a r t s y f a r t s y

sunset boy 🌤️💕 @danielhowell

I didn’t reblog this enough

This art is amazing an the artist is amazing too, bye.

Inuits in the Arctic can survive perfectly on a plant based diet 😤

indigenous hunting is like, the ONE kind of hunting that shouldnt offend anyone and yet

listen, i fucking love whales. i do. i have advocated against cetacean captivity and whale hunting since i was like 13. i HATE whale hunting. but have you ever seen the prices for food in a grocery store in indigenous areas, if they even have one? 

i can guarantee no vegan has ever paid $22 usd for a bag of grapes, and you cannot farm that far north. they can forage for some foods, but its not enough to sustain themselves and get a nutritionally complete diet. this isnt just cultural or religious practices (although cultural and religious practices are significant and shouldnt be stripped from them), its literal survival. indigenous people hunt in a very sustainable way (a single bowhead whale can feed an entire community for a year), they arent out here killing a bear just to hang it on their wall. they are trying to survive. subsistence hunting by native tribes is 100% morally correct, even if (like me) the thought of animals dying makes you sad. fight against the japanese whaling fleets who kill hundreds of whales under the guise of research and then sell the meat. fight against wealthy americans who kill animals just to stuff them and put them on their wall. fight against seaworld and their disgusting cetacean captivity practices. but dont come at native people who depend on subsistence hunting to survive. fucking colonizers. 

Susanna and the Elders, Restored (Left)

Susanna and the Elders, Restored with X-ray (Right)

Kathleen Gilje, 1998

wow

Oooh my gosh this is rad. This is so rad.

For those who don’t know about this painting, the artist was the Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi.

Gentileschi was a female painter in a time when it was very largely unheard of for a woman to be an artist. She managed to get the opportunity for training and eventual employment because her father, Orazio, was already a well established master painter who was very adamant that she get artistic training. He apparently saw a high degree of skill in some artwork she did as a hobby in childhood. He was very supportive of her and encouraged her to resist the “traditional attitude and psychological submission to brainwashing and the jealousy of her obvious talents.”  

Gentileschi became extremely well known in her time for painting female figures from the Bible and their suffering. For example, the one seen above depicts the story from the Book of Daniel. Susanna is bathing in her garden when two elders began to spy on her in the nude. As she finishes they stop her and tell her that they will tell everyone that they saw her have an affair with a young man (she’s married so this is an offense punishable by death) unless she has sex with them. She refuses, they tell their tale, and she is going to be put to death when the protagonist of the book (Daniel) stops them.

So that painting above? That was her first major painting. She was SEVENTEEN-YEARS-OLD. For context, here is a painting of the same story by Alessandro Allori made just four years earlier in 1606: 

Wowwwww. That does not look like a woman being threatened with a choice between death or rape. So imagine 17 year old Artemisia trying to approach painting the scene of a woman being assaulted. And she paints what is seen in the x-ray above. A woman in horrifying, grotesque anguish with what appears to be a knife poised in her clenched hand. Damn that shit is real. Who wants to guess that she was advised by, perhaps her father or others, to tone it down. Women can’t look that grotesque. Sexual assault can’t be depicted as that horrifying. And women definitely can’t be seen as having the potential to fight back. Certainly not in artwork. Women need to be soft. They need to wilt from their captors but still look pretty and be a damsel in distress. So she changed it. 

What’s interesting to note is that she eventually painted and stuck with some of her own, less traditional depictions of women. However, that is more interesting with some context.  

(Warning for reference to rape, torture, and images of paintings which show violence and blood.)

So, Gentileschi’s story continues in the very next year, 1611, when her father hires Agostino Tassi, an artist, to privately tutor her. It was in this time when Tassi raped her. He then proceeded to promise that he would marry her. He pointed out that if it got out that she had lost her virginity to a man she wasn’t going to marry then it would ruin her. Using this, he emotionally manipulated her into continuing a sexual relationship with him. However, he then proceeded to marry someone else. Horrified at this turn of events she went to her father. Orazio was having none of this shit and took Tassi to court. At that time, rape wasn’t technically an offense to warrant a trial, but the fact that he had taken her virginity (and therefore technically “damaged Orazio’s property”. ugh.) meant that the trial went along. It lasted for 7 months. During this time, to prove the truth of her words, Artemisia was given invasive gynecological examinations and was even questioned while being subjected to torture via thumb screws. It was also discovered during the trial that Tassi was planning to kill his current wife, have an affair with her sister, and steal a number of Orazio’s paintings. Tassi was found guilty and was given a prison sentence of…. ONE. YEAR……. Which he never even served because the verdict was annulled.

