Charlotte Salomon died in Auschwitz at the age of 26. Before she was captured by the government and taken to the death-camp, she painted a rich and multifaceted story in daily images. Over two years of hiding, Salomon painted 784 individual artworks that incorporate text and imagery which discuss various issues that concerned the young woman at the time. Named Life? Or Theatre? The collection visits themes such as mental health problems running in the family.


Each painting gives us a snapshot of an imaginary scene which represents a stark reality mixed with projected feelings and fears. Over the course of the sequence, we get to know the inner life and workings of Charlotte Salomon as she did her best to survive in extremely dangerous circumstances.


The uncanny likeness to modern graphic novels is demonstrated in the sequential format and the regular narratives which have been taped to the edge of the paintings. The story offers a few words of context that, when read in conjunction to the image, provide a running commentary on the aspects of this unusual and troubled life. The works are currently displayed at the Jewish Museum in London.


Visitors will be able to surround themselves in the world of a Nazi-era Jewish person and feel the oppressive nature of the times. Although the story goes into other events that also take place, this is a way of exploring the reality of life and the fact that these people had stories and backgrounds that didn't relate to the main theme we normally think about. The fact that Charlotte Salomon was living a life filled with its own unique blend of drama, including an older lover, goes to show that there are more dimensions to Nazi-era Jewish life than hiding from the authorities.


So many Jewish people and other victimised groups including the mentally ill, the handicapped, and the travelling cultures were brutally murdered and left nothing behind. These treasures that thankfully were kept safe even though their creator was unable to escape must be able to fill the shoes of all those who do not have their voice preserved. Like all people who exist within bygone generations, the voices of the remembered speak for everyone else.


Via The Conversation

Like many powerful nations, France has a history patchworked with oppression. Wielding international might can be like owning a sword that is too heavy for you. In an effort to swing it for good we end up bashing the innocent and even ourselves. Never-the-less, in modern times powers like France have grown up considerably thanks to the continual growth of the national identity. Perhaps the occupation of Paris and most of North and Central France during WW2 helped to instil the other side of the story.


When French forces invaded Benin in Africa during the 1890s, they were met by an elite troop of female warriors. Known as the Amazons, this tribe of feminist icons have reached global fame. After a long and bloody battle, the military hardware of industrialised France overpowered the Amazon warriors and permitted the army to continue. The army took what they termed “The spoils of war” which is basically looting for private gain and to recuperate the cost of occupation. It's criminal activity. The French remained in power in Benin until 1959.

There are several treasures kept in French museums that were taken without consent from defeated nations around the world. Legislation is in place that protects many artefacts from being returned as each piece is recorded in lists of treasure that belong to the state. It means that one president or one philanthropist alone is powerless to force these items back home. However, after extensive talks with the nation of Benin, it is with great pleasure that the nation of France is able to return around thirty precious items. This move follows in suit from the repatriation of several Nigerian works taken around the same time.


Arguments against the move have included the fact that French resources allow the art to be cared for and kept secure to a much higher degree. This did not resonate with most though, as these ethics do not match those of the general population. It is hoped that French President Macron's willingness to talk and find legally binding solutions to the problem of ransacked treasures will provide the platform needed for other nations to make similar demands.


When the international image of leading nations is at stake, it is imperative that we all take the opportunity to add new and positive chapters to the story about us in other nations. None of us were alive during colonial times and we shouldn't harbour guilt or shame, however the anger resides for many simply because there hasn't been enough closure. The next section of the story has to go along the lines of “They said sorry, did everything they could to put things right, and never treated us badly again”. If the new generation can have their histories garnished with this final clause, perhaps their residual anger will not have a platform to grow on.
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Via PRI.org

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Not long ago, Alternative Fruit featured a selection of some of Argentina's best street artists. Something that's not so familiar in the UK is the depth and quality of murals found elsewhere. Once again, a fantastic array of talent exists over the horizon. This time we visit Poland to see how they do it there. Truly awe inspiring images made with such care and attention to detail really make us question the seemingly supernatural ability behind the works. Rather than feel envious or offended we can just appreciate and say thank you for not hiding your talent away.  When an impressive image is done properly and with respect to the surroundings it can only increase the cultural value of the area. 

