MAKING
THE VISIONARY IN YOU MURAL
THE VISIONARY IN YOU MURAL
Let’s wrap about having work supported. It’s been an astonishing past couple of months being able to share these visions with various cities and connect with the local communities. We are feeling very supported and have alot of gratitude around that.
Scale context and content is so important in the work that we do.
Our intention with all of these murals is to create large love letters that encourage people to connect, unite, feel empowered and seen.
The way folks connect with spaces is very important. These spaces are/were designed. they are/were intentionally created for various uses and when they fall into decay ruin or abandonment it’s important that we understand that these can be repurposed. It’s also imperative to know that the same applies in our own personal communities and spaces.
We know that there is alot of BS and inequity around that. we are not blind to where we are at in the world, but we know what we want to focus on and what direction we’d like to go.
We want you to feel welcomed where you are, We want you to feel accepted seen and supported. We want to remind people to be welcoming and be supportive and to see each other. We don’t take public works lightly at all. We see them as a ever-moving evolving representation of the places and people that we are encountering.
Our latest, piece
‘Visionary in You’ was commissioned by @Doritos for there #solidblack initiative, and coordinated and installed by @pearlmedia.
2020 chestnut st. Philly
ART AUCTION
BLACK ART AUCTION
Hello, my people! So many of you have requested a way to purchase artwork. To be honest we’ve been spending so much time working on these big public pieces that we haven’t been in the studio very much building up our inventory of artwork.
We are welcoming this winter and enjoying this time to work on new pieces. In the meantime and in-between time, we have the honor of partnering with Calabar Gallery and currently have two large pieces available for auction on their platform. Both Fame and fly could be all yours. Bidding is currently open and will be until December 14th
ABOUT THE AUCTION
“Homesick Philly” Black Art Auction Curated By Chill Moody And Atim Annette Oton Is The First Auction To Celebrate Philadelphia Black Artists Whose Work Speaks To The Creative, Vibrant Stories, Street, Fashion And Visual Culture Of The City. The Auction Will Amplify And Increase Awareness Of Black Artists, Sales For These Emerging Black Artists And Expand The Number Of Buyers And Collectors For Their Work. Working With Visit Philly’s Initiative “Homesick Philly”, The Art Auction Will Be Facilitated By Calabar Gallery’s Web Platform Who Began Art Auctions In 2020 In Response To The Need For Artists To Create Income During The Pandemic. The Auction Will Begin November 29 And Run 15 Days
UNRAVELED
UNRAVELED
Super excited to announce the opening of “UNRAVELED: Confronting The Fabric of Fiber Art” Group Show @untitledspaceny this friday. This show will include a few pieces as well as an installation from our ‘Of Expansion’ Series. The following is all the info
OPENING APRIL 17TH “UNRAVELED: Confronting The Fabric of Fiber Art” Group Show @untitledspaceny ✨
✨RSVP Required ✨
The Untitled Space is pleased to present “UNRAVELED: Confronting The Fabric of Fiber Art” a group show opening on April 17th and on view through May 28th, 2021. Curated by Indira Cesarine, the exhibition will feature textile and fiber-based artworks by 40 contemporary artists. “UNRAVELED: Confronting The Fabric of Fiber Art” explores in depth the themes and techniques of the medium through the works of female-identifying artists working with natural and synthetic fiber, fabric, and yarn. The exhibition presents figurative and abstract works that address our lived experience and history through the lens of women weaving, knotting, twining, plaiting, coiling, pleating, lashing, and interlacing. Narratives of self-identification, race, religion, gender, sexuality, our shared experience, as well as protest and the patriarchy are literally “unraveled” through embroidery, felt, woven and hooked rugs, braided and sewn hair, sewn fabrics, discarded clothing, cross-stitching, repurposed materials and more.
Exhibiting Artists: Amber Doe, Carol Scavotto, Caroline Wayne, Christy O’Connor, Daniela Puliti, Delaney Conner, Dominique Vitali, Elise Drake, Elizabeth Miller, Hera Haesoo Kim, Indira Cesarine, Jamia Weir, Jody MacDonald, Julia Brandão, Kathy Sirico, Katie Cercone, Katie Commodore, Katrina Majkut, Katy Itter, Kelly Boehmer, Linda Friedman Schmidt, Lisa Federici, Marianne Fairbanks, Mary Tooley Parker, Melanie Fischer, Melissa Zexter, Mychaelyn Michalec, Mz Icar, Orly Cogan, Robin Kang, Rosemary Meza-DesPlas, Ruta Naujalyte, Sally Hewett, Sarah Blanchette, Sooo-z Mastopietro, Sophie Boggis-Rolfe, Stacy Isenbarger, Stephanie Eche, Victoria Selbach, and Winnie van der Rijn.
