Week 5 Art Activity: Automatic Drawing

For this week’s activity, I decided to do it with my mom since I live with her and it was easiest this way because I didn’t to leave my house and carry all my stuff with me. I explained to her what we were supposed to do and that our eyes needed to be closed and to just let the crayon do its thing. I’ve never done anything like this before so I though it was a little weird. Anything Ive ever drawn has been on my own and not with my eyes closed. We sat on our living room floor and held our crayon with all four of our hands and let the crayon draw. When we saw it after we had finished, we thought it look a little ugly so decided to use a different color to make brighter. It started to look a little better so we decided to try another color. The last color we used was the navy blue. We started to get a better feel of what to do and it started to look “better.”

After we finished the drawing I thought it looked more like a drawing with the additional colors. Although I would describe it as a scribble I think it looks great. I think it looks unique and like something that would be hard to recreate. I think even if I tried to do it by myself I wouldn’t be able to recreate the piece. It such an original piece that it’s almost impossible to recreate especially since it was completed with our eyes closed and we let the pastels move freely over the paper. I think this is what I liked best about this assignment, the originality of it.

Week 5: Artist Conversation #3: Yeri Hwang

Exhibition Information 

Artist: Yeri Hwang

Exhibition: Within Us 

Media: Studio Art

Gallery: CSULB School of Art , Max L. Gatov Galley East

Website: N/A

Instagram: @yeriyeti

About the Artist 

Yeri Hwang is an undergraduate student at Cal State Long Beach. She is earning her Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art. She really enjoys writing and says that a lot of her art is inspired by what she writes. She also has experience in illustration and animation but chose her major because she wanted to learn something new. This is her last semester at CSULB and hopes to pursue a graduate degree in Interactive Arts outside of Cal State Long Beach.

Formal Analysis 

Yeri’s art show consisted of pieces that were very interactive. All of the pieces involved touching them and some sort of reaction occurring. The opening piece was a Michel Angelo painting where you could place your finger on a button and two fingers would touch in the piece and flash a light. There was also a 3D piece with a mouse on a table for the viewer to click and it would create a “storm” around the 3D house that was seen when looking through a window. Another one of her works consisted of glass pieces in front of a light that the viewer could manipulate and one could see the colors projected onto the wall in front of it and could see the colors overlap and move around which she described as an art wheel. Her work included a lot of electrical work that seemed extremely original; like nothing she could have bought in a store could have brought her show to life.

Content Analysis 

Yeri stated that her show comes from her writings. She loved to write and this show is derived from one of her stories. The pieces give the audience only a snippet of the story that it is inspired by. She also mentioned how art should be everyone which is what inspired her to make the art interactive. I thought it was great how she described her art wheel as ever changing like how life is. We are always changing and growing and on a journey toward a goal, whatever it may be.

Synthesis

I really appreciated Yuri’s art and I loved that it was interactive. We are always told to not touch art so I felt weird touching it! I felt like I was disrespecting the art by touching it because I’m not used to being allowed to touch art. I also think that the art being interactive allowed me to better absorb what she was trying to tell us through the art. I interpreted the light at the beginning as the point of conception in life. The piece after that was a fetus in utero which is the next step in development after conception. The interaction with the fetus involved us putting our names inside the baby through the umbilical cord. I took this piece as that part in our lives where our names are pushed upon us without or choosing. I though her show was almost like a walk through a life. Like that montage that plays before your eyes right before your life ends. You go through storms and victories like the ones she displayed.

Week 4 Art Activity:Art Care Package

Art Care Package I made for my grandmother.

For the Art Care Package assignment I decided to send it to my 89 year old grandmother who lives here in southern California. I chose my grandmother because I think of how long she’s lived and how much she’s seen in this life and what kind of story her life would tell if she wrote an autobiography. Some of the items include a picture of her, my mom, and myself at her birthday part 3 three years ago which I though was a picture that represents three generations of women. I also included some clippings of a recent Elle magazine with ads for Gucci and L’oreal. I hope that when she sees these ads she is able to see how fashion and beauty has changed since her youth or even in the last decade since she doesn’t read much magazines. I included a game of Loteria which is like a Latino version of bingo but with pictures. This game is very old and I feel like it might bring her memories if she ever played it in her youth. A stationery set I made in my Ceramics class in high school is also in the art care package to show her an art piece that I’ve created and maybe she can make good use out of it.

I think send an ACP is similar to sending a sending a snapchat because it’s something that the person who it is sent to can open or ignore if they choose. You chose who you want to send both too and if they open it you will probably get a phone call or maybe something back in the mail in return as thank you. It is different from a snapchat because an ACP is tangible while a snap can expire and last for only a certain amount go time unless some takes a screenshot or does something to keep it, however it wouldn’t make it tangible. A snapchat is also something that can only be sent to someone who has a snapchat account and an ACP can hypothetically be sent to anyone as long as we know an address.

