light is like water

Strange yet wonderful cover art by gali erez for Gabriel Garcia Marquez's short story, La Luz es como el Agua or Light is Like Water. (Excerpt below)

Pues habían abierto tantas luces al mismo tiempo que la casa se había rebosado, y todo el cuarto año elemental de la escuela de San Julián el Hospitalario se había ahogado en el piso quinto del número 47 del Paseo de la Castellana. En Madrid de España, una ciudad remota de veranos ardientes y vientos helados, sin mar ni río, y cuyos aborígenes de tierra firme nunca fueron maestros en la ciencia de navegar en la luz.

For they had turned on so many lights at the same time that the apartment had flooded, and two entire classes at the elementary school of Saint Julian the Hospitaler drowned on the fifth floor of 47 Paseo de la Castellana. In Madrid, Spain, a remote city of burning summers and icy winds, with no ocean or river, whose land-bound indigenous population had never mastered the science of navigating on light. 

Read the whole story here.

[marketplace] painted wood, sticks and slices

Painted sticks from Ginette Lapalme, and acrylic elm slices from reclaimed wood for sale at focuslineart.

[marketplace] sierra and bianca, together cocorosie

The last of my contemporary American Indian series, featuring musical duo Cocorosie:

(screenshots from Cocorosie's Lemonade)

From a Cherokee background, sisters Sierra and Bianca Casady as children were nomads. They moved around almost every year, living in Hawaii, California, New Mexico, and Arizona. Without formal education, they grew up learning art in the "real world." During summers, they would join their now estranged father on vision quests on various American Indian reservations--these experiences continue to inform their music. Now they are both based in France.

Their music has been characterized as "freak folk" experimental (think Devendra Banhart meets the childish voice of Joanna Newsom), mixed with hip hop, opera, electronic, the blues, and misc. sounds like owls cooing and children's toys. Basically, it's very unique and not for everyone.

For me, sometimes it's discordant and even difficult to listen to. But the moments of delicate melodies and Sierra's opera trained voice cut through the mess, and you suddenly learn that you're tearing up and you can't stop listening to it. My favorite: the album version of Werewolf, one of the few songs I have on continuous repeat. 

They recently came out with their fourth album, Grey Oceans (2010). When asked about the inspiration for this album, Sierra spoke about the earth returning to its primeval, natural elemental beings--which are reflected in the androgynous/mystical/fantastical look of Lemonade and Smokey Taboo. 

They will be playing in Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg September 15.  

the sketchbook project, I challenge you

To me, a sketchbook is a beginning. It's a place where not fully formed ideas can play for a little while. It's a testing ground. Now imagine a library that houses thousands of sketchbooks for you to check out and thumb through. Not only that, you can contribute your own. I just love this idea.

The Brooklyn Art Library is accepting participants for its annual Sketchbook Project until October 31, 2010. Participants receive a moleskin and a theme--they are due January 15 for the 2011 tour around the country, and you can also have them digitize it on their website. Anyone from anywhere in the world can apply.

I just signed up, and my theme is "And then there were none."
I'm getting an extinction/Lorax vibe.

If you have any ideas for me on that theme, please let me know. And if you decide to sign up (I challenge you!), feel free to drop a comment on what theme you chose.

One of my favorite submission so far comes from Alinac, with the bold theme: Dirigibles and Submersibles.

(Alinac's sketchbook at ArtHouseCoop.com)

And a big thank you to Kat for the heads-up.

[marketplace] native heritage print blankets

Wrap yourself in these comfy, wool blankets from Pendleton meets Opening Ceremony, inspired by prints and patterns from the Yavapai and Sioux tribes. 

landmark legislation putting an end to the violence

(Amnesty International, Maze of Injustice)

Finally, the bill that inspired my American Indian series:

On July 23, 2010, the US House of Representatives passed on July 23, 2010 the Tribal Law and Order Act introduced by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), in order to finally address the human rights violations detailed in the previous post.

This act intends to enhance and improve communication and coordination between Tribal law officials and state and federal authorities. It will also bolster tribal law enforcement--if convicted by tribal courts now, a rapist only gets a one year sentence--and health services. If these gaps are filled, maybe rape cases against Native Indigenous women will no longer fall through the cracks. Maybe, hopefully, perpetrators will know that they can no longer do such heinous things with impunity.

