Zaidi's Art House

Mamba T-Shirts Collection

2011-09-26T03:03:00.006-04:00

"1 People, 1 Planet" T Shirt, from Mamba Wear

2011-03-14T02:09:00.004-04:00

NBA's Finests - Select Portraits of exceptional ball players, featuring:

Derrick Rose

As You Remember It: The Lift-Off of APOLLO 11

2011-01-18T02:19:00.002-05:00

The launch of Apollo 11 to the moon on July 16, 1969, marked the beginning of the Space Age.

Christmas Cards Sale!

2010-11-26T22:33:00.008-05:00

For Christmas 2011, I am pleased to announce new Christmas greeting cards, one of which, is illustrated here. I'm also offering these cards at a 15% discount. Please go to:http://walter-neal.artistwebsites.com/art/all/christmas/all , to check them out. You'll find them in my 'Christmas' gallery. This sale also includes all of my other print designs as well, and will run through the end of this year, 2011. I'm looking forward to your patronage. Thank you.

2010-11-08T17:14:00.001-05:00

"Love Your Sons, Raise Your Daughters"

2010-10-26T14:07:00.003-04:00

This expresses Elijah Anderson's (author of 'Streetwise: Race, Class and Change in an Urban Community (1990)), where he explores the dynamics of social interaction between police as agents and symbols of mainstream communal efforts to regulate the behavior and social place of black men, and black men in a local community. This give rise to a familiar saying in many black comunities, where black women "love their sons and raise their daughters." According to Michael Eric Dyson, this is a "flawed, attempt to get beyond a theoretical framework that implicitly blames black women for the condition of black men"; whereas James Baldwin, in his last published work, declared it "a disease peculiar to the black community called 'sorriness', where 'Mama," he writes, 'lays this burden on Sister from whom she expects (or indicates she expects) far more than she expects from Brother (who) may never grow up..."

The Black Pieta

2010-10-26T14:05:00.002-04:00

This is inspired by "The Pieta" (1499), a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture by the renowned artist Michelangelo Buonarroti, housed in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. Where Michelango portrayed a youthful Madonna to symbolize her incorruptible purity, I sought to portray a black mother's painful and fearful dilemma ('Sorriness') on how to enable her black son to flourish as a man, and at the same time, ensure his safety and survival in America.

The Meaning of A Friend

2010-07-14T16:41:00.005-04:00

The Meaning of A Friend

Someone turned to me and asked
"How many friends have you?
"Why 10 or 20 friends I believe
And began to named a few...
A blessed one you are
To have so many friends
But think of what you're saying...
A friend is just not someone
To whom you say "Hello"
A friend is a tender shoulder
On which to softly cry
A well to pour your troubles down
And raise your spirits high
A friend is a hand to pull you up
From darkness and despair...
When all your other "so called" friends
Have helped to put you there
A true friend is an ally
Who can't be moved or bought
A voice to keep your name alive
When others have forgot
But most of all a friend has a true heart
For from the hearts of friends
There comes the greatest love of all!
So think about all this
For every word is true
And once again answer please...
How many friends have you?
After much thought I answered
I really only have just one: "It's You!"
A Friend Is Always Special
Because Friends Love You
Just Because You're You!

-Author Unknown

The Sports Bar

2010-03-09T18:44:00.004-05:00

It's Friday, after work, and patrons attend their favorite watering hole to quench their thirst, fraternize, talk sports, and relieve the stress and tensions of the work week. See this work in detail at my website.

Calypso

2010-02-26T14:08:00.005-05:00

Here, the Greek goddess Calypso, described in Homer's Odyssey 2,800 years ago, sits on her coral throne, awaiting the return of her lover, Odysseus. Calypso, who lived on Ogygia, an island near Malta, was unmarried, independent, and history's first documented feminist. See more detail at: Walter O. Neal@Fine Arts America

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2009-12-25T01:12:00.001-05:00

New Featured Work: "Planetary Alignment"

2009-09-02T10:55:00.000-04:00

The probability of a planetary alignment occurring, as seen in the illustration, is once in 8.6 x 1046 years, or once in 86 billion-trillion-trillion-trillion years! Since the solar system is only 4.6 x 109 (4.6 billion) years old, and will only be in existence for a grand total of 1010 (10 billion) years, the odds that an out-of-this-world size, gray coloured Being 'forcing' an alignment is more strongly favored than an exact planetary alignment occurring on its own. This should pretty much put to rest all those fears surrounding the Mayan calendar predictions come 2012!

