Do you see that more women are willing to publish their work online, and are less fearful of possible backlash or safety concerns?

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each other, every artist comes together to share and appreciate one another’s work. Is there often a sense of competition between other female artists for gallery spaces and for commissions?

I feel that, when that’s the case, it comes down to the conditions in which it happens: women kind of forced into competitiveness in a field where the spaces of representation for them are few, compared to those of men. With limited agency, competitiveness becomes a reflexive reaction. I think the art world is so blatantly unregulated and unfair to so many, that competition is just rampant.

You have created a range of GIFS for various art shows. Why do you use celebrity figures rather than everyday people; is this meant to positively or negatively portray these public figures?

I think of celebrities as a kind of stage or theater on which we as a society project our desires and expectations; a kind of back and forth of the status quo represented by these people we’ve somehow chosen to enact it. That said I have nothing but love and respect for the women in these positions. Rihanna is Goddess and Kim K-- business goals.

trying to deconstruct the public’s idolization of them?

Yeah, in a way I’m trying to exaggerate the ridiculous expectations we have of women both in the public eye and in every day life.

A few of your GIFS show women crying, tears streaming down their face. What do these women have facing them that causes such reactions?

Most of those GIFs with women crying respond to either “the pains of fame” --in the case of Kim Kardashian; I did that one while she was As shown in your images, you present these pregnant the last time and media, and people, people in absurdity, with comic like features, were being just straight up inhumane in or posed in unnatural positions. Are you dekit |

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I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT MY FEMINISM WAS HOPELESSLY INCOMPLETE UNTIL I HAD ACCESS TO THE I NTERNET AND THE KNOWLEDGE OF BLACK AND LATINA INTERSECTIONAL FEMINISTS .

their criticism of her. A woman that was going through something that is EXACTLY the reason we are all here right now, i.e. pregnancy. And it also comes from Catholic iconography, which was ever present during my childhood. The image of the crying virgin or female martyr was everywhere, and I think that’s another kind of female representation that I’m visually interested in.

While your images are full of color and various components, there is an added effect when you consider the movements and positions of the subjects. How does the addition of movement help to reinforce your message?

to feminist movements across the globe, in terms of reaching out to the younger generations and to women in oppressive environments?

I think it’s massively influential; no other media has been as successful in reaching people and specially bringing information to them. I can honestly say that my feminism was hopelessly incomplete until I had access to the Internet and the knowledge of Black and Latina Intersectional Feminists. I’m not sure all of that would have been possible without the Internet.

I’m super thankful for the opportunity to listen and read all these different voices.

That said, I think the recent relevance of feminist discourse is definitely reaching a new audience and generation. While we could talk about the blind spots of white Taylor Swift Feminism all day, I also think it’s great that so many young girls are hearing about it, and maybe digging deeper and finding that they are definitely not alone in the intersection of their In the 21 st century, there have been many oppressions.

I think the movement allows me to include as much visual information as possible, thus getting to that 'Totally Exaggerated' effect that I’m going for. It also allows me to include specific genderized movements, such as Rihanna bouncing her butt.

ongoing movements for LGBTQ groups, gender neutrality, and Feminism. Many of which have used the internet to address their followers and drum up publicity. How has the evolution of the internet contributed 60 | SUMMER/FALL| 201 5

For more information about Gabby Cepeda Fernandez, visit www.gabycf.com

THE LOVE OF ONE'S COUNTRY IS A SPLENDID THING. BUT WHY

SHOULD LOVE STOP AT THE BORDER?

足足 PABLO CASALS (SPANISH CELLIST)

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AYAKAMAY

THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

by Clare Schubert Interviewed by Samatha Flores Photography by Stephanie Harris

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ince her performance at Miami Art Basel, Japanese-American contemporary artist Ayakamay is making headlines with her piece titled, “Mimikaki.” Dressed in traditional Japanese attire, Ayakamay takes to the streets and sets her stage. She invites strangers to join her in a momentary glimpse of Japanese culture and performs a traditional cleaning of the ears--meant to engage and spark the physical senses.

themselves from their heritage. What I admire about you and your work, is that you have found a way to embrace who you are as a Japanese-American, have you always been able to express this? Was there ever a time when you struggled with your identity?

I always felt like an outsider even when I was in America or in Japan. My mother is one hundred percent Japanese. My dad is one hundred percent Japanese. But I was born in America, lived here for ten years, and then I moved to Japan and grew up there for ten years. So when I moved to Japan I was ten. That was a tough time in my life- to sit in Japanese society.

I started having a difficult time with my identity then.

Ayakamay spent her youth in both the United States and Japan. She wants to bring Japanese culture to the American public. Her performance art examines both parts of her heritage; while the incorporation of Japanese instruments and costumes explore what it means to be a So it was when you moved to Japan that it Japanese-American. started getting more confusing for you?

In some pieces she is more modestly dressed while others ooze of sex and danger. Her work pushes the boundaries and tests the comfort level of her audience. She challenges American and Japanese culture, forcing us to redefine our notions of these cultures. Ayakamay explores the two sides of her heritage in a very real, vulnerable way. She invites us into her world through her mystical creations of video, performance art, and photography.

Yes. I didn’t realize it until then because I was in Nashville, Tennessee for six years and all of my classmates/friends were white people. I was doubting why I was the only Asian in the town, but I didn’t really have a tough time. Everyone accepted me and was very friendly. But then moving to Japan it was more difficult because I looked like them. I looked exactly like them; black hair, brown eyes, same skin color. But because, at the time, I couldn’t really speak good Japanese, I was weird. I looked the same, It is common for children born in the US of but I wasn’t talking in the same language. So I immigrant parents to want to distance got bullied at the time. I started realizing, ‘Why 64 | SUMMER/FALL| 201 5

I GOT TO SLEEP ON HER LAP

AND THEN SHE CLEANED MY EAR WITH THE BAMBOO STICK THAT I USE FOR THE ‘M IMIKAKI ’ PERFORMANCE .

My mother is my home.’ I didn’t have a good relationship with my mother for a long, long Your performance piece, Mimikaki is quite time, but then I discovered my mother had intimate and relies on the willingness of ovarian cancer. am I different? What’s wrong with me?’

individuals to partake in this shared human interaction. With every new performance, That was actually my first time feeling very does the piece and your artistry evolve and scared about losing someone. The possibility change? that she might die in a couple months. She’s It’s always affected by the people who I’m surrounded by. Especially, Mimikaki. This is about me and my mother. It’s the same subject like, ‘Who am I? Where am I coming from?’ I am having an identity crisis still. Mimikaki is about my mother. She grew up in Japan. She was born there, and she was there most of her life. And then she got married and moved to Tokyo. But she had a place to go back. A hometown.

okay now, but at the time I was so afraid and I wanted to make some art that was dedicated to her and my relationship with my mother. Then I realized--she used to clean my ears. I got to sleep on her lap and then she cleaned my ear with the bamboo stick that I use for the Mimikaki performance. And that’s where I’m coming from.

I want to be the person who can look into someone’s ear hole. It’s maybe more private than any other body part because you don’t get to see it at all.

But me, I moved around because my dad’s job was changing all the time. I grew up in Tennessee, then I moved to California, then moved to Tokyo, moved to Yokohama, moved to New York. I’ve been moving around. And I feel like I don’t have a hometown. Even if I go to Nashville, Tennessee, I don’t have anybody that is there to welcome me because I don’t really have any family there.

Now that you have more momentum as a response to your performance of Mimikaki, you have been across the globe traveling.

Do the public's reactions vary depending on which region or country you perform in?

Most of the people are just curious of what I do.

Like why am I wearing the kimono? I did a tour in Europe and, at the time, most people are curious. And all I do is say, “Can I clean your And I was wondering what my hometown is. ear?” Some people say, “yes” and commit to the Again, it’s the same feeling. Where am I coming action some people say, “hell no. I don’t want it. from? Then I realized, ‘Okay, I have my mother. It’s dangerous. It’s disgusting.” It really depends dekit |

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E VERY PERFORMANCE PIECE IS RELATED TO WHAT I DO IN MY REAL LIFE . I JUST EXAGGERATE WHAT I USUALLY DO ; EXPRESSING HOW I FEEL AGAINST EVERY LITTLE ACTION OR DETAIL. they often think about junk food and quick meals from any chain restaurant. The hot Your piece Hot dog Muffins, deals with the dog is about as American as it gets. Other common expectation of women to be openly than the obvious nod to American culture, sexual and erotic in America. How does what does the hot dog symbolize? being in the United States allow you to perform this piece; do you think you would So when I think about America, we don’t really ever be able to in Japan? have much historical food. Hamburgers? No, it on the other person. The audience.

I actually started in Japan. I was selling the hot dogs at the live music venues; at a little restaurant where the bands can play. I was just selling hot dogs to help my friend’s band. One day, I wore this top where people could see my boobs out and tight pants, like Hooters. And I sold out of hot dogs because of this one look. I thought that was so stupid and funny. I wanted to get the cart and make that a performance piece. I wanted to show that as a woman’s power. Every performance piece is related to what I do in my real life. I just exaggerate what I usually do; expressing how I feel against every little action or detail.

So in Japan they were all for it?

came from another place. Hot dogs? Maybe.

They came from Germany, but we put it in a bun and called it a hot dog. So if I had to pick one. Well, pizza came from Italy. You know everything is all mixed.

The reason why I’m using hot dogs is because my targets are old, drunk males. The performance is always happening between twelve a.m., or one a.m. We do a performance giving out the hot dog. The hot dog represents the cheapest food on the street. But [women] can make some people pay 30 bucks for a hot dog.

People mostly associate Manga and the idea of 'kawaii' with Japanese pop culture. The characters are modestly dressed and often replicate that of a school girl, childlike and innocent. How is the contrast between Japanese and American attire revealed through your work?

