Kassy Kova's original painting, La Danse des Âmes (5,6,7,8), explores the notion of dance as a subject through a Eurocentric art historical lens. The figures are simplified forms from movements that have actually passed through the artist's body - they are taken from screenshots of her dance movement. Together, the works play a role in reverse cultural appropriation, borrowing from the aesthetic language that cubists, fauvists, and nouveau realists developed. The series reference Pablo Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon", where two of the sex workers are depicted with West African masks as faces, Henri Matisse's "La Danse", where the figures are simplified into their essential forms and the surrounding environment is flattened, and lastly, Yves Klein's "Anthropometry" series, in which he omitted paintbrushes and instead used the movement of naked women to spread his famous Yves Klein ultramarine blue across the canvas. The act of appropriating the works of three household Western European white male artists by a mixed-race female artist (one with both West African and European heritage to boot) is an act of rebellion against the homogenous nature of the Western world's art canon. It was her own brown female body that moved across these panels, dancing with her hands, feet, paintbrushes, and poems, the movement propelling the paint to leave the remnants on the works. The poems - each an ode to the catharsis of dance - disintegrated and became part of the paintings, just as human flesh does once done with the dance of life.
This tote is not only art you can carry—it is a socially responsible choice. Crafted from Better Cotton® and FAIRTRADE® certified, it honors both earth and humanity. Every stitch supports ethical labor, reduced environmental impact, and a more intentional way of living.
Material: Better Cotton®
Manufacturer: Westford Mill
Carry/shoulder straps (67cm long).
Capacity 10 litres.
Weight: 140 gsm.
Kassy Kova's original painting, La Danse des Âmes (5,6,7,8), explores the notion of dance as a subject through a Eurocentric art historical lens. The figures are simplified forms from movements that have actually passed through the artist's body - they are taken from screenshots of her dance movement. Together, the works play a role in reverse cultural appropriation, borrowing from the aesthetic language that cubists, fauvists, and nouveau realists developed. The series reference Pablo Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon", where two of the sex workers are depicted with West African masks as faces, Henri Matisse's "La Danse", where the figures are simplified into their essential forms and the surrounding environment is flattened, and lastly, Yves Klein's "Anthropometry" series, in which he omitted paintbrushes and instead used the movement of naked women to spread his famous Yves Klein ultramarine blue across the canvas. The act of appropriating the works of three household Western European white male artists by a mixed-race female artist (one with both West African and European heritage to boot) is an act of rebellion against the homogenous nature of the Western world's art canon. It was her own brown female body that moved across these panels, dancing with her hands, feet, paintbrushes, and poems, the movement propelling the paint to leave the remnants on the works. The poems - each an ode to the catharsis of dance - disintegrated and became part of the paintings, just as human flesh does once done with the dance of life.
This tote is not only art you can carry—it is a socially responsible choice. Crafted from Better Cotton® and FAIRTRADE® certified, it honors both earth and humanity. Every stitch supports ethical labor, reduced environmental impact, and a more intentional way of living.
Material: Better Cotton®
Manufacturer: Westford Mill
Carry/shoulder straps (67cm long).
Capacity 10 litres.
Weight: 140 gsm.
