Wk 15 – Art Activity – Finger Painting

For this week’s art 110 activity was finger painting. The experience was cool because it was a pretty wide open assignment, so I was able to take it in any direction that I wanted. The assignment invoked a lot of creativity because we didn’t have to paint anything specific as well as the abstract nature of finger painting. The experience was easy because I simply sat down and let myself finger paint the first things the came into my head. It was overall a little hard not to paint anything specific at all because my mind travels to specific objects, but for the most part my painting is abstract. There are a couple of specific subjects within my finger painting but even those subjects are a bit abstract. It’s confusing to paint something with no subject matter but if you can clear your head and go with the flow of your own energy then it can come easier. It is liberating to create a piece of abstract work like this because it can be seen of the kind of person you are or what is going on in your head at the time. This activity was different from graffiti writing in that in graffiti writing we had a specific subject to create which was our name, so the range of creativity was limited in comparison to this abstract finger painting activity. I personally can’t find any real visual connection between my finger painting and my graffiti art work but maybe some people will have some similarities in their two pieces of work. Overall, I found creating abstract work to be fun and a great way to invoke creativeness.

Wk 15 – Artist Conversation – Brittany Waters

Artist: Brittany Waters

Exhibition: SOA Holiday Art sale

Media: Ceramics, Jewelry

Gallery: Max Gatov Gallery

Website: N/A

Instagram: @artbywaters

 

For this week’s artist conversation, I got the chance to talk with Brittany Waters who was selling some custom made jewelry. Brittany is a senior at CSULB, pursuing a BFA in Ceramics. She is originally from Sacramento which is where her interest in art was first discovered. She said that she remembers her father drawing bunnies when she was a child and that was one of her earliest memories of her interest in art. She said she also became more interested in art when her father bought her markers and colored pencils.

The exhibition was comprised of work made by Brittany Waters. Some of the work included necklaces and ceramic bowls. A lot of her work is very ocean inspired which isn’t surprising as she is not from a beach city and now she is going to school at CSULB. Brittany said that the jewelry pieces took about 15 to 30 minutes per piece to make. She created the jewelry pieces with pre made molds. Waters said that the ceramic bowls took about 1 to 2 hours per piece.

The works in this exhibit were clearly inspired by ocean by the colors and textures of the jewelry and ceramics. Many of the pieces are colored grey, blues, turquoises, blacks, and greens. The shades of the colors are all very ocean inspired, the colors remind me of a gloomy day at the beach. The textures of the dishes and bowls reminded me of nature because of their slight imperfections. The combination of the colors and textures of the work really came together well to make some really cool pieces.

When I first walked into the exhibition, I had to change my usual thought process as we have been evaluating regular art exhibitions. Although this exhibition did contain art, it felt a little different just because it was the SOA Holiday sale so everything in the room was for sale. After I got passed this, I really enjoyed all the work on display. Waters’ ocean inspired ceramic work is awesome and would be a great addition to anyones home or kitchen.

 

Wk 15 – Extra Credit: Feedback

I would say that the three activities I enjoyed the most from my Art 110 experience were 1. Landscapes with a Corpse, 2. Graffiti Writing, and 3. Zines and Flip Books. I enjoyed the photography work with landscape with a corpse. The graffiti and zines were cool because I felt like I was really able to personalize the works and makes them my own. My three least favorite activities were 1. Automatic drawing, 2. Art care package, and 3. Instagram. I didn’t like the automatic drawing because I felt like it was a little odd. Instagram was cool in that we got to take some nice photos, but it felt a little invasive like we had discussed in class. The hybrid was appropriate for this class and I felt that there was a healthy balance between class and online activities. Visiting the SOA galleries was nice because we got a chance to interact with the artists and really got a good understanding of the artists/ exhibitions we were writing about. Seeing other classmates blog posts is valuable and adds a sense of community to the class. Beacharts along with everyone’s word press sites make it feel like we have our own little social network for art 110. WordPress is a good tool that definitely stands to benefit a lot of us in our future endeavors. The art talk of the week video is useful because it allows professor Zucman to condense a lecture into a shorter time. Also, because it is a lecture video students can watch the video on their own time, which makes the class schedule more flexible in comparison to a normal in-class lecture.