Yeah. I’m not really there, ‘knowing’ my boobs are out. Japan is more like, wear more clothes and, if you get to see the underwear because of how you were sitting, that’s sexual. America is left more, I show, you see boobs and nipples, and I made this work called Idol Worship. I made it Sky Child you get it. I think it’s funny and different.

Digital Media because I wanted to say, in America, if you want Courtesy of Pbjpeg When other countries think about America, to be an idol, you have to be good at dekit | 69

THE J APANESE FLAG HAS RED AND THE AMERICAN FLAG HAS RED , BUT I DON ’ T REALLY THINK ABOUT THAT CONNECTED TO THE FLAG . I T’ S MORE LIKE I’ M ERASING MY FEARS BECAUSE THE RED CAN COVER WHAT I AM AFRAID OF. something. Sing well. Dance great. You have to have some talent. In Japan, you don’t really need to have a talent, but you can be an idol tomorrow. Japanese idols are about how much sympathy can you get from the audience. It doesn’t matter if you sing well, or dance, it doesn't matter. You don’t need to have any talent. In Idol Worship, what I do is pose for forty-five minutes, and not move but keep my smile on. It’s kind of a weird pose. I look like I’m in the middle of singing. Most people cannot hold their smile for more than three minutes because their muscles are going to start shaking and get twitchy. If you try you will know what I’m saying. But I’m smiling for forty-five minutes and if you keep looking at it, you start to feel uncomfortable, because you can see from my facial expressions that I’m not really smiling. That’s the very big difference between Japan and America. The idol situation.

patriotism. Does this color help bring both your American and Japanese background together?

The color red seems to be dominate in all your work. The Japanese flag bears a large red circle in the center, suggesting the color as a key component of Japanese traditions.

The United States' flag also contains red, and is certainly representative of American

I think it is important to look back at history and look at the old times. Because living is the same. We wake up, eat, sleep, meet friends, laugh, and it’s all the same.

The color didn’t come from the Japanese flag or the American flag. It was more of me being afraid of blue and purple. So I became obsessed with red. Red is kind of protecting me.

I lost my middle sister when I was ten. She had epilepsy. She needed twenty-four hour support.

When she passed away, my mother yelled, "help me," and I ran to the place where I found her body cold. She was turning purple and blue.

It was really traumatizing for me to see a person in that color. I can’t really face that fear or that sorrow. I couldn’t accept what happened. So every time that I make something, the red erases those negative colors in my head. I feel like I’m not near death. The Japanese flag has red and the American flag has red, but I don’t That’s how they act. It’s not about singing well. really think about that connected to the flag. It’s They don’t sing well. They don’t act well. They more like I’m erasing my fears because the red just act cute and look innocent and make you can cover what I am afraid of. feel like, ‘yay,’ like you choose them. I think it’s To meme or not to meme? weird.

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So it is important to look back at history and

take some details out. Like wearing the kimonos. I take an hour and a half to get ready for the Mimikaki costume. Nobody wears kimonos now because it takes hours to get ready. I wear a lot of jeans and t-shirts today, it is more comfortable. That’s now, right?

That should be a part of life. Bringing those parts, the old parts and the new of the future, together is good. It will all be mixed up in the future. And we will get to that point where everything is mixed. We are building the new generation, the new future, the new culture. But it’s all based on the history too. Whoever you But the reason why I wear a kimono is because are and wherever it’s coming from. It’s all based there is beauty in this too. There is this beautiful on the history part in wearing this kimono. You start appreciating how you can wear this silk kimono, I’m interested to see, one hundred years later, how heavy it is, and it makes you feel like you what everything is going to be, but I think it’s all are clean and polite. In a way unlike jeans. You going to be mixed up. The shape and color can get dirty, go outside, it’s more free for won’t matter. We will do the same things to movement. But in a kimono you have to really share. be careful even with just drinking tea. You cannot spill it. You have to drink water carefully.

There is a beauty in this action, the movement, For more information about Ayakamay, visit the behavior in it. I appreciate it very much www.ayakamay.com because of that experience.

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LMNOPI

BY CLARE SCHUBERT

S

troll through the streets of New York and what do you see? There may be an array of cosmetic stores, shopping centers, restaurants, parks, museums, etcetera. Look closer and you will notice the large, impactful murals of street artist Lmnopi.

Driven by rage, Lmnopi takes her artwork to the streets, engaging viewers when they least expect. Reserved in her identity, Lmnopi’s message is exactly the opposite. It’s bold, it’s powerful, it’s dominating. Artist and activist, Lmnopi boasts confidence with her large scale murals. Her work displays a diverse group of subjects, defiant towards their oppressors. Her work drums up an emotional response whether it be: rage, hope, fear, sadness. Raw in its presentation and powerful in its message, Lmnopi’s artwork commands attention and engages the public in conversation. She wants to spark a discussion between citizens, and begin a self-reflection of the many problematic systems operating in the United States today.

Rather than bring attention to herself, Lmnopi prefers the focus to remain on the social issues she tackles.

they can view. How has this notion influenced the placement of your art?

People tend to define success by how many gallery shows an artist can amass, how many grants they can acquire, and the going market rate for their work. I am not opposed to showing work in venues, having financial support to create work or selling paintings. These are all important to me, however, I find I personally get more satisfaction out of placing my work in the commons, a.k.a the street. To me the real success is when my work reaches people; when they least expect it; when it hits them hard in the gut or the heart; when it wakes them up just a little bit from their daily reverie of drudgery. Perhaps they are more open when suddenly confronted with a work of art on a random wall or doorway; especially those people who may never set foot in a museum or gallery, especially kids.

My main target audience is kids. I want them to see themselves and to get it; they matter.

You recently collaborated with the artist GILF on a mural for Kalief Browder. When you first become aware of Kalief While art is meant to be enjoyable for all, did Bowder’s situation and what was your there is a certain degree of exclusiveness immediate reaction? that comes with museums, galleries and shows. Not everyone has access to these means and is therefore limited to the art I am not sure of the exact date I became aware 74 | SUMMER/FALL| 201 5

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WHEN I HEARD HE TOOK HIS OWN LIFE , I FELT DEVASTATED FOR HIS FAMILY MEMBERS AND FOR THE WORLD TO HAVE LOST HIM .

I T’ S ESSENTIALLY THE EQUIVALENT OF

MODERN SLAVERY OR CONVICT LABOR WHEN THE PROFIT MOTIVE IS DRIVING THE NEED TO FILL THE PRISONS WITH MORE WORKERS . of his story. It was prior to his death. I was horrified, of course, and deeply disturbed by the facts of his imprisonment and treatment. I felt compassion for his emotional duress. When I heard he took his own life, I felt devastated for his family members and for the world to have lost him. It’s the worst of the system when kids are put in adult prisons. He wasn’t even given a trial. He was there because of poverty mostly, and a racist system that disproportionately imprisons Native Americans, black, and brown people. Solitary confinement is a cruel punishment. No one ought to suffer that. It creates mental illness. Why they felt that was necessary is beyond my comprehension. It appears sadistic and immoral.

This tragedy has the ability to spark a mass movement. His story, while deeply saddening, unfortunately is not unheard of.

There have been ongoing debates on the issue of mass incarceration in the United States. What aspects of the jailing system do you feel are most detrimental to our country?

I’ve been reading Angela Davis’ book Are Prisons Obsolete? I’d have to answer that with a resounding YES. People talk a lot about prison reform. I’d rather see them abolished.

Prisons in the United States have become warehouses for the poor, mentally ill, and those suffering from addiction who can’t afford bail. A

better strategy would be to address the systemic poverty in our country. Services like drug treatment and affordable housing address these issues more effectively and compassionately than incarceration.

And then there is the disparity as far as race is concerned. If people of color were incarcerated at the same rates of whites, the prison population in this country would decline by approximately fifty percent. One in twenty-eight kids has a parent in prison. Then there is the whole issue of the privatization of prisons, where the incarcerated people become a commodity which creates profit for the CEO’s.

It’s essentially the equivalent of modern slavery or convict labor when the profit motive is driving the need to fill the prisons with more workers.

Studies show that there are tens of thousands of innocent people behind bars who pleaded guilty because they couldn’t afford a lawyer. In fact, eighty percent of incarcerated people can’t afford a lawyer and never go to trial. Ninety-six percent of convictions in the federal system result from guilty pleas rather than decisions by juries.

Simply addressing the prison industrial complex is not enough. The school-to-prison pipeline needs to be plugged up. Kids of color are punished more severely for minor infractions in school than white kids--which trains them to dekit | 77

think of themselves as deserving of punishment, of being less than or inherently criminal. Their next step is juvenile detention where they are taught by their peers survival behaviors. Thirty-five percent of black children grades 7-1 2 have been suspended or expelled at some point in their school careers compared to twenty percent of Hispanics and fifthteen percent of Whites.

people say it. I find it amusing. I added the “I” a couple years ago because it was harder to search for my work online, honestly. But it’s still pronounced: ell-em-en-o-pee. No deep meaning here, sorry!

As far as where I draw my inspiration from...It’s a lot of stuff from cave painting to protest art, and everywhere in between. I like work with a message. I enjoy work that is not afraid to be I could go on about this more, but you get my earnest in an age of irony. point. I think the prison industry is a complete mockery of any real definition of justice. What A lot of your images show young boys and we need is a system based on restorative girls. Class systems, social prejudices, discrimination affects all ages; yet after justice as opposed to imprisonment.

children are born they are immediately predisposed to what will be the course of their upbringing. Is the use of child imagery to bring attention to the gravity of these systems; the systems that subject innocent children to their injustices?

