Brendan Hoffman: Eyes on Haiti’s Rapes
Angelie, age 14, poses for a portrait on July 14, 2010 in Port-au-Prince. She was raped by four men and two women, all of whom she knew, this past Saturday. It happened when they invited her into their home and offered her food. While she has reported the crime to the police, no arrests have been made.
“This Guardian story from March ‘09, outlining the problem of rape in the Cité Soleil slum, detailed how half of the victims are children and teenagers. Many of the rapes are perpetrated by police and military, only twelve rapes went to court that past year, and there were only twelve child protective officers for the whole country. Since the earthquake, MS-NBC discusses how women are forced to trade sex-for-food, and despite the influx of foreign aid organizations and a stepped-up UN presence, security in the tent camps is abysmal. Statistics are hard to come by, but a Haitian support group counted at least 230 known cases in 15 camps in the two months following the quake. It’s not that violence is escaping notice: VOA sketches out the fuller dimensions of the security challenge, while the New York Times spotlights one woman’s recent abuse.”
It is said that eyes are the window to our souls and in this set of photographs, Photogrpaher Brendan Hoffman’s turns his lens on the “windows” of four young Haitian women that have been violated by the animalistic act of rape.
“Brendan’s images have not just intensity but also intimacy — an intimacy that defies the searing depersonalization and objectification of the act of rape. These young women, at this scale and through the power of that gaze (whether addressing the camera directly or askance) simply demand to be recognized by you and I.”
Kanye gets social
If you haven’t heard or have had a viral meltdown in the last couple of days , mega rapper and producer Kanye West joined the social network Twitter, yesterday. It only seemed right after he already hit the offices of Facebook on Tuesday and surprised the staff there by performing material from his upcoming album due out September. Yesterday, he did the same for those at the Twitter headquarters. Of course this “news” made its way around the twitterverse quickly, even spawning a trending topic dedicated to Ye, “predictingkanyetweets” and I’m guessing Kanye doesn’t have to worry about making any friends on the socially addictive site, as his followers have already reached 200,000, tweeting several hours ago from his account, “SWAGGER ON 200,000 THOUSAND TRILLION.” Welcome Ye. Welcome! Pssst! Check for Ye’s Twitter performance after the jump.
Quote of the Day
Benny Benassi x Kelis x Apl.de.ap. x Jean Baptiste- Spaceship
Italian producer Benny Benassi is joined by the likes of jean Baptiste, Apl.de.ap. of The Black Eyed Peas, and Kelis in his new intergalactic video for “Spaceship.”
Herb Ritts: The Golden Hour
Herb Ritts was one of the most heralded amongst celebrity photographers and had a career that spanned from the late 70s up until the time of his passing in 2002. Not only had he shot some of music’s noted icons such as Madonna and the late great Michael Jackson, but left his mark on fashion by creating campaigns for Calvin Klein, Valentino, and Versace. “Herb Ritts: The Golden Hour : A Photographer’s Life and His World” celebrates the life of the photographer as well as work with never before seen photographs of some of our favotie celberities. Pick the book up when it hits stores October 12.
Estelle ft. Nas- Fall In Love
Estelle seems to love sharing face time with some of Hip Hop’s leading men. In her video for “American Boy” she crooned along side Kanye, and recently she appeared in Talib Kweli’s video for “Midnight Hour” and now, she’s teamed up with Nas and John Legend for her new single “Fall In Love” off her upcoming album, All of Me. What’s extra icing on the cake is that the video’s director Sanaa Hamri treats us two separate videos, one featuring Estelle and the respected rapper, and the other with she and mentor and soul singer John Legend.
Click here for the version with John Legend.
Photo of The Week
Raphael Saadiq performs at Summerstage
In case you missed Raphael Saadiq’s concert at Summerstage in Central Park last weekend like me, (ugh!) here’s some footage of him performing “100 Yard Dash.” Enjoy*
