Thought I’d keep this week’s Art HERstory post short and sweet, sharing with you a group of ladies who I’ve admired for years. Actually, these ladies are the ones who inspired me to use the name “Art HERstory” for this feature.

The poster above was plastered across New York City buses in 1989. The headline reads, “Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum?” A group of feminist artists calling themselves Guerrilla Girls conducted what they have deemed a “weenie count” at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and found that less than 5% of the artists in the Met’s Modern Art sections were female, but 85% of the nudes were female. This prompted the poster, which was eventually removed from city buses in New York after their lease was cancelled, with the bus company citing obscenity. Read on…

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The internet is goin’ nuts right now and the latest addition is the Internet Hip Hop Television Network. HHTV is Ganiu “Scrills” Ladejobi’s brainchild and grew out of his frustration to perceived bias toward Hip Hop in mainstream media. The site includes content on the 4 elements of hip hop: Mceeing, Djaying, Breaking and Graffiti. M.I.S.S. Crew’s very own Toofly has been featured on one of their shows - peep the show to get a peek at Toofly’s crib and hear what her Mom has to say about her daughter. The show airs Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from 7pm - 7:45pm.

It’s always exciting to hear about new brands on the block - especially when they’re bringing something new to the table. Enter . . Darkhorse. The collection includes pieces for men and women and well, I’ll just let them tell you . . .

Definition
(darkhorse): A person about whom little is known, esp. someone whose abilities and potential for success are concealed.

Brand
Whilst paying homage to the street, Darkhorse flirts with the higher-end boutique,
a juxtaposition of clean lines and simplicity, to far-out and avant-garde. The Darkhorse
aesthetic is drawn from a palette ranging from classic hiphop to political punk, and
presents pieces that are both low-key and loud in their statement. Cut and sew comes
first, as streetwear essentials are given an understated runway touch. We are a unisex
brand, with many styles translated for both men and women.

History
Darkhorse is the brainchild of brothers Andrew and Jaime Randle. Though this is to be our first year, designer Andrew has years of fashion experience under his belt. Jaime runs a very successful animation company, whose clients include Nike, Coke, Eminem and Ice T.

Any company that does a shirt with a Van Halen reference is cool by me. You can find Darkhorse at select stores including: Overkill (berlin), Cultist (LA), Goodfoot (canada-wide), Exclusive (Hawaii), Up Against The Wall (USA-wide), and D-Boxxx (Japan). And, if you want to keep tabs on the Darkhorse World check out their blog.

More pics after the jump . . .

Images: Cultist
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DJ Mafia interviewed Miss Lawn of Hellz Bellz fame on the Sneaker Freaker website. Lanie is super-sweet and we’ve been big supporters of Hellz Bellz. Get a glimpse of what makes this lady tick and peep the interview here.

Meghan Cleary has added interview podcasts to “Shoe Are You?”, her blog devoted to all things shoes. Here’s what she has to say:

Welcome my dearies to my *new* weekly podcast series, Shoe are You? (TM)!

Our written interviews were so popular I have decided to turn them into a delicious audio interview series for your listening pleasure and started this new blog to post them on as well. Check in every Wednesday morning to download and listen. You can take Miss Meghan and Shoe are You’s? on the subway with you or listen at work for a little fun break–anytime you want to tune in to hear interesting people talk about their work and reveal some deep dark shoe secrets to the shoe psychologist.

Miss Meghan recently had some coffee talk with Ce Ce Chin of 80%20 fame. Check out the interview here.

This week’s tip is how to make a Bronzing Shimmer Oil using last week’s pick, Manoi de Tahiti oil, similar to Body Glow by Nars, also featured in last week’s pick, and with the same concept as Benefit’s Jiffy Tan ($24/6.7 oz.), but costing a fraction of the price.

Now I like this Bronzing Shimmer Oil in particular because it does a great job of helping me fake a really nice, even and natural looking tan, about 2-3 shades darker than my own skin, and the results are instant. It’s great for anytime you don’t have the time or patience or lighting for self-tanner. The inclusion of shimmer powder in this recipe will give your skin it a very rich and radiant glow, and the scent of the Manoi de Tahiti oil is always an instant indication of summer to me. And since the Bronzing Shimmer oil is oil based, it provides sheer coverage, and is easily spread onto and absorbed into the skin, delivering very even and consistent looking color throughout its application. Rub through hair for subtle golden glitter highlights, or dab a small amount on your t-zone (forehead, length of nose, chin) for a sun kissed complexion.

