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Posts published in “Arts / Style”

White House Releases New Official Portrait Of First Lady

By goodblacknews on February 21, 2013

Left: First Lady Michelle Obama Blue Room of the White House February 2009 in Washington, DC. This was the first time the offical First Lady portrait was captured digitally. (Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian/The White House via Getty Images) Right: In this handout provided by the White House, first lady Michelle Obama poses in the Green Room of the White House for her official photograph, made available to news outlets February 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. The portrait was released via the Flickr photo sharing website. (Photo by Chuck Kennedy/The White House via Getty Images)

Official portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama in the Green Room of the White House, Feb. 12, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

The first lady’s new official portrait has been released for President Obama’s second term. While still wearing pearls, Michelle Obama is sporting a distinctly different look in comparison to her official portrait from 2009.
The first lady’s fashion choice, hairstyle, and location of the photo are different.  Mrs. Obama recently weighed in on her widely publicized choice to sport bangs, calling it the result of a “mid-life crisis.”  In this term’s portrait she is also seated, as opposed to standing.
article via thegrio.com

Fashion Week: Meet Models Committed to Making a Difference

By goodblacknews on February 13, 2013
Liya Kebede's Liya Kebede Foundation engages in a range of charitable projects that help improve maternal healthcare in her native Ethiopia. (Photo: Getty Images)

Liya Kebede’s Liya Kebede Foundation engages in a range of charitable projects that help improve maternal healthcare in her native Ethiopia. (Photo: Getty Images)

Fashion Week isn’t only about glitzy runway shows and star-studded front rows; nor is the industry solely about dreamy designer pieces most of us can’t afford and rich, skinny models. Some of those beautiful mannequins and marquee names are as much about substance as style.

As New York Fashion Week entered its fifth day on Monday, supermodel Liya Kebede explained to theGrio how she used her fame gained walking runways to raising awareness about maternal health. At an intimate gathering in the rooftop bar at Manhattan’s SoHo House, hosted by La Phête, a new online destination focused on spotlighting fashion’s philanthropic stars, Kebede shared her journey.

Little Known Black History Fact: Ann Lowe Designed Jacqueline Kennedy’s Wedding Dress

By goodblacknews on February 9, 2013

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Designer Ann Lowe (photo via prologue.blogs.archives)

For Black History Month it is usually the norm to celebrate those with the biggest names like Rosa Parks and Malcolm X. But there are others who created milestones in Black history that deserve to be celebrated. One such trailblazer is fashion designer Ann Lowe.
In 1953, Lowe designed Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ wedding dress for her marriage to John F. Kennedy. The iconic dress was constructed out of 50 yards of ivory silk taffeta. As the story goes, just ten days before the wedding ceremony a water line broke in Lowe’s New York City studio and ruined the former First Lady’s gown along with all of her bridesmaids dresses. But that didn’t stop Lowe, she worked tirelessly to recreate all eleven designs in time for the Rhode Island nuptials! Yet the only mention Lowe received by name was a blurb in the Washington Post where fashion editor Nine Hyde simply wrote “… the dress was designed by a Negro, Ann Lowe.”

Tracy Reese Relaunches Website

By goodblacknews on February 9, 2013
Tracy Reese has relaunched her e-commerce website, TracyReese.com, and on it the fashion designer is not only going to offer her latest collections from both Tracy Reese and Plenty by Tracy Reese, but some of her inspirations as well. The section Tracy Loves features some of the hottest items and trends Reese is currently falling for like mixing bold colors and patterns. She also spotlights Butterscotch by Sally Hansen nail polish, which she’s used for her show and says that “romantic blue roses inspired a number of items in this collection.”
Her blog, Reese’s Pieces, shows sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes coverage as she travels around the world, chooses colors for her latest collection, dresses the First Lady, and preps for fashion shows.
Speaking of shows, New York Fashion Week is upon us and Reese recently shared her inspiration behind the Fall 2013 collection she’ll be sending down the runway Feb. 10. The New York-based designer was influenced by city’s “harshness and beauty” and will attempt to liven up the typically all-black ensembles New Yorker’s tend to fall for with pops of scarlet, cerise, teal, aubergine, tan and lychee. Expect feminine silhouettes in floral patterns, long skirts, sweater tunics, and vibrantly-hued outerwear.
article by Dorkys Ramos via bet.com

Whitney Houston Wax Figures Unveiled at Madame Tussauds

By goodblacknews on February 7, 2013

whitney-houston-wax figures
Madame Tussauds has turned its attention to Whitney Houston, remembering the legendary singer who died last year with not one, but four separate wax figures.  “We were extremely honored when Madame Tussauds approached us about doing four figures of Whitney from different points in her 30-year career,” Houston’s manager and sister-in-law Pat Houston said in a statement on behalf of the family. “This is something we are excited to do for the fans.”
The unveiling marks the first time in 200 years that the museum has simultaneously created so many different figures of the same subject. While each took shape at the Tussauds studio in London, they will be displayed in separate cities.