An American Time Line

2008-10-04T01:29:00.016-04:00

A time line of black history stretching from 1441 c.e. to the present. In this video, I try to convey, through iconic photos, images, and sound, African American's audacity to have hope; a determination that is implicit in their perpetual struggle to overcome the overwhelming resistance that stands in their way in pursuit and achievement of the American Dream, as expressed in the spirit of Maya Angelou's poem, "Still I Rise", below:

"You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise. Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? 'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells Pumping in my living room. Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll rise. Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops. Weakened by my soulful cries. Does my haughtiness offend you? Don't you take it awful hard 'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines Diggin' in my own back yard. You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I'll rise. Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise That I dance like I've got diamonds At the meeting of my thighs? Out of the huts of history's shame I rise Up from a past that's rooted in pain I rise I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise I rise." --Maya Angelou

A Brief History of AMKA Graphics

2008-09-25T00:41:00.024-04:00

In 1969, I founded AMKA Graphics while I was a student at Howard University. In 1970, AMKA Graphics went into partnership with John Smith’s 'Reflections Unlimited'. By then the company had grown to 3 full-time and 4 part-time employees. AMKA (meaning 'to awake' in Swahili) was principally a graphic design company, but drew its income from concert promotions. This partnership was unique in that Reflections Unlimited did the PR work and AMKA Graphics created the advertising--all of which was done in-house. During that time, I had recently bought a coffee table-sized book about the Cuban poster artists of Castro’s Cuba, and read how the best artists were hired to produce posters for the cinema, theatre, health clinics, schools, government programs, etc. I was smitten. I found my calling. Right away, I saw the seductive powers of colorful silkscreen poster art, and its ability to reach and seduce the audience. I felt silk screening was the perfect advertising tool to reach and seduce people through a fine arts medium that would entertain as well as inform. In the summer of 1971, AMKA Graphics moved to a three-storied house on Kalorama Street, in the Adams Morgan area. This became AMKA Graphic’s home for the next two years. While there, I perfected my silk screening techniques in the development of highly designed poster art for concert acts. Many of the posters consisted of a dozen or more color runs, and were so compelling in their visual beauty, my crew and I had to print additional posters to replace the ones that were bound to be stolen. Our means of distribution was my roommate's '68 orange Beetle. We loaded up the front trunk with posters, and as many as six of us would pile inside the car, and head off to every university campus in the Wash., DC metropolitan area, where we slid flyers under dormitory doors, and tacked posters to trees, walls, bus stops, you name it. It was fun, and it was effective. Every concert, show, and event we advertised Sold Out! Some of the 'Acts' AMKA Graphics and Reflections Unlimited promoted were the Chambers Brothers, Nina Simone, Howard University’s 1971 Homecoming’s first “Pre-dawn Concert”, Washington, DC’s First Blues Festival, and numerous other acts. That same year, I got my first real commission to design the logo for the just formed Joint Center for Political Studies, an African American think tank.

Today, 38 years later, AMKA Graphics, now renamed AMKA Graphics Studios, continues to thrive from its location in Baltimore, MD.

Arbor Affirmations

2008-08-16T22:25:00.005-04:00

A tranquil blend of positive affirmations and botanical imagery.

Sagan's Run

2008-08-14T19:07:00.004-04:00

The year is 2087 c.e., and the USS Sagan, named after the famous American Astronomer, Carl Sagan, sets off on her maiden voyage to Alpha Centuri, our closest, neighboring star system.

Maximus: 2397 c.e.

2008-08-04T14:34:00.008-04:00

This is a short video odyssey of Maximus, a 300-story skyscraper in the 24th century.

Not Ready for Space Time

2008-07-30T20:06:00.007-04:00

As much as a 'futurist' that I am, I'm concerned that the technology that will take us into the 'new frontier' may overtake the ecological enlightenment of human beings, and we carry with us our trashing habits into the pristine, sterile environment of Space.