While your work is well known, not many know of your identity. While this allows your work to show for itself, and create a sense of curiosity about it, it can also prevent others from relating to and visualizing a concrete person. Are there some pros and cons to keeping your identity somewhat Yep. Well said, sis. secretive?

I intentionally avoid revealing my identity: both for practical purposes and because I want people to connect to the work as opposed to my personality. Especially as a female artist, there is a whole lot of pressure to pose for photos, to represent our gender, to sell ourselves and our sexuality as part of our work. I resist that. I object to that. I don’t make art so people can identify with me. I do it so people hopefully will identify with the subjects that I paint instead. I want them to make that connection and I want it to be visceral. My identity would only cloud that connection. All that people need to know is the timbre of my voice which is seen in the brushwork, palette choice and content.

Furthermore, kids are on the front lines of climate change, environmental racism, poverty, war, displacement, and colonialism. Frankly, I care more about kids than just about anything.

I’m talking about them just as much as I am talking about the systems that create the consequences they are forced to live through without their consent. The ruling elites of this planet get to create the mess, yet rarely deal with the resulting fallout. The corporations are in control now and they are insatiable. It seems they will not stop until the planet is entirely uninhabitable; at which point the one percent will retreat into their climate controlled bubbles while the rest of us eat mud cakes.

Your subjects can often be seen with their Can you explain to us the meaning behind mouths open, as if crying for help. Which your name ‘Lmnopi?’ Is there any voices are not being heard that are you connection to a specific cause, person, trying to echo through your work? movement that has inspired your work?

They are not crying for help. They are shouting It’s just part of the alphabet. I always thought it in defiance. They are singing their resistance was a word when I was a kid because of how songs. They are expressing their lack of 78 | SUMMER/FALL| 201 5

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IT’S THE PEOPLE WHO ARE WILLING TO GET UP OFF THEIR ASSES AND PARTICIPATE IN CREATING THE ALTERNATIVE THAT WILL IGNITE THE FUSE. consent to oppressive forces. They are rising ignite the fuse. Everyone was given a voice. up. Speaking truth to power.

Everyone has some special talent, or skill, or area of fascination. We need all of us.

The people I paint may be suffering but they are not defeated. I would never paint a woman with You are clearly passionate and driven to a man’s hand across her mouth for example. To each cause you highlight. Today’s society is show her at her most vulnerable moment, is not facing some significant obstacles; do you ever feel discouraged or doubtful, and from supportive to her struggle for dignity.

where do you draw the strength to keep I consider myself to be an emotional landscape pushing forward?

artist. I am fascinated by the power of the Yes, I am constantly confronted with the reality human spirit even under the most egregious that things are going entirely to shit; that we are conditions. all enslaved; that we live in a panopticon to A few of your images read, “Know Justice, which we submit willingly; that the environment Know Peace.” While powerful to us who will very soon be uninhabitable for humans, have the privilege of knowing, there lie unable to sustain animal and plant life; that many disenfranchised groups who have yet large percentages of the population will die due to feel its effects. What are the most to natural and man-made disasters; that 'they' important steps towards generating the will win. I was recently called an ‘optimist.’ I am progression towards peace and justice for not optimistic, however. I am belligerent if all? anything. I am pissed off. Anger is a great fuel source. Why give up, even when things appear Educate. Agitate. Organize. hopeless? That’s what they want us to do. Fuck that.

Do you see this happening in the future, and who are the necessary figures that will spark this change?

For more information about Lmnopi, visit www.facebook.com/lmnopiART Probably You. The people reading this. Anyone Instagram: @lmnopimaize #Lmnopi can. There is not some special skill required to Twitter: @Lmnopie

stop giving consent to an insane system. We all have the keys to our own cages. We can do so much more than rattle them. It’s the people who are willing to get up off their asses and participate in creating the alternative that will 80 | SUMMER/FALL| 201 5

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WHAT SETS WORLDS IN MOTION IS THE INTERPLAY OF DIFFERENCES, THEIR ATTRACTIONS AND REPULSIONS. LIFE IS PLURALITY, DEATH IS UNIFORMITY.

BY SUPPRESSING DIFFERENCES ANd PECULIARITIES, BY ELIMINATING DIFFERENT CIVILIZATIONS AND CULTURES, PROGRESS WEAKENS LIFE AND FAVORS DEATH. 足足 OCTAVIO PAZ (MEXICAN POET, WRITER AND DIPLOMAT)

Model: Nazya Ayaz of StyleMeister Photographer: DDOTCARTER Creative Director: Stephanie Harris

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IFDEKITMAGAZINEINTERVIEWED

RICHARD PRINCE

THEFOLLOWINGARE SOME OFTHEQUESTIONSWE WOULDASK:

by Clare Schubert

Richard Prince has been appropriating photographs since 1 975. With the introduction of Facebook and Instagram in the last decade, ownership and privacy has become more subjective and convoluted. In keeping with the times, Prince was given new material to work with--and so he pounced. dekit |

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IFDEKITMAGAZINE INTERVIEWED RICHARD PRINCE

YOU FIRST BEGAN APPROPRIATING PHOTOGRAPHS IN 1 975. TODAY, THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT EDITING TOOLS , FILTERS , AESTHETICS REPRESENTED , AND ACCESSIBLE TO ANYONE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. H OW HAVE THE PHOTOS YOU WORK WITH EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS ? TALK TO US ABOUT THE CHANGES IN STYLE , COLOR, AND DESIGN .

Should we condemn him for using images posted publicly, or commend him for his (perhaps satirical) use of online photographs? While the pictures remain relatively untouched, the artist will often comment and then blow up the prints.

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IFDEKITMAGAZINE INTERVIEWED RICHARD PRINCE

I S YOUR INTENTION TO CHALLENGE

COPYRIGHT AND PRIVACY ISSUES ON THE INTERNET THROUGH THE APPROPRIATION OF INDIVIDUALS ’ PHOTOS POSTED ON PUBLIC MEDIA SITES ?

Prince has received many negative reactions to his work, yet the owners have risen to a certain degree of fame through his portrayal. Upon further examination, who can we blame but ourselves? Each user to some degree must be aware of vast connectedness of internet users and the risks involved. dekit |

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NC Abram (left) and Pozzie (left) with Akon, Music Producer & Artist (center) and Thione Niang, Founder & President of the Give 1 Project (right) in HeartBeat Project studio, Photography courtesy of Rhythm & Remedy

Pozzie: Yes, and this is why The HeartBeat Project is so imperative in helping to not only shape tomorrow’s young leaders but also giving them a voice that can be used to drive forth this change we all seek. For example, with The HeartBeat Project one of our requirements for the students enrolled in the program is to create a song that is focused on global health issues and even political issues. One of the first campaigns we will touch on will be the eradication of Malaria. Its things like this alone that can begin to shape, change and empower the youth here and globally. If the media is only showing one side of something, it’s up to the people in those areas to be the voice of reason.

And what is the universal language that captures the attention of almost everyone? Music! It’s like I always say, ‘Some change the world with their doctorate or law degrees while others trail blaze, fortifying change through the arts.’ Our goal is to give a platform to those creative trailblazers.

realize that HeartBeat Project was a done deal and going to happen?

Pozzie: To be honest we worked down to the very last minute of the launch date. After investors pulling out and not getting certain grants, we thought we would. I mean we had ZERO dollars and this was within weeks of us launching the studio. We already had press scheduled to attend. We had also built an International Music Summit around this studio launch. We had guest speakers like Gibson (Konvict Music Producer), guests from the U.S. flying in, Hip Hop pioneers of Senegal like Matador, Duggy Tee, Simon, Bouba Ndour. The list goes on. It was basically a big deal. We had no idea how we were going to pull a studio off with no money.

We took to GoFundMe and raised as much as we could, Speak Up Africa assisted us in getting some studio materials and the rest we funded With such an undertaking, when did you two out of our own pocket. Somehow, by the grace 88 | SUMMER/FALL| 201 5

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IFDEKITMAGAZINE INTERVIEWED RICHARD PRINCE

TODAY IT IS BECOMING MORE ACCEPTABLE FOR WOMEN AND MEN TO POSE AND SELF DOCUMENT THEIR PORTRAITS . WE HAVE SEEN A LARGE MOVEMENT THAT PROMOTES SELF PRIDE AND LOVE . S OME OF YOUR PRINTS HAVE INCLUDED THESE TYPES OF PICTURES .

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST REACTION TO THE PHENOMENON KNOWN AS THE ‘ SELFIE ’?

In this age, we have access to just about anything through means of the internet. Our addiction to social media sites may be occupying too much of our time.

Are we entering an era full of self-doubt and need for outward validation from strangers across the globe?

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IFDEKITMAGAZINE INTERVIEWED RICHARD PRINCE

I N THIS ISSUE WE HAVE EXPLORED THE TOPIC OF MEMES AND THE WAYS IN WHICH CULTURE SPREADS THROUGHOUT HISTORY. D O YOU BELIEVE THAT PHOTOGRAPHS CAN COMMUNICATE A CERTAIN LANGUAGE TO ITS VIEWERS ?

Could Prince be on to something here? By appropriating our own photos and forcing us to look at them in greater detail, Prince highlights the role of social media in our daily lives. dekit |

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OUR HUMAN COMPASSION BINDS US THE ONE TO THE OTHER 足 NOT IN PITY OR PATRONIZINGLY, BUT

AS HUMAN BEINGS WHO HAVE LEARNT HOW TO TURN OUR COMMON SUFFERING INTO HOPE FOR THE FUTURE.

足NELSON MANDELA

Model: Nazya Ayaz of StyleMeister Photographer: DDOTCARTER Creative Director: Stephanie Harris

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Are you CLITERATE?