27-Year-Old Nigerian Artist Stuns With ‘Digital Photo’ Sketches (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on February 6, 2013

Mother Teresakevin okaforKelvin Okafor, 27, is wowing art critics around the world – one pencil stroke at a time.
The London native and Middlesex University fine arts graduate has received numerous awards and an outpouring of praise for his incredible drawings that resemble soft focus digital photos. His artwork, which takes approximately 100 hours to complete, has been valued at £10,000 ($15,738).
Using only graphite pencils, charcoal, black colored pencil and gray pastels, Okafor has created stunning images of Mother Teresa (left), Princess Diana, Beyonce, Corinne Bailey Rae, Nas and more.
“I want my drawings to prompt an emotional response, making viewers feel as though they are looking at a real live subject,” he writes on his blog.
Click below to see video of Okafor and more of his astounding works:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1ykDeiMlQM&w=560&h=315]
article by Camille Travis via uptownmagazine.com

Barclays Center Pays Tribute to Segregated Black Basketball Stars "The Black Fives"

By goodblacknews on February 5, 2013
Smart Set Athletic Club, 1911. Compilation Copyright 2013 Black Fives Foundation, All Rights Reserved
Smart Set Athletic Club, 1911. Compilation Copyright 2013 Black Fives Foundation, All Rights Reserved

The Barclays Center is linking Brooklyn’s African-American basketball history and its present-day team, the Brooklyn Nets, with a new installation of historic photographs of the Black Fives, early-20th century African-American basketball teams, throughout the arena’s main concourse. Before the NBA, there were the Black Fives, segregated basketball teams formed shortly after the game’s invention in 1891.
The Black Fives Era photographs chosen to be displayed include four pictures of Brooklyn’s historic team, the Smart Set Athletic Club, from 1908, 1909, 1911 and 1912.  To celebrate the unveiling of the large-scale photographs for Black History Month, the Barclays Center hosted an event Monday where Claude Johnson, founder and executive director of the Black Fives Foundation, greeted students, members of the local community, and descendants of Black Fives players.

How Super Bowl-Winning City Baltimore is Celebrating Black History Month

By goodblacknews on February 4, 2013

baltimoreAll eyes are on Baltimore this week as the Ravens took the Super Bowl title and Beyoncé cranked out perhaps the most electrifying halftime performance in history. It’s a great time to recognize that “Charm City” – a nickname created by then Mayor William Donald Schaefer and a bunch of ad agencies to boost the city’s national profile – is once again on the map as a vacation destination.
In honor of Black History Month, here’s a list of Baltimore’s events and exhibitions that pay tribute to the African-American men and women who helped shape the nation. Baltimore is a city shaped by the contributions of African-American visionaries including the likes of world famous jazz singer Billie Holiday; great orator Frederick Douglass, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall; and female abolitionist and “conductor” of the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman.

“Girl with Flag,” Bryan Collier  

“The Mountaintop” and Beyond

“The Mountaintop”
CENTERSTAGE
Through Feb. 24
The Lorraine Hotel. April 1968. In room 306, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. unwinds and prepares. A visit from a hotel maid offers welcome diversion and a challenging new perspective – but also raises profound and surprising questions. 
Already a worldwide sensation and recently hailed in a star-studded Broadway production, Katori Hall’s new play receives its Baltimore premiere. 

NY Capitol Exhibit Honors New York Abolitionists

By goodblacknews on February 4, 2013

An exhibit honoring African-American historical figures opened Monday at New York’s state Capitol to highlight February as “Black History Month.”
Titled “From Slavery to Citizenship: The African American Experience in New York 1817-1872,” the display chronicles contributions black New Yorkers made during the years following the Civil War and emancipation of slaves.
“New York’s history as a progressive leader really began during this time,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement Monday. “The courage of the writers, activists and soldiers, both black and white, who confronted racial inequality set a precedent that would inspire the New Yorkers who followed to lead the nation in the struggle against every type of injustice.”
The exhibit’s timeline starts with 1817, when New York passed a law to enact the gradual emancipation of slaves, and ends in 1872, when abolitionist Frederick Douglass became a member of New York’s Electoral College.
The display includes relevant artifacts, biographies and historical narrative. The artifacts are from collections belonging to the state Archives, the state Library and the state Military Museum.

France Repatriates Stolen Nigerian Artifacts to Nigeria

By goodblacknews on February 3, 2013



It is no longer news that many Nigerian artifacts are in Europe and America held by both public institutions such as Museums, Universities and Galleries as well as by private individuals, but what is new is the collaborative efforts being made by the Nigerian government and the countries where these artifacts are taken in the first place to repatriate them back to the country where they rightly belong.
One of these collaborative diplomatic efforts yielded a positive result yesterday when the French Embassy in Nigeria handed over five Nok Terracotta figures seized by the French Customs service in Paris. Nok arts came to light in 1928, when Co. J. Dent Young found a small terracotta head amongst the gravel from tin mining operations near the village of Nok in Jos Plateau of central Nigeria and since then these cultural materials were named after the village where the finds were made.
It is indeed unfortunate that so much Nok materials have been looted over time to supply the international art market which is supposed to be the exclusive cultural artifacts of the Nigerian people.  So when the French Ambassador to Nigeria Jacques Champagne de Labriolle handed over 5 stolen artifacts of Nok origin to the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCCM) last Tuesday many stakeholders in the art sector landed the move, describing it as a right step in the right direction.