COVER: Mark Bradford / Artillery / March – April 2013

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Texting While Painting
Mark Bradford Propelled Beyond The Hegemonic Gaze
Text | Christopher Michino
Photo | Tyler Hubby
Excerpt:

I ask Bradford if this is one of his reasons for resisting the pressure to make his body a subject of performance when he was at CalArts. “Absolutely! I just would not do it,” he tells me emphatically. We discuss the question of biography and his reluctance to speak about it. Bradford says that biographical narrative is expected from him, whereas, white male artists are not asked about their relationship to their community or the cultural mainstream. “That is not the case,” he says, “with the black body.” I suggest that biography can be compelling and refer to my own interest in it. He responds, “Hell, to be honest with you, it’s probably more damn interesting coming from you, because it’s like, you guys are the ones who don’t have to share it, so it’s more interesting coming from your side.” He laughs, adding, “Hell, we get it all the time: ‘Latina, tell it to me. Black man, tell it to me. Asian, tell it to me.’ And it’s more interesting when they don’t, and you do.”

Pick up a copy of Artillery’s March/April issue on newsstands now or read complete story here.

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NEW HAVEN: Ficre Ghebreyesus

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Ficre Ghebreyesus, Untitled, circa 2009-2011, oil on canvas, 84 x 72 inches. Image courtesy of Elizabeth Alexander.

 

Polychromasia

March 30–April 24, 2013
Opening Reception: April 5, 2013
50 Orange Street (corner of Orange & Crown)
New Haven, CT
ArtSpace is delighted to present Ficre Ghebreyesus: Polychromasia. Opening on March 30, 2013, this retrospective exhibition will celebrate the work and life of the late Eritrean-born artist. While his paintings and photographs are in many private collections, this will be the first solo exhibition drawn from his vast body of work.
Polychromasia, or multicolored, aptly describes Ghebreyesus’s work, which is bursting at the seams with chromatic energy, kinetic form, and optical intensity. His paintings, pastels, and photographs bear witness to multitudinous sites of inspiration. Of his work, Ghebreyesus wrote:

…When I paint I am accompanied by dissonances, syncopations, and the ultimate will for life and moral order of goodness.   A trip to the market guaranteed a dazzling range of traditional crafts repeated from one generation to the next without ongoing critical intervention and independent of religious function.  These crafts included a dazzling range of works such as reed baskets and hand-spun, hand-woven embroidered cotton garments in exquisitely-resolved colors.  The caves near my mother’s village are full of prehistoric rock drawings and paintings.  My eyes took in all of this; my painting allowed me finally to process the seemingly dissonant visual information.