A

by Stephanie Harris Photography by Stephanie Harris

re you illcliterate? According to Sophia Wallace, “The clit is everything guys. I don’t have anyone’s ego that I need to stroke.”

intellect, a profound framework and by creating a language, has given girls and women the permission to own their bodies, want and expect pleasure, and revel in their uniqueness.

American conceptual artist and photographer, Wallace, uses images, sculpture, and other mixed media to educate the public about female pleasure, sexuality, and body sovereignty in her project CLITERACY. Combining the words ‘clitoris’ and ‘literacy’, her project brings awareness to the lack of information, misrepresentation, and subjectification of the female body in art, media, and daily life.

Tell me about CLITERACY. Why the clit particularly? Why not the breast or ass to empower women?

It is important to note that Wallace is only Just days before NYC Pride, I met up with getting started. The real impact of CLITERACY Sophia and her puppy Frances at her has yet to be seen, but in my opinion, it will be showroom in Brooklyn, NY. It was by multifold. ‘appointment only’. As Frances did cute puppy things, she and I sat across from each other on CLITERACY directly challenges today’s culture, stools made from skateboard decks. While the culture of sex and women’s right to own and surrounded by her work—one piece being a dictate their sexual experiences. sculpture of an oversized clitoris, Sophia broke down CLITERACY, how she came up with the If you are reading this, then CLITERACY, is yet 100 Laws of CLITERACY and the motivation again, contributing to the discourse of female anatomy and women's right to sexual pleasure. behind it all.

Well I think because I didn’t see anyone else doing it and it seemed too fucking obvious. In porn the women whose bodies are being depicted is all about penetration. The vagina is not where all the nerves are. That’s not what gives [women] an orgasm.

As she and I spoke I could not help to be filled with reverence; here I sat with a woman who The clit is never shown. When it is shown, it is had found the courage to create meaningful shown as a joke or as some kind of foreplay. It’s work that is transformative as it is informative. treated as optional. It’s treated as though nothing would happen if there wasn’t a male Wallace has provided with great intent and erection, right? And I think the queer dekit | 99

.

... THERE IS NO WORD FOR CLITORAL ERECTION . THERE ’ S ALSO NO WORD FOR FEMALE MASTURBATION

community--we know the clit is where it’s at, but Those are some of the things I want to the straight community doesn’t acknowledge address. I want to understand: is it that this body part, the clit, should it be referred to as this.

the same or in the same way as a man’s penis, As I started to look into this more, I started to or stand on its own uniqueness. Its own lane? uncover medical research and all these things I didn’t know A. All animals have clits. Who knew? All mammals have clits. All mammals actually have clits that extend out of their bodies, so they essentially have erections and do all of the things that a penis will do.

As women we constantly have to identify with the male body parts to say everything with power. "Oh, she needs to grow a pair. She needs to man up." You say, ‘pussy’ and it’s very negative. You have to use the male words to say anything strong.

But, of course, because it is a female part scientists say that it’s a ‘pseudo-penis’. It can’t My feeling is that more language is better. We don’t need to just accept the male language. be just a clit. It has to be a fake penis.

For example, there is no word for clitoral Why do you think scientists feel the need to erection. There’s also no word for female masturbation. Males have ‘wanking,’ ‘jacking describe it as ‘pseudo’? off,’ and a bunch of gross things that I don’t I think because there is a discomfort from even want to say. mainstream science. There have certainly been scientists along the way that have In Sweden, they had a campaign just to definitely respected the clit. But they have not address this exact issue. They just came up been a part of mainstream discourse. The with a new word, ‘Clitter.’ It’s a combination of dominant belief in Western medicine has clitoris and glitter. Which I think is really cute. been that the female body is a lesser version of the male body. Everything that has been Why do you think there are people that studied has been in terms of reproduction. So might be afraid, or offended, by the word when they come across things that speak to ‘clit’, or 'Cliteracy'? our uniqueness, they either avoid it or put it down as something that doesn't really I think that people are not used to female desire. People are very comfortable with matter.”

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females as sexual objects. Women are either supposed to titillate and be sexy, or they are supposed to make babies. It terrifies people that there is this part of the female body that exists solely for itself. That it’s natural for it to have pleasure. And that it’s spoken out loud in public. It’s scary for some people.

Up until recently, female desire has been considered completely secondary--that it cannot co-exist. Women were only supposed to be having sex as part of their marital duties and making babies. To have sex just to keep their man and make them happy.

W OMEN WERE ONLY SUPPOSED TO BE

HAVING SEX AS PART OF THEIR MARITAL DUTIES AND MAKING BABIES . TO HAVE SEX JUST TO KEEP THEIR MAN AND MAKE THEM HAPPY.

It’s changing but we have a long way to go.

truth is that ninety-nine percent of the sex that There’s huge double standards around what is human beings have over the course of their life normalized for male bodies and female bodies. is for pleasure. It’s not for reproduction.

To this day, in all fifty states, the clitoris is not included in the female anatomy taught in The clit, to me, it’s symbolic. Anyone can claim schools. So, boys learn, ‘oh, I have an erection. CLITERACY. Claim the clit! Penises and clits I have fantasies, nocturnal emissions, and I are the same thing. They are different ejaculate. I can make a baby.’ Worldwide expressions of the same material. they’re taught that girls have uteruses, fallopian tubes, periods that are painful, and to not get a Yes, exactly, there are different energies. girl pregnant. They don’t talk about girls having There is the male and female energy, just as is a positive and a negative. The clit desires, having sexual dreams, and there symbolizes another form of power. It’s just masturbating. No one talks about [the clitoris] expressed differently. where they actually have a hundred nerves. In all of the sexual position guides, no one Sure. The symbol of the phallus is about touches it. I have women coming up to me individual initiative and individual strength. I constantly being like, "Thank God I found your think the clit is symbolic of our right as human project because I always thought I was weird. I beings to have more than just survival, and thought I was the only one." No. You’re the biological, in terms of reproduction. It resides majority. over pleasure. We have a right to knowledge.

As something to empower, and grow, and do We have a right to beauty.

wonderful things in the world; what does I think it’s really interesting trying to use the clit CLITERACY say to young girls and women?

I think what CLITERACY is saying is that: One, people need to have a basic factual, sciencebased understanding of the female body if they want to come near it. Two, you have a right to have pleasure every time you have sex. There’s no reason you shouldn’t have pleasure. The 1 02 | SUMMER/FALL| 201 5

in all these tiny ways. To talk about the power of the small, the power of the multiple of many, many people coming together and doing something. The desire to make something that’s a beautiful surface that’s not trying to take over, or have control, or have hierarchy. It’s an ecosystem.

Is there anywhere in the world that talks about the clit? In history or anything?

So it’s interesting. Because the clit has come in and out of science and cultural references.

Hippocrates, the Greek physician, knew about the clit and basically encouraged it before it was known that female orgasms weren’t essential for procreation. He told all of his male patients to put some oil on your finger and rub the clit the entire time. But once they found out that it wasn’t necessary, it was written out of history.

Freud also put a big nail in the coffin by saying the clit is immature and the vagina is mature.

So, you can’t be a mature woman unless you are having a vaginal orgasm.

There were times in the West where girls who masturbated had their external clits cut off.

They were doing female genital mutilation here.

Wow, really? I never knew that.

Yeah!

the outside.

I would say, we still have a pedagogical cliteran Secondly, it’s not something you can attach ectomy. We don’t learn about the clit. The clit is yourself around. It’s complex. It’s bigger than not taught and is misrepresented and mocked. your body. You can’t see it at once and walk by.

You have to spend time with it.

That’s why I sell t-shirts with, "SOLID GOLD CLIT." It’s very meaningful. It’s actually pretty As women we always have to dis-identify with profound to see this work and it’s not giving our own bodies and identify with maleness because that’s the perspective. It’s like away anything. It’s not titillating. whiteness, it imposes itself and you’re You made the choice of using text. Can you supposed to be like, ‘Okay, well it’s always speak as to why it was significant for you to going to be some blonde heroine. So I have to just use words as opposed to you using identify with her. I have to identify with the straight couples because there’s no queer physical images of vaginas or women? stories.’ So it’s the same thing with sex. People Yeah. In all the art that I encountered in art are expecting purple, expecting something like history, female nude is everywhere. And there flowers, something tactile. Some yarn, or a are a fair number of close-ups on pussies, and plate, something you can hold and be soft. It’s that’s not fixing any of the illcliteracy. There’s a just- no. I’m not giving you any of that. certain logic. Like, ‘Oh it’s about the female body. Okay. I get to see it. I get to see all of it We tend to want it easy to digest, right? naked.' I wanted to say, ‘You can’t just see it and know it.' It’s not all about what’s visible on Yeah they want a safe, controllable, feminine dekit | 1 03

So, I just started working with text and the laws just started to come to me. So the first one that came to me was, "Democracy Without Cliteracy? Phallusy." "The Hole is not the Whole," that one came to me and then, "There is no Lack." This is referencing Freud and his paradigm of the fallacy vs. the phallic. Also, ‘All Bodies are Entitled to Pleasure.’ I think that single law encompasses all of the laws. It’s maybe the most radical statement, but it shouldn’t be.

form. Some people are like, ‘Well where are the pussies?’ No. You’ve seen it how many times?

Part of it is just trying to say that you can’t be a citizen if your body is a taboo and you can’t talk about it. Why should you feel bad when you feel pleasure? No. People are so comfortable with the fact that women are having their clits cut off, and women are having no pleasure in sex, but the second it's suggested to cut off ninety percent of men’s penises in Egypt--just like it is for women--no one would be down for that. And if you say, ‘Why not? They can still walk, and eat, and do labor,' right? 'No, he can’t be a full human being without having his full body intact and having access to his pleasure.’

It went from twenty laws, then I had sixty, then two hundred and I edited them down to one hundred.

