“Where some may see flat, static narratives, I see a spectrum of tonal gradations and realities. What I am creating is literally black portraiture with ballpoint pen ink. I'm looking for that in-between state in an individual where the overarching definition is lost. Skin as geography is the terrain I expand by emphasizing the specificity of blackness, where an individual’s subjectivity, various realities and experiences can be drawn onto the diverse topography of the epidermis. From there, the possibilities of portraying a fully-fledged person are endless.” MayPersonsStatesRealityIndividualLostBlackPossibilityCreatingSkinsDefinitionsVariousEndlessNarrativeFlatsPensDiverseInkSpectrumGeographyStaticBlacknessSubjectivityTerrainPortrayingPortraitureSpecificityTopographyBallpoint Pens Author:Toyin Odutola
“Those who first invented and then named the constellations were storytellers. Tracing an imaginary line between a cluster of stars gave them an image and an identity. The stars threaded on that line were like events threaded on a narrative. Imagining the constellations did not of course change the stars, nor did it change the black emptiness that surrounds them. What it changed was the way people read the night sky.” PeopleWayFirstsNightCoursesStarsBlackLinesSkyEventsIdentityChangedNarrativeEmptinessSurroundImaginaryStorytellerConstellationsNight SkyClustersTracingImaginary Lines Book:And Our Faces, My Heart, Brief as Photos Source: And Our Faces, My Heart, Brief as Photos
“A major boom in real stock prices in the US after Black Tuesday brought them halfway back to 1929 levels by 1930. This was followed by a second crash, another boom from 1932 to 1937, and a third crash. Speculative bubbles do not end like a short story, novel, or play. There is no final denouement that brings all the strands of a narrative into an impressive final conclusion. In the real world, we never know when the story is over.” KnowsWorldRealEndsPlayStoriesBlackLevelsNovelMajorsThirdsFinalsConclusionNarrativeReal WorldShort StoryBubblesCrashImpressiveHalfway1930sTuesdayStrandsStock PriceDenouement Author:Robert J. Shiller