Abreme La Puerta
In this June 4, 2010 edition of the Four-Four, Ifétayo Abdus-Salam’s self-portrait captures the essence of the LetterToObama project. The colors of the piece, a black background with white text, are the opposite of what we usually see. I view this inversion of color relations in the photograph as a metaphor for how we must begin to see the world if change is our vision.
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UNTITLED
IFÉTAYO ABDUS-SALAM
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ARTIST. STATEMENT.
My work deals with issues of race, class, gender, sexuality and ethnicity, serving as a form of visual exploration into contemporary social issues. I am interested in these issues, which have shaped so much of the history and fabric of American culture, and the manner in which they continue to permeate contemporary culture and thought. My hope is that my work can help foster discussion on those issues that remain difficult and uncomfortable to discuss. By confronting this discomfort, perhaps real change can begin.
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ABOUT THE ARTIST
IFÉTAYO ABDUS-SALAM received a BFA in Photography and a BA in Africana Studies from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, (2006), and a MAT in Teaching and Learning in Art and Design Education from The Rhode Island School of Design (2009). In addition to her career as a visual artist, Ifétayo is passionate about her work as an arts educator, utilizing the arts to promote expression and critical student discourse on contemporary issues. Ifétayo’s work has been published in Posing Beauty in African American Culture, Ed. Deborah Willis. W.W. Norton, 2009, the Fall 2006 publication of Exposure, vol. 39:2, and in Echoes: Poetry and Music from the Urban Edge, Ten Speed Press (2006). Ifétayo is the recipient of a Winter 2007 Cadre Bi Annual Arts Grant. Ifétayo Abdus-Salam lives and works in Harlem, New York City.
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The Four-Four 6.4.10: Abreme La Puerta by M. Liz Andrews, Ifétayo Abdus-Salam is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.LetterToObama.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.LetterToObama.com.
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