“There is no such thing as bad publicity,” circus owner Phineas T. Barnum supposedly said, and perhaps that is true. “When Piss Christ became a national issue 36 years ago, I was an unknown artist,” said photographer Andres Serrano, referring to his 1987 photograph of a crucifix submerged into a glass filled with urine, adding that “the controversy jump-started my career.” The photograph, created while Serrano was a recipient of a $15,000 grant from the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, which itself had received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in fiscal year 1987-88, drew fiery condemnation from religious groups around the United States, as well as from members of Congress, including North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms. Coming at the same time as the controversy over the indirectly government-sponsored exhibition of the work of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, the outcry came close to abolishing the federal arts agency. The NEA survived, although in a somewhat weaker form, but Serrano flourished. “Collectors rushed to support me. I’ve sold a lot of work, and I wouldn’t have sold anywhere near that much if the controversy hadn’t occurred.”

The history of art is filled with works that, intentionally or otherwise, shocked the bourgeoisie and led to little-known artists becoming better known (Edouard Manet’s Olympia comes to mind) and to artists well-known in the art world becoming what you might call ‘pop cultural famous’ (as with Richard Serra’s Tilted Arc). Controversy and instances of censorship might seem to be good career moves.

That has probably been the case for photographer Sally Mann, whose images of her unclothed children were seized by local police and taken down from a group exhibition titled “Diaries of Home” at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in Texas this past January. A local elected official, Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare, told the Dallas Express that Mann’s photographs are “grossly inappropriate at best,” adding that “they should be taken down immediately and investigated by law enforcement for any and all potential criminal violations.” A spokesperson for the Fort Worth Police Department declined to identify who reported the four images or when the complaint against them was lodged, but in late March, a grand jury in Tarrant County, Texas, declined to indict Mann on the charges of child pornography, effectively ending the case.

Controversy isn’t new for Mann, whose work has been exhibited in major museums across the country and periodically denounced by religious groups. Whether or not increased sales, prices and opportunities to show her photographs resulted is unclear. Certainly, great public controversies or instances of censorship can’t help but affect an artist in some significant way. For certain artists, there is a clear upside. “I like to think that my career would have reached this level without the help of the FBI,” said photographer Jock Sturges, whose San Francisco studio was raided in 1990 by the Bureau, which confiscated and destroyed many of the artist’s prints and negatives of nude children before a federal grand jury failed to indict Sturges. “Certainly, the feds pushed my career ahead by 10 years.”

David Hammons gained considerable publicity and new collectors in 1989 when his sculpture of a blond and blue-eyed version of Jesse Jackson, How Ya Like Me Now?, was attacked with sledgehammers by a group of Black men who felt the work disparaged Jackson while being shown outdoors in Washington, D.C. The artist repaired the piece in time for a retrospective, adding to the work sledgehammers and the logo of the cigarette maker Lucky Strike since “it was lucky for me that those men struck the piece with sledgehammers because that got everyone to notice me.”

Conservative outrage in the late 1980s and early 1990s over the homoerotic images of Robert Mapplethorpe elevated his professional stature “from a photographer known to some people to an artist in the canon” of great 20th-century talents, according to Michael Ward Stout, president of the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, which was established by the artist a year before his death from AIDS in 1989. “He left a very big inventory of work, and there was a thriving market,” he told Observer. “At the time, I was worried that it was too much, too much publicity,” but the condemnations didn’t negatively affect Mapplethorpe personally—he was dead—or interest in his work.

SEE ALSO: Queer Art and the Immaterial Griefs of the AIDS Crisis

In the years since, Stout said, well over a hundred museums around the world have acquired the artist’s photographs for their permanent collections, including New York’s Museum of Modern Art, which in the past 10 years has purchased thirty-five works. “Since his death, Mapplethorpe is no longer considered a weird, sadistic pornographer but, instead, an important artist and a philanthropist whose foundation sponsors AIDS research.”

For other artists, though, the impact of controversy and censorship may be less than positive. Both may elevate an artist’s name and face long enough for the individual to become the focus of death threats and hate mail, snubs from collectors, dealers and curators with little but a tarnished reputation to show for it. Women, in particular, tend to have a rougher go of it than their male counterparts.

“Controversy hasn’t been a fast track to success for me,” said the late Kate Millett, whose 1970 The American Dream Goes to Pot featuring an American flag partially stuffed into a toilet behind prison bars has been picketed by veterans groups and others whenever it has been displayed. When the work was exhibited as part of an “Old Glory” show at the Phoenix Art Museum in 1996, it was met with protests and condemnations from Senator Jesse Helms, House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich and then-presidential candidate Bob Dole. “I’ve gotten a sort of notoriety because of that piece and some others I’ve done but, in another way, the controversy hasn’t affected me a lot because I’ve never been able to sell my sculpture. All my life, collectors and curators have backed away from me. No dealer has come to me for any purpose whatsoever. I think I’ve sold only a couple of works to friends for $350 apiece.”

Controversy did work in her favor after her 1971 book Sexual Politics was published, which became an instant classic among feminists, but her artwork never benefited. Why exactly one artist’s career is aided by controversy while another’s is not is not something easily understood. Senator Helms’ denounced both Serrano and Millett, both of whom produced work that caused viewer discomfort; collectors, critics, curators and dealers rallied around Serrano but avoided Millett.

The studio of photographer Marilyn Zimmerman, a tenured professor at Wayne State University in Michigan, was raided in 1993 by police who confiscated prints and negatives in a manner similar to the raid on Sturges’ studio. She, like Sturges, took photographs of a nude child—her own daughter, in fact—and the district attorney decided to drop all charges in the face of protests. However, “there was no great surge of interest from collectors in buying my work or from dealers who might show my work,” she told Observer. But the fear that the raid created in her life “did stop me from photographing the nude. I use other appropriated images instead. Frankly, for a long while, I lost the heart to make images.” More devastating, she also lost her daughter when her ex-husband used the controversy to gain primary custody in court.