The Baraka House

2008-07-26T21:24:00.014-04:00

I designed the "Baraka House" 3 years ago as my 'Dream House'. It's a 45 foot square, four level house (including basement) consisting of 6,090 square feet. Two bedroom suites are on the second floor, and a 15 square foot studio apartment is on the third level. The basic construction materials of the house is concrete, steel, polished granite, and tempered glass. To read more about this house, see my blog Future Tek.

The Visitor and His Gift

2008-07-16T23:49:00.010-04:00

The Visitor, Renfo Ademeit, is from the Alpha Centauri star system, the nearest star to the Sun, at a distance of 4.4 light years (1 light year is 6 twillion miles). Thusly, it took him roughly 4.4 years (26.4 twillion miles), at light speed, to reach Earth. The first three years of his journey was spent in hyper-suspended animation, to preserve ship's life support systems, and the attendant boredom such a relatively long journey would engender. He travels to Earth with an important message, and a gift that will transform Humankind.

"The Red Tower", Wash., DC

2008-07-02T00:04:00.012-04:00

For more detail on "The Red Tower" and to view other images of my photography, click here.

The U. S. National Arboretum, Wash., DC (Slideshow)

2008-06-27T18:50:00.011-04:00

The following slideshow is composed of photos I took at the U.S. National Arboretum, in Washington, DC, in 2002. If you haven't visited, do so! You will be amazed that such natural beauty exists within the confines of an urban city.

A Symphony of Two

2008-06-21T10:53:00.005-04:00

In 1984, while on my lunch hour walk, I caught these two young, gifted musicians holding forth a symphony of two on the corner of 19th Street and M Street, NW, in Washington, DC. They were very, very good and demonstrated a promising career in music. I sometimes wonder what became of them, and if they realized their dreams, whether in music, or some other labor of love.

3 Boys

2008-06-18T19:11:00.007-04:00

I took this picture in 1975, on a small playground on 16th street, in northwest Washington, DC. I consider it one of my most fondest, and it always brings a smile to my face whenever I look at it. It clearly shows that character development starts early in children.

Mandelas: Chakra Series

2008-06-15T12:24:00.052-04:00

Chakra 1

Chakra 2

Chakra 3

Chakra 4

The Mandela Series are 12" x 12" each, and printed on Matte Photo Paper. Prints are priced at $45.00 each. To place an order, please contact me at amkag@comcast.net. To see more of my "mandalas", click here.

The Journey

2008-02-18T23:59:00.014-05:00

I wanted to do something in the way of expressing my support, belief, and admiration for Senator Barack Obama and his seeking the Presidency of the United States and, in the process, make history by becoming the nation's first African-American President. After reading his autobiography, "The Audacity of Hope", I came away impressed with his personal journey to "find" himself, being of mixed parentage, and become enlightened as to what his purpose and ultimate responsibility is as a husband, father, and black man living in America. Here is a man who seemed destined, and by design, 'customized' even, to be doing what he is doing now, which is his inherent ability to bridge the gap between black, brown, and white America, and bringing them together. Cynics and doubters questions his experience to lead the nation, yet overlook his proven ability in bringing people together and building consensus--two attributes he inherited from his parents, respectively. These doubters and cynics are blind to the spiritual forces at play. No matter how prevalent they play race against race; that Hispanics won't vote for him, as they did in Virginia, they will do the same in Texas. Why? Because Barack Obama trenscends race for a higher purpose, which is to finally bury the Civil War and all it engendered. His unique gifts equips him to show us how it is done; that as long as we see ourselves as 'victims' and 'victimizers', rather than as a people of a rich, diverse heritage, on a common quest, America will not become a true democracy.

Almost a year ago, few people knew of Barack Obama. Now he is less than a year away of becoming President. Even now it all seems so unreal. Not because half of us doubted a black man could handle the job, but because the other half doubted America would let it happen. But it is happening: a black man becoming President in this eighth year into the New Millennium. Even former President Bill Clinton unwittingly calls it a "fairy tale", but it is real, and it is happening against all our fears, hopes, and desires.

