Michael's Personal Space

I thought Micheal's fake arguments with his girl friend, were very convincing and were also very successful, from what i saw, in making the interviewee very uncomfortable. They both were dead on, in keeping to the script and made it an interesting concept to try around other people. Everyone reacts in different ways, and depending on the argument the reaction of the spectator becomes the main objective. that reaction can also play a part in  telling us the basis of what is considered to be comfortable or awkward to be around. I have been around a few of my friends who have started arguments like this, and every time that has happened, I always wished I wasn't there. its just very uncomfortable, because there's not much you can do or say to make the situation better.
 So good job Michael and girlfriend, your performances were great, nothing was made to obvious and you guys played off of each others reactions really well. i also thought that changing who was behind the camera and who was asking questions was also another great aspect of your idea, Its good to have a variety of different perspectives and sides to what is being shown.

Weekly Doc

This week, I presented my Personal Space project, it was very interesting seeing as i have ever really played for people while creepily following the around. but its amusing i think, I know that the chances of me doing something like this out of the classroom is very slim, so it was a nice experience.

Weekly art show.

On Friday the advance Paint had an open studio so that we could show what we we worked on all quarter. Unfortunately everyone was too dead tired to actually stay after crit so we left. But i did end up going ver to the print/paper show. It was great it makes me wish i had taken Print while i was here. The images the students create are amzing, and motivating. I know that Print is not easy, and i feel like it is more about the process and perfecting it so that you could create good work off of it. I enjoy these kinds of process, you get alot more appreciation out of you work this way, because you know that not alot of people can do it. At the show everyone had great works on the wall, the color combinations were also very nice and complimentary to the different forms and images.

URL's

Nexus
Personal Space
Act of Kindness
Confessions
Pun
Sequance
Alternate Persona
personal Space

Saturday

Week 1

Ok so after reading this, i feel like i have gotten a better grasp of my fears. I still get really anxious about things, that is something i feel everyone will always have especially when it comes to expressing yourself about personal issues. But i do feel like I can communicate with people alot better. Especially after the confessions project, i feel like I am more able to tell people how i really feel, and i plan on telling my parents after graduation. i feel like they have to know, besides it's these types of experiences that really make us think about ourselves and the kind of people that we choose to be. As for fears, they are fears for a reason and overcoming them, for me atleast, is very hard. But I'm working on it I promise, almost there. i think this class really did help me a lot thoug, it made me think about things in different ways that i don't think i would have normally.

Friday

I think the "beyond the Studio" would be a great class to take. The courses that are currently offered here, don't really offer such an opportunity to engage with our surrounding and our environment. Especially since we live in such a beautiful place, i think it would be a great idea to have students explore all the possibilities of art outside of class. I think it's also important for a student to get a sense of what it would be like to express their art in public areas where anything and anyone can play a large factor in their work. it would also be a great prep class for that sort of thing and really open their eye on what sort of interest they have as an aspiring artist. If i weren't graduating i would definitely take that course, i feel like i have gotten a lot of other studio classes and it would be really cool to transfer what i have learned in practices like this.

Thursday

I really enjoyed Brita's and Amanda's little gypsy shop thing. it was very amusing and great. they got all the props and act down. I thought it was very convincing and it looked like they were enjoying it as much as the rest of the class. Their props were really kool as well it was like (what i imagine) walking in to one of those inscence/spritual stores. Their card readings, and spirit cleansings where also very kool. good job you guys! I also like the Devil and the Angel performance. I thought the devil's remarks were hilarious, and that dollar on the floor....genious. it's funny i wonder how many people actually took it, i know i saw this one lady who almost did, and having the devil encourage the theft was very tempting for the observer im sure.

wednesday

Just keep swimming just keep swimming, a few more days and its graduation time. it happened so fast i can't believe its only a few days away. Don't think I'm ready to leave just yet, but i still have summerschool to ge through and then im off to the real world. scary I know, but i can't do shit about that so i guess im screwed haha. here's a video of a song i have had stuck in my head for the past week. Ironically enough its called "celebration"