Holly Hughes, a queer performance artist and director of the BFA program in Interarts Performance at the University of Michigan, eventually landed on her feet but for a time in the late 1980s and early ‘90s feared for her livelihood when she was grouped with several other LGBTQ+ artists as part of the Culture Wars campaign to abolish the National Endowment for the Arts for its support of their work. “I’m not like Serrano and Sturges with objects to sell,” she told Observer. “I do performances, and a lot of performances I was scheduled to do at the time were canceled. There were signed contracts that just didn’t get honored. It was a real financial hit,” and the controversy “never translated into something positive professionally.”

But the largest hit was emotional: having been elevated to the heights of celebrity only to be denounced. “I was called a ‘garbage artist’ on the floors of Congress,” she said. “I received a schooling in what it means when government entities label you as an enemy.” Another artist, Dread Scott, whose 1989 work in an exhibition at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, What is the Proper Way to Display the U.S. Flag? required viewers to walk on a flag in order to read from a book, received death threats in the mail, as did his mother. The notoriety, however, did not have a lasting effect on his art career, which has since prospered.

In the long term, the emotional toll of being attacked for one reason or another may be mitigated by better publicity and sales, but scars remain. Within the first five weeks of the FBI raid on his studio, Sturges said that he had spent $80,000 on legal fees, “lost 40 pounds, I couldn’t sleep; I was anxious all the time. If I had been convicted, the sentence would have been 10 years. I thought I was going to prison. I had read that child pornographers were usually raped and brutalized in jail, and I would get AIDS. I thought I was under a death sentence.” He sought psychiatric help.

For all the photographic images that Andres Serrano took before and since Piss Christ, he remains best known for that image and the criticism he received at the time— “words like ‘sacrilege’ and ‘blasphemy’ were thrown my way,” and they still smart. “I’m a Christian who grew up in a Christian family surrounded by Christian symbols. It was only natural for me to use the symbols of my faith in my work.” He noted that he had received an invitation to meet with Pope Francis, which wouldn’t have happened “if they thought I was anti-Christian.” Still, “my reputation as a controversial artist was sealed.” Did his prices go up after the controversy? He supposes so but never tracked the actual impact. “I always let my galleries do their business as I do mine.”

A friend’s son asked if he could meet with me, and I was glad to meet. He is a college business student, and I thought he wanted some career advice. Instead, he told me he was representing a business startup and asked if I would like to invest in it and be able to double my money within two years.

My immediate response is that I am in a situation where I no longer want to do anything to make money other than with the conservative portfolio I already have; I am concerned about not losing any of what I have and not reducing my cash flow, so I will have to pass on this “opportunity.”

Since I like helping young people get started in business, I asked about the business and requested to see the investor package, suggesting I might be able to offer some tips on raising the needed funding. He handed me a single sheet of paper acknowledging receipt of the investment amount, saying I would receive 1% of the ownership for every $10,000 invested with a maximum permitted investment per investor of $100,000. They were raising a total of $300,000. It also said that the plans were to have an IPO within two years. There were spaces to fill in the amount invested and for my signature. Nothing about the type of business, who the managers were, or any business plan or financial projections.

It turns out he was “hired” as a salesman to approach his parent’s friends for this “ground floor” opportunity. I asked him how much he was being paid, and he said he was told he would be taken care of, and it would be discussed when he raises the first investment.

I told him that while I watched him grow up and I was always impressed with him, I felt I needed to tell him some things about what he was doing that he apparently was not aware of. I also told him that asking people to invest carries with it a responsibility for some “due diligence” on his part, which it appears he did not do.

He never heard the expression due diligence and asked me what I think he should have done. My reply follows. It turned out to be a mini lesson on how the entire private investment process works.

For starters, a business plan needs to be that which would explain the type of business, competitors, potential customers, industry, why this company will be better, what they are offering to do that doesn’t already exist, and bios of the people who will run it. Also needed are financial projections for a five-year period. The projections need to show the projected operations and profitability, how much is needed, and how it would be utilized, along with the cash flow for the next five years and balance sheets for each period. Further, each item in the projection should be explained and how it was arrived at. It is very important to show the amount being raised is adequate to accomplish their goals. If debt or later-stage investments would be necessary, that should be clearly provided for in the projection.

Also shown should be the capital structure, what percentages the founders will have, any expected dilution because of new investors, what the founders’ investment contribution will be, and their compensation. If there are any stock options or any other arrangements for added compensation or benefits, that should also be disclosed.

Due diligence is the process of verifying the claims made by the people you will be dealing with. In this situation, it would be the founders. Also, my friend’s son was offered compensation, but it wasn’t clear how much, how it would be determined or whether it would be in cash, stock, options or a combination of these. Further, anyone setting out to engage in any business venture of any type should be clear about the responsibilities of each party and the compensation, and that there is the ability to pay the compensation. A general rule to follow is that services are much more valuable to the customer before they are rendered than afterward. Additionally, the seller is in a much stronger position before doing any work than after they’ve performed the services. Also, while many people start out with great and sincere intentions, they might forget some of what they agreed to, the minutiae of implementation might not be thought through, and people’s purposes might get sidetracked by newer opportunities. 

If the company is already operating, then financial statements should be provided.

Getting back to this investment “opportunity,” nothing was provided that would allow a potential investor to make a decision to invest.

