The piece above was done yesterday morning on Quai de Valmy in Central Paris by Nick Walker. It’s in response to Sarkozy’s decision to ban the burkha. From Nick:

“It’s particularly tense in Paris. They are in between elections and the reaction is expected to be quite strong. The police discovered the piece 30 minutes after it was completed and we don’t expect it to stay up long. After months of wrangling, the government are believed to be only days away from ratifying the ban.”

Superheroes inspired by Islam

In “THE 99,” Naif Al-Mutawa’s new generation of comic book heroes fight more than crime — they smash stereotypes and battle extremism. Named after the 99 attributes of Allah, his characters reinforce positive messages of Islam and cross cultures to create a new moral framework for confronting evil, even teaming up with the Justice League of America.

Wonder How THE 99 Comics Are Created?

It all starts with an idea. Maybe the idea is about a certain character or a type of story that we want to tell. Sometimes, the creator of THE 99 generates the ideas for our stories but other times one of our writers or editors has a story that they’d like to tell or even read! An editor oversees the entire production process of the comic book, from discussing the direction of the story with the creator or publisher to hiring the various artists who will work on the book. Almost all of the people who work on our comic books are freelancers; this means they work from their own home or studio rather than in one of Teshkeel’s offices.
Once an idea has been approved, it slowly takes shape by first becoming a script. A script provides written direction from a writer to the artists who draw the comic book stories. The writer explains what action will take place in each panel and provides the dialogue and sound effects that will accompany that image.

A copy of the script gets sent to the penciler, an artist who adapts the writer’s words into action-filled images. A penciler must be able to draw just about anything from airplanes, buildings and cars to jungles, futuristic machinery and super-powered people with extraordinary abilities. Using a pencil, the penciler draws on a large piece of paper called an art board. Each page is broken down into panels that tell the story sequentially (in order). The penciler uses his drawing abilities to stage the pacing, frame the action and create the mood of the story.

Once the penciler has finished drawing, the pages are sent to the inker. The inker applies black ink to the penciler’s artwork with a pen or brush. This provides the dark lines that are necessary for the printing process. The inker does his best to enhance what the artist has penciled. The inked artwork gets scanned into a computer.

Working from a scan of the inked artwork the colorist provides the color that can add life and mood to the black and white artwork. Our colorists use a computer program called Adobe Photoshop. This program allows them to create a wide range of coloring effects that best enhance the action atmosphere of the story.
While the artwork is being colored, another process is also taking place; again, working from a scan of the artwork, a letterer is creating the speech balloons, captions and sound effects that add to the visual imagery.

When all these processes are complete, a production artist works on the computer to bring each piece together to create a finished computer file that the printer can work from. The editor reviews the files and finally sends them off to the printer.

http://www.the99.org

All of us have some opinion about religion, whether you believe in it or not, or whether you take it for granted or just don’t think of it too often. Religion is usually considered a sensitive subject when it is being discussed publicly and examined from a critical point of view. Some of you may not agree with the artworks that this post present, some of you might find them rude and disturbing. A few may be insulted. None of it aim to disrespect you or your beliefs. It was made to express the artist’s feeling towards religions’ consequences.

Nuns with Guns, not the band, not nor movie, Fine Political Art.

political-art Posted by PUPPETGOV

Religions has sure changed a lot in the past few decades, and so has their grab on peoples minds. To my opinion, in 2010, we no longer need religions. Religions lost their function. If ages ago religions used to be what kept societies together, today it keep us apart. Organized Religions become increasingly more violent and undermine democratic law by inventing their own demented laws like the Jewish Halacha or Islamic Fatawa. If the artworks in this post does not convince you, just take a look at these blogs authored by “Honest-To-God-Catholic-Nuns”, I promise you that you will laugh hard and long The Adventures of “One Fun Nun” Hell Burns Happy Nun Thinks Aloud

Below is the “uncensored version” of the beautiful painting “Ms. July” from the series of painting “Islamic Calendar Girl” by Iranian-born California Artist Makan (Max) Emadi. His work is very appealing and packed with symbolism. Read Max Emadi’s own omments on his Islamic Erotica series on his website which I strongly recommend you to check out. The link is at the bottom of the post.

"Islamic Calendar Girl" by Max Emadi

Ms. July

Ms. July lays back on a sheet in the color of Islamic green. Her black robe appears to be the equivalent of a mini-skirt and is hitched high to show her long slender legs. Red stiletto shoes are a complement to the green of the sheet.

"Ms September" Iranian Woman Painting by Max Emadi

Ms. September

Ms. September winks at us while holding cards in her hands that count to 9/11.

Oreet Ashery’s controversial gender-bending photo of a breast-holding Hasid.

Oreet Ashery is the British-Israeli multi-media artist behind the most overtly political image of a shot of herself dressed as Hasidic man looking down at her obviously female breast.

By dressing in the traditional garb of Orthodox men, Ashery said she is challenging that community’s strict gender codes and encouraging “dialogue”. What do you think? it’s it briliant feminist art or unnecessary propaganda?

Oreet Ashery - breast-holding Hasid

I hope you enjoyed these artworks for what they are and appreciate the spirits of these artists who dared to express publicly feelings and ideas that perhaps many others feel but avoid touching.
Please comment and share your opinions and views with us.

Links and Sources

Grenades from pic of the day @ puppetgov.com

Armed Nuns from pic of the day @ puppetgov.com

Artist Makan (Max) Emadi – website

Artist Oreet Ashery – website