During this time and a bit after (1611-1612), Artemisia painted her most famous work of Judith Slaying Holofernes. This bible story involved Holofernes, an Assyrian general, leading troops to invade and destroy Bethulia, the home of Judith. Judith decides to deal with this issue by coming to him, flirting with him to get his guard down, and then plying him with food and lots of wine. When he passed out, Judith and her handmaiden took his sword and cut his head off. Issue averted. The subject was a very popular one for art at the time. Here is a version of the scene painted in 1598-99 by Carivaggio, whom was a great stylistic influence on Artemisia:

This depiction is a pretty good example of how this scene was typically depicted. Artists usually went out of their way to show Judith committing the act (or having committed it) while trying to detach her from the actual violence of it. In this way, they could avoid her losing the morality of her character and also avoid showing a woman committing such aggression. So here we see a young, rather delicate looking Judith in a pure white dress. She is daintily holding down this massive man and looks rather disgusted and upset at having to do this. Now, here is Artemisia’s:

Damn. Thats a whole different scene. Here Holofernes looks less like he’s simply surprised by the goings ons and more like a man choking on his own blood and struggling fruitlessly against his captors. The blood here is less of a bright red than in Carrivaggio’s but is somehow more sickening. It feels more real, and gushes in a much less stylized way than Carrivaggio’s. Not to mention, Judith here is far from removed from the violence. She is putting her physical weight into this act. Her hands (much stronger looking than most depictions of women’s hands in early artwork) are working hard. Her face, as well, is completely different. She doesn’t look upset, necessarily, but more determined. 

It’s also worth note that the handmaiden is now involved in the action. It’s worth note because, during her rape trial, Artemisia stated that she had cried for help during the initial rape. Specifically she had called for Tassi’s female tenant in the building, Tuzia. Tuzia not only ignored her cries for help, but she also denied the whole happening. Tuzia had been a friend of Artemisia’s and in fact was one of her only female friends. Artemisia felt extremely betrayed, but rather than turning her against her own gender, this event instilled in her the deep importance of female relationships and solidarity among women. This can be seen in some of her artwork, and I believe in the one above, as well, with the inclusion of the handmaiden in the act.

So, I just added a million words worth of information dump on a post when no one asked me, but there we go. I could talk for ages about Artemisia as a person and her depictions of women (even beyond what I wrote above. Don’t get me started on her depictions of female nudes in comparison to how male artists painted nude women at the time.) 

To sum up: Artemisia Gentileschi is rad as hell. This x-ray is also rad as hell and makes her even radder.

I love art history.

I’m reblogging this again to add something that I also think is important to know about Artemisia Gentileschi. Back in her time and through even to TODAY, there are people who argue that her artworks were greatly aided by her father…. As in he either helped her paint them or just straight up painted them himself. Hell, there are a number of works only recently (past several years or so) that have been officially attributed to Artemisia because people originally saw the signature with “Gentileschi” in it and automatically attributed it to Orazio. So, not only was Artemisia Gentileschi an amazing artist and amazing historical figure, but I don’t want it to be ignored that there are people over 400 years later who still won’t give her the credit she deserves, just because she’s a woman and obviously women can’t paint like she did.

there’s this book Blood, Water, Paint that’s about her and it’s honestly so amazing 10/10 would recommend

marco polo. that’s the joke thank you for your time 

This at the beginning of every 2020 month

I posted this a few days ago on Twitter, and it has exploded to a truly unexpected and overwhelming degree, which has led to several days of amazing conversations and someone messaged me here to ask if I would post it on Tumblr, which I probably should have done much earlier except that I always forget I have a Tumblr. Anyway, here it is, though I also encourage anyone with Twitter to go check out the original thread, as the replies have become a goldmine of further research, dialogue and fact-checking.

All the sources I cited in the thread are linked below!