My experience has shown me that many times there are likely targets for such opportunities, but there is only one shot at them. Not being fully prepared creates a wasted chance with that resource.

Most business plans will require a confidentiality or nondisclosure letter or agreement before they are provided. However it is important to assume that nothing will be kept confidential and proprietary, or sensitive information should not be disclosed until there is a serious investor.

I wrote a 20-page memo on how to prepare a business plan and financial projection that I will send you if you email GoodiesFromEd@hotmail.com and put “Business Plan” as the subject. No messages necessary.

Do not hesitate to contact me at emendlowitz@withum.com with your practice management questions or about engagements you might not be able to perform. 

For International Transgender Day of Visibility, Billboard asked trans and nonbinary stars about how they’re moving two steps forward while political progress takes one step back.

At the outset of his second presidential administration in January 2025, Donald Trump made his intentions surrounding transgender and nonbinary rights abundantly clear. In a flurry of executive orders — some of which have since been shut down or paused by federal judges for their lack of constitutional merit — the president openly attacked trans and nonbinary people’s access to healthcare, anti-discrimination protections, public facilities, sporting activities, military service and more.

RuPaul’s Drag Race star and outspoken LGBTQ+ advocate Peppermint puts it very simply to Billboard: “It is getting real.”

Every year for the last 16 years, March 31 has been commemorated as the International Transgender Day of Visibility. Intended to celebrate the vibrancy of the trans community while highlighting and challenging the active discrimination that every member of the community faces on a daily basis, the annual holiday comes at a critical time for the community.

With transgender and nonbinary communities in need of more support than ever, Billboard asked eight trans and nonbinary musicians to share their own experiences this year. Those artists — Dreamer Isioma, Dua Saleh, Jasmine.4.t, Moore Kismet, Olive Faber, Peppermint, Sasha Colby and Zora — offered their thoughts on the current administration’s active campaign against trans people, what the music industry at large can do to provide more support for their communities, and what fans can do to help the trans people in their lives. See them in their own words below.

And if you’re looking for a way to contribute to the fight for trans rights on this Transgender Day of Visibility, please consider donating to one or more of the organizations listed below. Find more information about local charities you can donate to in your state here.

• Trans Lifeline: A national hotline and non-profit organization giving “direct emotional and financial support to trans people in crisis.”
• Transgender Law Center: The “largest national, trans-led organization” providing legal information and assistance to trans and nonbinary people, while also advocating for and helping shape pro-LGBTQ+ policies nationwide.
• For the Gworls: A Black, trans-led mutual aid fund hosting regular events to “fundraise money to help Black transgender people pay for their rent, gender-affirming surgeries, smaller co-pays for medicines/doctor’s visits, and travel assistance.”
• The Sylvia Rivera Law Project: A trans-led legal aid organization providing legal services and trainings to the transgender, nonbinary and intersex communities in order to ensure all are “free to self-determine their gender identity and expression, regardless of income or race, and without facing harassment, discrimination, or violence.”
• The Trevor Project: A leading nonprofit organization providing 24-hour crisis hotlines to LGBTQ+ youth, conduct vital research on the lived realities of queer and trans youth and publicly advocate for policies supporting the LGBTQ+ community, with the stated goal to “end suicide among LGBTQ+ young people.”
• Lambda Legal: A civil rights organization focused on pursuing litigation on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community and policymaking at “every level of government” to help advocate for the community.

• Dreamer Isioma

  

  So, I’m not surprised at what Trump and his administration are pulling. I’m honestly more annoyed than anything, because I’m still gonna do me. I’m still gonna have fun. I’m still gonna be gay as f–k. I’m still gonna do what I want. Yeah, honestly, Trump is sus for even caring this much about what queer people are on. Like, bro, we don’t care about you at all. We don’t bother you, we don’t bother anyone, so everyone just needs to leave us alone.

  “To queer artists; do not stop. In fact, go even harder, especially if you are a person of color, especially if you are Black, because people literally want to kill us. So don’t let them. To executives; honestly, give us fair deals, give us more money, give us guidance with those funds and in this business, because at the end of the day, that’s what all of this is about. Try to give a f–k. Care. Be present with artists, especially queer artists.

• Dua Saleh

  

  As a trans entertainer, I have to be hyper-cognizant of sociopolitical violence and micolevel shifts within the culture. Legislatively, there has been an active witch hunt launched against trans and queer individuals, virtually affecting every aspect of modern life for these people within our communities. Watching loved ones have to change gender markers on travel documents, and to have to struggle to be able to find gender-affirming, life-altering surgeries has truly haunted me.

  “I urge you to call your representatives, and to participate in organized protests against these disgusting policies. And, if you can’t do that, you can also contact organizations and donate to organizations like The Trevor Project, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project and Trans Lifeline. I hope you have a wonderful day, and stay safe out there. I love you so much.

• Jasmine.4.t

  

  I’m here in Austin, Texas for SXSW right now, and the scariest thing that I’ve experienced so far was coming through immigration into Texas with my band of four trans women. We’ve heard so many horror stories of things like immigration officers using strip searches as a humiliation tactic for trans women. We’ve heard about so many horrible things happening to trans women in men’s prisons here in Texas, and we were terrified. We were so afraid of using public bathrooms here that we took a self-defense class before coming out. We aren’t allowed to use the bathrooms in North Carolina, where we’re changing planes on our way home.

  This is something that no other musicians really have to think about, and that we have to think about every day while having to deal with the constant threat of violence around us — and thinking about all of the horrible things that are being done to our trans siblings every day in prisons, on the streets. So, yeah, protect trans kids.

