BLACK ERASURE IN ART

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Arts, Perspectives and tagged amma asante, art, art history, bernice bing, black, carrie mae weems, cecile emeke, charles henry alston, diasporic roots, dido elizabeth belle, disapora, DIY, film, Frida Kahlo, Jean-Michel Basquiat, kanye west, kerry james marshall, multiracial, POC, race, racism, sphinx, sugar sphinx, sugar trade, tokenism, yeezy, Youtube.

by Candice Nembhard

In the niche space we call the ‘art world’, the discrediting or downplaying of black artists has not gone unnoticed as it has undocumented. That’s not to say critical discussion of African/African diaspora art has not been made; it is to suggest however that favourable and more accessible criticism is blessed upon the dominant sphere of white, European Art. For many black artists, including the likes of Kerry James Marshall, publicising the potential racist nature of art history opens up the narrative of what really goes on in the art world.

DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged 2016, adele, Amy Winehouse, arts, At The Drive In, Black Sabbath, Bloc Party, Blur, BRIT, charts, comeback, Ed Sheeran, Grime, Guns'n'Roses, James Bay, Jay Z, kanye west, LCD, music, music industry, nostalgia, NWA, pop music, popular music, radio, Sam Smith, Stormzy, Take That, teenage.

by Mike Vinti

We’re barely a month into 2016 yet it’s becoming plain to see the musical trend that’s going to dominate the next twelve months: comebacks.

For as a long as there’s been a history of popular music there have been comebacks, it’s a natural part of the scene. The bands and musicians you idolise as a child and throughout your teenage years hold a special place in your heart and that’s always going to translate into a desire for more music and more shows form those artists; nostalgia is a powerful force.

Of, course, where there’s nostalgia, there’s money. Artists that have been around for longer can charge more for tickets, command larger production budgets and utilise the demand from fans to open doors not available to their more contemporary peers. This is doubly true for those than have been away and come back again. From Blur to Black Sabbath, Take That to Jay-Z, the combination of die-hard fans and risk averse record label execs sets the stage perfectly for a comeback if you’ve been officially out the scene for more than five years. Money and nostalgia, it seems as simple as that, right?Continue Reading

FROM SOCIAL MOVEMENT TO POPULAR CULTURE: BLACK LIVES MATTER

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged Ben Carson, black lives matter, culture, Donald Trump, fela kuti, gaika, kanye west, Kendrick Lamar, music, politics, protest, punk, pussy riot, race, racism, TPAB.

By Mike Vinti

Protest and pop are unusual bed fellows. The noisy, often chaotic world of protest can often seem like the antithesis of the sleek, PR heavy world of modern pop music. However, the two have a long a history together. Whether it’s Punk, the Rock Against Racism movement or afro-beat pioneer Fela Kuti running for President of Nigeria, there are plenty of instances where protest and pop music have joined forces to fight injustice. This is happening again today, not only with the renewed attention on feminism as we discussed two weeks ago, but also with the prominence of the Black Lives Matter movement.

A RADICAL GUIDE TO THE US ELECTION

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged America, Ben Carson, Bernie Sanders, democrats, Donald Trump, Hilary Clinton, Jeb Bush, Joseph Biden, kanye west, kanye2020, presidential election, primaries, republicans, US.

By Josh Wilson

Citizens of America will not enter a polling booth for over a year but yet the Presidential election seems to be in full swing already. So what even is a primary? Are there any radical candidates? And is Kanye really running to be leader of the ‘free world’? Hopefully this radical guide to the US election will be able to clear things up a bit.

WHAT MESSAGE ARE WE SAYING WHEN WE LEAK CELEBRITY NUDES?

Posted on August 15, 2015 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged art, celebrity, cosmopolitan, jennifer lawrence, jlaw, kanye west, kim kardashian, leaks, nudes, playboy, revenge porn, Vanity Fair.

by Jess Howard

Content Warning: Nudity – Trigger Warning: Rape

Recently, Kim Kardashian posted a naked selfie on Instagram to prove that she was having her second child with Kanye West, after speculative claims that she was too thin to be pregnant. Demi Moore famously posed nude for photographer Annie Leibovitz whilst 7 months pregnant with her daughter Scout, for the cover of Vanity Fair, and Playboy magazine has been photographing naked women for their publication for years. Cosmopolitan even features a nude male photo in their monthly magazine, to raise awareness for testicular cancer.

These photographs are fully consensual, and it was the individual’s choice to pose for these picture. However, it is not uncommon for these types of images to be posted without consent.

SMASH THE CHARTS – POP, POLITICS, AND PUSSY RIOT

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged 70s, activism, artist, Beyonce, climate change, Eric Garner, fascism, feminism, government, journalism, kanye west, lady gaga, mainstream, music, music charts, music industry, music journalists, musicians, politics, pop, protest, punk, pussy riot, race, racism, Russia, Taylor Swift, Warhol.

by Mike Vinti

It often seems today that everything exists in its own sphere — music in one box, politics in another, and visual art in another still. This is self-evident when you take a look at a lot of popular culture. For example, the rise of TV shows and films, such as The Interview, that use politics as backdrop for their plot, yet fail to engage in any substantial political critique.

The same thing has been taking place in music for the past twenty years, and musicians who have attempted to rectify this have either been relegated from their illustrious chart positions, or left to the underground.

This separation has made it harder for writers and artists of all stripes to experiment with the boundaries of their medium, and there’s been a death of explicitly political works of culture which make into the mainstream because of this. Of course, challenging the dominant perception of your chosen field always creates a stir. However it seems now, more than ever, musicians aren’t even being afforded the chance to do that.

kanye west

BLACK ERASURE IN ART

DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK

FROM SOCIAL MOVEMENT TO POPULAR CULTURE: BLACK LIVES MATTER

A RADICAL GUIDE TO THE US ELECTION

WHAT MESSAGE ARE WE SAYING WHEN WE LEAK CELEBRITY NUDES?

SMASH THE CHARTS – POP, POLITICS, AND PUSSY RIOT

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