How to Instructions to follow…. (more…)

Laura and Ashley of Brown Babies fame have launched their own ladies’ streetwear line called “Dime Piece”. The shirts are shipping to stores now and they’ll be available online soon. Shirts retail for $30-$40. Knowing these fun-loving ladies they’re going to bring a new level of flirtiness and sass to the game. It’s always great to see ladies doing their thang so give the ladies a holler on their myspace.

B-Girl Be is annual summit that celebrates women’s contributions to hip-hop. This year’s summit kicks off next week and here’s what they have to say about their mission:

B-Girl Be is an annual summit and series of events, workshops, exhibits, and performances that celebrate women in hip-hop.The mission of B-Girl Be is to influence and inspire leadership to change the perceptions and roles of women in hip-hop for current and future generations.

B-Girl Be: A Celebration of Women in Hip Hop
Exhibition: June 21 - September 9, 2007
Summit: June 28 - July 1, 2007

rap . graffiti . dj . dance . panels . fashion . poetry . visual exhibition . film

On June 28, 2007 B-Girl Be kicks off with the B-Girl Be Summit, a multidisciplinary summit that brings international, national and local girls and women in hip-hop together in Minneapolis for dialogues, art-making, screenings, performances, workshops and networking opportunities. This four-day summit showcases women through live performances, exhibition art, fashion, films, videos, workshops and discussion ciphers.

The summit features national and international guests aerosol artists Lady Pink (NYC), ZORI4 (Puerto Rico); spoken word artist Ursula Rucker (Philadelphia), lyricists Magia Emcee (Cuba), Sistaz in Rhyme (Stacy Epps, Invincible and Bahamadia), main stage host Medusa, (LA); DJ Shortee (LA) and DJ Pam the Funkstress (San Francisco); B-Girls Rokafella (NYC), Aruna (Holland), and Aiko (CA); keynote speaker Rosa Clemente (NYC); and photojournalist/historian Martha Cooper, who will all perform, present and engage in discussion ciphers and workshops alongside local Twin Cities artists.

The celebration continues throughout July and into August with The Art of T&A: Truth and Activism, an international visual art exhibition and a series of international film screenings. The Art of T&A: Truth and Activism is a multi-disciplinary, cutting edge exhibition that highlights the distinct aesthetics of hip-hop. The exhibit and film series feature the works of women who create new ways to visually represent themselves through hip-hop. These visual artists from all over the world paint on walls, wood, clothing, vinyl, canvas and metal. Female filmmakers direct, produce and edit their visual journeys. Inside Intermedia Arts’ main gallery, viewers can check out aerosol art, clothing, paintings, photographs, sculpture, and illustrations representing hip-hop inspired artwork from women around the world. The Art of T&A: Truth and Activism runs from June 21- September 1, 2007.

B-Girl Be 2007 is presented in partnership with local organizations Juxtaposition Arts, Nubia and Emetrece Productions.

Just in time for this year’s summit, Current TV is airing a show they did on the 2006 summit. The show will be airing soon but in the meantime you can view the sneak peek here.

Image & Info: Toofly

Ok. I’m a bit of a design geek and am always searching for inspiring colors and patterns. In my recent search, I came across the above Paule Marrot Wallets.

Brooklyn designers Toni and Ben of Hayden-Harnett incorporated colorful fabrics by Paule Marrot (a favorite of Jackie O’s) into these lovely coin purse wallets. The purse has two “kisslock” closing coin pockets and a hidden zipper closing on the bottom (How cool is that!).

These are a bit of a splurge but they definitely satisfy any craving for color and pattern! Check them out at Hayden-Harnett.com!

London based “Not Bad For A Girl” has just added 2 new tees to their collection. Each style comes in 2 dope colorways that are perfect for summer. Lucky for us ladies stateside, we can purchase the tees via the online store. Check it out! Pics of new tees after the jump . . .
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