Month: March 2020

Beatrice Dixon: Success is Sweeter

“The reason why it’s so important for Honey Pot to do well is so the next Black girl that comes up with a great idea, she can have a better opportunity. That means a lot to me,” said Beatrice Dixon, founder of the Honey Pot Company, when describing the vision behind her plant-based feminine care line, in a Target commercial, highlighting Black entrepreneurs. 

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Atlanta Tattoo Arts Convention: Express Yourself

When I first entered the massive lobby that held the Atlanta Tattoo Arts Convention, I wondered if I was hearing bees. The “zzz” of electric tattoo guns filled the air. As someone with no tattoos, I felt out of place at first as I wandered through the room, past table after table covered with thin black cloth and plastic scrapbooks filled with samples of artists’ work. There is no replacement for a tattoo - nothing else is both permanent and customizable. It’s art you commit to for the rest of your life...unless you get a cover-up, of course.

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Mass Movement: A Pop Art Show

Popular culture has always influenced artistic trends and styles. The genre of Pop art was conceived by forefather Andy Warhol and his infamous Campbell Soup cans that he depicted in the cans true form and simultaneously reimagined in varying neon shades. Critics of Warhol attacked his art as regurgitations of familiar imagery, lacking originality, character, or inspiration. Viewers despised Warhol’s artwork for precisely the same reason that people enjoy it in modern society today. He harnessed cultural iconography and warped it into something that pushes the viewer to challenge their preconceived notion of what a cultural symbol truly signifies.

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Ryland James: “In My Head”

Soulful, gut-wrenching notes sound atop deep, dark piano chords, in  Ryland James’ “In My Head.”  The nineteen-year-old singer/songwriter from Ontario, Canada has gone from making covers on Youtube to performing on stages in Canada, the U.S., and even traveling to the U.K. With his mature voice, this young talent is just starting off his musical career.

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Max and Jennifer Siegel: Driving Forces for Diversity

Let’s face it, NASCAR is one sport where diversity hasn’t been the focal point. From the drivers to the owners, and even the fans, dating back to its 1948 inception, The National Association for Stock Car Racing has had very few professionals of color. Historically there were hardly any pit crew members, even fewer drivers, and until recently there were no black-owned NASCAR racing teams.

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Vile: Master of Illusions

You’ve seen Roadrunner, right? *Meep meep*- dashes off! The show revolves around the iconic villain Wile E. Coyote’s various schemes to catch the roadrunner, but the roadrunner always escapes. One of coyote’s more infamous schemes is a wall painted to look exactly like a tunnel. It’s a distortion of perspective and color that illudes the eye into running straight at it.

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