Ra's Roundup #31
Trending Theories of Love
When I first heard of Love Language’s I was immediately stumped. I didn’t resonate with any one language in particular. I have plenty bimbo moments so it’s possible I just couldn’t grasp but, I was like; I’d like a little of all of them… Then came attachment styles and I hung back. There seems to be a new set of theories adopted by people pretty regularly now and many seem to have something to do with our relationships.
As Jenny Holzer said “ROMANTIC LOVE WAS INVENTED TO MANIPULATE WOMEN” –– perhaps but, I think most everyone is enthralled by love or wanting love. I’m un-attracted to everyone and still find myself writing songs about love (it’s just so juicy!)
so since I know we all love love, let me tell you about a love theory I stumbled upon…
Triangle Theory of Love
Recently discovered the Triangle Theory of Love while re-reading an article called; Whoever Said Platonic Love Can’t Be Sexy? (Hint: Not Plato)
“According to Robert Sternberg, the psychology researcher who developed the triangle theory of love, this emotion works the way colors do. The triangle’s three points are intimacy, passion, and commitment, and its sides represent their combinations, so just as yellow mixed with red makes orange, intimacy and passion make romance. Just as red mixed with blue makes purple, intimacy and commitment make companionable love. And just as blue mixed with yellow makes green, commitment and passion make foolish love.” — Michele Morano
I made this diagram to help visualize the above text: It’s a bit out of context from the whole theory but I think it’s a mental pathway to traverse down if you have time to research on your own.
A Graphic Design Mystery
Which came first Springer? or Gaultier? A quick google search on the brands revealed that they were nearly founded in the same year. Jerry Spring ‘91 and Jean Paul Gaultier ‘92. Did Gaultier hope to invoke an idea of sleaziness with a play on the Springer logo? Did these two entities even know about one another? Did they use the same designer? So many questions and so few answers.
Jean Paul Gaultier AW 1999
The editorial aptly named “Heat Stroke” in GQ China is so fun to me, each of the models was made up to look like they had gotten sunburnt. I love when editorials go viral and this one went bananas mostly for the hotness of the models in the editorial. Model Ye Hao (pictured above) seemed to get the most of thee attention. Anyway, I ended up using the photo in the below collage.
Sporty Pirate Playground
is a trend I started tracking in January 2024, when I was observing SZA’s tour style. What I found might be labled as coquette by Gen-Z but to me it looked like it was inspired both by Pirates of the Caribbean and Boxing. See bits of the trend board below.
Worn Apart Baseball Caps
Here’s an article about guys wearing distressed baseball caps. Stylist Marcus Allen (pictured above) who wears shredded baseball caps weighs in.
I also see Tremaine Emory of Denim Tears (above) in well worn baseball caps all the time.
R.I.P. Sonya Massey
I am feeling so much compassion for Sonya Massey and her grieving family. As someone who has struggled with Mental Illness, which in some cases has led me to dealing with police.. I can obviously relate, and evidently, I should count myself as lucky that my fate wasn’t the same. I say this because it’s all to common for those with mental illness or Nuerodivergency to somehow trigger those in Law Enforcement. It’s clear (to me at least) that there is not enough education or even modeling of behavior in terms of how to care and treat for people who are mentally ill or differently-abled. This is a realization that ought to prompt governmental if not, universal response to the question, how can we better serve all our citizens? We need more resources and less snap decisions that take someone’s life.
Found this mix presented by Goya Club ft. Anastazja. Each episode features a different DJ and they film in a cleaners in LA. Visually, I think this is super effective.
Images by Serifa Studio
Ebony Magazine’s 8-page profile of American cinematographer & filmmakerJessie Maple (1976).
A now for a break so I can plug my recent work;
A new episode of Explorations dives into FKA Twigs “CAPRISONGS” it could be one of her most mainstream releases, but my research revealed some of her die-hard fans weren't as pleased with the mixtape. But, me, I ate this sh*t up, it’s definitely a solid upper, it boosted my energy. At the same time it was poignant and self-reflective, sometimes deep.
A video about Telfar’s design language, both the evolution of, and courageous pressure he presented year after year as a unisex designer is commendable.
I have a new song out on all streaming plats.
Lastly,
I posted this video last week and used David Hammons’ African American Flag which he designed in 1990. Mostly people commented on my video that there were in fact 3 Black American flags, which is not wrong. The other flags are the Pan African flag and the African Heritage Flag which were designed prior to the African American flag. Someone also mentioned that we don’t have an emoji and should have one… and I was thinking to myself we gotta pick one flag then, there’s no way we’ll get all three approved lmao.
okay, next up
Image Bank
Sha’Carri Richardson by photographer Elijah Agurs.
Snoop Dogg Then & Now
Paper House, Yamanashi, Japan -by Shigeru Ban
The queering of menswear is exciting to me
To me, menswear is practically being forced to change. Skinny jeans have long been out and wide leg is in. Sexy is in and what’s sexy to men now, is surprisingly exactly what’s sexy to women. What used to be sexy was as simple as revealing arms but now men showing some leg and showing some chest is not out of the question.
Colors and tones have gotten bolder and brighter as well. See below for some of my favorite mens collections for S25.
Religion/Faith can be like a drug and I definitely partake in a syncretism that includes religions and myth from all over the world. Idk but faith for me I definitely a rush, I feel so relieved and calm after praying. I take little bits of Buddhism and scroll through the Bible psalms when I’m in need of a wise word. But I also know the Bible is old, and while preachers will find the context for us in most any scripture; it’s also helpful to see where religion and faith can fail us… because our belief system doesn't absolve us of doing the real hard work. But, I’m big on God and big on pizza.
Did you know, 6 is the optimal number of guests for a dinner party where all guests can contribute to one conversation?
… add one more person and conversations begin to break off into separate ones around the table.
I heard about this book The Art Of Gathering while I was scrolling stories on IG. This guy, who’s in this video said they found this book useful so I downloaded the audiobook.
It’s basically a book about party planning, but it’s more about the psychology of gatherings and the people in them. Super useful for someone like me who plans to perform at events and host events in the coming years.
Sound Bank
This month in lieu of a list of songs, I have for you an actual Spotify playlist. I’ve worked with my friend Jesse Duncan on his initiatives in the past and he recently asked me to make a playlist for his IG community page Video Salad
I’ve included it in this post for you all to enjoy! It starts off very electronic and dance clubby then slows down into jazz clubby and sultry.
That wraps it up for this month!
Congratulations, you beat the algorithm! I hope you discovered something that resonated with you! I’ll be back next month for another edition of Ra’s Roundup.
Big Love,
Andra “Ra” Lee