Period Paintings: Why One Artist Is Using Menstrual Blood For Art
Samera Paz has always been into art. Her personal Tumblr account is a compilation of black and white photos, bright hues here and there, and perfect lighting. She's a 21-year-old who lives through photography and was featured in Dazedin late 2015, but Paz has been the talk of the art world with her new collection, “One Week Late."
Sounds like a familiar saying, right?
Paz fittingly named her photo series awaiting her menstrual cycle, and used her menses as paint on a blank canvas to create her perception of art. Her first piece is a splattered portrait of dried blood created in hopes of destigmatizing women's bodies and normalizing periods. In case you think she's just a narcissistic millennial seeking attention for her work, Samera drops a little knowledge on her Instagram account about the origins of “period paintings."
She also tells Cosmo, when a delayed period finally arrived, she was “relieved and full of so much emotion."“The urge to create something was present and I instantly knew what I had to do. Periods are natural and what better way to normalize them than use it as a medium. I want people to feel something when they see my work. It could be disgust, joy, inspired or confused...just as long as they feel something."
My way of normalizing periods and turning blood that would just be discarded into something I consider beautiful ⭕️ pic.twitter.com/6c3SaQ8VER — Samera Flowers (@nahpeach) February 3, 2016
And her controversial pieces, which debuted on Instagram and Twitter, have definitely made both men and women feel everything from inspired, curious, outraged and queasy. A recent BuzzFeed poll showed readers agreed that it was art, but her social media accounts reveal how nasty (no pun intended) people have been to her. She's been called racial slurs and told to die, all because of art. Others have questioned if periods even needed normalizing and if this was simply a need to be more “woke" than everyone else. Is it radical acceptance or is it a cry for attention?
Related: Period Sex: Why Some Men Don't Have An Issue With It
But the artist isn't the first to get people talking about the boundaries in art. In 2013, Casey Jenkins introduced the world to vaginal knitting as her way “to address taboos surrounding female genitals" for her performance art piece “Casting Off My Womb." For 28 days, the Australian artist knitted wool out of her vagina–yes, even through her menstrual cycle.
Then, just last year, Kiran Gandhi ran the 26.2 mile London marathon without a tampon, soaking her pants all in the name of shifting the narrative on womanhood. She wrote about her experience on her website, saying:
“I ran the whole marathon with my period blood running down my legs. I ran with blood dripping down my legs for sisters who don't have access to tampons and sisters who, despite cramping and pain, hide it away and pretend like it doesn't exist. I ran to say, it does exist, and we overcome it everyday."
There's a method to the madness (or mess), but some may think that it's going too far! All three women, despite the backlash of how they chose to send a message, have stuck by their beliefs that they're defying the norm and breaking barriers with their art.
So, what's more important: the message or the messenger? Weigh in below with your thoughts on using menstrual blood for art.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for daily love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
You've Never Seen Luke James In A Role Quite Like This
Over the years, we've watched Luke James play countless characters we'd deem sex symbols, movie stars, and even his complicated character in Lena Waithe's The Chi. For the first time in his career, the New Orleans-born actor has taken on a role where his signature good looks take a backseat as he transforms into Edmund in Them: The Scare—a mentally deranged character in the second installment of the horror anthology series that you won't be able to take your eyes off.
Trust us, Edmund will literally make you do a double take.
xoNecole sat down with Luke James to talk about his latest series and all the complexity surrounding it—from the challenges taking on this out-of-the-box role to the show's depiction of the perplexing history of the relationship between Black Americans and police. When describing the opportunity to bring Edmund's character to life, Luke was overjoyed to show the audience yet another level of his masterful acting talents.
"It was like bathing in the sun," he said. "I was like, thank you! Another opportunity for me to be great—for me to expand my territory. I'm just elated to be a part of it and to see myself in a different light, something I didn't think I could do." He continued, "There are parts of you that says, 'Go for it because this is what you do.' But then also that's why it's a challenge because you're like, 'um, I don't know if I'm as free as I need to be to be able to do this.' Little Marvin just created such a safe space for me to be able to do this, and I'm grateful for everything I've been able to do to lead to this."
Courtesy
Them: The Scare, like the first season, shines a light on the plight of Black Americans in the United States. This time, the story is taking place in the 1990s, at the height of the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. While the series presents many underlying themes, one that stands out is Black people and the complicated relationship with the police. "For the audience, I think it sets the tone for the era that we're in and the amount of chaos that's in the air in Los Angeles and around the country from this heinous incident. And I say it just sets the tone of the anxiety and anxiousness that everybody is feeling in their own households."
James has been a longtime advocate against police brutality himself. He has even featured Elijah McClain, the 23-year-old Colorado man who died after being forcibly detained by officers, as his Instagram avatar for the past five years. So, as you can imagine, this script was close to his heart. "Elijah was a soft-loving oddball. Different than anyone but loving and a musical genius. He was just open and wanted to be loved and seen."
Getty Images
Luke continued, "His life was taken from him. I resonate with his spirit and his words...through all the struggle and the pain he still found it in him to say, 'I love you and I forgive you.' And that's who we are as people—to our own detriment sometimes. He's someone I don't want people to forget. I have yet to remove his face from my world because I have yet to let go of his voice, let go of that being [because] there's so many people we have lost in our history that so often get forgotten."
He concluded, "I think that's the importance of such artwork that moves us to think and talk about it. Yes, it's entertaining. We get to come together and be spooked together. But then we come together and we think, 'Damn, Edmund needed someone to talk to. Edmund needed help... a lot [of] things could have been different. Edmund could have been saved.'
Check out the full interview below.
Luke James Talks Ditching Sex Symbol Status For "Them: The Scare", Elijah McClain, & Morewww.youtube.com
Featured image by Getty Images