Tuesday

I did my Personal Space today. it was interesting for sure, I decided to play theme songs for people as they walked to and from the Ucen. I was ready to go that morning i had so much to do that day, i drank a rock star and got a little boost in me. Unfortunately there were times when there wasn't anyone passing by, maybe because it was so early, but when they did I just started following them and playing themes like, the pink panther, or the Mexican hat dance song (my favorite). I didn't really see a lot of their face they just picked up the pace to get away from me. As i followed one person in one direction i would then follow another one who was walking the opposite way. No one said anything to me, a few smiled and some smiled uncomfortably. I then started playing full songs because I thought that maybe people would recognized some of them and might actually enjoy it a little more. They showed no hint of enjoying it, haha it doesn't matter i enjoyed playing them outside. My friend got some pics and clips for me that ill post later when i get them from her. that's it

Weekly Doc

Sunday

My least favorite place would have to be the DMV. it is so unbelievably boring and depressing. every-time i go there it is completely packed, and you have to take a number and wait in line for everything. its stressing me out just thinking about it. On top of that, the workers are so mean, i sure they hate their jobs as much as i hate going there. And to make things worse it is always so dark in there, how are people suppose to take permit tests and fill out forms if they can;t see shit? damn i hate that place.

Saturday

My favorite place in the world? that's a hard one. My head would probably be a stupid answer. I guess i would have to say, Palm Desert. It's were i grew up, and every time i go back to visit my sister it reminds me of my childhood and how i grew there. i moved when i was around 10 or 11 years old, and it was the first city i can ever remember being. It is unbelievably hot but I love the desert scenery, and it is so well maintained it literally is an oasis. It's also the place where my family was together the most and a time in which no one had problems with anyone and we would find an excuse to make a family party/reunion for anything. It's not like that anymore, everything is way to complicated and we all seem so distant from each other. Idk it reminds me of simpler times when even though; we didn't have as much as we do now, i feel like we were all a lot more happier.

Friday

I woke up this morning for the first time in a while, feeling well rested, i forgot what it was like to have a goods night rest. but there was something on my mind that kept me anxious the whole day. i had a dream that all of my paintings were due that day. haha thats how much time i spend on those paintings, i have dreams about them now. its like finals week when i have nightmares about failing my finals and not having enough time to study. well today it was that all 3 of my paintings were due when i had barely begun the 2nd. i know its wierd but its making me crazy. I get crazy anxious about these kinds of things, I'm so scared of not finishing on time that, it is all i think about. well...that was my dream, i have to go to paint class now.

Thursday

I really enjoyed people's personal identities for this part of the critique. They were all greatly thought out and performed really well. One of my favorite ones were the spies. their answers to questions were amazingly improvised that it fit their characters perfectly. their wigs were pretty kool too, i don't really understand why they were so brightly colored, but if the shoe fits-wear it...right? their pictures were funny, but i kind off wished they made a video documentation about it, like a trailer about a spy movie.

Wednesday

In our era of such advance technology, our ways of communicating our thoughts and ideas are heightened and easily shown to everyone in the world. Networks such as Blogger and Facebook, make things so easy for us to express ourselves, and the fact that we add video clips, images, and pretty much anything else we wanted, makes it that much more effective. This whole "friend" system furthers that point as messages that start with one set of people and location could be completely different within a short amount of time. It really is interesting to find out how to complete strangers could be connected to each other without really knowing it. Everything is laid out for us, all we have to do is write our opinions and anyone can see or read it. Whether this is used properly and to its maximum effect is completely up to us.
For example i could post my artwork in such networks, and people could see it and talk about it, but it is up to me what networks i post them on and who i want to send them to.
Themes such as personal identity and personal space can easily be applied and carried out because, a physical presence is not required. All someone has to do is photoshop images and create a story to be a completely different person. and personal space can be easily invaded through advertisements and spam.

tuesday

One of my favorite presentations was the crocodile hunter performance, on ucsb life. I thought it was really well planed out and surprisingly relevant to the way college students live their lives here. Hiding in the bushes was really professionaly done, and really comedic on different situations. The accent was dead on which made everything in the video fall right into place and work effectively.