Wk 14 – Classmate Conversation – Megan Chung

For this week’s classmate conversation I got the chance to meet Megan Chung. Megan is a sophomore nursing major at CSULB. We talked about what we think the college experience will be like in 2036. Megan said that she thinks virtually no paper will be used in college in twenty years. I thought that was a fair assumption to make considering the fact that we already turn a majority of assignments in online, and many students now take notes on their computers instead of with a paper. I also added that college will probably be more affordable in twenty years. Many people have been protesting for reducing the cost of college, so I assume it’s only a matter of time before people start lobbying in D.C. Megan is a really cool classmate, you can check out her website at meganchung07.wordpress.com

Wk 13 – Classmate Conversation – Nkechi Okoroma

This week I got the chance to talk to my art 110 classmate, Nkechi Okoroma. Nkechi is studying food science at CSULB. We talked a little about our class guest, Carla Dauden. It’s crazy how Carla got four million views on her video regarding her disdain for the fifa world cup situation in her home country of Brazil. We agreed it was cool that she was able to raise awareness for something that was initially overlooked. For the question of the week “ Red pill or blue pill?” from the movie The Matrix, she said that she would pick the red pill because she is generally a pretty curious person, so she would be anxious to explore. I said that I would pick the blue pill, I would be afraid to explore because I am afraid I might find out something that I shouldn’t know. It was cool to talk with Nkechi and if you want to learn more about her, check out her website at nkechiokoroma.wordpress.com

Wk 12 – Artist Conversation – Connor O’Brien

Artist: Connor O’Brien

Exhibition: Mentia

Media: Video

Gallery: CSULB School of Art, Dr. Maxine Merlino Gallery

Website: miliapictures.com

Instagram: N/A

For this week’s artist conversation I got a chance to talk to Connor O’Brien, the artist that put on the exhibition Mentia. Connor is from Los Alamitos; he is a senior at CSULB pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in photography. O’Brien says that he has always enjoyed photography, especially studio photography because there is more control of the photographs environment. Six years ago Connor’s father was diagnosed with dementia, which is the inspiration behind this exhibition. Mentia is O’Brien’s final assignment before he graduates from CSULB.

Connor O’Briens exhibition, Mentia, is comprised of a video being projected on the wall in the Merlino gallery. The subject of the video is Connor’s father, Michael O’Brien and his dementia. The video conveys the everyday life of Connor’s father, his brother, and Connor himself. In the video you see how O’Brien’s father is cared for by their family. Viewer’s get to see Connor and his brother helping their father get up to walk and go to the shower. The video also shows the two brothers helping their father shower and put on his clothing. O’Brien said that the video was shot in one day. He also added that his cousin made the music that is playing in the background of the video.

O’Brien says that his father’s illness has dramatically changed his life as well as his family. His father’s symptoms began about fifteen years ago but it didn’t affect his father until about six years ago when he began to experience major issues. He was then diagnosed with dementia and quickly began to lose his memory. Connor said his father is unpredictable now and his emotional state varies from day to day. O’Brien created the exhibition Mentia in order to bring awareness to dementia.

I found Mentia to be a very emotional piece of work and it is awesome to see that the artist is raising awareness for dementia. O’Brien really opens up his personal life to the viewers of this exhibition which I find to be very brave and courageous. The video reminded me of how fragile life is and how quickly things can change for anyone at anytime. I think the video was well put together and the music matched the video well. I salute Connor and his family for taking care of his father in times of need, and I praise Connor for opening up his personal world through this exhibition.

 

Wk 12 – Classmate Conversation – Henry Pham

For this week’s artist conversation I got a chance to talk with Henry Pham. Henry is a third year Aerospace Engineering student at CSULB. He is interested in astronautics and is looking to go into a career in aerospace engineering. Since he is looking to go into the aerospace field we talked a little about modern advancements in the aerospace sector and I asked him what he thought about Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX. We also discussed the question of the week, “Does it have to look like art to be art?” We agreed that something doesn’t have to necessarily look like art to be art. Art is in the intent of the creation, so if someone creates a piece and it is intended to be art then it is art. Henry is an awesome classmate, you can check out his website at beholdthephamily.wordpress.com

Wk 11 – Artist Conversation – Caryn Aasness

Artist: Cayrn Aasness

Exhibition: N/A

Media: Weaving, Cloth

Gallery: CSULB School of Art, Dr. Maxine Merlino Gallery

Website: N/A

Instagram: @levelyellowproblemchild

For this week’s artist conversation I had the chance to talk with Caryn Aasness. Caryn put on an exhibition in the Merlino Gallery at CSULB. Caryn is a senior at CSULB, pursuing a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in Fiber Art. In her exhibition she shows her appreciation for weaving. She also incorporated sewing and embroidery techniques which were passed down to her from her grandmother. Caryn started to weave about two years ago as she was interested in learning some sort of trade involving textiles.