I think ephemera is precious because it has a story for tell no matter how long its use was intended for. It serves as a reminder of something beautiful or tragic depending on what it is. I think the only thing that would make it gain value over time is how coveted it is or how much sentimental value it has to its owner. For example I think a woodstock ticket would increase in value because it was one of the first music festivals that are always attempted to be recreated in today’s world. It is also something tangible instead of picture. Like an old item can tell us about trends of that time or what pop culture was.

I think that there is a difference in art seen by many people versus few people because the one seen by many becomes a sort of masterpiece that is often interpreted as representing a point of time or maybe even the people that lived during that time. Like it is interpreted that people around the time of the Mona Lisa plucked their hairlines and were eyebrow-less. It becomes almost a generalization of that time. While something seen by few people I think is more intimate and personal. It allows the fewer to create their own thoughts or opinions about instead of repeating what is said about a painting or piece of art that has been seen by millions and the opinions of its previous viewers.

The time that it takes to send an ACP makes it more appreciated because as a recipient I would think about how rare it is to receive something special in the email unless you order it yourself. Mail has become a rarity today in my opinion because we use technology for everything. Its better because I think it can be more appreciated that the other things that come in the mail like local ads or bills. I think what can make a snapchat better is the instant gratification part of it. We can know what someone is doing or where they are at if they apply a geo-filter to their picture or video. But I don’t appreciate a snapchat of someone’s vacation as much as I would someone’s post card or holiday card.

I don’t think a meal can be prepared with love in a short amount of time because a meal made with love takes longer than ordering in drive thru whether you make a sandwich or roast a turkey. An ACP contains love different from a snapchat because it is only sent to one person that you think about and take time to make. You also spend time and energy taking it your local post office and paying for a stamp to ship it. A snapchat is free and takes the energy of only using your thumb and choosing who you want to send it to whether it be directly to someone or on your story where all of your friends can view it.

Week 4: Artist Conversation # 2: Joshua Vazquez

Exhibition Information

Artist : Joshua Vazquez

Exhibition: I Love The Way You Fall Asleep

Media: Drawing and Painting

Gallery: CSULB School of Art, Gatov Gallery East

Website: N/A

Instagram: @joshybehr

About the Artist

Joshua Vazquez is an undergraduate student at Cal State Long Beach. He is in the Drawing and Painting Program at the School of Art and is earning his Bachelor of Fine Art. He plans on earning his Master’s of Fine Art but is not sure what school he would like to attend. Josh is from Los Angeles and he enjoys listening to all genres of music but his favorite is Hip Hop. He states that he has always been into art and that his family is very supportive of him. He decided to attend Cal State Long Beach to get away from LA and explore something new. A few of his favorite artists include Mark Rothko, Noah Davis, and Chris Burden. He believes that these artists are the best at what they do.

Formal Analysis

Joshua’s art consisted of oil paint on canvas. All of his pieces were painted on canvas of varying sizes. A lot of the pieces read “I Love the Way You Fall ASleep” in varying shades on the paintings. A lot of the colors consisted of yellow, purple, and blue. One of the pieces of art transitioned from yellow to blue and had “I Love the Way You Sleep” painted across it in white paint. There also some oranges and darker blues incorporated into his work. The art also varied i size. Some were on 18″ by 18″ canvases while others were 36″ by 36″. There was also one that consisted of three separate 18″ by 18″ painted canvases that he said were all considered one piece.

Content Analysis

“I Love the Way You Fall Asleep” was created by Joshua to represent his home of Los Angeles. He used the city that he loves because it inspires him a lot in his work. Although he likes his art to represent Los Angeles he wants his audience to interpret it as they wish. He doesn’t believe that he can tell a viewer of his art what to think and hope they can interpret it as they wish. As he explored LA throughout his life, he portrayed it in his art. He likes to explore what he’s trying to portray.

Synthesis/ My Experience

I think his art represents the street art in Los Angeles. I think its a good representation of the city all around. I can see the ugly and the beautiful in his exhibition. LA is a huge city with populations from all over the world as well as people from different demographics. I think the array of colors lined up next to each other vertically and horizontally are a way of representing the different people of Los Angeles.

 

Week 3: Artist Conversation- Kelvin Lopez

Exhibition Information 

Artist: Kelvin Lopez

Exhibition: Scry Baby

Media: Printmaking/ Crystals

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

Website: http://www.facebook.com/klart760 

Instagram: @klart760

About the Artist 

Kelvin Lopez is earning his undergraduate degree at Cal State Long Beach. He is in the School of Art’s Printmaking program and is earning his degree toward a  Bachelor of Fine  Arts (BFA). He is from San Diego, California and hopes to attend graduate school after earning his BFA. A lot of his work at the gallery was printed inside the geometric shapes of his crystals. He mentioned that he became interested in crystals after one of his former girlfriends introduced him to them and he slowly started collecting them afterward. He has even received some from friends and a professor. Some of his interests included listening to music, going to bars to drink beer, and going to watch shows.