More info:
https://untitled-space.com/unraveled-confronting-the-fabric-of-fiber-art-group-show/
UNDERNEATH IT ALL
UNDERNEATH IT ALL
So much of Blackness is defined in opposition or relation to whiteness, after the labels, the castes, the stereotypes, and social-behavioral expectations are removed, what’s underneath? This piece explores one possibility of what’s underneath it all.
It is our very first print edition and is included in @versal_amsterdam VERSO subscription box. It is printed in an edition of 50.
This month’s theme is Redaction / Annotation, inspired by the work of Christina Sharpe; in her text In the Wake: On Blackness and Being
I will be giving away this signed artists proof to a random person who helps get the word out. Yep, a sharer gets a free signed print 🙂 Please share with your fam, friends and frienemies.
Keep connecting with the true authentic self…existence is much more expansive than categorizations.
SEE ME MURAL
SEE ME MURAL
Cambridge edition- 17 hours…the race against rain.
May everyone be as supported as we were on this mural. May all your endeavors raise the vibrations.
And there was that time when the prolific @marka_27 assisted me. This dude is the truth.
Even @toughdumplin got a lil dirty. We appreciated that.
elevate and hold each other.
About the work:
“It is a reminder to walk with eyes open. Through color and composition, this piece explores the positive impact of representation and the lasting inspirational value of being able to see oneself iconically depicted”
👁 Curated by @streettheorygallery
📍 Location: 541 Mass Ave behind Rev Clinics @centralsqbid
🎥 @toughdumplin
📸 @leehopkins_ for @ow.ley
Big thank you’s to @redbull @centralsqbid @mikemovesfornow @marka_27 @brekone @toughdumplin and all of our contributors on @patronicity!
#mzicar #mixedmedia #streetart #streettheory #streettheoryproductions #celebrateblackwomen #blm #blacklivesmatter #seeme
Value: In Terms of Iconography
VALUE FEATURED IN PHOTOVILLE
Hi 👋🏾 party people. We are so excited to share a collaborative project that we have been working with Erin Patrice O’Brien on. Let’s start at the very, very beginning. We met Erin Patricia O’Brien a few years back while working under a different name. We were not new to her images as she is a veteran in the game of photography. One of our members has fond memories of going through vibe magazine, swooning over O’Brien’s work, and pretty much beginning to carve her own creative identity.
Creativity doesn’t live in a vacuum. We firmly believe that everyone is inspired by everything that they take in around them from images, sound smells, movies, experiences etc. The ability to see yourself or the potential of yourself in terms of being a woman, being black, being a person of color in mainstream and celebrated is such an honor and a gift as far as personal development goes. As creatives that identify as ‘arrangers’, we are often collecting things both literally and conceptually that serves as a palette for us to work with. It has been a real fun time to include Erin Patrice O’Brien’s archives in the mix of that palette. We sit on the back of so many other creatives who have paved the way for us, This project is a homage, archival study, and celebration of all the shoulders that we sit on.
We had the pleasure of going through O’Brien’s archives and remixing them in celebration of the value it is to see yourself in terms of iconography.
This project has been in the works for a little bit over a year. We wanted to make sure that it has its proper reverence as it does deal with value. We are super excited to announce that some of the images from this collaboration along with additional collages and photographs by Mz. Icar will be on display in downtown Brooklyn as part of this year’s Photoville exhibition.
The work will be on public display at Brooklyn Bridge Park – Pier 4 Beach September 17th -November 29th
Very limited edition prints are for sale please hit us up, mz@mzicar.com for the price list.
ABOUT PHOTOVILLE
The Photoville Festival, New York City’s FREE premier photo destination, returns for a ninth year in a different way – online community and artist programming plus photo exhibitions in public spaces throughout New York City.