Ghebreyesus achieves syncretic brilliance. Framed by Eritrean crafts, textiles and architecture; the polyglot influence of world literature and philosophies; BeBop, modern jazz and polyrhythms of the African diaspora; as well as the masterworks of paintings populating the museums Ghebreyesus frequented, the works that have been selected for Polychromasia offer a survey of the myriad styles, mediums and scales that he worked in over his career. A catalog will feature texts by Anne Higonnet, Key Jo Lee, and Robert F. Thompson, as well as an introduction by Ghebreyesus’ wife, poet and scholar Elizabeth Alexander. The exhibition will feature accompanying events in conjunction with scholars and academic departments from Yale University.
About the Artist:
Ficre Ghebreyesus was born in Asmara, Eritrea. He studied painting at the Art Students’ League and printmaking at the Bob Blackburn Printmaking Workshop, both in New York City.  He also studied at Yale University, where he earned his M.F.A. in 2002 and was awarded the Carol Schlossberg Prize for Excellence in Painting at graduation. Ghebreyesus made his life in New Haven for almost thirty years, where he lived with his wife Elizabeth Alexander and their sons Solomon and Simon.  From 1992–2008, he was the chef/co-owner of the immensely popular Caffe Adulis that brought Eritrean cuisine to New Haven and New York City.  He also worked tirelessly on issues involving Eritrea and its independence.
About the Exhibition Organizer:
Key Jo Lee is a fourth year graduate student pursuing a joint degree in the History of Art and African American Studies. Her dissertation studies materiality and meaning in nineteenth-century African American photographic portraiture and includes a foray into contemporary African American artistic practice and contemporary conservation and restoration practices. She’s written several critical essays for emerging artists, including a long-form exhibition essay for the artist Felandus Thames for his September 2012 solo exhibition at the Jenkins Johnson Gallery. Ms. Lee’s other interests include images of and by African diasporic subjects as well as black visual humor, sartorial choice (especially the selective gender bending of 1920s and 1930s-era female performers), and black abstraction. She is a fellow with the Yale Office for Diversity and Equal Opportunity and a Robert E. Steele intern at the Yale University Art Gallery.
About the Events:
April 5, 5:00–7:00 PM: Opening Reception
April 19, 5:00–7:00 PM: An Evening of Music and Poetry, sponsored by the Yale Department of African American Studies. Featuring Yusef Komunyankaa, Tracy K. Smith, Kevin Young, and Aracelis Girmay.
About the Panel Organizer:
Elizabeth Alexander is a poet, essayist, playwright, and teacher. She has published six books of poems including American Sublime (2005), which was one of three finalists for the Pulitzer Prize and was one of the American Library Association’s “Notable Books of the Year.” Her two collections of essays are The Black Interior (2004) and Power and Possibility (2007), and her play, Diva Studies, was produced at the Yale School of Drama. In 2009, she composed and delivered “Praise Song for the Day” for the inauguration of President Barack Obama.  She is the Thomas E. Donnelley Professor of African American Studies and the chair of the African American Studies Department at Yale University.
Posted 3 days ago by

ST. AUGUSTINE: Dean Mitchell

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Dean Mitchell, Violinist, 2010, watercolor, 15 x 21 inches. Image via cutterandcutter.com.

 

Traces of Humanity
March – April 2013

Artist Appearance: Saturday, March 23, 2013, 1 to 5pm, (RSVP at 904-810-0460)
25 King Street
St. Augustine, FL
Brilliance In Color Fine Art Gallery will host a month long exhibition of over 70 original watercolors, oils, acrylics and sketches, documenting the highly successful career (33 years, 15 museum collections and over 400 awards) of artist Dean L. Mitchell. Mitchell is one of America’s most accomplished African-American artists and foremost voices in the world of fine art. The artist will be at the gallery for several private events as well as a public opening and appearance on Saturday, March 23rd 2013 from 1-5pm. 10% of all sales will benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida.
Dean’s work ranges from his powerful portrayals of the African-American community, to cityscapes and landscapes of the American South and West. Dean’s purpose and goal in life is to provide a narrative of pride, passion and understanding of the human spirit and love. It is Dean’s hope for all communities to come together through art, and further the common bond of humanity that exists in the people and places that his artistic spirit so passionately pursues.
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DURHAM: Wangechi Mutu

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Wangechi Mutu, Family Tree, 2012. Suite of 13, mixed-media collage on paper, 16.25 x 12.25 inches (41.28 x 31.12 cm). Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Museum purchase with additional funds provided by Trent Carmichael (T’88, P’17), Blake Byrne (T'57), Marjorie and Michael Levine (T'84, P’16), Stefanie and Douglas Kahn (P’11, P’13), and Christen and Derek Wilson (T'86, B'90, P'15). Image courtesy of Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects. © Wangechi Mutu. Photo by Robert Wedemeyer.

 

A Fantastic Journey
March 21 – July 21, 2013
2001 Campus Drive
Durham, NC
The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University has organized Wangechi Mutu’s first survey in the United States, the most comprehensive and innovative show yet for this internationally renowned, multidisciplinary artist. The touring exhibition, Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey, opens March 21.
Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey presents more than 50 works from the mid-1990s to the present, including collage, drawing, sculpture, installation and video. The exhibition features many of the artist’s most iconic collages drawn from major international collections, rarely seen early works and new creations. The exhibition also unveils the artist’s sketchbooks of intimate drawings that reveal her creative process and inspirations, on public view for the first time. Other new highlights include Mutu’s first-ever animated video, created in collaboration with Santigold, commissioned by the Nasher Museum and co-released by MOCAtv. Mutu also will transform the gallery into an environmental installation, including a monumental wall drawing, which evokes an enchanted forest and allows visitors to immerse themselves in the artist’s work.

