Listen, I don’t know who “Cyril Style” is either, but he’s a complete cunt. In describing a series of photos by Julia Chesky called “The Original Hipster,” featuring a homeless guy in New York, Cyril notes:
Personally I have always found the homeless to be a great source of inspiration and totally agreed with Julia’s title “The Original Hipster”.
A great source of inspiration?!? Who the fuck does he think he is? Erin Wasson?
Cunt.
***UPDATE: Cyril is a double cunt for modifying his statement with the words “specific details about” after I posted this. I copied and pasted his statement last night. I would never edit a quote just to serve my purposes. Cunt ².
I saw these photos in various blogs, I saved even one on my pc: the portrait of him reading. I loved his jewelry, I thought it was his artwork and found it amazing and inspiring and I have no problem with that. Better to feel inspired by someone instead feeling ‘compassion’ for him/her wich is only a selfish feeling.
Now I just link to this ‘Trendland net’, shit , the name is already a bad omen, and I understand that it’s just a fashion shooting. Queen of cunts is the one who did this shooting, Julia Chesky.
Jean-Paul Gaultier had always casted people in the street for his fashion show, not ONLY homeless but even them and super models too. And he did it with respect, not stigmatizing them like this trendland did.
Fuck the bourgeois bohême!
Sister, the following post has nothing to do with your topic but with cyberintimidation’ and hacking. If you feel bothered, just remove it.
A while back, I was pro-active on MySpace, my pages were regularly deleted (and rebuilded) because some hyena reported to MS about ‘offensive images’ on my page. Tired of this toxic ambient, I didn’t have anymore fun and finally gave up but didn’t disactivate my profiles. I didn’t link to my MS since last summer. Few days ago, a friend told me that my pages were regularly updated with agressive contents. I checked it. My profiles are hacked. Got an idea about who’s doing this. He didn’t only hacked my pages but also builded dozen of ‘back-ups’ pretending being me, using some photos of myself to harass people who were on my friendlist, sending agressive comments to them. Two years ago I had a stupid clash with a close friend (not a bloody avatar, a real friend living in same place as me). This hacker took profit of this clash to fuel his hatred for me by harassing this friend regularly, stealing his artworks and posting it to others friends (under my name obviously). Well, I could even find funny that a guy is dedicating his (no) life to keep me alive on MS. But not for toxic purpose. I reported to MS about this abuse, though I found it completely vain. 2 days ago, the profile of my friend has been deleted, obviously, he thought I was the reason of his deletion. So I rang him to clarify the situation. That’s how I knew exactly what’s going on since I left MS. Believe me, it’s quite disturbing, though I don’t give a shit about my ‘reputation’ on MS. But I’m worry about what this guy is able to do. If he can hacked my MS profile, is he able to hack my mailbox? I don’t want to think about the trouble I’ll go through if he does such twisted thing.
I google about hacking. Apparently, it’s pretty hard to crack a MS or Facebook’s password (don’t believe all bullshit posted on Youtube or elsewhere). My profiles are hacked but my passwords are unchanged. I changed them, even if it’s useless. The easier way to hack a friend’s website (you need to know him/her very well) is to hack his/her mailbox. Logging to the mailbox and clicking on ‘forget password’, then answering to ‘secret questions’ to reactivate a new password. If your friend choosed an easy question like ‘what the name of your dog’ or ‘name of your brother’, it’s pretty easy to crack it. Then you just have to link to MS or any website, click on ‘forget password’ again, and the password will be send on the cracked mailbox. That’s the freaky trick I found out on a hackers forum, you don’t even have to be a hacker just need to have a brain and a ‘friend’ to hate.
I mailed the people of my friendlist (the ones remaining on it) to tell them that my page was hacked, avoiding to say any blasphemous talk.
But I don’t want to waste my energy for such childish game.
Maybe I shouldn’t look back.
Maybe I shouldn’t open the pandora box again.
All this MS teached me is
to delete what you (don’t want) to understand.
That’s why I prefer to remain an analog pariah
Thanks Rosa!
And where does “homeless preppy” (the look I aspire to) fit into this debate?
@ Mark: I try to go for the “crack-less crackwhore” look. Because ripped thights and thorn t shists are so effortlessly cool. Throw on a cigarette to kill it. Is this going to start another debate about the crackwhores by choice?
Rosa: I think that is an example of involuntary offense to the religious beliefs of a group of people, not of “cultural appropiation”. It´s not the same. The rich countries are constantly appropiating of very “material” things, such as natural resources, that belong to poor countries. That kind of appropiation worries me more. I live in Uruguay (the south of south America), and if someday the fashion in Los Angeles or NYC starts being drinking mate, I wouldn´t bother, nor I think any uruguayan would do. We would laugh at (north) Americans a little, because they would propbably not know the proper way to prepare it, but that´s it. In the case of the aborigenes, religious beliefs were involved, that is what makes the difference.