• Moore Kismet

  

  I’ve been out as nonbinary since I was about 15 years old — for context, I’m 20 years old now — and it has been one of the greatest joys of a lifetime getting to live as my most authentic self, openly, as a non-binary person. However, it does come with its own unique set of challenges, as over the span of those five years, I, along with many of my other trans siblings in the music industry, have received a litany of death threats and otherwise invalidating and dehumanizing comments in regards to the validity of our identities.

  To any of my trans siblings and any of my trans and queer family who are struggling right now; you are not alone. The negligence of not only the music industry but also our government is not going to go unnoticed. People are finally starting to pay attention and realizing that the mistreatment of our community and many other people around the world are not fixing the issues that we need to be addressing. So please, stay strong and stay happy. I know, it’s much easier said than done, but trust me, we need to do it.

• Olive Faber (of Sunflower Bean)

  

  I am a transgender woman who has been transitioning for almost four years now. On this day of trans visibility, I would just like to speak to all of my trans sisters here in the U.S. and beyond and say, despite our rights being taken away from us on a near daily basis and being talked about negatively in the mass media on a daily basis, and the anxiety that comes along with all of that, we need to stay focused on building our local communities and creating the channels that will allow us to continue to get the care that we need. And I love you.

• Peppermint

  

  I guess my message to the music industry, those who are in the music industry, artists, creatives, executives is, ‘Joy.’ I am so grateful that, as a Black trans woman, I have a platform that I can use to tell the stories that I want, to spread love, to do what I love the most, and what I’m the most passionate about. I know that marginalized communities have it really tough right now. And I do think that, eventually, many of us are going to have difficulty getting and doing the things that we usually would get and do the way that we would usually get and do them. And, when times are tough like that, the human spirit needs fuel to prevail. I think the fuel that the human spirit needs, that will help it prevail in the darkest of times, is joy. Artists and creatives, we help bring that. That’s a gift that we can bring.

  If you’re not a creative, if you can’t sing, if you don’t play the guitar, but you’re an executive, consider mentoring, paying, hiring an artist, making way for an artist to do those types of things. Maybe a different type of artist that you wouldn’t normally help, sign, mentor, facilitate. It is getting real. It is. The gift that we have is to uplift people when they can’t do it for themselves. So let’s get out there, let’s work on our communities, and let’s help lift people up. I’ll see you out there.

• Sasha Colby

  

  Under the current administration, we’ve witnessed an alarming number of attacks on the trans community. These attacks go beyond policy and are literally actively affecting the lives and the lived experiences of trans people in America. At this time, it is important to remember that we are advocating for equality, for acceptance, and to make America a safe space not just for trans and non-binary people, but for people in general.

  The fight for change transcends policy within our own government, so it is crucial that we push for change in our communities, in our workplaces and in the industries that shape our lives. So it is imperative to use our voices and stand united in advocating towards a better world for trans and non-binary people, and a better world for humanity.

• Zora

  

  I’m a 25-year-old artist and pop star based in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, and I am a transgender woman. The transsexual artist experience … I think it’s beautiful. I think it’s passion, and I think it’s resilience. Being a trans artist, and to make music, to make art, to produce things is inherently an act of resistance. With the beautiful parts of being an artist, there also comes a downside. There have been many times at gigs where I have been talked down to, misgendered and degraded because of my transness and my Blackness. And it sucks.

  So how can the industry help? Acknowledge us. Acknowledge trans women and trans people when they are up, and not just when we are passed away. Uplift our trans artists and our trans entertainers while they are still here with us. Don’t just engage in trauma porn to talk about us. Book the dolls! Hire the dolls! Work with the dolls!

  Zora Nation, what can y’all do? Be active in the streets, be active in your community, using your voice to be heard and to stand up for what’s right. Use your voice to stand up for trans people. Anybody who is Zora Nation truly knows that we get active in these streets.

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Hundreds of actors, filmmakers, singers, and other cultural workers—joined by more than 16,000 signatories and over 850 social organisations—have launched the manifesto “We refuse to accept rearmament and war in Europe” in opposition to the mass rearmament programme of the European Union and its militaristic drift.

The manifesto also denounces the NATO-backed Zionist genocide in Gaza, coinciding with a separate statement signed by 700 members of the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), criticising the Academy for failing to speak out in defence of Hamdan Ballal, co-director of No Other Land, who was brutally assaulted by Israeli settlers and soldiers in the occupied West Bank last week. A further 19,000 people have signed an international petition calling for the protection of Hamdan Ballal and the team behind No Other Land.

These statements reflect the widespread opposition among cultural workers and artists to the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as to the militaristic policies being advanced both by the European Union and the fascistic government of Donald Trump.

The manifesto endorsed by Spanish artists was presented by actors Juan Diego Botto and Carolina Yuste outside the Spanish parliament last Wednesday—the very day Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stood before that same chamber to defend the acceleration of defence spending. Sánchez plans to increase military spending to 2 percent of GDP, bringing forward the original 2029 deadline. Sánchez has already announced that this escalation will not be submitted to a parliamentary vote but imposed by decree through the Council of Ministers—where he will count on the support of his junior partner in government, the pseudo-left Sumar coalition.

The manifesto opens by stressing the importance of strong social services and peace: “Society needs the security that comes from quality public healthcare and education for all; young people need a home to live in; our elders do not want to see their pensions put at risk; and above all, we do not want our children and grandchildren to experience the horrors of war.”

It then poses a direct challenge to current policy undertaken by the European ruling class: “To what extent, exactly, does the unchecked increase in military spending—proposed for approval by European governments without public debate, without transparency or detail, and with urgency—contribute to that peaceful future?”

The text rejects the wall-to-wall propaganda of the media and the political establishment that rearmament will bring peace, insisting instead that “it will bring us even closer to war.”