 

The exhibition is curated by Trevor Schoonmaker, Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher Curator of Contemporary Art at the Nasher Museum.

 

“We are very proud to present Wangechi Mutu’s most innovative and exhilarating work,” Schoonmaker said. “Followers of Mutu’s work will be amazed by her new ideas and creations, and will gain unprecedented insight into her artistic process and evolution as an artist over the past 15 years. Her work is as seductive and beautiful as it is critical and disturbing.”

 

The Nasher Museum is the first venue for the touring exhibition, which will be on view at Duke through July 21, 2013. Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey will travel to the Brooklyn Museum of Art in September 2013, the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami in April 2014 and the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University in September 2014.

 

Mutu was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She is best known for her large-scale collages depicting female figures in lush, otherworldly landscapes. Her work explores issues of gender, race, war, globalization, colonialism and the eroticization of the black female body. She creates mysterious cyborgian figures pieced together with human, animal, machine and monster parts. She often combines found materials and magazine cutouts with sculpture and painted imagery, sampling from sources as diverse as African traditions, international politics, the fashion industry and science fiction.

 

Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey is accompanied by a 160-page, color-illustrated catalogue with critical texts by Mutu, Schoonmaker, art historian Kristine Stiles and critic and musician Greg Tate. The exhibition catalogue is published by the Nasher Museum and distributed by Duke University Press.
At the Nasher Museum, Schoonmaker curated the nationally touring exhibitions The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl (2010), Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of the Cool (2008) and Street Level: Mark Bradford, William Cordova and Robin Rhode (2007). He is the editor of Fela: From West Africa to West Broadway (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003).

 

The exhibition will be complemented by free programs and events, including an opening talk by Mutu on March 20; student-organized Art for All brunch on April 7; screening of the film “The Triptych” and gallery talk by Stiles on May 2; two Family Day events; film series; teacher workshops; catalogue launch party; artist visit; and more.

 

For additional information visit nasher.duke.edu/mutu
 Posted 18 hours ago by

KNOXVILLE: Tradition Redefined

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Joseph Delaney, Woman in Striped Dress, 1964, oil on board. Image via knoxart.org.

 

The Larry and Brenda Thompson Collection of African American Art
March 22 – June 16, 2013

KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART
1050 World’s Fair Park
Knoxville, TN

Larry and Brenda Thompson have amassed a remarkable collection of art by African Americans from around the nation. The strength of the Thompson’s collecting process lies in their considered attention to artists who have typically not been recognized in the traditional narratives of African American art.
In addition to acknowledged “masters,” the Thompsons have collected works by artists who have been labeled “emerging,” “unknown,” “outsider,” “eccentric,” “vernacular,” “regional” and more. The result is a collection that redefines the landscape of American art, offering a more in-depth, inclusive understanding of African American artists and their aesthetic and social concerns. The Thompsons have not only identified and supported artists inside and outside of the canon, but they have also cultivated meaningful relationships with a variety of artists and their families that have lasted decades.
Represented in this diverse selection of artists are Beauford and Joseph Delaney, two of Knoxville’s most important artists. Born to a minister-father, the Delaney brothers learned to draw on Sunday school cards at church and were given art lesson by distinguished local artist Lloyd Branson. The brothers left Knoxville in the mid 1920s to pursue their art careers in larger arenas, but followed very different artistic paths. After studying in Boston, Beauford (1901-1979) chose New York and later Paris as the ideal settings for his experiments with expressive abstraction. Joseph (19903-1986) headed for Chicago before settling in New York, and remained devoted to urban realism. Tradition Redefined allows East Tennessee viewers familiar with the brothers’ work an opportunity to evaluate it within the broader context of African American art of the last century.

