Art part of “American Queen” series (Photo courtesy of Davis)

“Too many Basquiats. Not enough new artists.”

Black acrylic etches the lines of the first five words atop three stacked yellow crowns that run down the canvas’s vertical. The letters of the last two words—arguably the most prolific—are bold white on top a banner of black at the end, serving as the eyes of a symbolic queen. The background is a sea of baby blue with random strokes of white, red, navy and yellow.

In a way, Tiffany Davis’s anchor of her “American Queen” series—and the series itself, which includes “Never Condense Art,” a spin on Andy Warhol’s infamous soup cans—is both reverence and dismissal. For her series, the 29-year-old West Philadelphia artist (who goes by American Queen TJD (Facebook page)) takes elements from her favorite artists—like Jackson Pollack’s splashes or Jean-Michael Basquiat’s crown—and treats them as foundations for a larger purpose. Davis then washes the distinct trademarks away with her own deeply felt abstract expressionism—each canvas a kaleidoscope of color and words that call to a greater mission.

“Anybody can reproduce anything that Basquiat did, but why would you want to do it?,” Davis said, talking from her hotel room on Sunday as she waited for the Eagles game to begin. “I can probably make a name for myself [if I called] myself the female Basquiat, but why should I have to do that?”

Davis, who works during the day as a program director at Drexel University, hung up the hats of her successful fine art-cum-clothing line Cocky Persona last year in order to concentrate on the canvas-based visual work. It’s art that projects a message, with all canvas infected with the moments taking place in her life or in the world at large. (Her next string of pieces will reflect her recent trial — losing her rented South Philly home this past weekend to a fire. The day of our conversation, she was in the process of moving back to her childhood home at 56^th and Larchwood.) You can read it in the words that brand each canvas, like “Waste no time. Live,” “Breathe. Passion proves itself,” “Love you first,” or “Worth, state of mind”—positive reinforcements from the gut.  Continue Reading

The Woodlands.

An expansive swathe of history, The Woodlands is a majestic estate that is as overawing as it is rousing.

Once home to famous Philadelphia lawyer Andrew Hamilton, The Woodlands on 40^th Street and Woodland Avenue has transformed over the centuries from a 250-acre tract to a 53-acre manor featuring neoclassical architecture and lush greenery. And now the famous grounds, which made the National Historic Landmark District registry in 2006, is the inspiration of Elizabeth Gilbert’s new novel, The Signature of All Things (Viking), released last month.

Set in Philadelphia, The Signature of All Things is a tale of botanical history set over 120 years (from 1760 to 1880), with the main character family, the Whittakers, living at White Acre—the fictional manifestation of The Woodlands. According to her blog post on The Woodlands’ website, Gilbert—the novelist behind the wildly successful memoir-cum-movie Eat, Pray, Love—was inspired by the grandeur of The Woodlands, with particular focus on the carriage house and basement, which became a private botanical study and bedroom of the head housekeeper, respectively, in Gilbert’s first novel in 13 years. “So much of The Woodlands ended up in my novel—providing me with marvelous details which, I believe, help the book spring to life,” she writes.

“The Woodlands has now become so intrinsically entwined in my mind with White Acre that I can scarcely tell the two apart. I’ve been so grateful, as well, to the welcome that the curators of this great American treasure have given me — to the grounds, to the rooms, to the history,” she continues. “My hope is that my imagined story will draw very real readers to this very real place, so that The Woodlands will continue to get the appreciation it so richly deserves!”

Originally purchased by Andrew Hamilton in 1735, The Woodlands didn’t become the grand parkland it now is until 1786—20 years after Andrew’s grandson William inherited the grounds. That year, he built The Woodlands mansion with matching carriage house and stable, and “reshaped [it] to reflect contemporary English picturesque landscape and horticultural ideals.” Nestled on the Schuylkill River’s west bank, The Woodlands now features an elaborate Victorian rural cemetery, created in 1840, that is the resting place of over 30,000 people.

The Woodlands is open to the public from dawn to dusk. Pick up Gilbert’s novel, The Signature of All Things, in bookstores or online.

–Annamarya Scaccia

SEPTA has unveiled a very cool subway car today – it is fully wrapped with a colorful mural! The project is a collaboration between SEPTA and the Philadelphia Mural Arts program. This moving mural is titled “We Are All Neurons” and was designed and created with the help of local students participating in the Mural Arts Local Emerging Artists Projects (LEAPs). The students worked with the mural artist Benjamin Volta to “visualize their own brains as interconnected idea machines.” They drew hundreds of neurons, and they worked together to design a colorful vinyl wrap for a subway car.

The car with the “moving mural” was launched this morning at 69th St Transportation Center and will be used on Market-Frankford line so we hope you’ll be lucky to see it and ride in it.

Kalachakra (The Wheel of Life) colored sand mandala.

Don’t miss the chance to see the Tibetan artist, meditation teacher, and former Buddhist monk Losang Samten at the Philadelphia Folklore Project (735 South 50th St). He returns for his annual residency at PFP from Monday, Nov. 18 to Friday, Nov. 22 and will be working daily from 1 to 7 p.m., to create “The Wheel of Life” mandala in colored sand. All are welcome to stop by and observe Samten through the spiritual process of creating The Wheel of Life. The program is free. Please visit this page for more information about Samten and his project.

A couple of months ago, West Philly Local wrote about the call for short film submissions for the 2013 Sloppy Film Fest. Some of your creative neighbors and friends got busy and put together homemade flicks in a “fast and loose” manner, just like the fest organizers wanted. And now it’s time to check out their work. The Sloppy Film Fest, a free show organized by Project Arts, will take place tonight from 10 – 12 p.m. at Dahlak Paradise (4708 Baltimore Ave). Each film screened at the fest is between 5 and 10 minutes long.

The Sloppy Film Fest has been held on and off for the last 15 years. “The idea is to promote DIY filmmaking,” Project Arts executive director Rich Wexler told West Philly Local back in September. Kids are welcome, at least for the first part of the show, as it will begin with films rated PG and PG-13.

More information is available on the event’s Facebook page. And here’s a teaser:

Kùlú Mèlé African Dance and Drum Ensemble / Photo credit: Canary Promotion.

From November 6 to 9, West Philly’s Community Education Center in partnership with Drexel University will present the first-ever DanceAfrica Philadelphia, a four-day celebration of traditional and contemporary African dance, music, art and community.

Philadelphia is the sixth major city to present this spectacular event promoting the preservation of African dance and culture. Created by Charles “Baba Chuck” Davis in 1977 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, DanceAfrica has evolved into a weeklong annual celebration of African culture in New York with additional presentations held in cities around the country.

Local performing groups include Kùlú Mèlé African Dance and Drum Ensemble, Kariamu and Company: Traditions and Illstyle & Peace Productions, plus special D.C-based guests Farafina Kan. The Philly festival will also include the Afro Beauty, Health and Wellness Marketplace, the Philadelphia Folklore Project exhibition “Honoring Ancestors of Rhythm, Movement and Place,” family workshops and a lecture on African dance in America.

The festival events will take place at the Community Education Center, Drexel University (3141 Chestnut St) and Philadelphia Folklore Project (735 S. 50th St). Tickets range from $5-$25 and can be purchased online at brownpapertickets.com/event/428884. For more information, call the Community Education Center (3500 Lancaster Ave.) at 215 387-1911 or visit: http://www.cecarts.org/wp/danceafrica/.