@Cecilia: Involuntary offense to the beliefs of a group of people is often a CONSEQUENCE of cultural appropriation. And you can’t compare the appropriation of natural resources with cultural appropriation because they are not even similar! Cultural appropriation takes time, and most of the times people are not even aware that it’s happening. Like people in the USA wearing tribal prints, inspired in traditional African clothes, that’s cultural appropriation.
http://www.whowhatwear.com/website/admin/uploads/tr-tribal-punk-4-FINAL.jpg
These rings/bracelets that a bunch of girls are starting to wear and they think they are so “achingly cool” and “rad”. These are traditional jewelry from the middle eastern countries. That’s cultural appropriation
http://sliceofstyle.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/clover_web_ring.jpg
And don’t you think that maybe, just maybe, the people from some tribe in Africa, or women in Morocco, may be a little bit offended if they find out that girls from other parts of the world are wearing occidentalized versions of their traditional garments? Think about it.
And by the way, that was me in the comment before cecilia, I was using another computer.
@Nati Hell: “Involuntary offense to the beliefs of a group of people is often a CONSEQUENCE of cultural appropriation”. To me it´s more a consequence of ignorance about the religion of that group of people, not of “cultural appropiation”.
The appropiation of natural resources also takes time, and most of the times people are not even aware that it’s happening. The press and the gobernment of all cauontires involved always try to hide the real dimension of it, or disguise it as “fair business”. And I still think that material appropiation is WORST than cultural one. The CONSEQUENCE of material appropiation is that people don´t have enough to eat.
Yes, maybe he people from some tribe in Africa, or women in Morocco, may be a little bit offended if they find out that girls from other parts of the world are wearing occidentalized versions of their traditional garments, but I think, unless religion is involved, that some others wouldn´t give a damn.
P. S. I like your blog!
http://www.google.com.uy/imgres?imgurl=http://image2.linkinn.com/userfile/pictures_1004/Image/Hot_Beauty_Laetitia_Casta_Sexy_Bikini_and_Lingerie_Pics_1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.pixyard.com/_Hot_Beauty_Laetitia_Casta_Sexy_Bikini_and_Lingerie_Pics&usg=__unu78LV2VJW7H3uJOwAhoKFWuSw=&h=722&w=1024&sz=415&hl=es&start=78&tbnid=NDPL-9N2QGdt2M:&tbnh=120&tbnw=157&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlaetitia%2Bcasta%26um%3D1%26hl%3Des%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:es-ES:official%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D576%26tbs%3Disch:1,ic:specific,isc:red0%2C1254&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=109&vpy=313&dur=25057&hovh=188&hovw=267&tx=190&ty=109&ei=P09LTOLMMcL58Abi87Az&page=4&ndsp=26&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:78&biw=1366&bih=576
The link is so long! but the image is worth the copypasting. I´m sure the Masai got a lot of dollars from this, good for them.
I read through the article, and apparently he’s “homeless by choice” I think there’s a big difference between being inspired by someone who chooses to live a certain drifter/nomadic free style lifestyle vs. a real, bonified homeless person.
although, any punk living on the streets who does “by choice” will tell you they love their freedom but their life is hard as shit.
the girl above linking to clothing that may resemble a “tribal” print is a fucking idiot.
there is cultural appropriation and then there is a tee shirt. not every fucking thing in the world is offensive. and something that has a cheetah print is not “tribal” its a fucking print of an animal.
@ Em: Normally I wouldn’t give a damn about your ignorance, but I just want to make my point clear.
Cheetah print is not tribal, you’re right, it’s ANIMAL print. I’m talking about tribal prints. I’m not saying that a t-shirt with a tribal design is offensive, but there is a HUGE cultural meaning and background that people ignore.
So you think that those t-shirts with those patterns are a product of the imagination of some random clothing company? No… it’s because someone took some aspects of another culture’s clothing that they found aesthetically pleasing and they incorporated it to the local garments: t-shirts. That’s what cultural appropriation is about: Taking aspects from other cultures and making them your own. Thats why american people
Before you call me a fucking idiot again,
Continues, sorry:
That’s why american people won’t wear a Boubou or a Dashiki, but they would wear a dress or a dress or a bag with patterns like this: http://www.wecdsb.on.ca/publicart/p_05-africa/images/CCH/CCHcomposite.jpg
Before you call me a fucking idiot again, do your research.
*a t shirt or a dress or a bag…
Sorry hahaha
em – Nati Hell isn’t an idiot, just clarifying that point.
OK, after educating myself a bit, I think that clothing with tribal print, “ethnic” jewelry, folk embroidery on pillows etc. is inspiration, not appropriation; Polish/Ukrainian pierogis were recently candidates for Canadian national dish (poutine won, tough) – I’m not offended in the least. I admired Indian saris at an Indian wedding and said “too bad I can’t wear them”; all women were saying “why not, everyone can wear a sari, you should try”. Sacred symbols are another story; I’m an atheist and I don’t wear crosses or religious medals, wouldn’t wear a star of David or Om symbol either. There is cultural appropriation and there is stupidity – like death-fixated Ms. Sherrer naming a perfume “Maximilia”, after a priest who died in Auschwitz to save another person. Anyway – I agree with Cecilia, appropriation of natural resources (let’s call it stealing) is more worrisome.