This simple motif from Olek speaks volumes. We all do sometimes say what we hear and rather than think about it from all sides, just accept and repeat. What we all have in life is a unique perspective. Flavour your opinions with pictures of your point of view. 
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This cartoon character popping out of the wall by Mysza has turned a bland and lifeless scene into something that children will talk about. The bright pink background catches the eye as the expressive comic mouse sets a tone of playful atmosphere. 
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This curious amalgam from Swanski depicts an octopus tentacle or arm wrapping around a thorny rose. The fish and shark at the top facing a floral single eye perhaps symbolises something. Maybe the location of this mural can shed some light on the matter, however it does conjure some strange and weird element which is perhaps otherwise lost in the humdrum of everyday life. 
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This is a little more unusual in the world of street art. Pener has created several instalations and also works in animation. This piece uses abstract geometry and coloour flow to create an otherworldly perspective on the wall of a plain looking building. What kind of neuron interaction of human thought this work induces is for each passer by to decide. Maybe this constellation of pigment and triganometry will inspire something uniquely ingenious. 

This futuristic face from Czarnobyl stares out as us from a sci-fi reality perhaps only a few decades away. Maybe she is a warning or a friendly sentinel when walking at night. Who-ever she is, the face is likely to remain in the imaginations of those who live nearby and see the image day to day. 

It's taken over twenty years to achieve the confidence and ability to perfect these beautiful and thought provoking works. Proembrion has been creating pieces since the mid-nineties and it really shows with the efforts of today. With a mixture of natural colours and organic shapes flowing with a much more static and numerical form, the focus of the modern age of augmented reality, of which this blog is a part of, comes into play. 

Whoever said that buildings are not designed to be drawn on hasn't met this next artist. An architect, designer, and street artist, Nawer is able to conjure vivid and eye-striking designs that inject a layer of personality into a public space. With simple bold colour and definitive shape designs, this work brightens and ingivourates the landmark. 

Is this a reflection of the modern worker? Perhaps a distinctive type of disgruntled or drained occupant of a contract asking too much or maybe simply a new parent and still awake from the day before. Whoever he is, the face surely makes an impact on those who walk by. Does it offer a thought or does it warn against one? Illustrator, architect, and street artist Chazme seems to ask questions with this piece.

People who live and work near this mural are treated to a surreal escapism as the deep black absorbs the focus in which contrasting faces look out at us. The planet shape whisks us away to outerspace while the bird at the top perhaps represents our wings of imagination. Let's take off and fly for a while as we admire this work by Raspazjan. 
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We travel to Germany now to see work by 1010 who was born in Poland. This vivid mural points at colour and position with bold tones and aesthetic shapes. With a gradated feel merged along a dream-like matrix of subconscious relationships, passers by can be forgiven for gently daydreaming while they do so. 
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Natalia Rak is a truly capable artist. With vibrant and emotionally stimulating scenes that tell a story in one image the works are a clear gift top any neighbourhood. The fantastic picture shown can enrich a person with a sense of mystical empowerment and connection to something greater than the self. If also remarks the long-established culture that has existed in Europe for millennia. 
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​In Russia it's difficult to disapprove of the government or its various associates. Where speech isn't as free as it is elsewhere and with methods of correction in place that resemble torture, it is brave artists who take the front row seats at the arena of complaint. Where everyday citizens are either too afraid to look or think for themselves, too emotionally invested in the status quo, too guilty as willing participants, only a certain few are able to break out of this box and look from the other side. According to Katrin Nenasheva, Russia is indeed one of those places. This is how she communicates her dissent.


Katrin Nenasheva produces street performance art in which she delivers the truth about what is happening behind closed doors. Where she gets her information from is unclear, however Katrin Nenasheva has been detained herself for various reasons. Her origins are in the media industry, where upon the annexation of part of Ukraine by Russian forces she was forced to write propaganda for the Russian government.


Recently, Nenasheva walked around Moscow for 21 days while chained to a bed. In a plea to stop the cruelty within residential children's homes such as orphanages, the artist including the pricking of her feet with needles to emulate one of the many cruel techniques used to prevent the children from moving around. It's thought that most regular Russians are unaware of this practice and it is hoped that when faced with it in reality, they too will be equally as horrified.


Many dissidents of the Russian authorities are reportedly kept in psychiatric wards where they are re-educated. Where dissent is seen as mental illness it makes it impossible to legitimately complain about government practice. Also, it highlights the willingness of the national public to allow this treatment to continue. Katrin Nenasheva took it upon herself to show this reality by using virtual reality goggles. By walking around the busy streets while observing the inside of the psychiatric ward, she hoped to show that this could happen to anyone, anywhere.


It's not enjoyed by the authorities, especially when their morals and ethics are being questioned. In one protest, Katrina and a fellow artist began washing blood from army uniforms they were wearing in order to protest unjust force. There is a video on YouTube showing the pair being arrested for non-sanctioned protesting. They may be watching us, but we are watching them too – at least some of the time.


Via Republic World
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