But this is just a start. For more information, and to lend your support, visit these sites:

Amnesty International
Coalition to Stop Violence against Native Women
Pretty Bird Woman House shelter
NYTimes article

violence against American Indigenous women

This is Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North and South Dakota.  In February 2003, a 21-year-old woman was brutally raped and beaten by four men. At first she was brought to the Indian Health Service Hospital but later taken to a hospital in Bismarck, in critical condition. She spoke to police there, but sadly, died two weeks later. A year later, her case was closed and the perpetrators never identified. When Amnesty International contacted the Chief of Police there, they could not even find a record of that case. It was as if legally, it never happened. But for that young woman, it cost her her life. 

More than one in three American Indian and Alaska Native women will be raped in her lifetime; they are 2.5 times more likely than any other American woman to be sexually assaulted. 

This is because, before last week, perpetrators could basically rape with impunity due to exasperating jurisdiction issues between tribal, state, and federal levels. For example, tribal prosecutors cannot prosecute crimes committed by non-Natives, and 86% of these sexual assaults fall into this area.The confusion over which authority has jurisdiction leads to poor investigations or no response at all. Additionally, tribal law enforcement are often underfunded, and places like Standing Rock are such large territories, that there just aren't enough police. Within the Tribal Health Services, there are also no protocols for rape kits so there's no evidence for prosecution.

When Amnesty International released their report, Maze of Injustice, their interviewees all said that they didn't know anyone in their community who had not experienced sexual violence.

This is a serious injustice, following a chain of human rights abuses against American Indians throughout history. Learning that there is a climate of impunity in the US, that sexual violence can be the norm--it's infuriating and terrifying.

depicting the contemporary American Indian

This past week Congress approved the long-overdue Tribal Law and Order Act (more on this exciting new development later). It has inspired me to do a brief series on the contemporary American Indian--a complex and loaded phrase/idea/identity, so I'd love to hear your thoughts.

First post in the series, featuring the art of Fritz Scholder:

A member of the Luiseno tribe, artist Fritz Scholder (1937-2005) often said that he was "not Indian," and would never paint the Indian. But when his students had trouble painting the American Indian in an un-clichéd manner, he began his "Indian" series, painting the American Indian wearing flags, in cars, with beer cans in a pop-art style, becoming a major influence and subject of debate for later generations of Native art. His art, prolific and controversial, makes us think and rethink who the contemporary American Indian is.

At the National Museum of the American Museum in DC, I was introduced to Scholder's work and life last summer. I would often visit the exhibit after a long day's work. I was captured by the colors, unique perspective, and the use of distortion in the faces and figures. I am still amazed that for someone so ambivalent towards his heritage, Scholder moved its art tradition to brave, new places.

[marketplace] handlebar with care

Who knew the answer to life's many questions is a handlebar mustache? This season's must-have mustache knickknacks: UO pillowcase set, bandages, Modcloth necklace, snow globe, ATYPYK pencils.

pretty in pink

In honor of the Gulabi Gang of course.

I didn't photoshop these at all. And I know they're not much, but as an amateur, I'm quite proud of these. I think the delicate flowers really popped, and the last photo, it's like you can see the wind. 

justice never looked so good

This next news piece brings a smile to my face and scares me, and that's hard to do.

A group of women in the Northern India state of Banda are taking justice in their own hands. Dressed in candy pink saris, they wield lathi--traditional sticks--and call themselves "Gulabi Gang," or pink gang. Like a swarm of angry army ants, they attack men who have abused or abandoned their wives, corrupt politicians and feckless policemen.

(Images from UK's Daily Mail and Marie Claire)

Banda is one of the poorest states in India, and the women usually have it the hardest. Over 1.6 million of the population are of the Dalit or Untouchables caste. And most of the members of the pink gang live in huts with no running water or electricity.

The leader of the gang, Sampat Pal Devi, was married off when at the age of nine. From that harrowing experience, she has worked to return young girls back to their homes. Men are also joining the gang. Although the tactics are far from nonviolent resistance, this pink gang is changing laws and perceptions of equality and justice.

From UK's Daily Mail:

Aarti Devi, 25, says: "On my own I have no rights but together, as the Gulabi Gang, we have power. When I go to fetch water, the upper-caste people beat me, saying I shouldn't be drinking the same water as them. But because we're a gang, they're scared of us and will leave us alone. Six months ago, a woman was raped and we went to the police station. The officers initially refused to take the complaint, but together, we were able to force the police to take action. We dragged the police officer from the station and beat him with our sticks. We are not against men. We are for the rights of everybody and against people who don't believe in that."

not another spill

This time in Dalian, China flowing into the Yellow Sea on July 17.