The Wilmington Ten

2008-01-04T03:54:00.003-05:00

The Wilmington Ten were a group of civil rights activists who spent nearly a decade in jail after being convicted of arson and conspiracy in 1971. The case became an international cause celebre amidst widespread beliefs that the individuals in the case were only guilty of holding dissenting political beliefs. Amnesty International took up the case in 1976 and the convictions were finally overturned on a technicality in 1980. To read more, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilmington_Ten

The "Ten" were:

Benjamin Chavis (age 24) - 34 years
Connie Tindall (age 21) - 31 years
Marvin "Chili" Patrick (age 19) - 29 years
Wayne Moore (age 19) - 29 years
Reginald Epps (age 18) - 28 years
Jerry Jacobs (age 19) - 29 years
James "Bun" McKoy (age 19) - 29 years
Willie Earl Vereen (age 18) - 29 years
William "Joe" Wright, Jr. (age 19) - 29 years
Ann Shepard (age 35) - 15 years

One Human Power

2007-12-27T12:51:00.002-05:00

Aside from developing cardiovascular fitness and a beautiful physique, riding a bicycle is also kind to the environment by limiting your expiration of carbon dioxide to only 0.35 cubic meters per hour, or roughly 900 pounds of carbon dioxide per year versus the additional release of 50,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year into the atmosphere if you travel by fossil fueled automobile!

Tribute to Tupac

2007-07-14T19:43:00.006-04:00

As far as I'm concerned the genre started and ended with him. All the others are pretenders cashing in on the 'House' he built.

Transfusion/Distillation/Alteration

2007-05-15T00:03:00.000-04:00

The "digital" in technology has given us an unprecedented degree of freedom and control over how we receive and use information. However, the ease this technology gives us to 'lift' data-- whether it is music, art, or literature--from its context presents a clear and present danger of running the risk of shortchanging our perception and understanding of how our world has come to be. After a while, we will no longer be interested in the "how" and "why" of things, only our consumption of it. This in turn will lead to our ignorance of how our world is put together, and the knowledge of maintaining it and/or rebuilding it, if need be. In our indolence, we will ask ourselves, "Why should I waste time and energy using my mind and getting my hands dirty when my precious machines can do these things for me?" By this time, the machines will rule, and it may very well be too late for us to reclaim the very thing that makes us human, which is our free will.

Tango

2007-01-28T13:59:00.000-05:00

I call this one "Tango". It began as a rough sketch on paper, which I later recreated digitally. I especially like it because it recalls to mind my seriograph prints back in the 60s, when even public advertising was done in the fine arts medium of silkscreening.

Hyrynis Riding His Anti-Grav Mobile

2007-01-25T16:30:00.000-05:00

This scene, taken in 484 a.t. (2454 c.e.), depicts the replicant, Hyrynis, a VR Full-Immersion (Holodeck) Programmer, and 9th mate to Kharmyn, High Priestess of 'The Believers', riding his anti-gravity mobile across the Martian plains.

Hyrynis: A Replicant

2007-01-15T17:51:00.000-05:00

Hyrynis, replicant, age 14 earth years, and employed as a VR Full-Immersion (Holodeck) Programmer, is the 9th mate to Kharmyn, High Priestess of 'The Believers'.

Hyrynis was 'engineered' 14 years ago, 470 a.t., in a genetics lab at Alpherion Base, an illegal outpost on Mars. His genetic base is 99.97 percent human, 0.01 percent Cephalopod genes responsible for producing chromatophores, or cellular pigmentation; 0.01 percent Autotroph's genes, endowing this replicant, and others of his ilk, with the ability to derive energy from light. The remaining 0.01 percent comes from other genetic sources responsible for superior eyesight, muscular dexterity, strength, stamina, augmented neuron transmission, and acute locomotion. Incidentally, the lab was deemed 'Illegal' by the Second Intergalactic Federation for employing A.I. Ultras to work on human based genes. This was taboo because the Ultras had their own agenda for survival and their far superior intelligence made their motives all the more suspicious.

Kharmyn, Chi-Chi & Azura: 484 a.t.

2007-01-08T19:28:00.000-05:00

You've seen her in a famous stat-sim where she was photographed (See "Kharmyn II") on the balcony of her penthouse overlooking the space port city of New York 2. Being a Sapient and, no doubt, to her 278 years, Kharmyn is already a woman of considerable power and accomplishment. Having already experienced her life as a starship pilot, sim actress, and exo-archeologist, where she made an enormous fortune trading in alien relics, she is now exploring her as yet untapped potential as a priestess of The Believers, a school of thought based on the ancient texts of Old Earth philosopher, Saint Augustine. Receiver of countless awards, Kharmyn recently won the most coveted one of all: the Sagan, which recognized one whose work crystallizes the hopes, dreams, and promises of Humanity. Having just returned from a 2 year honeymoon at Cygnus-4 with her 9th mate, Hyrynis, a replicant and VR Immersion Specialist, Kharmyn is shown in the stat-sim, above, playing with Chi-Chi and Azura, her beloved, enhanced dolphins she had personally augmented while a student at Cal Tech 270 Earth years ago.

