Sita Sings the Blues

Truly inspired by the ingenuity of this animated film! <3

Kid Dream

Animation rocks, and this video is the yummy icing on the animation cake. This innovative animation process is called lunimation, and involved a bazillion people creatively interpreting still video frames with tracing & doodles, individually. The traced frames are then pieced together to form the final video. Brilliant! I'm also loving this beautiful song, by Jessica Stuart Few. Check out the behind the scenes video here.

Kid Dream -The Jessica Stuart Few from Evan DeRushie on Vimeo.

KING

My homegirl, Vee, just hipped me to this new group, KING, and I looooooove everything about them!! The vibe, the music & lyrics, the video, and the EP cover art - all HOT!

In The Musicals

This is one of my favorite songs by Bjork - I love the lyrics.... It always makes me think of my grandfather (Ompa) who passed away in 2000, the same year that I first heard this song on the Dancer In The Dark soundtrack. <3

How Philly Moves

JJ Tiziou has brought this dynamic project to Philly, exploring the art form of dance among the city's residents. I am a huge fan of JJ's work, and of dance, so please, if you dig it, support this project by donating on Kick Starter.

RUDOO

Are you ready to go to MUSICAL HEAVEN ~ My friend, Daru Jones (Rusic Records), uber-talented drummer & producer has just released this Rusic remix of D'Angelo's hits, available for FREE download. In one word ~ STELLAR. Check it out! I am also really loving this artwork! <3

Bomba y Plena

Check out this colorful animation celebrating the Puerto Rican dance styles of Bomba y Plena - I really love these dances, and the call & response communication between dancer & drummer - That prompt interpretation of rhythm, translating movement into sound, is so fascinating to watch. I need to add bomba and plena to my list of dances to learn... I better get started soon, because the list is growing mighty long: So far we've got soukous, dancehall, samba, axe, all of the Orisha dances, rumba, cumbia ... You get the picture - lots of drumming & hip swaying! <3>

Sandra Andino

Photo Credit: Leeway

Taken from the Taller Puertorriqueño website:

Sandra Andino February 4th – April 30, 2011 “What it means to be Afro-Latino in Philadelphia: Stories from El Barrio” is a photo-documentary project that will explore the Afro-Latino concept, experience and artistic/cultural expression of Latinos in North Philadelphia based on the creation of a series of portraits of a selected group of participants. The project will represent in photos the presence of Afro-Latinos in Philadelphia and record their experiences and opinions about being Afro-Latinos in the urban Diaspora. The artist will engage in a series of conversations with the participants to dialogue about what it means to be Afro-Latino and how they are represented. Excerpts of these conversations will accompany the portraits of these individuals to provide a context and meaning to the pictures. The exhibition aims to create social awareness and a collective conscience about the connection of Latinos and Latinas to their African heritage. This project reinforces goals Taller has been active with, with its Annual Arturo Schomburg Symposium, which will celebrate 15 years in 2011 during which Ms. Andino will make a presentation on her project and show her photos. Artist Reception will be held on Friday February 11, 2011.

Taller Puertorriqueño
2721 North 5th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19133
Phone (215) 426-3311
Fax (215) 426-5682

I'm so excited about this project by Sandra Andino!! I've taken Afro-Cuban dance class with Sandra, and she is such a beautiful spirit. :)

Padrino Luis

This is dedicated to Luis Argudin. Rest in Peace Padrino. I imagine you dancing like this in heaven. <3

IB_ART

I'm looooooving these hand-painted boots by IB_Art! Check out more of her work here!

Crimson & Clover

This kaleidoscopic color palette is simply beautiful! And, I am loving Misty Copeland, the brilliant dancer in this video! She is an amaaaazing performing artist!

Iconic Images

reaching for your star mural

One of the most beautiful aspects of living in Philly is being amidst the rich arts & cultural history that thrives here. There's no escaping it - its all around! My childhood home was formerly baseball player, Roy Campanella's family home - the place where he also grew up... Bill Cosby attended my high school... And currently, within my neighborhood, I am surrounded by renowned poets, Sonia Sanchez and Ursula Rucker.

The Philadelphia Mural Arts program has been extremely influential in capturing the vibrant cultural history of Philadelphia through Art. They have transformed bland cityscapes into incredible mega-works of art, highlighting anything from abstract artistic interpretations, to mixed media works, to lifelike portraits of people that have made a mark on the development of this city.

Check out the "African American Iconic Images Collection" HERE, narrated by Quest Love of The Roots. I'm soooooooooooo loving this amazing virtual mural arts tour!

Nostalgia - The Number Song

This numbers video from Sesame Street remains a source of creative inspiration for me... The music, colors, shapes, patterns, and animation are all incredibly brilliant!! I <3 it!!

Nooh Concepts by Malcolm Gammah

Source

I've admired the work of Malcolm Gammah for many years. His work is phenomenal! He recently launched a new venture - Nooh Concepts, and I'm super-duper excited to see what artistic amazingness Nooh Concepts will bring! <3

P.S. ~ Each time I see those bland white couches at Ikea, this is EXACTLTY what I want to do to them!! Brilliant!

Romero Britto

This is an awesome interview on The Balancing Act (great show concept btw) with Pop Artist, Romero Britto. Check him out. His body of ART is phenomenal.

Lidia

I've been obsessing over Mayan textiles lately. The intricate skill of artists, like Lidia, featured on this video, excite my creative senses. I would love to learn to weave like this! <3

Construction

Great album ~ Amazing song: Loving MLK at the end. <3

Giant Steps | Let's Ride

Recalling a date with my Dad at HR57 jazz club in Washington DC, during my senior year of Howard. I was taking a class called Blacks in the Arts, and part of the course work was to experience live arts - theater, film, music, dance, etc. - and then write about our experiences. My Dad is a jazz officianado - He knows ALL things jazz - And ALL things Louis Armstrong - his favorite artist ever! During this HR57 Daddy date, the musicians decided to play Giant Steps, by John Coltrane. My Dad was highly impressed, as he later told me that (in his opinion) the mark of a jazz musician's skill level was in their successful ability to master the quick timing of Giant Steps. Every time I hear this song, I listen attentively to each instrument, thoroughly appreciating each musician's mastery of instrumentation.

This animated video is also pretty cool - Digging the shapes, movement & vintage color scale.

And of course, in my love of great music (as I'm sure you've realized by now) I have to post an interpretation of Giant Steps by J. Dilla (Let's Ride by Q. Tip). As I mentioned in my previous "Nothing Like This" post - I absolutely love Dilla's musical mastery of Hip Hop & his stellar contribution to the art form.

Flyphonic Sounds

Love this cover art from Flyphonic, as well as their song, Love Count, featuring one of my favorite vocalists, Miss Kissey Asplund. <3

World "Art" Tour

How cool is this! Google launched "Art Project", an opportunity to virtually tour some of the most noted museums around the world. Check It Out Here.