That was the first expression and kind of the only option.

Kind of. Because there is so much ignorance and so much misinformation, I had a lot of work to do to get us to a starting point. But from here, now, this is sort of the bedrock of the project. I can work with ornament and sculpture and explore the form. The form is still unknown and still being debated in some places.

So I heard in an interview that you were talking about the project for a while. What was the hesitation?

when you’re talking about female Some people will say, 'It's a part of their Basically genitalia it’s basically a curricular. So, customs' immediately, you get, ‘Ugh, vagina art? I’m so This is the universal deceleration of rights for the clit. Because all organs have the freedom to exist. Doesn’t matter what your religion is.

Doesn’t matter what country you’re in. You cannot take the right of being away from it.

burnt out on vagina monologues.' Or, 'Oh, that kind of art.’ It’s a mood killer. It’s a joy killer with some people. I was already doing work based around sexuality, gender, and race, so if I go into the pussies--it’s over.

Did you choose to use text right off the bat? But I didn’t have a choice. I had to make it. I had the idea. I didn’t feel like anyone was doing Or was this a process?

it. I was forced by the project to do it. Now I joke It was a process. I’m actually a trained that I’m the bitch of the clit. photographer and I’m not taking pictures of pussies. That’s not going to get us anywhere. I It’s such an important part of the story and it’s been completely repressed to this day. It had to only know this one thing. And I can’t use it.

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I’ VE HAD A NUMBER OF PEOPLE , ESPECIALLY WOMEN , SAY TO ME THEY DON ’ T EVEN LIKE TO SAY THE WORD ‘ CLITORIS ’ BECAUSE IT FEELS GROSS. And no way could it not be political, because of that people are just like, ‘Oh you should just open a nonprofit. Why are you doing art?’ What I’m doing is creating the visual language, and object, and iconography, and having the reaction that goes into the world that has an effect.

Are you concerned about your work being interpreted as vulgar and if that might dilute your mission and its meaning?

I would say that people don’t actually look at it and don’t spend time with it because, if they did, it would be much harder to call it vulgar. I think there’s an assumption that if you’re talking about the clit in public, you’re doing it to sensationalize, to get attention, or to be crass.

But that’s the issue with the taboo. Case in point; Alicia Brown, a representative, said the word, "vagina" in a debate on abortion and everyone said that was inappropriate.

I’ve had a number of people, especially women, say to me they don’t even like to say the word ‘clitoris’ because it feels gross. Or they don’t like the word ‘vagina’ or ‘vulva.' They feel only negative things around it. I think that’s projected upon it all the time. You can say a lot of things about it, but vulgar is not one of these things.

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lie. This lie is creating a lot of suffering. I felt like there was a hole in the discourse. There are a lot of Feminists organizing. They are talking about access to birth control before talking about the imbalance of rape and equal pay.

Women don’t even feel comfortable touching their own clit. Which is crazy! And I’m talking about the hetero-world. I think I could only do this project because I am a dyke. You know what I mean? Because I’m like, ‘I don’t care.

I’ve got nothing to lose.’ I will tell you that this is bullshit. The clit is everything guys. I don’t have anyone’s ego that I need to stroke.

What do you say to the moms that say, ‘You’re telling my daughter to masturbate and go against God’ and all that stuff?

I would say, who better to touch their bodies then themselves? No one should touch a little girl but her. And when she does, she’s made to feel so terrible about down there. You’re basically teaching them to be ashamed of their body. It doesn’t even belong to her. It belongs to her husband. Just like her mom, her mom trades it for a house and a big diamond ring. I think that’s a horrible idea.

One of the articles that came out recently says, CLITERACY is teaching little girls to masturbate or something. Well, yeah. They should know their bodies. We accept that boys masturbate.

DON’T LET HIM COME NEAR YOU WITH HIS PENIS UNTIL HE’S GOTTEN YOU OFF WITH HIS HAND OR MOUTH FIRST.

course girls should masturbate. That’s not my number one campaign. But, yeah, you need to know your own body first. I would even go so far as to say that you should definitely penetrate yourself first before you let anyone else.

Because how do you know what feels good?

And it’s your body. It’s your virginity. Take it for yourself. This whole idea; who takes it from you, who gives it to you. No. Girls are not empowered themselves.

So everyone blames them for getting UTIs, yeast infections, or they get pregnant. AND, they can’t have a orgasm. It sucks. Don’t let him come near you with his penis until he’s gotten you off with his hands or mouth first.

to

almost redefines it more. Woman is woman.

Man is man. I am a high-fem woman or a manly man.

Not to be totally bland and boring about it but I believe it’s a bit of both. I’m all for the spectrum personally. I love the spectrum. I don’t like the idea that if you’re butch you’re really a trans man in denial. No. Let all our tomboys, and androgynous girls, and the super butch, prepare passing, still identify as being female. Why can’t women be this huge spectrum? Same with masculinity. Why do we want to say these polarities--if I’m being a boss or a leader-that I’m being a dude and not being a woman.

WHYCAN’TWOMEN BE THIS HUGE SPECTRUM? SAME WITH MASCULINITY. WHYDO WE WANTTO SAYTHAT THESE POLARITIES-IF I’M BEING ABOSS ORALEADERTHATI’M BEING ADUDE AND NOTBEING AWOMAN.

I recently met Rain Dove, a model, whose whole charge is about gender neutrality.

Playing devil’s advocate, I feel what she is all about is almost a contrast to what Cliteracy is in many ways. Then again, I also see the other side. The common thread.

I was actually on a panel recently that was called the End of Gender. It was with people in the scene and academics. They asked this question, "Do we want to evolve gender or do we want to make it extinct?" Do we want to know more or do we want it to become something else? It was interesting. Kate Bornstein said she was wishing for extinction.

We are becoming this melting pot-literally. So what is going to happen to the diversity? I love going to other countries and experiencing the nuances of their culture. Are we just going to become a blend of everything and not really know where we came from? I am fearful of that. I’m fearful of losing the richness of diversity. It may be a phenomenal thing to live in that world, but I don’t know.

I wonder what it would be like to live in a totally free world that wasn’t just race, patriarchal, or homophobic. What would that look like? I don’t know. What would be my identity? How would I dress? How would I express myself? Who On the one hand, we can talk about how knows? I can’t know that. gender is constructed. But then you have trans When I was in college, and when I was in high people who are just, ‘I feel like I know I’m this school, I dressed more butch and that felt great gender even though my body is this. I’ve always for me at the time. I had short hair. I wore known that.’ Claiming gender in a way that boxers. I wore baggy clothes, baseball caps. My dekit | 1 07

experience was a variation of my gender expression and I love that ability--to have that-and I don’t want that to go away.

So, the theme of the issue. I always choose a word that represents the theme. The word is Meme. The word meme has to do with culture and how things are spread. So the question is; to meme or not to meme? And why?”

To meme. Because culture is irresistible. It can be spread and with an irresistible meme you can impact culture. I think about Hip Hop, for example. We know that the world is filled with fucking racism and it is unbelievable. Hip Hop is a force that is also so powerful that even the fucking racists cannot resist it. It is so dynamic, and moving, and creative, and exciting, and you can’t resist it. The power of good art and using art as a tool against adversity is an amazing way to fight back. mom would be like, ‘Ugh! Why do you want to look like K.D. Lang? You want to be a man now?’

I like being a woman. So I can’t identify with trans because that’s not my experience. But I

P ART OF IT IS TRYING TO OFFER NEW CULTURE THAT ADDS NEW LOGIC AND BREAKS DOWN OLD BULLSHIT THAT HAS BEEN HANGING FOR WAY TOO LONG .

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I try, with CLITERACY, in my own way, to have some sort of impact that’s impossible to deny.

Because, even if you’re Anti-Cliteracy, go Illcliteracy; you still are reinforcing CLITERACY. I hear people using CLITERACY and cliterate as a part of popularizing other people’s work and of things beyond the project; a part of me wants it to be associated with my work because I built that word. But, at the same time, part of the goal has always been to make it a part of a common thing. To make it go out into the world.

So, instead of is this person a slut or not? Why don’t we just make CLITERACY the word?

Saying, ‘Oh you’re cliterate.’ Part of it is trying to offer new culture that adds new logic and breaks down old bullshit that has been hanging for way to long. So I say, yeah. Think about Kermit drinking the Lipton tea.

For more information about Sophia Wallace, visit www.sophiawallace.com

WHATEVER

WORDS WE UTTER SHOULD BE CHOSEN WITH CARE FOR PEOPLE WILL HEAR THEM AND BE INFLUENCED BY THEM FOR GOOD OR ILL.

