A Chinese Version of Feminism

These are some pieces by contemporary Chinese women artists.


The artist, Xiao Lu, makes a culturally and theoretically valid point when she observes that there are various forms of feminism. Cultural context is of primary importance when it comes to our efforts to understand gender relations in areas and geographic contexts other than our own. Looking at non-Western cultures via West-colored lenses is problematic and not conducive to an unadulterated decoding of other cultural notions.
The Times feature today on modern art by females in China is definitely worth a read. Read it in its entirety here.
graphs per ny times

Shear Genius: Well-Edited and Aesthetically Spot-on

When people ask me to explain, in pop culture language and image, what heteronormativity and performativity is, I like to resort to ubiquitous signs and 'texts' with the premise of which I happen to concur for the most part.
I have a show I could use as an example when attempting an 'illustration' of the names of my blog. The show is called Shear Genius and it airs on Bravo TV every Wednesday at 22.00, 21.00 C.
It is tough to know which shows to watch and DVR at a time when there is a cornucopia of options but a handful of qualitative programming.
I fully enjoy and make it a point to catch Bravo TV's Shear Genius. Shows like Shear Genius make me think that perhaps turning on the TV occasionally and actually keeping cable is not that trivial a pursuit.
Just why do I enjoy Shear genius?
1) The choice of stylists is pure genius. These reality stars are not only fully cognizant of the craft and what it entails, they seem to inherently get sociality.
2) Aesthetics, need I say more? Any show that pays attention to good form will have my attention. Since I don't usually do TV, in order for me to have the incentive to watch I need to know I'll be, at least, aesthetically informed. Well, Shear Genius does just that.
3) Stylistic relevance. Most people like to look good and hair will always be relevant.
4) I like to see how the stylists relate and how they wear their gendered expressions which they change up as often as their hypermodern hairstyles. Judith Butler, anybody? A person can wear a number of ['hair'] identities contemporaneously. At least, that's my Shear Genius' interpretation of Butlerian gender notions.
Thumbs up on my end.

Snoop Dogg Comes to Bollywood?-Fo shizzle!

Hat tip to Turco for the pointer.
Modesty aside, Snoop knows what he wants next: Bollywood. As per what he told the Times, 'I like how the Punjabis get down; the way they dress is fresh and they got a real appreciation for music.'
Snoop, however, is not the only Hip Hop artist who's expressed an active interest in Indian culture. Other performers like 50 Cent and Akon have also visited India.
Snoop observed further that he is "putting together something real big' and that he would be producing more movies and music with his "Bollywood homies."
Read more here.
graph per rediff.com

A Cub and His Two Dads

The reunion of the lion and the two men who raised him happened 35 years ago. The two men, John Rendall and Ace Bourke purchased the cub in 1969 in London when the sale of exotic animals was still legal. After the cub, newly named Christian, grew from a mere 35 pounds to 185 pounds his caretakers tried to introduce him to the wild in Africa where he was successfully fully integrated.
A year later, Christian's caretakers flew to Africa to see him and the result of that reunion may be seen in this clip now made popular by YouTube.

Rendall and Bourke hope that their story will help awareness of wild life conservation.

A Modernist Spin on Wagner

I'm not a big Wagner fan but I'm a fan of the opera and anything medieval. Ergo, upon hearing about a new modernist interpretation of Wagner’s “Tannhäuser”, I got interested. And while a sound measure of skepticism tends to accompany my interpretation and experience of most modernist adaptations of medieval narratives, the new spin on “Tannhäuser” sounds worthy of a check-out.
Plus, if the production is shorter than 9 hours, of course I'd be game.
"The opera unfolds at Wahnfried, Wagner’s home there, with the prompter’s box turned into the composer’s grave and site of the Holy Grail. A bed, placed center stage, where Parsifal’s mother dies and Kundry fails to seduce our boyish hero, is the locus of more comings and goings than a bedroom in a French farce, and it’s the obvious symbol of birth and death. Gone are the long Wagnerian stretches of inaction. Sets and singers are in constant motion."
More here.
graph per ny times