Barred

This double exposure had to be in color, so I guess I’ll just have to abandon the intention to post mono throughout the month of February. I’ll do that when I can, but why did I ever think I would be consistent? I, who post on average only 4 blips a week? I, who have more gaps than an antique comb?

I love the graffiti here with its sticker statement “Women’s Rights are Human Rights,” and we had sunshine, so I got the shadow of chain-link fencing in the overlay.

For those who are interested, yesterday the USA had a stunning exhibit of outspoken courage in the Superbowl halftime show (13 minutes) by a gifted poet from Compton, CA, aware that he was performing for the millions watching on TV or streaming, including many who don’t care about American football and don’t even know who Drake is. (Include me in the former group. I watched the performance on Youtube after it was over and didn't watch any of the football). 

If you’re white and listening to rap music is not your jam, don’t worry about the words. Let them flow over you. Many of the words are “coded” for people conversant in Black English of the USA, people who have to code-switch all the time. Relax into the rhythms and images constantly forming, dissolving, and re-forming. Ask what the images say. Consider the flag of the USA (a) carried on the backs of Black people, (b) torn apart or disintegrating, and (c) used to dominate and terrorize.

Photographers and others who are visually inclined will appreciate the many images created by Lamar and the dancers: a constantly-moving tableau with freeze-frames. If you’d like to understand more clearly why it was a subversive and nervy performance, this article spells it out powerfully. The most important words of the performance  were uttered near the beginning: slowly enough that even old white people could understand. They’re also in the Meme I attach as an extra.

P.S. The current President was in the audience, at a cost of between 4 and 20 million dollars to taxpayers (depending on which source you consult). I know he doesn't have the intelligence to understand Kendrick Lamar's performance, but possibly some of his aides gave him a rough idea of it. He left immediately after the performance and didn't watch the rest of the game.