足BUDDHA Model: Nazya Ayaz of StyleMeister Photographer: DDOTCARTER Creative Director: Stephanie Harris

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Eren Saracevic's

Nostalgia A book review by Samantha Flores Photography by Samatha Flores

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I MAGINE

FOR A MOMENT THAT YOU LEFT YOUR CHILDHOOD HOME AT ANY EARLY AGE . AFTER GROWING UP AND DECIDING TO COME BACK, YOU FIND YOUR HOME IN RUINS . S UDDENLY, YOU FEEL LIKE A STRANGER AND WITHOUT A PLACE TO CALL ‘ HOME ’. P HOTOGRAPHER AND ARTIST E REN S ARACEVIC HAS EXPERIENCED THIS FIRST HAND . B EING BORN IN YUGOSLAVIA AND MOVING TO AMERICA AT AN EARLY AGE , HE GREW UP WITHOUT FEELING A SENSE OF A ‘ HOMELAND’. H E DECIDED TO VISIT HIS MOTHER COUNTRY LATER IN LIFE , AND FELT MORE LIKE A TOURIST IN A FOREIGN LAND RATHER THAN A NATIVE . H IS BOOK, NOSTALGIA , REFLECTS HIS DISCONNECT WITH HIS HOME . THE BOOK IS TORN IN HALF AND THE PICTURES DEPICT A WALK THROUGH A BROKEN COUNTRY. READING THE BOOK GIVES A FEELING OF ISOLATION ; A QUIET NEED TO UNDERSTAND THIS HOMELAND AND WHERE A PERSON COMES FROM . WHAT MAKES US WHO WE ARE ? H OW DOES SOMEONE DEFINE THEIR HOME AND HOW DOES THAT EFFECT WHO THEY BECOME ? E REN S ARACEVIC TRIES TO FIND THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS IN HIS PHOTO BOOK OF YUGOSLAVIA. H E DESCRIBES IT ON HIS WEBSITE AS A, " BOOK BROKEN INTO THE DISAPPEARANCE OF YUGOSLAVIA, BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS , BROKEN FLAGS , BROKEN LANDSCAPES , BROKEN IDEAS , BROKEN PEOPLE , AND A BROKEN MULTICULTURAL DREAM THAT SHOULD REMIND US THAT THE IRREPARABLE PAST OF A PLACE CAN BECOME THE OTHER FUTURE . "

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What is Gender Neutrality?

Q&A with Rain Dove

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by Clare Schubert Interview by Clare Schubert & Samantha Flores

Rain is embracing her unique ability. She candidly speaks out against gender binaries and supports a more fluid definition of gender.

While some may not be ready for such a movement, Rain refuses to lose momentum.

Now, a growing influence in the fashion industry, Rain is using this outlet as a catalyst to redefine the meaning of male and female. Rain takes her mission to new heights seeking a For decades, the media has influenced how we world without ‘girl or boy,’ and without ‘male or describe males and females, and the terms female.’ associated with each gender. Recently we’ve seen a new movement in the media that Rain argues that a world with gender represents all points of the gender spectrum; distinctions leads to different challenges for celebrity figures and public figures are speaking each gender. Her reaction? To use her flexibility to benefit from each gender’s advantages, out. depending on the situation. We turn to Rain to Known for her ability to pose as either gender, learn more about the term “gender capitalism,” dekit | 11 9 ot only is Rain Dove breaking standards--she’s setting them. A trend setter on and off the runway, Rain is calling for action. Passioned for her cause and confident in her message, Rain advocates for a new type of gender normative: one void of all gender distinctions.

the role fashion plays in gender identity, and divided in half, based on genitalia or cultural what’s to come next. expressions of sexual connection. Suddenly, I was experiencing being shackled to the There are so many ways, terms and labels, predetermined social education of what I was to describe what you are doing. Are you an capable of with a vagina, not as a human. And I androgynous model or are you gender hated it.

neutral? What is the best way to understand your message?

Do you view fashion as something that encourages or hinders your ability to I am a human being with specific anatomical showcase your identity?

capacities. I am whatever you think I am because you are you and your opinion is yours. I have learned not to apologize for wearing the My message is simple: BE HUMAN. Be you. things that I like. Since I have done so, my choices everyday are one hundred percent Why do you think it is important to integrally me. Fashion is only hindering if you challenge or break down social norms are not the one choosing what you are wearing, surrounding gender? or if you allow the world to determine what you should feel good in. When you make style I think it's important to challenge anything that choices that truly reflect your heart, then you limits you as an individual. Social norms, they make a choice to truly showcase who you are. are NORMS because they are a common trait Our identity is our every day authentic amongst a group of humans, not because they expression. are essential to human survival. have found a lot of wonder and joy in the In an interview with AfterEllen you stated Iconcept humans are limitless in possibilities that, “as a young child [you] always felt like when it that comes to fashion. So when designers an ‘ugly girl’ but felt more empowered as a male.” When did you begin to explore are dressing me, even in something I feel outside the limitations of gender binaries? awkward in, I take a moment to recognize that this is a person's vision that they see in me. It's Well, when I gave this interview for AfterEllen I a side of myself I might not have seen on my was still learning to describe myself. It's a hard own . . . and it's neat to explore that. process to define oneself, and many spend a lifetime trying to do so. I'm still exploring You’ve talked about fashion as a private sector. Where designers, artists, stylists, language, so bare with me!

photographers, and editors set the status quo. While high fashion has begun to embrace all types of models, commercial fashion remains relatively stagnant. As society is becoming more inclusive, and more people are openly queer, do you feel commercial fashion has any incentive for the inclusion of the queer community?

I grew up on a small farm in Vermont where expectations weren't based on sex. They are based on, 'Can you split the firewood or can't you?' Or, 'Can you lift that fifty pound bag of grain or can't you?' or 'Are you afraid of wrangling that cow or not?' It was very individualized. I got a fair shot at everything and wasn't considered incapable due to my genitalia Absolutely. At this point we are in a bit of a or my attire. Only I could prove if I was suited cowboy standoff between marketing agencies for a task or not. afraid to take a risk on catering to the queer community, and the queer community putting When I left Vermont, I saw a world that was their money into the businesses; to show that 1 20 | SUMMER/FALL| 201 5

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they will support them. It's not that marketing agencies are part of some illuminati trying to brainwash the world. They are a capitalistic part of society and go with any trend that will consistently and safely bring them money for their clients and business.

What is your response to those who have criticized you for stepping out of the gender binary?

Thank you for taking the time to give me feedback--even though it isn't positive. You ARE entitled to your opinion and lifestyle preferences.

On many accounts you have spoken about the term, ‘gender capitalism’ and your ability to play either a male or female character, depending on which is more advantageous. Is gender neutrality about freedom of expression without limitations or is it about being able to adapt to a given situation and benefiting from the advantages that each provide?

of your body when working as a male, and vise versa when working as a female?

Posture and attitude have a lot to do with my ‘men’s’ work. I have studied a lot of how ‘men’ are marketed and take all the key elements to best mimic the physiology, presence, and confidence required to appear as just ‘one of the guys.’ I used to bind my chest to help with keeping my breasts from affecting my physiological integrity, but have recently stopped doing so, as I realize it's not good for the body or something I want to promote to others. I'd be in moderate pain, short of breath, and feel unable to move as freely when I wrapped over my breasts. It was terrible.

For ‘girl’ stuff, after a lot of research I realize that being more airy, graceful, and doe eyed is more desired by people I have worked with. A manicure goes a long way, and I often won't be seen looking directly into the camera as it's seen as too confrontational and aggressive.

Many times people put capped sleeve garments on me to hide my muscle tone, and Gender Capitalism is my sarcastic way of my leg hair will be photoshopped off magically proving to the world how harmful binary in retouching. divisions in our community are--by taking advantage of them. When I can get the best of Fashion has changed and transformed over both worlds and document it for others to see, the decades and is often driven by changes I hope they say to themselves, "I wish I could in consumer tastes. The most successful are often sifted through the high do that," or, "that’s not fair," or, "that’s not trends fashion industry and then manifest right." themselves into commercial fashion. Do I want people to FEEL something over my use of Gender Capitalism. I want them to start asking the hard questions like, "What benefits are people missing out on based on their perceived sex?" I want people to get upset enough to demand to be treated to the fullest potential of positive human capacity. I want people to see how much more they could have if we stopped oppressing each other over genitalia and stylistic expressions.

you think fashion has the ability to spread and educate others about all gender types?

Absolutely! That's why I'm in this industry.

Fashion can truly change the world. However it won't be just fashion that changes the world; the major impact factor comes from marketing agencies. They are the ones who make the millions of physical and subliminal images we see each year. These images tell us who should be wearing certain things and how they should be wearing them. The 'who' and 'how' are seen What kind of ‘tricks’ have you learned in so often in advertising, that they really influence order to disguise the more feminine parts our perception of what we may think is normal 1 22 | SUMMER/FALL| 201 5

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or popular.

Do you think it should be a global initiative to fully eradicate the system of gender binaries (and the use of the pronouns ‘he’ and ‘she’)?

What about those who do identify as either male or female and don’t possess the physical traits or qualities that allow for fluidity between a masculine and a female character?

I would love a world that eradicates the requirement of binary labeling. A single pronoun would do wonders! I think labels like these are only dangerous when they become limits. It's okay if someone wants to be called ‘him,’ ‘her,’ ‘they,’ ‘it,’ ‘Gorum,’ ‘limlim.’ It doesn't really matter. What matters is that the intent is positive and not oppressive. Pronouns are just referential descriptive words. People need to lower their weapons and chill out. Most times we engage in a conversation to simply communicate, not to verbally harm. The world doesn’t need to be so complicated about it.

world won't fall apart if they don't fit into a little box.

In another interview you said that, ‘gender doesn’t exist’ and that it is a ‘social construct you don’t have to fit in to,’ but what do you say to those that tell others they feel like a woman when they are a man? Or vice versa?

What do you say to those that feel they are a certain gender when you want to abolish the idea of gender?

I feel that everyone's personal definitions are for themselves. If someone feels they are energetically the opposite sex, then that's their feeling. By calling for an abolition of gender, I'm saying that what is ‘male’ or ‘female’ in energy or expression is equal and limitless. Just because you feel ‘dainty’ or ‘coy,’ doesn't mean you feel femme...because lots of ‘men’ can feel ‘dainty’ and ‘coy’ too. Just because you feel ‘physical’ and ‘square’ doesn't exactly mean you are feeling ‘masculine’ because lots of women can feel ‘physical’ and ‘square’ too. Why limit ourselves? There are so many ways to be a Would you describe yourself as a 'walking single human.

meme’ with the ability to share a certain aspect of culture with others through your Do you believe that ‘gender capitalism’ is the various digital works and social network opposite of gender freedom? Do you turn channels? yourself into a hypocrite when you take a role as a man, or a woman, simply because it Haha, a walking meme? I can already think of pays? Or do you see this as taking down of the one liners! I definitely think all humans right gender constructs? now are kind of ‘walking memes.’ I definitely have the great fortune of having a network of great supporters and publications that help channel my voice and actions through their routes whenever possible. It's really incredible the power each person’s voice can have through Instagram, Facebook, Periscope, Twitter, Tumblr, etc.!