Tradition Redefined: The Larry and Brenda Thompson Collection of African American Art is organized by the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora at the University of Maryland, College Park. This exhibition is supported, in part, by a special fund from the Office of the President at the University of Maryland, College Park, and a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council. The works are owned by Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; The Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Collection of African American Art

(Blog dedicated to all things Beauford Delaney)


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‘Idol’ Results: Paul Jolley Eliminated To Reveal Top 8 Of Season 12

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The “Idol” results are in and Paul Jolley has been eliminated from the competition.

Lazaro Arbos and Paul were two of the only disappoints among the Top 9 in Wednesday night’s performance show, which had the “Idol” hopefuls singing Beatles covers. But only Paul wound up in the bottom three along with Devin Velez and Amber Holcomb.

“I’m really shocked that Amber’s in the bottom three — I can’t believe that,” Randy Jackson said. Nick Minaj agreed, adding, “I definitely think Amber should not be in the bottom three … That’s common sense.”

Paul sang Heart’s “Alone” for the judges’ one save of the season, but it was not enough and he was sent home.

On Wednesday night, Paul chose to sing “Eleanor Rigby” and though it was perhaps his best “Idol” performance, it wasn’t enough to impress America (especially considering viewers’ memory of David Cook’s rendition of the song in Season 7). Nicki told Paul the performance was “very, very safe, very bland, and forgettable.” Randy told Paul he “disconnected from the song” and Mariah Carey added, “You have to be able to give as much emotion when you’re singing softly as when you’re singing at the top of your range.”

Lazaro, Kree Harrison, Candice Glover, Angie Miller, Janelle Arthur, Burnell Taylor were safe and Devin and Amber later joined them to round out the Top 8.

Lazaro was the first to be inducted into the Top 8, which diminished the suspense for the evening. The judges were brutally honest with Lazaro after his rendition of “My Life” on Wednesday night, leaving the singer in tears. All four judges agreed that Lazaro should have chosen to sing in a higher key with Randy Jackson adding that it was his “worst performance.” Nicki Minaj felt like the singer was losing himself, saying, “You are not back to the Lazaro I know.”

Lazaro later tweeted about the performance and his breakdown thereafter:

“They were right for the most part,” Arbos admitted of the judge’s critiques in Thursday’s elimination show. “I have to do songs that I love and that I want to sing and not change songs.”

At the start of the show, the Top 9 performed “Got To Get Into My Life.” Before the results were revealed, two “Idol” alumni also graced the stage: Season 10’s Casey Abrams performed his single “Get Out” and last season’s runner up Jessica Sanchez also returned in a whole lot of glitter to perform her new single “Tonight” with Ne-Yo.

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Miley Cyrus dances in unicorn onesie, tweets it’s ‘such a dope day’ as fiance Liam Hemsworth returns to Los Angeles amid split rumors (Video)

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Cyrus, with engagement ring in place, posts video ‘twerking’ to J.Dash.

Liam Hemsworth returned to the states from Down Under while Miley Cyrus broke it down-unicorn style.
Cyrus, who is now rocking her engagement ring that has been missing from her left hand for two weeks, posted a comical video Wednesday of herself dancing in a unicorn suit.
The 20-year-old really showed off her moves and humorous side as she started “twerking” to the song “Wop” by J. Dash.

Her fiance Hemsworth retuned to LA after vacationing at home in Austrailia and a promotional appearance in the Philippines.
“Such a dope day,” Cyrus tweeted the same day as the video and her man landing at LAX.

The pair’s relationship has been rumored to be on rocky ground even though Cyrus denied the reports via Twitter.

“I am so sick of LA,” she tweeted on March 6. “And sick of the lies that come with it. I didn’t call off my wedding. Taking a break from social media. #draining.”
Is Hemsworth’s return the road to reconciliation? In the meantime, keep dancing.

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Pink stops Philadelphia concert mid-song to comfort young fan crying in the audience (Video)

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The ‘Just Give Me a Reason’ singer offered a Rice Krispies treat and a stuffed frog to the crying child to the cheers of the audience.

Pink may come off tough, but she clearly has a soft spot for children.