(Reuters)

(Associated Press)

The last two photos are of a fireman being rescued from the oil-covered sea. The very last one especially is telling of, I believe, man's future with unsustainable energy.

property rights and the price of diamonds

(poster from Amnesty International)

I often like to use this blog to display pretty things. But some pretty things are being used to finance ugly, horrific conflicts and keep people enslaved and oppressed. Diamonds for us may be associated with engagements and romance, but for the millions of refugees in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Angola, the DRC, and other African nations, a very different picture emerges.

A friend of mine, as a child, worked in a diamond mine in Liberia. Those diamonds cost him his family and turned him into a child soldier, then again, he used diamonds to bribe other soldiers and escape the country. His life story is inseparable from the politics of conflict diamonds.

I was reminded of his story today when reading the newest issue of USAID Frontlines. In 2007, along with the State Department. USAID began the Property Rights and Artisanal Diamond Development (PRADD) in  order to for diamond farmers to establish clear property rights, diamond licenses, and training in how to valuate their products. For example, in the article, mine owner Madeleine Wekombo said: "Before this project, we didn't know that much about diamonds. We didn't know the real value of our diamonds and usually we sold them at a very undervalued price." Projects like these are important for preventing farmers from being exploited and worse, having diamonds fund conflicts. 

So, obviously as consumers we have the responsibility to demand conflict-free products. But even to those who have never bought a diamond (like myself), it's worth it to know that this project is under the 2003 Clean Diamond Trade Act. It's nice to be reminded that as constituents, we can still affect change.  

To learn more, check out the Kimberly Process.

in the mood for black and white

The top two are from a street in Hong Kong that was near the water. You can find all sorts of dried goods in this neighborhood--the shops are manned by business-savvy curmudgeons who know how to bargain and filled with sharks fins and birds nests made of their saliva and black, frightening sea cucumbers.

The bottom set show preparations for a wedding in Shanghai.
I appreciate how in black and white, these photos are light, delicate--gossamery.

happy 92nd birthday Mr. Mandela

(original photo courtesy of 46664 DVD poster, I tweaked it using MS Paint)

Me too. 

[marketplace] birds perched on your wall

In love with these wall decals from OrqueShaw, a great way to redesign a space.

ten thousand waves

Although I'm always pretty skeptical about any art piece/film that is Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon-esque (a great movie on its own terms, but has since become equated with Chinese, along the lines of Kung Fu and General Tso), I saw this 9-screen installation by Isaac Julien entitled Ten Thousand Waves recently at ShanghART (see my post on Mo Gan Shan road) and was fairly impressed. The stills below show off his photography skills- I like the colors and the depth and the fact that the beautiful Maggie Cheung joined the cast.

For me, the installation speaks about Chinese mythology in terms that are relevant today, like environmental sustainability. At one point, Maggie Cheung's goddess character overlooks the vastness of the seas, and it is implied that we, her children, are calling upon her.

[marketplace] hyped up on mate tea

In high-school, I used to work at a tea shop where I got to drink tea all day for free, so of course I made the most of it and went for the high-grade stuff, silver needle white tea at about $18 an ounce, or something outlandish like that. My skin never (again) looked better.

Anyway, since my last post (which, if anyone actually read the whole thing, props) was mainly about fair trade coffee, I wanted to share that in fact, I don't really drink coffee. Not only do I prefer the taste of tea, I get my caffeine fix from mate (pronounced maa-tay) tea, which I first learned about at that high-school job.

What is yerba mate? It has the same amount of caffeine as coffee but without the jitter and crash, and even more antioxidants than green tea! You must be thinking, does this miracle beverage exist and where can I get some?

Yerba Mate is found native to the rainforests in South America, and the people there have been drinking it (traditionally from gourds) for centuries as a healthy pick-me-up.

A few years ago, representatives from Guayaki Yerba Mate came to visit NYU. This company sells bottled yerba mate in awesome, but not overpowering flavors--my favorite are the mint and the raspberry, although I hear they just came out with a peach that I can't wait to try. I love how Guayaki is not only organic, fair trade, and all around tasty, the company also supports reforestation in the area. I buy it from Space Market on University near NYU (it's a bit pricey at $3 a bottle, but that's comparable to a nice coffee beverage), and sadly I haven't seen it at Shoprite or Costco or anything, but if you're interested go the website. They also have this fun page about mate legends and myths.

a (very long) post about Fair Trade

“Before you finished your breakfast this morning, you’ll have relied on half the world” 

-Martin Luther King Jr.

Consumers in the developed world today enjoy an unprecedented access to goods of different quality and variety, many from the developing world. Without realizing, these consumers wield huge influence and power just by choosing to purchase some brands over others. Wealthy consumers from the capitalist North purchase abstract goods “from the shelves at Walmart and Starbucks” without considering the different hands around the world that were all a part of creating those goods. In order to erode away this "fetishism of commodities," people must comprehend the power of their purchases.