I never truly take a role as a ‘man’ or a ‘woman’.

I take it as myself. At the end of the day I'm still me; I'm not trying to trick anyone. I'm just wearing clothing in a manner that the designer sees as most integral to their brand so they can sell them. I don't take the gender capitalism thing too seriously. It's just a silly way to wake people up and out of binary oppression.

How are you making a difference when it comes to abolishing gender structures?

Fashion is moving to make more androgynous clothes for women. Do you I make a difference by being successful without believe that men are being shortchanged in the need of definition or approval from those this department?

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GENDER IS HOW WE RELATE TO OUR SEX AND THE WORLD AROUND US ENERGETICALLY. ‘F EMALE ’ AND ‘ MALE ’ TRAITS OR FEELINGS SHIFT AND CHANGE -CONTINGENT UPON AN INDIVIDUAL’ S LOCAL CULTURAL TEACHINGS OF WHAT IS TYPICALLY AN ATTRIBUTE OF ‘ FEMININITY’ OR ‘ MASCULINITY.’ Clohing tailored for ‘male’ physiology has ALWAYS been shortychanged of diversity and creativity when it comes to common fashion commercial brands. The everyday ‘guy’ most certainly has fewer colors and shapes to select from. In NYC I went to H&M on 34th and it has three levels of ‘women’s’ clothing while the ‘men's’ section was only a half a floor, shared with toddler attire. It's 201 5, people. It's 201 5.

Of course it can! Gender and sex are often confused for each other; but they are completely separate. ‘Cliteracy’ focuses on the education of the female sexual anatomy and it's history. This is something that is not limiting or biased, it's science. There is penis and vagina, or on the rare occasion a hermaphroditic physical state. While each body is unique, every genitalia from one type or the other is generally constructed with the same parts. Because of What other players, besides the fashion the consistent nature of expectation, it's industry, do you see that can fight the important and possible to educate humans gender barriers? about the functions of various sexual organs.

Us. One hundred percent, all of us. By asking for what we want, as far as perception and dialogue goes, and giving it right back equally.

The advertising industry for common goods like: toilet paper, curtains, bananas, tires, pens, etc., holds a lot of power in how they represent humans on packaging and promotional materials; celebrity figures and scholarly figures, who reach large portions of the youth and the general globe, define trends and slang terms, and what is safe to do; political figures who fight for policies to protect people in the public from harm; everyone and everything.

However, GENDER is how we relate to our sex and the world around us energetically. ‘Female’ and ‘male’ traits or feelings shift and change-contingent upon an individual’s local cultural teachings of what is typically an attribute of ‘femininity’ or ‘masculinity.’ Gender is not binary and has a full spectrum. It cannot truly be educated about because it cannot truly be defined without imposing biased social elements.

Are you familiar with the CLITERACY movement by Sophia Wallace? Can CLITERACY and gender neutrally coexist?

For more information about Rain Dove, visit www.facebook.com/raindovemodel dekit |

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WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO ACHIEVE, IF WE MASTER THE NECESSARY GOODWILL, A

COMMON GLOBAL SOCIETY BLESSED WITH A SHARED CULTURE OF PEACE THAT IS NOURISHED BY THE ETHNIC, NATIONAL AND LOCAL DIVERSITIES THAT ENRICH OUR LIVES.”

­­MAHNAZ AFKHAMI (IRANIAN­AMERICAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST)

Model: Nazya Ayaz of StyleMeister Photographer: DDOTCARTER Creative Director: Stephanie Harris

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The Juxtaposition of Women and Superheroes

by Clare Schubert Interview by Samantha Flores

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andra Chevrier is an artist based out of Montreal, QC. Her work centers around female subjects combined with the use of comic book scenes, characters, and images. Chevrier juxtaposes the brute masculinity often associated with comic books against the soft, delicate feminine features.

women should be regarded: both graceful mighty. Her work is thought provoking contemplative. One glance at her work leave us enthusiastic and impassioned to the fight towards a more inclusive society.

and and will join

In an interview you mentioned that your work has to have a social message otherwise it is meaningless, why do you feel Her whimsical, mixed media pieces bring us to this is important? a place of light heartedness, innocence, and youth. Her pieces leaves us reminiscent of childhood and longing for familiarity. The comic book characters who helped form our perceptions about the world are now presented in a much different manner. Their rawness propels us towards a deeper understanding of societal customs.

The esthetic side in my work is very important. I use it to seduce the spectator, then when he takes the time to look more into it, he will find a meaning, a message behind it.

The works are an offset of American comics, synonymous to entertainment and fun. This is exactly the goal of the series - a daily struggle Chevrier describes her work as a, “dance against that which is imposed by society and between reality and imagination, truth and the very expectations we impose on ourselves. deception,” in which she illuminates the harsh You work literally destroys comic books and reality of female oppression. The women’s appropriates them to speak for women, do features are often concealed in some way you believe that by using comic scenes you whether it be by paint, images, or cloths. The are making this message about women full identity of these women are never truly more palatable for men? In a sense, represented; each work contains an outside ‘speaking their language’? influence which prevents a complete picture of I chose to work with women figures because the each character. contrast with the man superhero stereotype was Chevrier’s work is simultaneously romantic and more clear. It is easier to see emotions in a powerful, suggestive of the manner in which woman’s eyes, mouth, hair or hands. But we 1 28 | SUMMER/FALL| 201 5

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are all slaves to something or of something.

And in comic books, despite all the playfulness of the thing itself and all the “POW BING BAM,” superheroes are also fragile. We are merely human men and women and we are entitled to the flaws and errors.

A lot of times, it seems to get a message across we have to 'play ball' and your work plays on the allure of beauty, even though it’s not the focus. Do you think that your work would get a different response if the women you painted were of the 'average' sort?

I do have a lot of ideas regarding the evolution of the Cages series. It started with raw brushstrokes on portraits, then the comic books, and it’ll become something else. I want to continue working with women but take the series somewhere else. I would also like working with men and children.

You use comic books where the heroes are usually masculine, or men, and often times they are saving women, the damsels; what do you think you work says to little girls and women that the comic books don’t?

The images used within Cages often range from scenes of conflict, triumph, and defeat. Often focusing on the latter, I try to highlight the fragility of the superhero, their personal weaknesses, and expose the humanity within the superhuman. I hope it gives a feeling of power to the women but also let them know it is Have you experienced a personal cage in ok to fail sometimes or feel weak.

Beauty is a very relative thing, it depends on the eye of the viewer. I am looking for a story, an emotion, a fragile or a strong gaze, something that will speak to people, and I think that might be the power in my work.

your own life? How has this series changed you?

The substance and poetry of your work seems to be, with the comics, more Art to me is not only a way of expression; it is a significantly about what is not of your work, language on its own. I’ve always used it to the voids. You largely depict Caucasian release my inner demons. This series is very women, models, beauty shots, seductive personal, but I now try to reflect not only my poses all of which denote the standard of inner vision but find a matter that will speak to a beauty in Western culture. Do you think that in a society that is largely adapt to looking larger audience. at the surface, your message could be lost I feel this series gave me a voice, but I also feel or overlooked? ridiculous sometimes. I feel trapped in a cage everyday that goes by. And most of the time they are walls I impose on my own self. Some days, I feel I made a step forward, having a certain feeling of liberation and others days, I just feel I have the weight of the world on my shoulders.

You speak about society twisting what the perception of beauty is, and what I like about your work is that it inspires that conversation. How do you see your work evolving to further this dialogue? Could it take shape in a new series?

I did an open call on social media so that women would send me pictures of themselves and at the same time a lot of them shared with me their personal stories, most of them took this step because they felt related to the series Cages. I might say I am blessed that so many women felt trust and felt confident enough to share something so personal with me. I did find some muses that I've worked more than once with, but they are all in general day to day life women. Of course they've sent pictures they felt comfortable and beautiful in. I am not looking for the perfect body type but more for the emotion, the fragility, the strength in the gaze or dekit | 1 31

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ATHE RT SHOULD BE SEEN /OR HEARD THROUGH EYES /OR EARS OF THE SPECTATOR! in the posture.

there already had been a great progress regarding women's rights; unfortunately there is Let’s talk a bit about the mask, how did you still a lot to be done. But the good thing is that come up with the technique? Why do you we live at a time where it is easier to express think the mask is such a power symbol to ourselves and where your voice (like mine I make it the focal point of your work? guess) is easier to be heard, thanks to the internet and social media.

The mask is a big symbol in our society, for example, with the debate on the Muslim veil. It is interesting, in many of your portraits, When you put something on the mouth, or the the women’s mouths are partly opened, as if nose, of a person, you leave them with a they are about to speak. Why is that? What breathless feeling and leave them without the would they say? possibility to express themselves. Same with the eyes; cover the eye of someone and you They would say what you'd like to hear. Art take away the possibility to see and feel their should be seen/or heard through the eyes/or emotions. ears of the spectator!

How would you describe your work before including comic books? Do you look at comic books differently now that they are in your work?

The series before the comic books were more defined, more like a prison. Now you can see it as a liberation, a sense of empowerment with the superheroes. I didn't grow up reading the stories of Superman and Batman, it is only in the past few years that we made acquaintance.

I now, (and surely even more that I have a son that loves them), find this universe very fascinating and intriguing. In the stories, but also the esthetic side.

