Defining Art: What is Art?

As Arts of Cultures start to take shape, one topic I have to dig into is the definition of art.

Painting, sculptures, photography, drawings, sketches, fashion, music, songwriting, poetry and writing all falls under the description of art.

I’m sure there are several other elements some of you may consider art and I’ll be happy to add it to the list of coverage.

Here are a couple of descriptions I pulled from the Internet when I Googled the phrase: “What is Art”

Who is Making Noise in the Art Scene: Kehinde Wiley

When you put your ear up to the walls of the multicultural art world, things are a bit quiet. Switch to the walls of the Black American art scene and you could probably hear a pin drop. “Quite honestly, I don't think anyone made any noise since Basquiat. …Maybe Ernie Banks,” award winning photo journalist Miki Turner recalled during an earlier interview with TC’s View. 

Turner’s comment got me obsessed with finding multicultural artists who are making some kind of noise.

International Women’s Day: Patricia Brintle

Rebuilding Haiti Through Art

Patricia Brintle - founder of From Here to Haiti

Although International Women’s Day has passed there is always time to let you know about another inspiring female multicultural artists who is making a difference in humanity with her art. With that said, I like to introduce you to Patricia Brintle, a Haitian born artist residing in Queens, New York. Brintle is on mission to help those rattled by the catastrophic earthquake that struck the island of Haiti more than four years ago. 

International Women's Day: Miki Turner



(Photos from tomorrow by Miki Turner)

To pay homage to International Women's Day, which takes place every year on March 8,  I’d like to highlight multicultural female artists who are making a positive impact on humanity with their work.

First on the list is the award-winning photojournalist, Miki Turner. The African-American artist recently published her second photo book, tomorrow, which is filled with snapshots of children taken from around the world.

Basquiat Stripped

(J-MB in Deep Thought, by DWats)

Take a moment to recall when you saw your first nude Black male whether in real life, in a painting, a photograph, sculpture, or any other medium. I’ve seen a number of unclothed men in private but never paid attention to them in the art form. That all changed when I had the opportunity to be up front and center with rare candid photos of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Reclining Nude, taken by Paige Powell, the ex-girlfriend of the Haitian-American artist. (see images nine paragraphs down)

The series of Basquiat's black & white 35mm, stark-naked portraits adorned the white walls of Suzanne Geiss Co. – an art gallery located on Grand Street in NYC. At first glance, my mouth dropped to the floor because Basquiat average body type was spread eagle from ceiling to floor, corner to corner. "Is that his scrotum? All-righty then," I thought to myself. I didn't go to the art gallery to judge and examine Basquiat's package, I was actually there for the panel discussion — Looking at the Black Male Nude in Art.

The panel was quite impressive.