Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 729

'Mulignans"--a Film Short from Shaka King

Newlyweeds director Shaka King flips racism, sexism and gentrification in this satire of 1980s and 1990s mob films.

Soul vs. Soul: "Now That We Found Love"--The O'Jays + Third World + Heavy D

The O'Jays recorded "Now That We Found Love" (1973) in the midst of Gamble & Huff's most productive and compelling period; The album that it appears on, Ship Ahoy , is one of the great achievements of Philadelphia International Records. It only made sense that Third World's cover of the track in 1978, would serve as the Kingston-bred band's breakthrough to Black American audiences; almost 40 years later, it's still a club-banger. The Jamerican Prince Heavy D drew from examples of both when the song became a hit for him in 1991.

The Artist Project: Mickalene Thomas on Seydou Keïta

Seydou Keita"He's the catalyst to give a voice to the people" says Mickalene Thomas of Malian photographer Seydou Keïta .

PICTURES SPARK WORDS: Art Exhibit Celebrates Centennial of John Hope Franklin’s Birth

PICTURES SPARK WORDS: Art Exhibit Celebrate Centennial of John Hope Franklin’s Birth
Three artists bring their talents together for a show based on select memories from the late historian John Hope Franklin. The exhibit created by Malcolm Goff, Delvecchio Faison, L. Jamal Walton, and curated by Gail Williams features paintings, drawings, printmaking, and fiber art focused on aspects of  athletics, politics, culture, everyday life, and of course history.
Pictures Spark Words, will be on display at the Hayti Heritage Center from June 10th through August 4th, with the opening reception on June 19th from 6 to 8pm. The show will feature the fine and comic art of Goff, Faison, and Walton. The centerpiece of the show will focus on the graphic novel memoir commissioned by the John Hope Franklin Young Scholars Program for the book, Running for Hope.
If the spark in a story is the point at which the plot takes shape, this art will definitely make viewers want to know more about the stories they tell. In this new period of social change in the information age, it is important for artists to show lessons from the not too distant past. “One of the most important aspects for us was the research in making our art accurate to the time period… How did John Hope Franklin feel when confronted with the lynch mob or the bigoted lady?” Goff said.
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Malcolm Goff is a fine artist living in Durham, with work in the permanent collection of the Capitol Broadcasting Corporation and many private collections. He has been an art educator at E.K. Powe Elementary School for almost 20 years. Contact him at malcobot@gmail.com.
Delvecchio Faison is a fine artist/graphic designer and teaches art at Lakewood Montessori Middle School and Durham Technical Community College in Durham. Contact him at or ddfaison50@hotmail.com
L. Jamal Walton’s work has been featured via online and in print comic books published by DC, Marvel, Image, Devil's Due, Digital Webbing and more.

Georgia Anne Muldrow: "Great Blacks" (dir. Jay Brown)

Music and Visuals for Georgia Anne Muldrow's "Great Blacks" from A Thoughtiverse Unmarred. Song produced by Chris Keys; Video directed by Jay Brown.

Live from Atlanta: A Microphone Check Conversation with Organized Noize

Amanada Greene for NPR
Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Frannie Kelley of NPR's Microphone Check head south to the ATL to talk to Organized Noize, the three-man production team behind some of the greatest songs ever: Ray Murray, Rico Wade and Sleepy Brown.

Soul vs. Soul: "Home is Where the Hatred Is"--Gil Scott Heron + Esther Phillips

It was Gil Scott-Heron's song, appearing on his first studio album Pieces of a Man (1971) The themes of "Home is Where the Hatred Is" would stay with Scott-Heron until his death.  Esther Phillips was a staple of the Chitlin' Circuit when she signed to Kudu/CTI in the early 1970s and recorded From a Whisper to a Scream (1972)--one of the great albums from that era. The album also earned a Grammy nomination; Aretha Franklin, who won the Grammy in the same category, famously gave her award to Phillips as tribute.  Phillips' version of "Home..." also hit close to home as it were.  Scott-Heron's version would later be featured on Kanye West's Late Registration .

North Carolina Science Festival presents: A Day with Dr. Chris Emdin

As part of the 2015 NC Science Festival, Dr. Chris Emdin and his protege Jabari Johnson were featured presenters at Morehead Planetarium and Science Center's STEMville Science Symposium. They also appeared at the High School Hackathon hosted at the American Underground in Durham, NC. Special thanks to Morehead Planetarium and Science Center for producing the STEMville Science Symposium, and the The Art of Cool Project, American Underground and Moog Music Inc. for organizing the High School Hackathon in partnership with the NC Science Festival. Cameos in the video include students of STEMville, DJ A-Minor, MC Joshua Gunn, and DJ Mike Brock.

"Memory Palace" -- A Film Short by Martine Syms + Khalil Joseph feat Alice Smith

'Memory Palace is a short film grounded in the personal history of artist Martine Syms . Inspired by the classical method of loci, the film presents a woman—singer/songwriter Alice Smith—at work in Los Angeles.  Her discovery of a photo album activates memories of physical spaces, which in turn open doors to reminiscences about her own family. By combining found snapshots with documentary-style footage, the film elaborates upon the working methods of Kahlil Joseph, who directed the film with Syms.'-- MOCA 

#Blackmendream (dir. Shikeith)

'Premised on the question "When did you become a Black man?" #Blackmendream (2014) directed by Shikeith ,  is an experimental film that utilizes social media as an outlet to provide contemporary black men a space for emotional expression often denied through intersections of race, and gender. To participate viewers are encouraged to utilize the hashtag to publicly respond to a set of questions asked during the film and engage in discourse about black male emotionality.' #Blackmendream from Shikeith on Vimeo.