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| The warrior God of metal work, Ogun, originates from the Yoruba religion in Africa. Ogun can build or destroy. A conundrum he often faces. With such raw energy behind a cause, both destruction and building go hand-in-hand to create a society/change we need and have a right to.____________________________________________________from 19 June 2020, on Ms. Rosales's blog : https://www.harmoniarosales.com/post/why-i-paint-what-i-paint . Illustration (c) 2020 by Ms. Rosales is shown here as permitted by "Fair Use" provisions of U S Copyright laws. |
QUOTE:
"I see life as a painting, rich and complex in its colorful layers. We are our own artists. However, the foundation for which we create our life is vastly flawed. If the paintings foundation is not properly sealed, the painting deteriorates, becomes weak, and will consistently have to be patch-worked. In this instance our foundation is America:
"The United States is a contradiction. Its founding principles embrace the ideals of freedom and equality, but it is a nation built on the systematic exclusion and suppression of communities of color. From the start, so many of this country’s laws and public policies, which should serve as the scaffolding that guides progress, were instead designed explicitly to prevent people of color from fully participating. Moreover, these legal constructs are not some relic of antebellum or Jim Crow past but rather remain part of the fabric of American policymaking."-Danyelle Solomon,Connor Maxwell, and Abril Castro
". . . We see that we are still not truly liberated. The anger we have expressed these past few weeks [June 2020] is completely justified. I am all for it because we have never been heard as much as we are currently. But what happens when the dust settles? Are we prepared to look in the mirror? To truly heal ourselves before we rebuild our future?
"When I committed my career to artivism, I vowed to always include my culture and identity in my work, specifically the part of me that is the least represented in society. I utilize social ecology to highlight uncomfortable questions we should all be asking ourselves in order to see the bigger picture." ________________________________________________________________