Fair Trade is a niche market and a trading partnership between ethical consumers and marginalized small-scale producers from developing countries.

What makes Fair Trade different from other products?

1. Guaranteeing a fair and livable wage to producers, meaning setting a price floor

2. Supplying them with technical and financial assistance

3. Ensuring environmental sustainability and safe working conditions

4. Respecting cultural identity and educating consumers.

Look for these labels:

What can you find Fair Trade Certified?

Coffee, chocolate, sugar, tea, bananas & other fruits, flowers, honey, vanilla, herbs, and artisan handicrafts. Although this list is expanding.

What about Free Trade?

The current development paradigm proposed by industrial countries is increased privatization, fiscal austerity, trade and financial liberalization—proponents of free trade— in order to increase market efficiency and profits for both developing and developed countries. While even Fair Trade federations support free trade in theory, in practice, certain assumptions under neoliberal trade theories such as perfect market information, perfect access to markets and credit, and the ability to switch production techniques or industries in response to market information, are inherently false and misleading. 

This is particularly true for rural agricultural producers in developing countries especially in the case of coffee. Coffee is not just a drink, it's a global commodity second only to oil. Although small scale farmers produce the majority of our coffee, the profits are spread amongst the roasters, retailers, and middle men leaving only pennies per kilo of beans for the farmers, who are at the bottom of the supply chain. 

Additionally, it takes three to four years for a coffee plant to mature. Although many economists wonder why farmers don't just stop producing if they are producing at a loss, in reality, they cannot possibly predict market prices in the future, especially volatile coffee prices, if they must begin planting coffee crops years in advance. At one point, arabica coffee beans dropped to $.45/pound. But under Fair Trade, the price is maintained at at least $1.25/pound. 

But isn't that distortionary?

Critics accuse Fair Trade’s minimum price provision of being like any other distortionary farm subsidy; Fair Trade, by setting a price floor higher than the market price, it is not only guilty of price fixing but also leads to overproduction and excess supply, thereby further exasperating the coffee crisis. 

In response to this claim, we must first remember that the market price itself is a distortion; current coffee prices do not reflect producers’ productivity but rather their limited market power--limited means to negotiate. Additionally, this argument does not take into account that the Fair Trade niche market is a specialty market that differentiates itself from the conventional coffee market. Fair Trade offers a completely different good— higher quality coffee with a social aspect; therefore, its prices are not distortionary. Instead of fixing prices, the minimum price is just a starting point for cooperatives to begin market-based negotiations; often, Fair Trade producers earn more depending on the type and quality of coffee bean.

In addition, empirical studies have shown that under Fair Trade, farmers still do not overproduce (leading to more supply than demand) and it doesn't harm surrounding farmers who are not Fair Trade. In fact, it helps the community overall by forming cooperatives and teaching farmers how to gain the upper-hand on the negotiating floor. 

Essentially, this movement utilizes consumers to protect small-scale farmers from exploitation and encourage growth in developing countries through awareness and certification of Fair Trade goods. 

The number one goal has always been to make the Fair Trade model, considered a niche market today, the universal “norm” of the future.

For more Info:

TransFair USA

Black Gold. A film directed by Marc Francis and Nick Francis. Fulcrum Productions, 2006.

Goodman, David. “The International Coffee Crisis: A Review of the Issues.” Confronting the Coffee Crisis: Fair Trade, Sustainable Livelihoods and Ecosystems in Mexico and Central America 2008.

Hayes, Mark and Geoff Moore. “The Economics of Fair Trade: A Guide in Plain English.” Review of Social Economy 2005.

we need to see the mess

(all photos are from the Christian Science Monitor)

They're painful to look at, but it's necessary. BP commercials now promise healing, making things right. But how is preventing us from seeing the damage making things right? A new law now allows the Coast Gaurd to actively prevent journalists from getting close enough to take photos. Those violating the 65ft rule will be fined $40,000 and receive a class D felony.

Anderson Cooper has reported:

By now you're probably familiar with cleanup crews stiff-arming the media, private security blocking cameras, ordinary workers clamming up, some not even saying who they're working for because they're afraid of losing their jobs... I have not heard about any journalist who has disrupted relief efforts. No journalist wants to be seen as having slowed down the cleanup or made things worse. If a Coast Guard official asked me to move, I would move.

This new law just makes it easier for us to ignore the issue, to turn our backs on the millions of struggling, dying animals. Pelicans' feathers glued together, herons stuck in sludge, already endangered sea turtles struggling to breathe.