This annual community gathering features public exhibitions, virtual storytelling events, artist talks, workshops, demonstrations, educational programs, and community programming. The Photoville Festival provides an accessible venue for photographers and audiences from every walk of life to engage with each other, and experience thought-provoking photography from across the globe – with free admission for all!
Check out the website photoville.nyc for more details.
THE FUTURE...IF YOU WANT IT
THE FUTURE... IF YOU WANT IT
In this week’s studio visit we do some time traveling in this video and we play outside. Please check it out and share with yer friends and frienemies.
Enjoy our latest studio visit and share it with a friend.
There are a lot of things you shouldn’t really be sharing these days but this vid isn’t one of them 🙂
BLACKOUT
We are going to tell you a true story.
there were these people who lived here, all over, and did things a particular way…as people do. then some other people came from a far place. they came because they couldn’t figure out how to be seen where they lived. these poor people, because they were never seen, they didn’t know how to see. they used this to justify and enforced dumb rules that continued not to see people and smoosh people. These folks were so blind that after the smooshing, they traveled far and brought more people that they refused to see, so that they could create little towers to sit on top of and overlook people and places that they couldn’t see. they also told the world, that this is the most wonderful place for being seen. so if they are having trouble being seen, come here, help build some towers and be seen…just a little more then the folks they brought and the folks they smooshed, but not very much. the people who they couldn’t see started removing the bricks of the towers. when the towers started to shake the blind folks picked a representative from the folks they refused to see and tried to prove that they could see, by seeing that particular representative. this was done so they couldn’t be accused of having vision problems. it did create a bit of confusion, and some residual blindness amongst the unseen. this got the unseen folks to slow down the dismantling of the towers. this went on for many years, but the towers were still being slowly dismantled from many angles. in fact, this went on so long that the unseen started to outnumber the vision-impaired folks. then the super high towers fell. after they fell, the light was so bright that all folks had to learn to see again.
i see you.
you will see me.
This is from an installation created in 2016…we been saying.
STUDIO VISIT: THAT NEW NEW
THAT NEW NEW
This period of isolation has been wonderful for us in the studio. There are so many concepts, ideas, and collaborations that we have started and have been unable to finish due to commissioned work. This break from traditional gathering and socializing has allowed us to dive into these more and focus our efforts on that work.
That being said we do feel a lot of guilt around finding pleasure in this and our hearts go out to everybody who has been affected by this virus. The death toll is insane and very hard for us to wrap our heads around, as well as the economic and emotional effects that this has had on the world. We also have our emotions around the treatment of Black Folks, senseless murders and attacks on joy. We do believe at any given moment multiple realities and perspectives are going on all the time. There is the reality and experience that we are having and there is the reality and experience that every other being is having as well. We acknowledge and hold space for all of those.
Let’s chat about our lastest processes, experience and manifestations. In this studio visit, we share our process, our thoughts, our themes of exploration as well as our collaborative projects. We are gearing up for a show called ‘The Church of expansion’. It will include a series of collages prints canvases banners and other mixed-media works. It also includes the collaboration print series with Erin Patrice O’Brien. We also chat about the origins of our character Matilda and an animation project that has Tanya Farmer teaching her (and you) yoga.
Enjoy our latest studio visit and share it with a friend.
There are a lot of things you shouldn’t really be sharing these days but this vid isn’t one of them 🙂
LOVE LESSONS: STUDIO VISIT
LOVE LESSONS
There are so many ways to love. Some are so complex and others are so simple. It’s always been amazing that you can tell the way a person or creature has been loved often by the way they carry themselves and express love. Unfortunately, when love is lacking sometimes folks interact with that person as if they do not deserve to be loved. When I was a child I use to get so annoyed with my mother priming me. She would carefully do my hair to ensure there were no fly-a-ways. She should make sure I never left looking wrinkled or full of holes or dirty and the most agitating was that right before she would drop me off at school she would lick her thumb and get my eyebrows right. While I would pull away and say stop licking me. As an adult, I realized that she was creating visual markers to tell the world that I was cared for, valued, and should be treated as such. It was her way of putting a lil love bubble around me before I went into a space without her. That’s one example of sharing and expressing love, and there are tons. This group of work explores a few of them.
Enjoy our latest studio visit.
All of these pieces are available hit us up if interested mz@mzicar.com
