Iona Rozeal Brown

Tyler Green talks a bit about the development he feels is being made by Iona Rozeal Brown. I agree with Tyler in finding her work rather one-note. Hip-hop meets ukiyoe, Japanese girls in blackface. Brown bases it on her experiences with the ganguro phenomenon. But the ganguro she references was a blip on the fashion screen. I do remember seeing one girl in line at KFC or someplace who looked burnt to a crisp, but that black skin thing has been toned down. I don't think it was ever really about being black at all, but being "x-rays". Black hair gone blonde or white, white skin gone black, and super white eyeshadow and lip gloss, and those girls really were at the extremes of the trend. Most of them seemed to be going for some beach tramp look.

I did see something much different from the artist at Ty Stokes "Stop Bush!" show in Atlanta. Can't remember clearly enough to describe it well now, but it featured two women in burkhas holding guns. That was a nice surprise. It was also I think one of the few pieces in the show that had anything to do with Bush or politics. I heard that Bill Bounds, the owner of the gallery, just wanted to have an excuse to make "Stop Bush!" postcards. Good one!