art

Maybe it's a sign that spring has sprung, or should spring soon, but I am totally inspired by rabid technicolor bunnies right now.

Most of the art our culture celebrates is the same type of art that makes me yawn. See, I enjoy art that gets my blood racing. For me, good art needs to be both aesthetically appealing and make my brain hurt. Because of my intense predilection for this type of provocative eye candy, I was exceedingly pleased recently to discover the Visibility Project—a female, Asian American, Queer portraiture project by Bay Area Photographer Mia Nakano and Los Angeles collaborator Christine Pan.

February 3rd, 2010 marked the 116th birthday of Norman Rockwell. Google’s clever inclusion of his art among the letters of the search engine’s logo alerted me to the historic date. Oh Google! You went and did it again with your clever intertextuality.

Rockwell rose to artistic fame with his Americana paintings depicting everyday life and its sentiments. On May 29th, 1943 The Saturday Evening Post ran as its cover Rockwell’s painting of "Rosie the Riveter." Norman Rockwell’s painting was the first widely publicized visual representation of Rosie the Riveter. Rockwell’s Rosie was a commanding figure decked in overalls and a matching work shirt. She is confident as she gazes out into the distance, all the while using as a foot stool a bruised and battered copy of Hitler’s Mein Kampf. Rockwell’s Rosie is undeniably a more potent image than that which has come to culturally represent Rosie the River, J. Howard Miller’s "We Can Do It."

The latest Bitch podcast is up, and corresponds to our Art/See issue. You'll hear from Ann Fox and Jessica Cooley, who have curated two art shows addressing disability, an interview with a young artist who sculpts sound, an interview with gay marriage advocate and author Audrey Bilger, an excerpt from our art and activist round-up, and then some! Plus, music by Emily Lacy. You can stream the audio below, or subscribe to all of Bitch Radio via iTunes. Extended interviews can be found atbitchmedia.org/audio.
Transcript available for download Podcast script after the jump.