Let's pass these pictures on.
Take moment to sign this petition on change.org to tell Congress that we have a right to see the faces of the spill.

curl up with a good book

under some palm trees. Happy Friday, make time to relax.

since things require a seed to start from

This photo is from the seed cathedral contributed by the UK at the Shanghai expo. 
It has been ten years since researchers at Kew near London are attempting to collect all the world's seeds for the Millenium Seed Bank before climate change and habitat destruction mean the end of our plant species. But due to budget cuts, politics, and skepticism over global warming, this project may be stalling. 
Its head Paul Smith argues:

"This is a utilitarian drive, not a bunny-hugging one. The vast majority of modern medicines have their basis in plants. Yet only one-fifth of plant species have been screened for pharmaceutical use. Who knows what miracle cures might be out there waiting to be discovered? But we are already losing species. One-third of our collection has a known use, and that excludes undiscovered uses. This is a very pragmatic project," he added. "We prioritize useful or known threatened species. There are 20 species in the bank that are extinct in the wild and many more that are thought to be."

I really enjoy reading the success stories on their website, such as how they saved the world's smallest waterlilies (with pads about 1cm in diameter) from extinction or how there are only five trees in Burkina Faso where the Gardinia nitida can be collected, but they are surrounded by lions and panthers! Who knew plants were so exciting?
So far, the bank has collected 2 billion seeds from 30,000 species, but that's only 10%.  With new plants going extinct and still being discovered every day, they definitely have their work cut out for them.
If you're interested in helping out, you can choose a seed to adopt for £25 or about $38. Click below.

and for the record, what's wrong with bunny-hugging?

four by four

bambu jungle atop the city

(photo by Librado Romero for the NYTimes)

It's called Big Bambu: You Can't, You Don't, You Won't Stop by twin brothers, Doug and Mike Starn. Along with a group of artists and rock climbers, they have been continually adding to structure since April, hoping eventually to build it up to 50ft in the air. And did I mention that it is sitting on the roof of the Met Museum? The artists describe it as "organic" and "constantly changing like life," and I think that as humans, we're so well-known for our destruction, it's beautiful being reminded that we can also build up. And seeing the mess of bamboo, a game of pick-up sticks, atop such an austere, Neo-Classical building like the Met, I am reminded how nature, strong and unpredictable, has its own structures and patterns.

The exhibit closes in October. Let me know if you've gone to see it already, and what your thoughts are.

lizards everywhere in Ghana

mostly huge orange headed ones. They would just chill out and sunbathe while I walked to class. But here's a cute story of this little guy:

(look, no tail!)

He was being chased round the beautiful, ecotourist Green Turtle Lodge in Akwidee by a huge, impetuous dog. At one point, mr. lizard was so frightened that he lost his tail and scampered up my leg. I held the sweet, shivering thing for about an hour until it started to rain huge droplets. So I dropped him off deep into the woods, placing him under a big umbrella leaf.

[marketplace] bike ride with the fireflies

Just returned from a nighttime bike ride in the park accompanied by a trotting Happy, the best dog ever, and fireflies. I  love watching fireflies during summer nights, and I'm always so sad during some summers when they just aren't there. There's really nothing like staring into the woods, so dark that the leaves blend into the setting sky, and seeing millions of fireflies. It's like watching star constellations dancing or a cave full of glowing jewels, magical.

Here are some pretty things that make for a perfect bike ride with the fireflies. Wear this Sugar Jar blouse from Spool No. 72 and Bronze filigree ring at UO, and have your Stockholm Carrie bike basket from EmmoHome, Ecote Classic Canvas backpack, and Etched jars by Lyrial Zander. Then hang this Fireflies watercolor print by AlisaPaints in your bedroom to send you off to sleep.

[marketplace] looking for an excuse to eat more ice cream

Does social responsibility come to mind?

I always knew I loved Ben & Jerry's. They were the first US ice-cream maker to use fair trade ingredients and now they're committing to going all fair trade (that's a lot of flavors) in three years. In an article from foodnavigator-usa:

"By transitioning all of our coffee extract to fair trade, Ben & Jerry's hopes to help increase incomes for coffee producers," said Yola Carlough, head of social mission for Ben & Jerry's. "Displaying the fair trade logo on our pints will hopefully help raise awareness among consumers about how their buying decisions can support positive change."

Not only are they helping farmers earn what they deserve, Ben & Jerry's are spreading the message to other companies that indeed, fair trade is profitable.

"Consumers care about quality. Increasingly, they also care about where their food comes from and how the farmers who grew it were treated."

See their map for more, and enjoy some Chunky Monkey guilt free this summer. Yum!