“Counterintelligence: A Documentary Look at America’s Secret Police”

Fred Hampton Biography (National Archives)

History of Hampton and the Black Panthers (The People’s Law Office)

“Was Fred Hampton Executed?” (The Nation, December 25, 1976)

“The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther” (Democracy Now!, December 4, 2009)

“Panther 21 hero Afeni Shakur, presente!” (Worker’s World, May 11, 2016)

While people are inclined to whip out their phones and film when they see something alarming happening, those videos are not always recorded in a way that can be used as evidence in a legal proceeding or to support advocacy tactics.

At the human rights organization WITNESS, where I work as the senior U.S. program coordinator, we’ve learned that video has a greater chance of making an impact when it’s filmed ethically and strategically, and released in coordination with advocacy and legal efforts. Using the camera in your pocket can be a valuable way to ensure the world bears witness to abusive policing and systemic racism, help hold authorities accountable, and advocate for the real safety of our communities.

Teen Vogue still hitting it out of the park, I see.

HOLY SHIT. This was extremely informative. Please everyone READ THIS!!!

Someone put red paint on the "Serve and Protect" sculpture at the Salt Lake City police building and it is such a powerful statement.

"Good art should disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed." -C.A.C.

This white woman’s shocking account of police brutality reveals the importance of the #BlackLivesMatter movement

Molly Suzanna shared a story on Facebook that she had never told before: when she was 19, she ran a red light while crying, then was pulled over and forcefully removed and beaten by a police officer. She explains in the letter that she believes her situation would have been even worse had she been black — and she ends the letter with an important call to action.

The public needs to hear more stories like this as well.

Wow. This is horrifying.

Cops are drunk on power. Add any ism to that, you have a bunch of abusive, gun wielding, trained to kill, non empathetic, killers running around.

This woman got hauled out of a window, beaten, stripped, tortured, and humiliated, and she still is able to understand how white privilege saved her life.

scrunch scrunch dan boy

So good so worthy

I cannot stress this enough & cant believe it has to be said: DO NOT SHIP THE TWO POPES (Francis and Benedict) IN “the two popes”.

I mean it. Firstly, they’re both real people. Secondly, they’re popes. Thirdly, they’re real popes.

This post is a distant shark fin in this big blue ocean of a website

are...are popes allowed to fuck? each other??

Omg OP who tf cares it’s just a ship

gayest sport on earth

somebody’s obviously never heard of turkish oil wrestling

WHAT

OH MY GOD I AM CRYING

you have not LIVED until you’ve seen live Turkish oil wrestling.

why is he putting his hand in his pants

That’s how you win. By securing a grip on the “kisbet” (the special type of pants the wrestlers wear) and then pinning the opponent is how victory is achieved. The loser will then kiss the victor’s hand as a sign of respect and admiration. 

that sport was so made up as an explanation for two guys getting caught going at it

guys they oil each other up  im crying here 

This post literally gets gayer each time it appears on my dash. What the fuck?!?! This is like the most elaborate act that ever required a constant “no homo” to be chimed.

Some guy, having stumbled upon 2 of his close friends locked in a heated embrace, covered in oil, with their hands in each other’s pants: Bro, what the fuck are you guys doing?!

Gay dude about to make up Turkish oil wrestling: Oh, haven’t you heard?

lmaooooooooo

Days 8+9

Which actually makes it very difficult when you’re looking for some ingredients from a specific asian country’s cuisine, because you’ll only find 4752 type of soy sauce and instant ramen, a couple of indian spice mix, and nothing else

i love how every time cazzie sleep in the same bed izzie is just like Passed the Fuck out and casey is like Never have i known more Stress in my Life 

Day 24 - Nekomata

One day I’ll be like this girl, ears and all

hi phil 🥺

everyone who’s ever called someone gross and disrespectful for as much as thinking dan and phil aren’t straight are now obligated to donate £50 to an lgbtq+ charity of their choice

dan just happened to leave a list of websites in his description for you:

https://youngminds.org.uk/ 

https://www.samaritans.org/

https://papyrus-uk.org/

https://www.stonewall.org.uk/

https://www.hrc.org/

http://www.thetrevorproject.org/

https://www.trevorspace.org/

https://switchboard.lgbt/

http://minus18.org.au/

http://www.glaad.org/transgender 

https://www.mermaidsuk.org.uk/