holy shit damali ayo

women and art
and race and consciousness and sincerity...

damali ayo spoke about herself and shared experiences of black women. She's hilarious... quoted Jerry Seinfeld, something about the difference between actors and comedians, wanting to be anyone but yourself vs. being yourself completely. my favorite piece by her is a color study on flesh tones. She had paint mixers match the tone of different parts of her body and then laid out a portrait of her self on a 12x30ish wall by using what were essentially swatches of her skin. really soothing. damaliayo.com also, rent-a-negro.com is another one of her projects.


my most memorable burst of laughter came when she went on one of her random asides about dating a white guy that "didnt consider her as black." her response was "what? who have you been sleeping with? you've seen every part of me!" So great. I've definitely had this conversation... you're not really "hispanic" right? i mean you're pretty much white, i mean i'd never say i dated interracially..." Minus a million points Isaac!
But to confess, i wasn't exactly outraged by his comment. I just laughed at his denial and probably liked it. fooled 'em again, haha. Today I would be a little more animated by it.


oh! also, al jolson inspired mickey mouse?! i get it now!