Summary

• Various martial arts styles exist in One Piece, including Fishman Karate and Rokushiki.
• Notable characters like Jinbe and Rob Lucci are masters of specific fighting styles.
• Boxing is a popular martial arts style in the New World, with characters like Franky and Black Maria practicing it.

Although they are often overlooked compared to the much flashier swordsmen of the One Piece world, martial artists make up a vast majority of the fighters the series has to offer. Oftentimes referring to characters who simply fight with their fists, there is a surprisingly vast number of unique fighting styles that the Straw Hats have encountered throughout their journey in the New World. While some are a bit sillier than others, each of these One Piece fighting styles has carved out a notable niche in the story.

However, nearly as important as the fighting styles themselves are the martial artists who use them. More often than not, the strongest fighter of a specific martial arts style will represent the school as a whole, acting as a figurehead. Due to this, each martial arts style can be boiled down to a few notable fighters, most of whom are active in the New World, who make up the bulk of the representation of each style that the audience witnesses in the series. From Fishman Karate experts to masters of Rokushiki, these are some of the best Martial Artists in One Piece’s New World.

There Is A Wide Variety Of One Piece Martial Arts

Some Of The Strongest Characters Utilize These Techniques

In the world of One Piece, the term martial arts is incredibly broad, referring to almost any specific fighting style the series has to offer. While the term often refers to those who fight with their fists, some martial art styles can include the use of weapons. However, the main distinction between a martial artist and any random fighter lies in the specifics of the style-based combat. For example, Luffy’s Gum-Gum style isn’t a martial arts style since it relies on spontaneous and creative moves. However, Fishman Karate is an established style with set moves and disciplines that the users of the practice can utilize.

Man or child, strong or weak, none of these matter once you are out at sea! – Usopp

Fishman Karate Provides Multiple High-Level Masters

Jinbe, Koala, And Robin All Utilize This Style

Firstly, some of the most impressive martial artists in the New World belong to the Fishman Karate discipline, one of the widest and most noteworthy fighting styles One Piece has to offer. This fighting style involves the combination of traditional martial arts styles and the manipulation of water. Developed by the Fishmen of Fishman Island, this fighting style can be learned by any character willing to practice the discipline. So far, the Straw Hat, Jinbe, seems to be the strongest Fishman Karate user in the New World, though Koala and Robin are also notable users of the discipline.

Rokushiki Is The World Government Agent’s Style

Many Members Of The World Government And Navy Practice Rokushiki

Another hugely popular fighting style is one utilized by many members of One Piece’s World Government and Navy, Rokushiki. This style gives seemingly normal individuals superhuman ability, mainly involving six distinct styles and a secret seventh style. Abilities include the ability to fly and move at superhuman speeds as well as allowing the user to harden their body, launch wind blades, use their body as a weapon, and give them extreme flexibility. Although this is primarily used by agents of the World Government, some pirates, like Luffy and Sanji, have simulated various techniques from this style. However, the most notorious members of this fighting style in the New World belong to the CP0 agents, most notably Rob Lucci, who has mastered every style of the technique.

Boxing Is A Simple But Popular Martial Arts Style

Franky And Ideo Are Great Examples Of This Form

Yet another category of martial arts, boxing, although less popular than the other two, is still fairly popular, especially among New World martial artists. Not too dissimilar to boxing in real life, this fighting style involves throwing powerful punches at the opponent and using strong footwork to dodge blows. Although many boxers simply use their fists, many users of these techniques utilize various weapons, like boxing gloves, brass knuckles, and more, to make their attacks stronger. Notable users of this fighting style in the New World include Franky, Ideo, Black Maria, and one person with arguably the strongest technique in this style, Elizabello.

There Are Plenty Of Smaller Techniques In The Series

Ivankoc, Sanji, And Chinjao Are Also Powerful Martial Artists

Finally, there are multiple other smaller styles present in the New World of One Piece that aren’t nearly as popular as the above techniques. Sumo, a form of full-contact wrestling in Japan, is utilized by characters like Sentomaru, Kawamatsu, and Luffy. Hasshoken, the shockwave-based fighting style of the Chinjao family, is used by Sai, Boo, and of course, Chinjao. Lastly, Newkamma Tempo, a fighting style created in the Kamabakka Kingdom, is utilized mainly by Ivankov.

We gained six superhuman fighting skills through that training. – Lucci on Rokushiki

However, even beyond this, there are plenty of powerful characters throughout One Piece, like Bepo, who use martial arts but have no discipline that is directly stated. Still, these seem to be the main styles of martial arts, and some of the strongest martial artists that are currently in the New World. In the end, it won’t be long until some of One Piece’s more mysterious martial arts styles are revealed.

• While art can appreciate in value, it’s difficult to determine trends and pricing information is limited.
• Experts suggest focusing on collecting art you enjoy rather than viewing it as a primary investment.
• Investing in art comes with potential drawbacks such as high commissions, capital gains taxes, and illiquidity.

As the investment business has become more sophisticated in recent decades, academics and others have searched for ways to combine different types of assets to boost returns, lessen risk, or both.

Some advisers suggest adding bonds, gold, other commodities and even cryptocurrencies into the mix to complement portfolios of stocks. Where does artwork fit into the mix?

Even though humans have been creating artwork for thousands of years, it’s not an easy question to answer. Yes, quality artwork can appreciate handsomely, but those gains are far from guaranteed, with many challenges along the way.

Individual paintings, sculptures and other art items are unique, and many pieces come onto the market only rarely. Those and other factors make it difficult to discern trends, as pricing information is much more limited with much less transparency, at least compared to what’s happening in, say, the stock, bond or even real estate markets.