One of my least favorite ones would have to be the one about the Christian girl. i still think that the idea was great and well said, but i felt that as for the video presentation went, i thought it could use some revision. I think it was the lighting that really through me off, I felt like it really affected the way her documentation was portrayed.

Monday

The final was kind of difficult sometimes. i completely blancke out on the artist's names, but i felt like i was able to write about what they were about. as for the presentations, I thought they were really enjoyable, watching what other sections were up this whole time. i really like the follow the leader video, I thought it was well planed out and really funny. I also wanted to apologize for my handwriting, having pens taped on to my fingers really made it difficult to write legibly. however it was interesting taking a final in such a non-serious way.

Sunday Alternate persona

For my alternate identity, i decided to modify my hand so that it could function as drawing/doodling utencils. i spend most of the time in the painting studio so i wanted to play with the idea of being able to paint with my fingers. I really like to doodle and i figured I would experiment with different things like paint brushes, chalk, sharpies, and pens.  At first it seemed like alot of fun, but after a while my fingers started cramping up and loosing blood circulation as i tried to do everyday things. luckily i spend most of my time at the studio so it wasn't too bad, and at times worked to my advantage...painting was pretty interesting, and fun trying to paint with brushes taped to my fingers. i then moved on to some chalk, then some sharpies and pens. I ended up doodling on different objects and surfaces. The responses i got from people were minimal, i just got some stares but nothing to crazy.

Artist!

If i wanted to be an artist i would probably choose Gabriela... from the band "Rodrigo y Gabriela". They're not really that well known, but I've always wanted to play guitar the way Gabriela does. i love guitar and I've been playing for about 6 years now, so every time i see a new style or technique i want to learn it. and every time i see the music videos, im amazed at how great she plays and gets every rhythm, and beat playing so harmonically to the rest of the instruments. And i just really like how she plays the guitar with different hand techniques that creates percussion along with melody.

Vilain!

I think i would choose to be Bowser from super Mario. I mean...he's a dragon. how awesome is that! plus he has all those goombas and turtles as henchmen, who would do anything for him, even walk back and forth all day until Mario touches them...e,very loyal and determined. I would love to have turtles, they're so cute. It would be awesome to have people do my homework and read my boring art history reader and then write those 3 pager responses on them.

I not much of a villain, nor do i really want to be i dont want to spend my awesome powers worrying about how i can take over the world or destroy other people, it sounds hard and not as exciting.

Thursday Hero!

If u had to pick a specific super hero i would want to be Superman. He can do anything! and it works out well because there is no Kryptonite lying around in the real world, so no weaknesses. being able to shoot lasers from my eyes would definitely come in handy when i want to kill a spider. And being able to fly would make my transportation to and from the art studio to my apartment so much more convenient.

If i could be any super hero i want to be i would really like to be able to be one with powers to turn back time. i think its ridiculous how fast time goes by, and sometimes i just don't have enough of it. it's stressful and there's nothing i could do about it now, i think being able to back in time to fix things or just have some time to do the things i want to do, would be pretty nifty.

wednesday

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Tuesday

Jammin

friday

The Nexus
http://oraleguey7.blogspot.com/2011/04/dont-read-yet.html

Personal Space
http://oraleguey7.blogspot.com/2011/04/disturbing-peace.html

Act of kindness
http://oraleguey7.blogspot.com/2011/04/friday.html

Confessions
http://oraleguey7.blogspot.com/2011/05/week-doc.html

Pun
http://oraleguey7.blogspot.com/2011/05/pun.html

Sequence
http://oraleguey7.blogspot.com/2011/05/blog-post.html

Pun

Here's my pun, i decided to do a "couch potato". i made the couch out of cardboard and newspaper mache. and i just used two ordinary potatoes to complete the piece.

