Please visit Baltimore’s City Paper to read Pierre’s review of Gill Scott-Heron’s The Last Holiday – the conversation with the artist we never got to have.

The following article deals with one of the many elephants in the room, mental illness. The words are provided by a brilliant artist whose first hand experience gives us a unique insight into a world most of us know exists but choose not to address. Millions every year go undiagnosed particularly in the black & latino communities due the stigma attached. I thank Bassey Ikpi for sharing her story & I hope her piece helps provide a greater perspective.
-pierre bennu

here is the link

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bassey-ikpi/a-little-sympathy-for-the_b_809843.html

Have you ever been eating with somebody & then they taste something disgusting and immediately offer it to you to share in the experience? “YUK! Here, taste this!” I have never understood that exchange.

I also have never understood why so many folks claim to despise negative stereotypical images fed to us, but continue to support them.

I believe Melvin Van Peebles was the one that once said Hollywood has an Achilles wallet: if it makes money no matter what it is they will make it. So it could be said that Hollywood and televison are artistically/politically/morally neutral – they couldn’t care less if it’s a movie about Madea or Mumia as long as it makes money. Examples range from corporate support and wide distribution of Michael Moore’s antiestablishment documentaries, to the Kwanzaa cups at McDonald’s. It could be further said that the responsibility lies with the audience then, to make quality decisions that in turn effect the quality and content of the material. But it seems to me that every time there is an award show on BET or a racist misogynistic reality show or a poorly written melodramatic farce celebrating contemporary coonery, folks FLOCK to it in unprecedented numbers.

Some claim intellectual curiousity, some say they can’t comment unless they see it, some just love it as a guilty pleasure – all of which are fine. My issue comes with the fact that if you put money into supporting these projects then they will continue to make them – even bigger and more frequently. My greater issue comes with the fact that we collectively as audience members don’t find and support the alternatives with the same amount of enthusiasm. We don’t search out and support and vote with our dollars for the films, shows, movies and art that enhance and cleberate our mythology.
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Writer, filmmaker, and radio host Nyree Emory on the role of the Law Of Attraction in interpersonal relationships.

——————-

(Overheard on the 6:40 To Croton Harmon)

“She been at my house for a week my nigga…”

“A week?”

“Yeah, she been there since I had the cable cut off. I’m about to turn that shit back on though. Tired of that bitch being in my house…”

(5 minutes later…)

“Told you, my nigga, ignore that shit. Act like that phone ain’t even ring. When she say, ‘Why you ain’t call me?’ just tell her ‘I’m callin’ you now, right?’ And if she keep up with it, or say some shit you can’t come back from, hang up. Her insecurity will be eatin’ at her my nigga.”

(3 minutes later…)

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They say that it takes about 7 years 4 u 2 recycle all the cells in your body. This took place abt 2 Pierre’s ago.

Chakaras & I went to art school together. We had several small adventures during the time we knew each other… our last big one was a road trip to the Million Man March in October 1995.

I was inspired to get this photo essay/album scanned and uploaded by his untimely passing last week. It’s dedicated to him, his memory, and all of those whose lives he touched.

You always hear the cliche about the journey and the destination. We’re all destined to end up in the same place, but i am thankful that our journeys crossed paths at some point. I am better because of it. Thank you, Chakaras. rest in peace.

Our Last Big Adventure

Red Clay: High and Low from Shawn Peters on Vimeo.

“A new performance art project that we have been working on with RED CLAY called High and Low, the name is based on the Kurosawa film with the same title. We take High art to common places and see what reactions we get.” – Shawn Peters

This is part of a social experiment/art project I’m working on which involves re-imagining everyday, often overlooked forms of written communication.

If you’d like to make an audio response please call the number on the posters, any response you feel would be welcome. I will be posting the audio responses when I have completed the entire art piece. Thank you for taking part.

Please feel free share this link or to download the PDF and print/post these posters wherever you see fit.

(2 more posters after the jump)
Click here to download a multipage hi-res PDF containing all three posters

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if you ever wondered why the Make A Wish Foundation gets the big bucks from philanthropists and private individuals alike, read this seattle times story about 13 year old Erik Martin, who experienced a day as a superhero this week. the organization involved hundreds of volunteers to help Erik (as superhero “Electron Boy”) pull off not one, not two, but THREE daring rescues in his hometown of Seattle. The daylong production ended with a showdown with his nemesis, and i challenge you to read the whole article without getting a bit misty. –jb

WARNING: This video contains “bad” words, brief nudity & graphic violence towards the end…However if you can get past that I feel this is an interesting commentary considering recent political events. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.-pierre bennu

‘Born Free’ song by M.I.A
Directed by Romain Gavras
Director of photography André Chemetoff

M.I.A, Born Free from ROMAIN-GAVRAS on Vimeo.

I’ve been doing some soul searching, I’m finding some good stuff. I’m being pushed reluctantly into the foreground, a place that i purposefully abandoned several years ago. However situations keep occurring where my hermit tendencies don’t serve me. I am also being informed that my style of perfectionism doesn’t serve me. My art is like a cockroach in that for every one piece of mine that you see there are about 30 that you don’t see. Growing up I used to throw away sketch books, rhyme books and journals because they were not “perfect.” It wasn’t till i got married that i really started to save my work & even then many things never saw the light of day. I learned that just because something comes easy to me doesn’t mean it lacks value. So here i am unwilling to put things out there that are not “perfect” but in desperate need to share and make room for all the new stuff. The first challenge I put to myself is to be “out there” more. I’ve decided to do so by starting a Video Blog (which i believe is called a V-log). It is tentatively titled “2 minutes with your imaginary friend Pierre!” I begin shooting later this week…see you soon..well…you’ll see me soon but you…you get it…so yeah.