Here are some examples of cultural appropiation, as defined above by Nati Hell (“Taking aspects from other cultures and making them your own”):
Michelangelo´s “David”- in a style “appropiated” from ancient Greece,
Paul Gauguin polinesian paintings,
William Shakespeare´s “Coriolanus”, “Julius Caesar”, “Antony and Cleopatra”, all of which “appropiate” ancient roman culture,
All of rock, jazz and blues music made by people who aren´t black- they would be “appropiating” african rythms…
All classical music made by people who aren´t white,
etc., etc., etc….
Should we really be againt the existence of all this?
Thanks, Cricket9! (and also Alicia, whom I forgot to thank earlier).
Oh nonono, don’t get me wrong, I’m not against this stuff at all, I’m just pointing it out.
@ Cecilia: I respect what you’re saying about the exploitation of natural resources being a seriously fucked up matter. I agree that the consequences are horrendous… like the kind of devastation Chevron-Texaco has left behind in Ecuador for example.
But dispossession & exploitation/corruption of land & resources is, as Nati Hell said, very different to cultural appropriation (I don’t think the term appropriation even applies to it.) I don’t think the consequences of environmental violation can really be judged any more or less serious than those of cultural violation…different problems, with too many variables.
The Wandjina article I linked to is, in fact, an example of cultural appropriation. This instance of the appropriation of an Indigenous community’s sacred symbol is mindless and disrespectful to the point of racist insult; the manner in which the appropriators responded to the Indigenous community’s outrage compounded this…rather than show remorse, the appropriators have basically told the Indigenous people to go fuck themselves, and continued appropriating Wandjinas. So I strongly disagree that it was an involuntary offense – I think the fuckers are enjoying the offensiveness of it.
Can’t even remember how this jumped from homeless fashion to cultural appropriation now hahaha! Ravens and writing desks…
@Celia – I was going to say something along the line of what Rosa just said. In terms of natural resources, appropriation is not the correct term that should be used. Exploitation (among others) are a better fit.
Also, in response to an earlier comment you made to Nati Hell, I’d argue that ignorance of the culture is one of the things that leads into appropriation. I’m pretty sure that folks willingly donning “tribal prints,” native feather headdresses, ceremonial robes, et. al. have little to no knowledge of the significance of these things in the cultures they are “borrowing” them from. As such, the chain goes:
ignorance –> appropriation –> offense
As for the list you made above, I can’t say we should be against all of that. There is a slippery slope between influence, reinterpretation and appropriation. I guess in cases where it’s likely that a lot of people would likely be offended (in terms of fashion only…I can’t call the other stuff), the least someone could do would be to find about what they’re putting on their body to make sure they aren’t disrespecting or desecrating what it is or stands for.
‎”Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery-celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: ‘It’s not where you take things from- it’s where you take them to.'”
-Jim Jarmusch
I still think Cyril Style is a cunt
Make Do – Hahahahahaha! He’s a TOTAL cunt.
@Rosa, @Alicia: I used the expression “material appropiation” or “natural resources appropiation” to make an ironic parallelism with “cultural appropiation”. I agree with you in that is not the best term. “Stealing”, as Cricket9 said, would be much better.
I still think that the rich countries are constantly stealing money from the poor ones, and that is much worse than wearing a stupid dress with some tribal prints.
Those australian “artists” seem to be opportunist cunts seeking for publicity. But the aborigenes that pronosticated their “horrible, painful death” are not my idea of good people either, I don´t care how “folkloric” this curse is. Surely they were offended in their religious feelings, but, to be honest, I´m an atheist and I think that a world with less religion would be a better one. Religion creates conflicts, and also diverts people´s attention from the real problems to unreal ones.
@ Make Do Style, I’m not saying Cyril Style isn’t a cunt. There’s a difference between exploiting the disenfranchised, the homeless, the poor, 3rd world countries, indigenous people for personal gain and then borrowing/stealing for creativity (hopefully for the greater good) . . . but in the Western World the lines are easily blurred and I certainly can’t define them.
Oye . . . sister wolf if only i could type . . . and spell . . . . and edit said typing and spelling . . .
These cunts have conveniently overlooked the fact that this guy was homeless and instead of offering help, they decided to photograph him for the sake of “art”
Styling him with designer clothing worth thousands is a slap in the face to his situation. How does that help him? Who was benefiting from this “collaboration”?
Am I supposed to aspire to become someone who is homeless or who LOOKS homeless? I don’t want homeless to become a brand. Does this man take pride in being identified as homeless?
How messed up is it torn, worn-down, slashed, dirty, faded, ripped, tissue-thin “rad” look can be neatly packaged and thought to be hot shit.
You know I hate Ben Stiller but is anyone going to mention Le Derelicte in this? Or Abfab and Edina appropriating the lost tribes of gawdknows and their gorgeous earthernware?
Actually, I’ve just realized who Sea’s Mom reminds me of!!!! Edina – I guess Sea is the anti- Saffi in this case?!?
That guy is grade-A dipshit. Wonder what those “specific details” are?