Thursday

the flash mobs today were fun. My favorite one would have to be the Duck Duck Goose one, just because I haven't played a game like that in so long. I also thought that it was even more entertaining playing out in the middle of the bike loop, it was the weirdest place to decide to play that game. And even though I was the first one to get tagged i could tell people were having fun running around in circles, and in wet grass which was even harder.
I also enjoyed the gun one that we did in the ucen. i think it was probably the must successful of all the one we did throughout the day. people infiltrated the ucen so well and blended in so well that even i was surprised when it was time to pull out our guns.

Wednesday.

Tuesday

Classes are slowly killing me, I underestimated the workload this quarter, but i am doing my best to stay on top of it. overall it could have been worse, i still have a firm grasp on most things and I seem to balance everything out so that i make sure to have things done when they need to be. I am currently taking an art history 146k European Architecture, and i have to say that having that class at 8am does not help my attention span. I am also taking intermediate Painting, which is also a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. i enjoy doing different projects and I'm excited for all of my finish products. I am also taking advance Painting, Its one of my favorite classes because I can paint anything i want, and seeing my own ideas develop the way they are is very exciting. Painting does take a lot of my time but i really enjoy it and i wanted to take advantage of my last quarter here, since i wont have these opportunities later.

Monday

Lecture was entertaining as always, i always think they are very interesting. i really enjoyed the comic themed lecture, and how Kip elaborated on how they are more than what they seem to be. I think that artists like Bill Waterson are amazing for trying to stay true to their principles, especially in our society today, in which everything revolves around money and marketing. I also believe that basing stories on real experiencing is even more powerful than fiction because the way it is created has more feeling and a deeper/ personal thought process. I think about the work I do, and I realize that I enjoy things a lot more when they are things that I hold to be special to me.

saturday

Prop 1
I kind of wanted to go back to my idea of disturbing people at the library. Im really interested on how creeped out people would get, and what they are willing to do to get rid of me. I was thinking of not just limiting myself to the library but all over campus.
Prop 2
I also thought about following people and serenading them, with my guitar I would be dressed up ofcourse. If I were being seranted I would probably feel extremely ackward, which is my goal for this project.
Prop 3
I was watching gramma’s boy the other day and I thought it was funny when one of the guys believed that he could become invisible by trying to blend in with the wall, so I thought It would be interesting to see if I could do the same and see how many people would notice me, as I try to creep around campus.

Friday

I’m definitely interested in flash mobs. I think it would be interesting to see how the public would react to whatever we do. Where we would do it, is also important on how much of a reaction we were to get. I think it would be cool if we were to do something inside the Ucen, perhaps in the food court or the bookstore where all those gauchos roam, maybe even the library would be a good idea for a location, although I don’t know if people will appreciate us interrupting their youtube videos.
As for what we do, I think it would be interesting to have a crapload of our phones going off, probably playing the same tone or song, kind of like those annoying ads you can’t turn off in the internet.

Thursday

Not too long ago I saw Insidious at the movies with my friends. Its started out promising it really got me a little shaken up but it turned out kind of lame in my opinion. Anyways despite its failure to frightened me, I still thought its composition was very interesting. Some of the imagery was very impressive and the colors on part of it really fit the mood and the theme of the movie. Everything would suddenly become dark and strange and some stills could really play off to be independent pictures.
I also thought that it was trying to go back into the style of older horror films in which things seem very cheesy and cliché. But I think it was a good imitation of that old style, by watching this film you could really compare how much our scare tolerance and culture has changed. It can also be blamed on how far our technology has advanced; it allows us to explore different effects that make the viewer react in different ways.