We found your work in Miami, at SCOPE 201 4 where your work was showing as part of the Dean Collection by Swizz Beats. How did your work become a part of his collection?

Swizz and Alicia approached me a few months before SCOPE, they saw my work on Instagram and bought some pieces of mine for their collection. Swizz has a great vision; he wants to help the young artists and wants to make a change in the Art World. We are now friends and I am lucky enough that he includes me in is projects.

What do you believe is beautiful in a Historically, women have been challenging woman? the normative of what is expected of women and equality. How do you think work such Their own unique ways of expressions. as yours help challenge standards of beauty?

For more information about Sandra Chevrier, visit

I am lucky to have been born at a period where www.sandrachevrier.com 1 34 | SUMMER/FALL| 201 5

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E. JAGUAR BECKFORD's RAINBOW FASHION WEEK

by Stephanie Harris Photography by Stephanie Harris

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J

ag & Co. Founder, and former entertainment lawyer E. Jaguar Beckford, did away with law to pursue her passion for fashion. She founded Jag & Co. in 201 3 and shortly after, in 201 4, founded and executive produced the first Rainbow Fashion Week (RFW) in New York City.

In recent years, beginning with the advent of trendy androgynous styles for men and women, and a growing number of transgendered and gender fluid models strutting down runways throughout the world, the fashion industry has been moving to include a wider spectrum of gender identities.

LGTBQ seniors through its Fashion for a Cure segment.

By highlighting immense talent found within the LGBTQ community, connecting queer designers and people of all genders, body types, ages, and races, Beckford, and the RFW team, produced a show that reaches beyond the art of fashion.

Events like RFW help facilitate conversations around gender and equality; conversations that help to drive society, along with the fashion industry, towards becoming more inclusive and accepting of differences.

When did it occur to you that there needed The LGBTQ community, Beckford says, “has to be a New York fashion week specifically been about acceptance of all people where as for the LGBTQ community? the mainstream and high fashion industry, though making strides, hasn’t been about inclusion.” As a result, RWF in New York, Queer Fashion Week in Oakland, C.A and events, the like, are emerging to empower LGBTQ designers that do design for a wider spectrum of gender identities.

Proclaimed by Mayor Bill DeBlasio as, "An Official New York City Pre-Pride Fashion Event,” this year’s RFW was an eight day exposition of fashion, art, film, and everything LGBTQ! "Not your average fashion show," is right as musicians, photographers, models, make-up artists, stylists, and more were given the stage to showcase their work and strengthen networks.

I launched my line Jag & Co. as a, 'Gender Queer Gender Fluid' fashion designer in 201 3.

After great success having my line presented in national editorials, as well as appearing on red carpet events with Steven Spielberg, I was invited to participate in NYFW 201 3- in February, as well as September of the same year. So to answer your questions, when asked if I could do men’s apparel for fashion week, the issue became complex when I chose to solicit Androgynous Models.

What does it mean to RFW and its movement to receive a proclamation from the Mayor and the city of New York?

That was the greatest honor. To receive the highest recognition from the Mayor of this Setting RFW apart from 'average' fashion prestigious city, was the highlight of RFW 201 4 shows were its interlaced components of social our inaugural year. responsibility, but most notably, this year’s RFW introduced a health and wellness component. Historically, the LGTBQ community has been The Metamorphic Corner touched on topics about acceptance of all people where as the such as coming out, body dysmorphia, bullying, mainstream and high fashion industry, though gender expression, and shined a light on making strides, hasn’t been about inclusion. dekit |

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Fashion for the Cure: E.Jaguar Becford, RFW Excutive Producer Media Mogul panel: Omar Shariff Jr., Rain Dove and Kevin E. Taylor,

Why do you think it has taken them so long face. These creatives collectively sell fashion, to include and acknowledge other not just your designer and model. Rainbow expressions of identity?

Fashion Week is a tremendous opportunity for Simple; times have changed and many strides have been made since our days of the Stonewall riots. Marriage is legal in every state.

We are continuing to make more strides in fashion, in our expression of our day-to-day lives, and as an LGBTQ community; we are working more cohesively towards that purpose.

Fashion is a simple expression presenting to the world [who] we are and how we identify.

all creatives in every area of fashion as art, entertainment and technology for all gender fluids within the LGBTQ community.

This year you added the Metamorphic Corner; the health and wellness component to RFW 201 5 where woven in-between each showcase was a word from a therapist and life coach. Topics such as gender identity, coming out, LGTBQ elders were some of the things they spoke on. What prompted you to this to this year’s agenda? What was At Rainbow Fashion Week there was add some of the feedback? definitely more than fashion on display each night. Really living up to the tagline, “Not Your Average Fashion Show,” you also Yes we were very excited to launch RFW’s included art, film and music and dance Metamorphic Corner this 201 5. Pride is one of performances. Why was it important to our most festive times to wear your identity, and create 8 days of fashion that had all of these to express yourself however you choose. elements?

Nevertheless, amidst all the celebration, what I Think about it. When is the last time, you purchased an outfit from seeing it at a fashion show. That is not why the average person enters a retail establishment. They are attracted by the talents of the window installer, or attracted musician whose clothing was creatively layered by his fabulous stylist. Or the model that wows you with the fabulously beat 1 38 | SUMMER/FALL| 201 5

noticed was while we are all getting pretty fashionable on the outside, most of our community were the predominant 'at risk' groups for suicide, depression, and other mental health disease. I also noticed that no one was addressing these issues, and it just took a plan and determination to make sure that we had a professional on hand to make referrals or a shoulder to lean on.

QUEER KIDS NEXT DOOR

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INSIDE THE

CELEBRITY

CORNER

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URBAN K’NIGHTS We received tremendous feedback and thank thoughts? you’s for having testing vehicles courtesy of Housing Works, Inc., counselors and coaches, Yes, that was one of the reasons that we felt we should tell her/story because his/story is always and beyond. convoluted and a misrepresentation of the facts RFW really is an all-encompassing based upon the storyteller.

experience. Not only is it about art, entertainment, and designers, this year’s RFW educational component, touched on LGBTQ elders and notably the history of Stonewall Riots. Do you plan to continue this quality of remembrance and respect for those who set the stage for the LGBTQ community today?

Our elders are our legacy and without a continuous tribute to them, and allowing them to do the catwalk and strut their fashion sense, it is so abundantly clear that we shall always include them.

Speaking of the Stonewall Riots, one of the short films screened at RFW film fest was a dedication to Marsh P. Johnson, a black transgendered woman, who played an important role in the riots. The film, Stonewall, which is due out the end of September and its trailer has been met with lots of criticism. Marsha P. Johnson doesn’t seem to be represented. What are your

What can we expect for 201 6 RFW? '8 Days of Queer Fashion', 'Kids Whom Tech' (FIT meets MIT) and we are going international with the launch of RFW 'Dream Academy'.

Whether you are seven or seventy-seven, you should never give up on your dream. And through the Sister City Initiative with Johannesburg South Africa, our creatives will have an opportunity to experience and utilize their talents abroad, and we will embrace talents from our sister city’s fashion community.

For the designers, artist, filmmakers, entertainers, and vendors, how might they become part of the 201 6 RFW? Is the RFW team looking for anything in particular?

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RFW GAY FILM FESTIVAL

MEDIA MOGULS SOIREE

FASHION FOR THE CURE

something to offer, then so will we. You can register on rainbowfashionweek.com so that we have your information in our database, and just tell us what you are looking to do. We’ll take it from there.

At RFW each event felt like a celebration of community and solidarity. How important is it to maintain the community or rather, family like nature of the event as more people learn of RFW? Each year creates a new birth; our family grows but the producers create the intimacy of every event. Every producer is encouraged to build their own team. We are simply the surrogate hosting a new birth of creative wonder.

Rainbow Fashion Week, to meme or not to meme? (Would you want it become viral and spread across the world) Why? Yes<Queer, Queer EVERYWHERE. RFW International<Yassssss. Why Not? For more information about Jaguar Beckford and Rainbow Fashion Week, visit www.rainbowfashionweek.com

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E.JAGUAR BECKFORD

RAINBOW FASHION WEEK

"Not Your Average Fashion Show"

2015 RAINBOW FASHION WEEK 6/19: Media Moguls Soiree

Courtesy of "Housing Works" 6/21: Urban Kâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Nights

Courtesy of the Newark Mayor Barraka: Douglas Says, Vernest Moore, Duane Fish, Anthony Eastwick

6/23: RFW Gay Film Fest & Queer Kids Next Door

UnBound Estillo, Haute Butch, QWear., Sinister Apple, Stud Fit Nation, PlayOut Underwear, Jag & Co., FullBlast Clothing, Black Fox Clothing, Rejected Society, TomBoii, Sam Kirk

6/25: Inside the Celebrity Corner

Pretty n Pearlz, Glamour Queenz, Soiree lingerie, Dominus Sowell, Parish, Bertini Underwear, Marco Hall, Jag & Co., Charley Magazine, Playout Underwear, Tada Jewelz, House of Roderick, Aval Designs

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TIRON AND AYOMARI Los Angelos, California

@tironandayomari www.tironandayomari.com

Raury

Atlanta, Georgia

@raury www.weraur.com 1 46 | SUMMER/FALL | 201 5

I F IGHT D RAGONS Chicago, IL

@ifightdragons www.ifightdragons.com

Dorian Concept Vienna, Austria

@dorianconcept www.dorianconcept.com

A PEOPLE WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR PAST HISTORY, ORIGIN AND CULTURE IS LIKE A TREE WITHOUT ROOTS. 足MARCUS GARVEYS (ACTIVIST)

"EXPOSING THE ART OF CREATORS"

Now that you've read the issue; #TOMEME or #NOTTOMEME ?