Why buy art? Social aspects play a role

Still, there are reasons for people to consider art as an investment, and a big one is simply being able to enjoy it in ways not possible with other financial assets.

“Buy what you’d like to hang on your wall,” said Greg Rohan, president of Heritage Auctions, which bills itself as the third-largest such company in the world. “You shouldn’t invest in art; you should collect art.”

Advantages to buying art, besides the aesthetic appeal, are the art shows, museum openings, and other social gatherings you might attend, as well as the ability to join collector groups in person and over the internet. Visits to local galleries can help.

“Galleries help to educate the public,” said Rohan. “Dealers love to tell stories” about individual works and the artists who created them.

In addition, he suggests attending auctions so that you can see the marketplace — buyers and sellers — at work. But “Keep your checkbook in your pocket for a good while” while learning about art, he advised.

Enthusiasm for art collecting took a spike around the time of the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009, said Michael Plummer, an industry veteran and former chief operating officer at Christie’s Financial Services.

That’s when the stock market at one point was down roughly 50%, and people were actively looking for alternatives for their money. Prices for many types of artwork remained strong until a few years ago, when interest rates spiked, and bonds and other fixed-income investments started generating higher yields, making art less competitive.

“For investments, it’s hard to beat compound interest,” Rohan quipped during an appearance at the Scottsdale Ferrari Art Week held in late March, at which Plummer was another speaker.

While doing research, it can be highly beneficial to find a consultant whom you trust. Expertise might be necessary to help answer basic questions like whether a piece of art is genuine and whether it was created and signed by the correct artist, as forgeries can be a risk. Yet even among art advisers, “no credentials are required,” making even this pursuit somewhat treacherous, said Plummer.

If you do start collecting, try to compile a grouping of similar or complementary pieces. “The art that sells the best … usually is part of a good collection,” said Plummer. “Build a collection where it all fits together.”

Onyx: See inside the first Black-owned art gallery in Phoenix

How a Phoenix couple built a major collection of Chinese art

Roy and Marilyn Papp did just that. The longtime Phoenix couple, now deceased, started buying Chinese paintings and related art dating from around the 1600s and spanning a few centuries.

At the time, they reasoned that as China grew more economically powerful and opened up to the world, affluent people of Chinese descent would want to buy art that represented the country’s cultural heritage. Over the course of a couple dozen years from the early 1980s to the early 2000s, the Papps accumulated more than 400 paintings, Imperial scrolls and other pieces.

“They loved collecting and attending art shows and museum openings,” said their son, Harry. “It was a lot of fun for them.”

But Roy, an investment adviser and founder of L. Roy Papp & Associates of Phoenix, never considered art to be part of mainstream investment portfolios — a sentiment shared by Harry, also an adviser who heads the company.

Upon their parents’ deaths, Harry and his sister Victoria auctioned many of the pieces, partly to pay estate taxes. They retained some of the artwork and donated 40 or 50 pieces to the Phoenix Art Museum, where they go on display from time to time.

One reason Harry shies away from investing in art reflects the often-steep commissions or markups, which he said can approximate 20% when buying and 10% when selling. And if you turn a profit, get ready for maximum long-term federal capital gains taxes on artwork and other collectibles at rates that exceed those for financial assets, by about five percentage points.

Then there’s the illiquidity aspect, which underscores the possibility that you might not find a buyer for your art anywhere as soon as you’d like.

“At least with stocks and bonds, you can turn them into cash quickly,” Harry said. “With art, you had better buy what you enjoy because you might be hanging onto it much longer than you think.”   

Reach the writer at russ.wiles@arizonarepublic.com.

Summary

• Studio Ghibli is hiring staff for a new animation project through job postings on their website.
• Applications for background artists and finishing staff close on April 24th.
• The studio may be working on either a singular short animation or multiple short animation projects.

The major animation studio, Studio Ghibli, has been in the news a lot in the last week, mostly regarding OpenAI’s use of their artwork to create “Ghibli-esque” remakes of users’ photographs. On the other hand, though, some good news has also arrived regarding the award-winning studio. Studio Ghibli has not made any major announcements since the success of The Boy and the Heron, which released in 2023 – that is, until now. Studio Ghibli has now announced that it is working on a new short piece.

Rather than a straight-forward announcement of “Studio Ghibli is now working on a new project,” though, the news broke through job postings that went online at the end of last week. These new job listings, which appeared on the official Ghibli website, revealed that the studio is looking to hire staff for a new short project. While not a normal way to announce something new is coming, Studio Ghibli fans can still get excited knowing that if people are being hired to work on a project, that means that something new is in the works.

Studio Ghibli is Hiring Staff for a New Project

Job Listings are Live Now

Two job listings went live on the Studio Ghibli website at the end of last week for staff to work on a new animation project. The first is looking for background artists, and the second for staff to work on “finishing” the studio’s latest piece with digital painting and final checks, both listed as part of the role. Both of the applications will close on April 24th, in a little under a month, with the background artists set to start on May 16th, and the finishing staff starting on June 2nd. Hopefully, that means that the new animation is moving into its final stages, and may be finished sooner rather than later.

If you are hoping to apply for the job, you can check out the background artist application here, and the finishing staff application here. Unsurprisingly, considering Studio Ghibli’s internationally renowned reputation as a top-quality studio, you must already have prior experience to apply for the jobs, and proof of your prior work and abilities must be provided. You must also be living in Japan from April 30th, and speak Japanese fluently enough to work with the rest of the production team (though rest assured, it says nowhere that you must be Japanese, just that you need to live there and speak the language).