The singer, 33 and a mother herself, was in the middle of singing an acoustic version of her hit “Who Knew” during a concert in Philadelphia Sunday when she spotted a distraught little girl in the crowd. A fan caught the entire exchange on video.

“Is everything OK right here?” Pink asked the audience. “Is this little girl all right? What’s going on? Why is she crying? Why is she upset?”

Apparently, the youngster had been frightened by a brawl taking place nearby in the venue.

“You all are fighting around a little girl?” Pink asked incredulously.

“C’mon….all right, all right. I know, everyone’s about to fight. I know, I’m from here,” the singer, who grew up in Abington, Pa., joked.

The pop star then scooped up some of the gifts on stage that fans had thrown during the show, and offered the child a goody to soothe her.

“Honey, do you want this frog?” she plied.

“Will this frog and this Rice Krispies treat make you feel better?” she inquired. “You’re beautiful. Don’t cry. Cry when you’re older. Thank you for coming.”

Pink then turned her attention to the rest of the crowd before continuing her set.

“Cut it out, y’all,” she scolded. “We’re grown-ass women.”

Pink’s maternal instinct doesn’t come from nowhere: She has her own 1-year-old little girl, Willow, with motocross racer Carey Hart.

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Christina Aguilera debuts slimmer figure, fresh face at ‘Voice’ event

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Though Aguilera won’t be a judge on the new season of the hit NBC show, the singer showed her support for new judges Shakira and Usher on Wednesday night.

Christina Aguilera showed off a glowing new look Wednesday at an event for singing reality show “The Voice.”

The superstar singer appeared to have lost some weight and traded in the usual heavy make-up for a fresher, minimal look.

Aguilera, 32, attended the “Voice” event even though she won’t be returning as a judge on the show for its fourth season. Instead, she and Cee Lo Green have been replaced by Shakira and Usher.

The petite diva turned heads in a little black-and-white belted dress, showing off her toned legs in sky high black heels.

Aguilera briefly spoke to reporters outside the event about her possible return to the show.

“I can’t say anything right now,” she said. “I can only do what feels right for me in the moment and right now what’s important for me, and this is why I love the show, and why I’m coming back in support.”

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Justin Timberlake premieres emotional ‘Mirrors’ music video off ‘The 20/20 Experience’ album (Video)

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The video is dedicated to Timberlake’s grandparents, who were married for 63 years before his grandfather’s death in 2012.

Justin Timberlake gives fans the full “20/20 Experience” in the world premiere music video of “Mirrors'”off his latest album.

The video is dedicated to Timberlake’s grandparents William and Sadie. His grandfather passed away last year and the video tells the couple’s love story through several generations.

The 32-year-old singer hasn’t dug this deep in to his personal life through a music video since the”Cry Me River” ballad, which alluded to his breakup at the time with ex Britney Spears

The eight minute clip was directed by Floria Sigismond (director of the Dakota Fanning, Kristen Stewart film “Runways”) and shows what appears to be a grieving widow in the bedroom she shared with her husband over the years.

William and Sadie Bomar were married for 63 years and the health of Timberlake’s grandfather reportedly prevented him from attending JT’s wedding to Jessica Biel in October 2012.

In an ending scene Timberlake catches his grandparent’s wedding rings and breaks into an emotional dance sequence amongst mirrors.

“20/20 Experience” is Timberlake’s first album since 2006 and the “Suit & Tie” singer announced Monday that the second half will tentatively be released November 2013.

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Heidi Klum’s Burger Ad: More Stars In Sexy Carl’s Jr. Commercials

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Heidi Klum is just the latest sexy star to shill burgers in a commercial for Carl’s Jr. and Hardees.

The 39-year-old model and mother of four children hawks the new Jim Beam Bourbon Burger, in a swimsuit no less, for the “Graduate” themed commercial, which will begin to air nationally on March 25.

“Basically, I am Mrs. Robinson and I am seducing this cute little boy… with my burger,” Klum explained in the behind-the-scenes video. “I shove the burger in his mouth in a sexy way.”