The Promise of Faith

2006-12-31T09:51:00.001-05:00

What happens when you put God/Christ in a 'box' to ordain your fears, and the deeds (physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, prejudice, hate, homophobia, and murder, to mention a few) emanating from those fears. In time, the box, which is a degenerate construct of your faith, proves too small for the devil/demon that now lies within you, and the only way it can get out, once it has awaken, is to destroy the box--your church, your faith--and you with it, only if you resist letting go, and step out into the sunshine that is God's blessings.

Christ came to teach a faith grounded in the belief in one's self and worth; which, once established, enabled man and woman to overcome any and all adversity in his or her life. Christ taught that we are spiritual beings trying to become human, rather than human beings in search of spirituality. He gently instructed those who would listen that by embracing your spiritual default you will come to a greater understanding of your relationship to God, and hence your Humanity. This embracing of one's spirit, as espoused by Jesus Christ, is the basis of Faith. "(T)the idea of "faith seeking understanding" as set forth by St. Augustine in his statement "Crede, ut intelligas" ("Believe in order that you may understand"). This statement extends beyond the sphere of religion to encompass the totality of knowledge. In essence, faith must be present in order to know anything. In other words, one must assume, believe, or have faith in the credibility of a person, place, thing, or idea in order to have a basis for knowledge." -- Wikipedia

So the promise of faith can cut both ways: it can either kill you, or set you free--depending on which master you serve.

The Vision

2006-12-26T23:58:00.000-05:00

This is a rendering of an event that I actually experienced back in 1982, shortly after moving into my new apartment in N.E. Washington, DC. It was a haunting, intense experience that stayed with me all these years. The overall sensation was of 'Transmission'--that a message was being sent to me, from the future; a message that I am still fathoming. I now often wonder if the subsequent events in the proceeding years of my life have some connection with this 'encounter'. Since that time I have lost five of my closest friends to AIDS, and cannot help but wonder if the five young men that appeared to me that night were my friends visiting me from some other realm where the ability to move from one Dimension to another is as easy as descending a ladder. If you're wondering what they were carrying in the trays, it was neat, little squares of cornbread; making the import, let alone the impact of the vision, even more haunting, mysterious, and lasting.

A Fuller View:

2006-11-10T15:34:00.000-05:00

Selected artwork of Walter O. Neal, Art Director, AMKA Graphics Studios

Jazz Masters Series

2006-11-09T23:15:00.000-05:00

This is a promo piece I did last summer. The art shown are of 'straight-ahead', ledgendary jazz figures which I produced as digital art prints, and currently selling.

SHIVA

2006-11-09T00:07:00.000-05:00

This is my 'take' on the Hindu deity, Shiva, the third deity of the Hindu triad of great gods, the Trimurti. Shiva is called the Destroyer (of evil), but has also the aspect of regeneration. As destroyer he is dark and terrible, appearing as a naked ascetic accompanied by a train of hideous demons, encircled with serpents and necklaces of skulls. As auspicious and reproductive power, he is worshipped in the form of the shivling or shiva linga (lingam). Also known as ‘Lord of the Dance’.

Tubezoid: A "Virtual" Sculpture

2006-11-08T14:56:00.002-05:00

"Tubezoid" is an experiment in 'virtual' art sculpture, which is art composed with 3D software and videographed. Ever since the advent of virtual enabling software, architects, engineers, and some sculpturers, use this technology to bring life and 'immediacy' to their ideas as a way of winning over their respective clients. I believe this same technology can service visual and graphic design artists as well; not so much as serving as a paradigm for the actual product that is to come, but as the actual work itself!

"The Twelve Gates of Time"

2006-11-08T14:51:00.002-05:00

The "Twelves Gates of Time" was first conceived as "static" art piece created with Bryce. After reproducing it in various textures and backgrounds, I wanted to see it animated as a gateway to different worlds. This video strives to do just that.