CoolLefu

Aw, yeah. It’s another #BlackExcellence365 Artist Spotlight. We’re continuing our celebration of Black artists on Tumblr and how they use their medium to navigate conversation about identity. This week we bring you the gift of your new favorite Afrofuturist, Pea the Faery (@peathefeary ).

Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came to be an artist. How has Tumblr been a place for you to find your voice?

I’m Pea, a digital artist and creator of things in general. I have been an artist since I was a child, but I have only taken myself seriously over the last two years. I have had a Tumblr for a long time, however, and I started using Tumblr as a place to find memes my friends hadn’t seen yet. Then I realized it was a place I could publicly love myself without judgment. I began to share my art on Tumblr because I am my art and I thought it would be cool for my mutuals to see more of who I am.

What communities do you identify with both online and IRL?

I am definitely an Afrofuturist and mystic. Anything involving fantasy holds my interest. I used to think that it was because I was an escapist, but really I believe there is more to this world than the mundane and I love to share that idea.

How did you come up with your featured piece and how might this relate to the broader conversation surrounding the #BlackExcellence365 campaign?

I am in awe of black women. I am so happy that I was able to incarnate into the body of one and I believe we hold deep magic in our blood. I try to express that feeling of magic and mysticism that comes with being a black woman. Because I don’t think a lot of us know that about ourselves. I grew up consuming a lot of fantasy and sci-fi media and I never saw black women involved. But I have always been in love with anything magical as long as I can remember. With this piece I wanted women and girls to see that they can be seen as fairies, pixies, witches, and elves. These archetypes are traditionally visually represented by white women (beautifully), but I wanted black women to see themselves the way I see them.

Your work encompasses powerful and inspirational women such as Beyoncé, Zendaya, and Janelle Monáe. How do they inspire you?

They are exactly that, powerful. They are women who see their worth and share their art unapologetically. Their self-expression is a gift to everyone and they are an inspiration to so many young people that I wanted to pay homage to them, thanking them for how they have publicly loved and accepted themselves. I truly believe that growth and spiritual expansion begins with the desire to love all parts of yourself and the more people willing to love themselves the better off the world is.

How did you come up with your current futuristic and magic artwork?

I was actually raised in a super religious Caribbean home and I wasn’t allowed to watch pretty much anything having to do with magic (I still haven’t read Harry Potter to this day. I’m sure I’ll get around to it). I was an extremely obedient child. However, the way I rebelled was with my secret obsession with anything involving mysticism or fantasy. I secretly read a lot of fantasy books. Some that, honestly, no kid my age at that time should’ve been reading, but it’s too late now. And some of the visuals just stayed in my head forever. I also have had quite a few mystical experiences and when I stepped away from religion I started to explore my love of magic and sci-fi again, mostly as a means of self-development. The more I expanded my view of what life really is to me, the more certain images, ideas, and colors would show up in my head to the point where I felt like I was going to lose my mind. The only way to get them out was to draw them. It is the only thing that calms me down sometimes. So basically ideas fill my head, I write them down, and draw them when I have the energy to and that’s pretty much it.

You may have heard about the efforts in Europe to reform copyright law. The debate has been ongoing in the European Parliament for months. If approved next week, these new regulations would require us to automatically filter and block content that you upload without meaningful consideration of your right to free expression. 

We respect the copyrights and trademarks of others, and we take all reports seriously to ensure that your creative expression is protected. We make this clear in our Community Guidelines. There’s already a legal framework that works and is fair: Today we take down posts and media that contain allegedly infringing content when we receive a valid DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown request. We also provide clear-cut ways for people to fight back if they believe their removed content was not a true violation. These instances are monitored and reported and live in our biannual transparency report. 

The suggestion to use automated filters for issues of copyright is short-sighted at best and harmful at worst. Automated filters are unable to determine whether a use should be considered “fair use” under the law and are unable to determine whether a use is authorized by a license agreement. They are unable to distinguish legitimate parody, satire, or even your own personal pictures that could be matched with similar photographs that have been protected by someone else. We don’t believe that technology should replace human judgment. Tumblr is and always has been a place for creative expression, and these new regulations would only make it harder for you to express yourself with the freedom and clarity you do so now. 

The Girl from Chickasaw County: The Complete Capitol Masters (Amaz) - 8cd boxset coming soon. “It features Gentry’s entire recording career with Capitol Records, bringing together 7 studio albums, 75 previously unreleased tracks, including demos, alternate takes and live recordings from Gentry’s BBC television series.” 

tl;dr—Adventure Time’s series finale aired, emotionally titled “Come Along With Me.” All of our shipping dreams came true when Bubbline finally became canon. We lost Mac Miller this week, far too soon. Remember to tell your friends you love them. This is Tumblr’s Week in Review.

Adventure Time

BTS

Bubbline | Princess Bubblegum & Marceline, Adventure Time

Boku no Hero Academia

Voltron: Legendary Defender

Marvel

Princess Bubblegum | Adventure Time

Klance | Keith & Lance, Voltron: Legendary Defender

Artists on Tumblr

Marceline | Adventure Time

“Come Along With Me” | Adventure Time 10x13

Jungkook | BTS

Steven Universe

Noah Centineo

Critical Role

Jimin | BTS

Pokémon

Overwatch

Mac Miller

Jacksepticeye