And if you’re wondering if someone as fit as Klum actually eats what she promotes(in this case a 960 calorie burger) — well, she says she does:

“I do eat a lot of burgers. I do also eat a lot of fries.”

We’re not sure if we believe her, nor do we really believe that Kate Upton, Paris Hilton and Audrina Patridge regularly scarf down burgers either.

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Marsha Ambrosius On ‘Friends & Lovers’ Album, Her Soft Spot For ‘Family Guy’ And Why Mixtapes Can Be A Little ‘Weird’

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At her sold out show in New York City, Marsha Ambrosius greeted the room with a captivating question nuzzled warmly in her cozy English accent. “Can you truly be friends and lovers?” she asked, stirring colorful responses from eager fans squeezed shoulder to shoulder in the packed venue.

The singer — and one-half of the now defunct group Floetry — has had her fair share of heartbreak, an emotion she’s poured into her upcoming sophomore album, “Friends and Lovers.” Ambrosius calls the album an autobiography of her past relationships, tales she selflessly shared between performances of familiar tracks like “Far Away” and “I Hope She Cheats on You with a Basketball Player,” as well as a couple of new songs like “Where Are My Shoes” — a sultry recount of putting the pieces together the morning after a wild night.

Rocking a sleek, gold jacket that perfectly complimented her lively personality, Ambrosius charmed the crowd with both her silvery voice and witty anecdotes about her missteps in love. This honesty on stage mirrored the woman I met just a couple of hours before as she prepped for the night’s performance.

As we talked before the show, Ambrosius offered a transparent glimpse into her life as a songwriter, vocalist and most important — at least for this album — her role as both a friend and lover. Between sweeps of metallic eyeshadow and the snap of her compact, we discussed why mixtapes for R&B singers can be a little “weird,” her love for “Family Guy” and the reason she doesn’t need a wind machine to make a compelling music video.

As far as the album creation process goes, where are you?

I’m mixing. I’m on the tail-end of getting this thing together. We have narrowed the songs down and tracklisted it. It’s there. And I’m scared! No, I’m not scared but every time I think about it I’m like, “Oh my God I am there!” It’s crazy.

And when it comes to your first single “Cold War,” when was your last cold war in love?

I think I’m currently still going through. I don’t think you ever let that part of it go. Even in exploring new love, you have to revisit where you once were so the cold war still remains. It’s still a very pivotal point in history. In relationships that doesn’t die so I think everyone can relate to the song for that reason. You don’t have to necessarily be in your cold war, but if you’ve had one, it resides.

On your mixtape “Late Nights & Earlier Mornings” you did a little rapping on a few of the tracks. Can we expect some rhyming on the new album?

You know, I’ve always considered myself a rapper. I just sing my melodies. Always I’ve enjoyed lyrics. I’m a lyricists first and I guess it just works that I can actually sing a little bit. Any song that I have, I can rhyme it before I sing it.

Your teaser for the new album was an EP. Seeing that a lot R&B singers are turning to mixtapes to share new material, why did you choose that route?

For me, mixtapes for R&B singers are very, very weird. I’ve never considered myself making these mixtapes. I just give away stuff that possibly won’t get a home. I’ll have something that has way too many samples that is never going to get cleared but I want the world to hear it. So how else am I going to put it out? I’ll put it on a compilation of other MP3s of other stuff I’ll give away.

I’ve seen people have parties to launch said mixtapes. I just put it out. I just do the work. The internet is for everyone to enjoy and I use it to give my fans something to look forward to while they are waiting for it to be available in the stores. So that’s my giveback versus making mixtapes.

How was it working with your fellow Brit Daley?

Prior to us getting in the studio I hadn’t heard of him. And he came in — this was couple years ago — and I was like, “Oh! You’re pretty dope!” Then I heard all of his stuff and I was like you’re really dope. One time I was working with my homeboy Canei. Canei did “I Hope She Cheats on You With A Basketball Player” and “Lose Myself” on the first album. And we were all in the studio and Canei starts playing these cords and I was like, “That’s pretty.”