Formal Analysis

Kelvin’s art included many elements of the geometric shapes of his crystals. All of the crystals that were displayed at the center of the gallery were represented in his printed pieces of art that were on the walls. His printed art included several pictures of himself within these crystal shapes. The pictures of himself looked like they were taken in the present day and there were a few that were of him as a toddler. There was another one of a child on display but he explained that it was his nephew. The images were printed on paper and it looked like if  water color was used around the printed images. Some of the pieces of art had a black and white or unsaturated color that were used to create the images and the use of brighter color came into play with the water color. It added a sort of splash of color to his art.

Content Analysis 

The art was mostly about himself. Kelvin stated that he likes to make his art personal. This is part of the reason why his art included pictures of himself. He likes to explore his life and his past in his art. He also spoke about how when he first became interested in art he felt that he wasn’t good at it. He thought his art didn’t look good which further motivated him to become better. This motivated him even more to pursue art and become better at it. This how he discovered he was really good at print making, which he explained involves more precision.

Synthesis/ My Experience

I definitely interpreted Kelvin’s art as being about him. I thought it was very personal especially since he included pictures of himself as a child as well as of his nephew. I usually think of childhood pictures as something I would want to hide from the world or keep secret from the public and only show someone like a close friend or significant other. I also appreciated the fact that his art is made through printmaking because I had never thought of this as art. I think that I’ve been socialized into thinking that painting and sculptures are the mainstream forms of art. I think its quite enlightening learning about new mediums and forms of art that I am not used to seeing. I think that my interpretation of his art is pretty inline with what he wants his audience to know about him because we get an idea of what the artist looks like, a bit of his personality is embedded in each piece. Even his crystals are part of him even though he didn’t necessarily create them, we can know as an audience that he has an interest or some sort of relationship with them.

Week 3: Classmate Conversation- Jessie Winslow

This week while at the School of Arts gallery, I met Jessie Winslow. I met her through a classmate that I met last week while talking about my “death experience” for last week’s assignment. While talking to Jessie I learned that she is a film major. She is a first year student and went to high school in Seal Beach. She told me about her experience in film and how she’s worked on different editing programs to edit videos. She had mentioned that she liked my makeup and I told her that I watch makeup videos on YouTube and I explained to her how a lot of beauty gurus and beauty vloggers pay top dollar for someone to record them doing their makeup, edit their material, and post it on youtube. She seemed surprised to hear this because she said it was so easy to do. I told her that in previous classes I’ve had to make videos like emergency preparedness and I was hoping on being in a group where someone knew how to edit because I have zero knowledge on how to edit videos. It was cool talking to someone who was so experienced in something that I have none in.

We briefly talked about shows and movies that we like to watch on Netflix and I recommended a documentary called 13 to her. I also asked her if she knew she wanted to be a film major and she explained to me that she’s known since high school. I appreciated this about her because as an incoming freshman I was unsure about my career choice. I changed my majors many times before I finally stuck to one so I thought it was great that she was so sure of herself and knows what she wants.

https://jessfaith98.wordpress.com

Week 2: Landscapes w/ a Corpse

For this weeks, activity I had the chance to plan my “death” which is something I will probably never get to do. Most people don’t get this luxury no matter how wealthy. Even when wills are planned and you choose who gets what of your belongings, the actual dying part is never planned. When I die, I would like to leave in the least violent or climactic way. I don’t want to suffer, feel pain, or be expecting it. I would love for it to be something that happens when I’m old enough to be comfortable leaving and not have any “unfinished business.”

I decided to die during my sleep in my bed; the comfort of my own home. For me, this would be the most ideal way and the most comfortable. Although I usually take off my makeup before I go to sleep I think it would also be ideal to die with a face of makeup on because I don’t trust anyone else to do my makeup in a way that will look like I do while alive. That would probably be something I think about when Im older and plan a will if I want to be cremated to completely bypass the makeup issue or if I should have someone practice their makeup skills on me and see if I like it enough to have them do it once I pass. A part of me hates that I think about that, mixing vanity with death because when your dead thats something you have no control over. I think overall this was good activity in the sense that it got me thinking about something that I have no control over and how death can be unexpected and we don’t know when, how, or where it’ll happen.

Wk 2 Classmate Conversation- Yuritzi Chavez

This week I had the pleasure of meeting Yuritzi Chavez who is a 3rd year Human Development major. We spoke about what we want to do after graduation and I learned that she wants to attend Physician Assistant school. I mentioned to her that I possibly want to attend graduate school for Physician Assistant also but I’m not sure if I want to do it right after graduation because I also would like to join the Peace Corps. She explained to me that her school of choice is UC Berkeley because it is has a PA program with the least amount of requirements in California and she meets a lot of the requirements already.

Since she is a Human Development major I asked her if she had thought about becoming an Occupational Therapist because her major leans toward that profession. She said that at first she had considered it but thought it would be too difficult to help children in this field because of the emotional distress that comes with the job. I agreed with her on this because when I first started going to school I also considered going to Occupational Therapy school after graduation but quickly changed my mind. Yuritzi and I had a lot in common and it was cool talking to someone who had similar academic interests as mine.

https://yuri4787.wordpress.com