By Brianna Holcomb
arts and entertainment editor
The first thing you notice about Brandi Kinard is her fashion sense. The front of her hair is braided in cornrows resembling a Maang-tikka – a piece of jewelry seen in many traditional Indian weddings.
Despite the resemblance to traditional wedding headpieces, she did not get the idea for her hair from this.
“I wanted to get back to my roots,” Kinard said. “I got the idea from an African tribe I researched who believe their hair is their crown.”
She openly expresses herself through her clothing, hair and artwork.
Kinard’s gallery, “Bizarre Infusion,” captures her feelings about the world of fashion and beauty.
Upon entering the gallery the title “Bizarre Infusion” is painted on the wall. Painted on each end of the gallery are black and white spirals. On a ceramic bench, she placed several high fashion magazines that she got much of her inspiration from. All of this sets the mood for the five oil paintings that Kinard created.
The paintings are a combination of complex art styles. She mixes abstract, realism, pop art and pieces of collaged fashion to create each design.
The vibrant colors found in her artwork are part of the pop art style that is commonly found in comic books. Another comic book resemblance can be found in the font style used for the words in her collages.
The graphic art, word bubble style draws the audience’s eyes away from the larger portions of the piece. In one of the pieces the word “wacko” is placed in a pink word bubble on the side of the piece.
One of the most interesting parts of the gallery is Kinard’s self-portrait, which is not only a piece of the gallery but it also acts as the cover art for the gallery flyer.
The self-portrait looks like the cover of a high-end fashion magazine, more specifically the magazine “Bazaar,” from which she takes the title of her gallery. Her title is a clever play on this word.
Not only does her art display a connection with the fashion magazine, there is also a musical connection as well.
Kinard’s self-portrait has a striking resemblance to Rihanna’s “i-D” magazine cover.
Rihanna’s cover for the magazine was released in February 2015 in their music issue. The pop artist posed in a dark navy jumpsuit and wore chunky braids, one braid covering her eye.
Just like Rihanna, Kinard wears a dark blue top in her portrait and rocks chunky braids with one covering her right eye. The inspiration that was drawn from the pop star is evident in her artwork.
Large portions of her collages have models wearing high fashion clothing that can be found on the runways of Fashion Week.
Their outfits are a mix of colors that blend together giving the piece its abstract feel.
Kinard’s art is a direct expression of herself. The viewer gets a look into who Brandi Kinard is.
“Bizarre Infusion” will be up until March 24 in Calkins Hall. The opening reception will take place Tuesday, March 22.