Today, after a fast conclave, the Catholic church has elected a new sheperd - the 266th pontiff - following the surprise resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. The Roman Catholic cardinals elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio (seen above) of Buenos Aires, Argentina as Pope Francis I to lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. While, I am not Catholic, I share in their joy and hope for the future. Congratulations and Deus benedixerim!
“The 2012 London Olympics were destined to be notable
for female participation when…three countries – Brunei, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia
– added women to their national teams and ensured that this would be the first
time every country represented sent at least one woman to the Games. Female
participation in the Olympics has increased steadily in recent decades, but
even accounting for that, the sheer amount of women punching holes in the
barriers that once existed is breathtaking.” (Waldron, August 3, 2012)
Women like Megan Repinoe, Gabby Douglas, Wojdan Ali
Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani, and Sarah Attar (pictured above) are inspirational to the
world of sports. They are making everyone recognize the potential of all female
athletes regardless of their color, nationality, sexual orientation, shape, and
size. As a result, their achievements are impacting international women’s
rights; although, the impact is small, it is a step in the right direction.
"Amsterdam is famous for it’s red light
district. A lot of tourists walk around and have a look at this curious
neighborhood. They often see the prostitutes as a kind of entertainment, every
day hundreds of ‘windowshoppers’ from all over the world take a stroll on the
Amsterdam canals. Not that long ago they got to see this:
With this campaign Stop The Traffik wants to make
people aware that a lot of these girls are victims of human trafficking and end
up in prostitution against their will." (Guillaume, April 4, 2012)
_____________________________
My Thoughts
It has been months, since I first learned about
human trafficking; I was shocked to learn that it was something that not only
happens in poor countries, but also happens in the United States. Ever since I became aware of this grave issue I have been
trying to find a way to present it to my readers. Once I came across this video
- created by Duval Guillaume Modem - I knew I could finally introduce this
topic to you all.
It should be noted that this is merely an introduction;
I am still working on a more in depth post on human trafficking. Until then,
"The Grant Museum of Zoology is the only
remaining university zoological museum in London. It houses around 67,000
specimens, covering the whole Animal Kingdom. Founded in 1828 as a teaching
collection, the Museum is packed full of skeletons, mounted animals and
specimens preserved in fluid;..."(UCL) to add to the collection, the Museum has packed a section of their showroom with paintings created by animals for a limited amount of time in the exhibit "Art by
Animals."
The exhibit questions the cognitive abilities of primates
by suggesting that some animals may indeed create art. The focus of the exhibit
is on the actual paintings created by apes and elephants;
(Created by Nong Bank, an elephant
in Samutprakarn Zoo, Thailand, 2010)
“Placing their handiwork alongside animal specimens and
historical documentation [the exposition] explore[s] why some animal creations are
considered valuable and [artistic], while others are dismissed as meaningless.”(UCL)
"Co-curator Mike Tuck said: 'We believe the
exhibition at the Grant Museum to be the first to exhibit multiple species’
paintings and to attempt to take a broad view of the phenomenon.'
Since the mid-50s, zoos have used art and painting
as a leisure activity for animals, even selling the pieces to raise funds.' While individual elephants are trained to always
paint the same thing, art produced by apes is a lot more creative and is almost
undistinguishable [sic] from abstract art by humans that use similar
techniques.'...
(Created by Joseph, a Sumatran Orangutan living at Erie Zoo,
Pennsylvania)
(Created by Samantha, a Western lowland gorilla from Erie
Zoo, Pennsylvania, 2011)
(Created by Sumatran Orangutan Baka, from Cheyenne
Mountain Zoo in Colorado (right),
and Bakhari, a chimp from St Louis Zoo (left))
'Ape art is often compared to that of
two- or three-year-old children in the "scribble stage",' he added. Co-curator Will Tuck added: 'Although it is fairly
clear that any notion of art by animals is essentially anthropomorphic, it
starts to raise very interesting questions about the nature of human art.' Images of monkeys painting date back to at least the
17th century in European art, but it was not until the 1950s that the animal
paintings themselves became important.Their rise in popularity coincided with the abstract
expressionist movement in art, which started to look closely at the act of
making, and what it reveals about an artist’s subconscious. Within this context, the art of animals -
particularly primates - took on a radically different meaning..." (Reynolds, February 28, 2012)
Watch The Video
To Learn More
More on Art & Animals
Guido Daniele, an Italian artist, received his
training in sculpting from Brera School of Arts. However, he is known internationally
for his painting abilities, which are exemplified in his “Handimals”- interpretations
of animals through the use of human hands (below are a few of my favorite).