In light of the recent AI controversy, and Hayao Miyazaki’s open anti-AI stance, it comes as no surprise that the applications cannot be completed digitally and instead must be sent in the mail. This includes the art samples that are also part of the application for the background artist role. One drawing has to be done traditionally rather than digitally, in keeping with Studio Ghibil’s iconic style.

A New Studio Ghibli Short?

What Do We Know?

Because this news comes from open job applications, the truth right now is that we know nothing about what this new animation short is going to look like. Until Studio Ghibli makes a more official announcement, the project is likely to be kept under wraps. The Boy and the Heron never even released a plot description or trailer until the movie opened in the theater, and quite frankly, it didn’t need it. The Studio Ghibli name alone is enough to get people interested in projects, and is more than enough to make people spend money even without knowing what they are going to get.

Casey Baseel of SoraNews24 points out an important distinction in the Japanese used in the job listings, reporting that

…the Japanese vocabulary used in the announcement says that the studio is recruiting for tanpen animeshon sakuhin, which can mean either the singular “short animation work” or multiple “short animation works.”

That means that the studio could be up to even more than we could guess; it could be one new short, but there could also be a few.

Studio Ghibli does have a selection of short films that it has already produced, most of which are on regular rotation at the theater in the Studio Ghibli theme park in Aichi, and at the Studio Ghibli museum in Tokyo. These include exclusive short films like Mei and the Kittenbus, which can only be seen at one of the aforementioned locations. Could the new short animation that Studio Ghibli is hiring for be something exclusive to the Ghibli Park or Museum? Or could it be for another project all together? Studio Ghibli is secretive for now, but there could be an announcement of something by the end of the year.

Source: Studio Ghibli Official Website (1, 2) via SoraNewsNetwork

MISSOULA — The Montana Museum of Art and Culture has a new exhibit on display with a unique twist. It features work by 19 artists, all under the age of 39.

The art hanging on the walls inside the exhibit brings the community together where Montana’s next generation of creators are celebrated. For some this has been a goal of theirs for a long time.

“This one has been, like, really on my bucket list because of the fact that it’s this collection of Montana history, and now I get to be a part of that,” working artist April Werle said.

The art piece Werle contributed reflects exposure to different cultures and conflicting beliefs.

Cynthia Carranza/ MTN News

“Painting these arguments is really cathartic because I’m painting hands, arguing with each other, and then it becomes kind of comical,” Werle said. “It becomes like this really safe space to kind of evaluate how culture is being shared and evolved and experienced in the home by a mixed family.”

Some art pieces take longer than others to make. One art piece in the museum carved by David Lusk, required three months of isolation.

“My dad passed away in some really tragic way and that piece was kind of the way that I sort of coped with the grief afterwards,” print maker David Lusk said.

Cynthia Carranza/ MTN News

The creating of this piece made Lusk experience a range of emotions, some he felt we necessary.

“I think I felt it was feeling anger, sadness, you know, kind of happiness, joy, really, the whole full spectrum of emotions are embedded into that piece,” Lusk said.

Though not all of his pieces require this amount of time, the creation of “Big Sky” allowed him to move onward from the passing of his father.

The first-ever invitational exhibition is underway, thanks to the generous support of University of Montana alumni Michele and Loren Hansen, alongside the dedicated efforts of the MMAC curatorial team.

As longtime donors to both the university and the Montana Museum of Art and Culture (MMAC), the Hansens have established a commitment to the UM Foundation that enables the museum to highlight, celebrate, and acquire works from promising young contemporary artists from across the state.

In an impressive response, over 100 artists across various mediums submitted their work for consideration in the fall of 2024. From this pool, a statewide selection committee has chosen 19 emerging artists, recognizing them as the leading talents of their generation.

For more information about the exhibit, click here.

When the Womanhood Project launched its first effort in 2022, it created a model for creatively honoring and sharing the stories of women in Santa Clara County. The newest part of that effort, “A Journey Through Womanhood,” features 20 augmented reality artworks created by women that honor other women.

The work will be featured on markers that eventually will be rolled out at locations around Santa Clara County, with the augmented reality elements viewable through a smartphone-based app. People got to try out the technology at a reception held March 20 to celebrate the project and mark Women’s History Month.

The women honored — representing science and space, art, social justice, sports and tech — included writer Iris Chang, open space advocate Artemas Ginzton, postal worker and activist Inez Jackson, software engineer Nomi Trapnell, Chinese Performing Artists of America Co-Founder Ann Woo and Olympic athlete Margaret Jenkins. You can tell that the artists chosen to realize the project, including Kathy Aoki, Kiana Honarmand and Arlene Biala, made real connections with the lives of their subjects.

It’s an amazing project that continues to tell the stories of women who have made a difference in the county, but it’s also just the tip of the iceberg. When the Womanhood initiative was started by Santa Clara County’s Office of Women’s Policy in 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, its team identified 200 women from Santa Clara County to honor — and this wayfinding marker project was planned to recognize 100 of them, not just 20.

The frustrating reason is that the Womanhood project was never really funded as it was planned to be, and the pilot projects it has done — including banners in East San Jose created by artist Ruby Morales and a documentary on cannery workers made by Tricia Creason-Valencia — have been the result of strenuous fundraising campaigns.

Former San Jose Public Art Director Barbara Goldstein appeared before the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors this month to accept a commendation for Womanhood. She was joined by Amanda Rawson and Quynh-Mai Nguyen — her partners in the women-led consulting group Art Builds Community — and the Womanhood project’s advisory committee chairs, former Santa Clara County Supervisor Dianne McKenna and Packard Foundation Program Officer Tamara Alvarado.

Goldstein said the group would continue to raise money to produce the last 80 markers and expressed her hope the county would be part of the effort.