We wrote the whole song there on the spot and we created it in all of 10 minutes and I was like, “That’s a cute song.” And here it is today for everyone else catching up to what we’ve already done. And that’s what I’m saying about music not being available to the consumer quick enough. Had people had that quick enough, maybe it would have been a bit bigger now. But they had to wait.

You carry a lot of serious themes in your music videos such as sexual health in “Late Nights & Early Mornings” and suicide prevention and gay rights in “Far Away.” What made you want to create more socially conscious videos rather than visuals full of beauty shots?

I unintentionally took pride in accounting for my visuals with my music because not many artists understand how important the two marry each other. My focal point with music is I’m a movie person. I love film. So it’s almost like the music has to speak to what you’re doing visually. And I was like why would I shy away from that emotion versus me getting a wind machine, standing in the middle of the street crying my eyes out like every other corny person ever did in their video. It’s been done before. You can just “insert face here.” I never wanted to make those type of videos and I didn’t.

And as a vocal supporter of gay rights, what has been your reaction to major political figures — such as President Obama last spring — now stepping out to voice their support of same sex marriage.

I think in this day and age you are just supposed to accept period. It’s not a gay thing. It’s not a straight thing. It’s what rights do you believe you should have as a human being. What do you want, brownie points? No one gets brownie points for obvious things. So fight the mighty fight. Everyone should do so.

You covered the “Family Guy” theme song on your “Late Night & Earlier Mornings” mixtape. So was that a hint that cartoons are one of your guilty pleasures?

I wouldn’t consider them guilty pleasures. I guess to know me is to love me. And to know me is to know that I am sitting there at 11 p.m. It’s “American Dad” twice and then “Family Guy” and then I’ll turn to Cartoon Network which then turns to Adult Swim that then does it all over again. I’ll sit there for what would be three hours watching “Family Guy” and “American Dad.” I don’t find it guilty. I just know that it’s a part of me.

And I’ll get things from the cartoons. There are so many melodies and so many transitions like when they all show the house and you’re like what’s going to happen next. It’s my thing.

Do you have anything else you want to add about the project and what you want listeners to take from it?

“Friends & Lovers” is to be listened to responsibly because you don’t know who will end up becoming a friend or will end up being a lover. It might be the wrong one so that whole album explores the decisions that were made in my life that made these songs possible.

So it’s a warning in a sense?

Yeah, it should could come with a warning or a caution. Don’t listen to it with just anyone.

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Black Women Believe They Age The Best According To Allure Survey

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The Huffington Post  |  By

We’ve all heard and seen shining examples of the age-old adage, “black don’t crack.”

Thanks to good genes, lots of ultraviolet ray-shielding melanin, natural oils and some say the grace of God — many black folk enjoy a youthful appearance way past the age others start to experience winkles, age spots and sagging skin.

Well, that notion was part of Allure’s first-ever anti-aging survey in the April 2013 issue, and the results show that most African Americans do indeed celebrate their age-defying looks.

The monthly publication polled 2,000 women and men on the modern perception of aging attitudes and behaviors. The survey yielded interesting insights about sex (it gets better as you get older), the ideal age (everyone wants to be 31) and going gray (we’re not fans), to name a few. And when it comes to which ethnicity thinks they age the best? African Americans have that in the bag.

The survey found that 86 percent of the African-American participants thought that they aged the best, compared to 81 percent of Asians, 53 percent of Hispanics/Latinos and 46 percent of Whites/Caucasians. We clearly don’t lack self-esteem.

More fab findings from Allure’s survey:

  • 64 percent of black women say they aren’t worried about the physical signs of aging
  • 81 percent of black women think they look younger than other woman their age
  • 65 percent of black women have no intention of considering anti-aging treatments or procedures in the future

In addition, African-American women also believe that a woman stops looking sexy around the age of 64. That’s approximately 10 years past the sexy “expiration date” given by the rest of the survey participants.

What do you think about the findings? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section. And make sure to flip through the slideshow below for the “Black Don’t Crack” gallery of our favorite age-defying, over-the-hill stars.

