Aspire-Ascend-Achieve BET Award
I created the Annaual BET Award in 2000 and every year since we have made the same award given to some of the most recognizable personalities in Music, Film, Sport and Video. Someone sent me these imgs and it made me think about several things that I love about this project. Mainly the design of the award, I like that it represents 3 key words… Aspire, Ascend, and Achieve. I designed this award with those words before it was visual, my sense of what it would mean not just to honorees but for myself. The award in part represents me Aspiring, Ascending and Achieving from a small place called the South Bronx to the millions that see it and by the likes of Beyonce and Prince, Jay Z, Halle Berry, Denzel Washington and others. It also represents ‘getting up’ something I call ‘corporate bombing’, something we have been doing since we writers got invested in commercial work in the early 1980’s. You now I made sure my name and tag is on the back of each award. So if you see it think of it as another Mare139 burna.
But more than numbers its about what an award means, I have made several and have come to understand what winning one could mean for someone who has worked extremely hard to earn their recognition. These things should be considerate and have substance, enduring design and craftsmanship. I never half step on my award design, to me they have to meet my criteria in order to have my name on it. My latest award for the Rock Steady Anniversary was also more than an award or sculpture, it was a breakthrough aligned with my goals of turning my bboy drawings into sculpture, this was the ultimate personal award for me.
Posted by Mare 139 on August 08, 2007 at 12:14 AM