“Although we’ve finished this phase of the project and we understand that the county is in financial straits given the situation in the country, it is our plan to go forward with the project,” Goldstein said. “We would love to see the county prioritize placemaking artwork in some of the parks and buildings it goes forward with.”

Find out more about the initiative and the women honored at www.womanhoodproject.org.

BON VOYAGE: The Three Sisters Hall at San Pedro Square Market was the place to be this week — if you were leaving. The bar area at the popular downtown San Jose food hall was the site of two separate retirement parties this week for Nanci Klein, San Jose’s director of economic development and cultural affairs, and Deputy City Manager Kip Harkness.

Klein spent 29 years with the city of San Jose, most recently leading the city’s efforts to encourage business development, juggling various cultural events and managing building projects (including San Pedro Square Market). Harkness, meanwhile, put in 25 years with the city, earning a hallowed reputation as a facilitator while also being a major player in the success of the Strong Neighborhoods Initiative. It sounds like travel is the immediate future for both of them, but that should come as no surprise after spending a combined 54 years focused on San Jose.

Public viewing April 14 will take place from 4 to 6 p.m., with light refreshments available from 5:30 to 6 p.m. in the gym.

Organizers will also have a hashtag sculpture activity, using blocks with written hashtag messages, for guests to create while they wait for the awards ceremony to begin at 6 p.m., said Miranda Johnson, art teacher for the Goodman-Armstrong Creek School District.

The 31st-annual show will feature more than 600 pieces from area high school art students in a wide variety of mediums, including watercolor, acrylic and oil paintings; pencil, ink, charcoal and graphite drawings; 3-D sculptures; macrame; and digital.

“We are completely open to what they want to submit, but it must be from the 2024-25 school year,” Johnson said.

THE ANNUAL ASSOCIATION of Student Artists Exhibition is set for Monday, April 14, at Kingsford Schools. A variety of mediums — including paintings, drawing, sculptures, paintings and pottery — can be viewed from 4 to 6 p.m., with the awards ceremony beginning at 6 p.m. Here, Kingsford High School student Alex Ryan shows her clay coil basket. (Submitted photo)

ASA school participants that will have work on display are Kingsford, Iron Mountain, Norway, West Iron County in Iron River and Forest Park in Crystal Falls; plus Florence, Niagara, Beecher-Dunbar-Pembine and Goodman-Armstrong Creek in Wisconsin.

This year’s theme is “Building Community Through the Arts.”

“I think it’s perfect — ASA is building an art community outside just the Iron Mountain-Kingsford area,” Johnson said.

The 2017 KHS graduate, who was involved in ASA under KHS Art Teacher Sarah Western her four years of high school, said her biggest goal when she was hired at G-AC in 2022 was to get her students involved.

She was not only successful but had one of her art students win the People’s Choice Award that first year.

“Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design — MIAD — granted her a scholarship. It was so incredible,” Johnson said.

West Iron County School District also came on board that same year, with Forest Park becoming the newest member this year.

“I’m so happy it’s expanding — this allows the opportunity for more young students to be able to showcase their talent in the area of visual arts,” she said. “It also provides a chance for them to receive recognition for their hard work.”

During the program, 60 students will receive Merit Awards, along with the naming of Best in Show and People’s Choice.

The public is encouraged to vote for their favorite piece during the two-hour viewing time. Ballots will be counted and announced live at the event, Johnson said.

Merit Awards are done differently each year, she said. This year’s recipients will receive a trophy and Best in Show and People’s Choice will be presented with a surprise gift.

Several students can also earn scholarships based on their portfolio review presented to the multiple college judges.

“It’s a great opportunity for them to realize that art is more than just creating that one piece — it could be a future career,” Johnson said. “Art is everywhere you look, from designing clothes or buildings to content creators for social media.”

Johnson explained she was able to attend and graduate from Milwaukee Institute Art and Design because she received a scholarship through ASA.

Participating colleges will also have representatives and information tables set up during the exhibition.

“It’s incredible to see how talented these students are,” she said. “They put their blood, sweat and tears into their projects and care deeply about what they are doing.”

The ASA was founded during the 1993-1994 school year as a way to integrate high school art students into the local communities and to promote art education.

Joe Stevens, owner of Steven’s Decorating, saw the quality works of students coming into the shop to get framed and wanted to help honor their hard work and creativity.

Stevens met with the Iron Mountain and Kingsford art teachers to create a plan. Original ASA members included art teachers Wayne Wilson, KHS; Deb Chartier, IMHS; Shelly Danielson, Norway; and Todd Worple, Florence. Betsy Holster, IMHS, and Tim Zablocki, North Dickinson County, also joined the group in its early stages.

Residents Elsa Brule and Sashi Mahadev stepped forward to provide the funding for the Artist of the Month luncheons at the Chippewa Club for the art students and teachers. Brule also supported the organization by creating the easel program, working with Don Khory of Khory Manufacturing.

Today, the Association of Student Artists hosts five “Artist of the Month” luncheons each school year. Students enjoy lunch, a short viewing, critique session and a featured guest artist.

Johnson said each school does voting differently; however, no names are attached to the artwork — everything remains anonymous.

“Art is a great way to express emotion, I love to see these students thrive in the classroom,” she said. “We are continuously building community.”

ASA expressed their appreciation for the support they received over the years, including Tamara Juul of the Dickinson County Community Foundation, Jon Pryor of First Bank and members of the Chippewa Club.

“We are very thankful to all the businesses and individuals that cherish the arts as much as we do, because we do want to keep this alive,” she said.

Johnson encourages everyone to attend the event and witness the students’ talents firsthand. The viewing is free, but donations will be accepted at the door.