Nazi Looted Art Returned: Tom Selldorff Gets Back Six Artworks Taken By Nazis During WWII

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PARIS — Tom Selldorff was 6 years old when he saw his grandfather’s prized art collection for the last time in 1930s Vienna, before it fell into Nazi hands.

Now, he’s 84 – and in a ceremony in Paris on Tuesday, the American was finally given back a piece of his late grandfather’s memory: France has returned six of his stolen family masterpieces.

The restitution of the works – including paintings by Alessandro Longhi and Sebastiano Ricci – is part of France’s ongoing effort to return hundreds of looted artworks that Jewish owners lost during the war that still hang in the Louvre and other museums. The move ends years of struggle for Selldorff, whose claims were validated by the French government last year after years of researching the fates of the works.

“I’m extremely grateful and very moved,” said Selldorff, who flew in from Boston for the event at France’s Culture Ministry, where the oil paintings were on temporary display. “These paintings were in this fog of war. The restitution… was not easy. It took a long time.”

The artworks were stolen or sold under duress some seven decades ago as Jewish industrialist and art collector Richard Neumann – Selldorff’s grandfather – and his family fled Nazi-occupied Europe. The collection – whose original size is unknown – was his ticket out, though he sold it for a fraction of its value. The route the artworks took to show up in French museums is unclear, making their way to places like the Museum of Modern Art of Saint-Etienne, the Agen Fine Arts Museum, the Tours Fine Art Museum, and the Louvre.

“After losing most of his family assets and a good part of his collection to the Nazis in Austria in 1938, he came to Paris for several years and then had to flee again, this time with my grandmother at one point on foot over the Pyrenees, to Spain, and then eventually to Cuba,” Selldorff said.

The paintings, meanwhile, stayed behind – all six destined for display in the art gallery Adolf Hitler wanted to build in his hometown of Linz, Austria, according to a catalog for the planned museum.

“I only wish my grandfather was here to be able to be a part of all this, but I am sure he is watching from somewhere upstairs, so that’s fine,” Selldorff said.

At the end of the war, with Hitler dead and European cities rebuilding, artworks were left “unclaimed” and many thousands that were thought to have been French-owned found their ways into the country’s top museums. Many of the 100,000 possessions looted, stolen or appropriated between 1940 and 1944 in France have been returned to Jewish families, but France says that some 2,000 artworks still lie in state institutions.

With a twinkle in his eye and a youthful smile, Selldorff remembered wandering around his grandfather’s collection.

“I remember the house (in Vienna) very well. I remember the existence of these dark rooms with these paintings hanging,” he said, recalling that his grandfather also opened up the collection to the Austrian public. A remaining link with the art was a catalog left behind by his late mother – a sort of scrapbook with pictures of the paintings.

“So I knew there were some very beautiful paintings in the house,” Selldorff said.

“I ,too, hope that some of the art will go on loan to museums and be exhibited so that other people besides our family can appreciate them,” he said, adding that he has spoken to some U.S. museums about the possibility of showing the art to the American public.

Overall, Selldorff said it’s about being able to pass to his three children and five grandchildren a piece of his grandfather’s stolen history.

“His love of art is what I want to pass on,” he said. “It’s what makes us human.”

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Thomas Adamson can be followed at http://Twitter.com/ThomasAdamsonAP

Takes DEVASTATING Loss on Mansion Auction

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This has gotta hurt … R. Kelly‘s Illinois mansion was auctioned off Monday for $950,000 — waaaay less than the $3.5-million-mortgage the singer took out to the build the place.

Kelly built the 20,000-square-foot dream home back in 1997 — but things took a turn for the worse in 2011 … when his bank tried to foreclose, claiming he hadn’t made mortgage payments for over a year.

Kelly tried selling the crib for $1.6 million to block the foreclosure  — but no cigar … it sat for a year. The bank then went full bore on foreclosure … and it sold Monday for $950k.

The house has 6 bedrooms, 8 baths, an indoor pool, theater room and private lake.

In case you’re wondering … THIS IS NOT the home where R. Kelly may or may not have peed on a girl.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com#ixzz2O2bFzt5j