TABS

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

SOWETO, For Futurists

First LOVE! Fat Albert & The Cosby Gang. How many of us knew then they were a motley crew from North Philly?

Khaya Mtshali. Courtesy, Another Africa. 
Arise Magazine Takes on Soweto. 
Am really inspired by the lovefest of talented creatives celebrating my beloved hometown-- SOWETO. I'm talking about cool cats' work, such as ilovesoweto and Sowearto and the just wrapped up TEDxSoweto. Listening to TEDxSoweto, I learned cool things about people i should know and admire, like def illustrator Khaya Mtshali, who tripped me out with his deep talk and left me with profound thoughts about the future, about happiness, about drawing and the art of living, "if the future is the present, you can't teleport to your ideal...there is no place you go to, to the future. It has to be here and now". His thesis on drawing and living in a state of happiness got me thinking about probably my first love affair with the kindda design that pulled me in and swallowed me whole--allowed me to imagine even my five year old me in an alternate superego self: as one of Fat Albert's impressive gang of Cosby Kids. Of course, the 70s fashion got me even then--I still have a thing for high collars and necklines/bottlenecks--but seeing cartoons a lot like me was powerful even if I couldn't articulate what it represented. In much the same way, seeing Soweto's design aesthetic celebrated today does things for me I cannot equate to words.



























No comments:

Post a Comment