Caryn’s exhibition is comprised of weaves. At first sight it seems as though there are basically just weaved pieces up on the wall, but the weaves are much more complex than this. Next to each piece is a chart that is twenty-six boxes wide. These twenty-six boxes are for each letter of the alphabet. Within the chart a letter is filled into a box where the letter is to be filled in on the weave. On the actual weaves, you can see where the letter hits as the box on the weave is raised, to make these boxes stand out she used the supplemental warp technique. The largest weave is at the back of the room. This weave is much bigger than the rest and it has a large quote which reads, “TO CALL IT CUTE IS TO MISUNDERSTAND”. This quote was used so that viewers of the exhibition wouldn’t question the context of what she is saying with her work. Caryn said that she averaged about twenty hours on the loom for each weave piece.

When talking with Caryn, I asked her how she got into weaving. Her response was that she was very interested in textiles and desired to acquire a trade involving textiles, which is what lead her to learn how to weave. I then asked her if weaving is prominent in her family, to which she said that no one in her family weaves but her grandmother did teach her how to sew and embroider. Since I did not initially understand the coding within the weaves I had to ask Caryn what exactly the charts meant. She explained how the chart represents each letter of the alphabet; the charts have messages within them but to decode them you must read the chart from top to bottom. The messages within the charts are quotes which Caryn collected. The quotes all somewhat relate to the questioning of structures we live in everyday.

At first look, I thought the exhibition was just simply the pieces up on the wall and the large quote on the biggest piece in the back of the exhibition. I found it cool how Caryn created her own code of sorts and incorporated that into the weaves. This exhibition was partly inspired by Caryn’s dislike for structure. She said she doesn’t like structure, so she enjoyed creating her own structure in the exhibition. I very much enjoyed Caryn’s work, as well as the quotes she collected to incorporate into her work. My favorite quote from her work is, “In the days of youth I was told what it means to be a man.” This exhibition was great because we need artists to question social constructs put in place, some of which are hundreds of years old.

Wk 11 – Classmate Conversation – Erika Perez

For this week’s classmate conversation I talked with Erika Perez. Erika is a second year film student at CSULB. I asked her what initially sparked her interest in film and what made her want to study film. She said that she began to watch a lot of movies during her junior and senior year of high school and she became fond of film. When I asked her what her favorite movie is she said that she couldn’t pick a favorite movie but she has many movies that she likes a lot. Erika said that she wants to go into the film industry and that she preferably doesn’t want to go into tv or anything like that, she wants to go into film production. We then spoke about the question of the week, “What do you think of fan art?” and “What do you think of Demi Lovato’s negative reaction to her fan art?” Erika said that she thought it was rude of Demi Lovato to put down the fan art because the artist put in a lot of time to create the work which is in admiration of Demi. Demi Lovato shouldn’t have reacted so brutally because the artist’s intent was not to make her angry, the art was created in appreciation for Demi.

Check out her website at erikaperezz.wordpress.com

 

Wk 10 – Art Activity – Fiber Art Social Network

I think that the term “Social Network” applies to my real life friends but I mostly think of the term in a separate space. I feel that the term “Social Network” refers to strictly what goes on in that cyberspace. Social Networks can connect you to friends you have in real life but it also can connect you to random people who you never would’ve met in real life. It can also connect you to people that share the same interests as you, or even share common friends with you. I agree with Dunbar’s number because there are only a certain number of people which you can have truly stable and consistent social relationships with. After a certain number, the relationships beyond that tend to be very weak and inconsistent. The relationships beyond “150” are mostly limited to liking posts, maybe saying a quick “hi” when encountered in real life, and interactions both online and in real life are typically more far between than those who you share tighter relationships with. I would actually argue that the capacity for close relationships is less than 150 for most people. In addition to this argument, there are far more than two degrees of relationships. An individual might have 5 close friends, 10 less close friends in the same category, then 25 relationships in the next category, and so on. To have 1,000 Facebook friends is a good thing although you may not have the same level of relationship with all 1,000 people.It’s good to have a lot of Facebook friends because it allows you to hold some sort of relationship with these “outlier” friendships. Where in a world without Facebook you would usually just walk by this person if you see them in real life, with that awkward “I’m not sure if they recognize me” interaction. In a world with Facebook where you are liking each others posts, the interaction is less awkward because the relationship is constantly being refreshed in your head although you may not see each other in real life often. When visualizing my social network, I really wasn’t surprised because I know most of my even weak relationships. The aspect that Facebook may bring in is the super outlier friends who I might recognize their face but may have forgot their name; But in those instances, I typically won’t be Facebook friends with those people. I like to keep about 50 close relationships in my life because the more close relationships you have, the more opportunity you have. I do have extra friends with weak ties on Facebook, but I feel like even those people allow me to have even more opportunity. Although I don’t talk to these people often, I can reach them if need be and find some sort of common ground with them whether it be common friends or interests.