wednesday

Tuesday

Everyone’s quick little presentations were really enjoyable. Because there were no restrictions on what we could do, everyone’s narrative was really different. But I would have to say that the one that I really enjoyed was Erika’s documentary about being half cat, half human. It was so funny and entertaining, I was made really well. Its composition was really great as well; it had a good balance with comic effect and the main idea. It was very creative in the way that such a story was put into a real life concept, and the way it really portrayed to being an interview that you would find on TV. I also enjoyed Alex’s work a lot as well. He got into character really well and everyone was constantly laughing. It was very original and fun to watch. I really wasn’t expecting to see these kinds of presentations today, and I was really impressed by all of them.

Monday

I really enjoyed the lecture. Listening to everyone’s different pieces was really interesting and captivating. I really enjoyed trying to listen intently to their words and in the manner they decided to express them in. I was really impressed by all of them, the ones from the students were all very distinct, and had their own styles. And watching Beau performing his stuff was really amazing as well. You could tell he’s really good at doing what he does, and his interaction with the crowd is very affective. I remember seeing a documentary about Beau about a year or two ago, so I was really interested in watching him perform in person.
The lecture really made me think about those instances in life that trigger such strong material for pieces of art. It could have been a tiny instance in life, but that moment could mean a million different things when retold in words or image. I have become more aware of these things and I feel like I start to analyze everything, trying to figure out how it can change the things I do.

I did a series of words that I found all over the art studio. I noticed that there are a lot of different messages written and posted around there, so i thought it would be interesting to put some of them together. the main one i noticed was a note left written on one of the tables, saying "hello, I love you wont you tell me your name?". i tried working of of this, by making my sequence based on a love letter or confession that someone has left behind for their special someone. here's what I got.

week doc

This week I was able to present my confessions project. Overall the project affected me more than I thought it would. I honestly didn’t expect to react the way I did when I was retelling my experience. As I was telling everyone what everything meant, I felt like I was reliving those moments again, and I had forgotten how that felt. So it was definitely unexpected, but I’m also glad I decided to do that, I started thinking about a lot of personal things after that, and the way they affect me today.
As for the actual visual sculptural piece for my confessions, I knew from the start how I wanted to present it. I wanted people to read the letter like they were the ones receiving it, and I wanted that shock, or fear to come across in a certain way. To receive something so suddenly has left a very strong impression that I will never forget the feeling of it, and telling a story is not as powerful as experiencing it firsthand.

friday

An idea I had was creating some sort of scene based on the little things that happen at my work. I work at a Chinese food place here on campus and I hate it there. It’s so torturous just thinking about going there, but I guess it’s not that bad sometimes. I was thinking about doing a story board on it, or a comic book, on the different reactions and personalities that buy Chinese food daily.
Another idea I had was illustrating the idea of how frustrating it is when trying to turn off the volume of an ad that can’t be found on a webpage. I thought it would be funny trying to exaggerate that frustration through a sequence of attempts to turn the noise off.
The third idea I had was to make up a song using a sequence of chords, that can be played together in order to give the sense of some sort of narrative. By playing with different melancholic, happy, fast-pace tones and rhythms, I thought it would be interesting to see if people could follow the different transitions.

Fav .Artist

Ok so picking my favorite artist is very hard, I don’t particularly prefer a certain artist right now because i like different styles. But if I were to pick an artist, I would have to pick Rosson Crow. I had an assignment to do based on her style, and I really enjoyed the different aspects of her work. I learned a lot trying to imitate her work (intermediate painting assignment) and I grew fond of it. I like the way she uses cinematic images, without actually using people in her work. Her paintings consist of interior and exterior environments that are full of energy, giving the sense that something exciting just happened in them. I love the colors she chooses to use, and the atmosphere she creates using fictional scenarios. It’s so chaotic and pleasing to look at trying to follow what’s going on.

Wednesday

Today, was a great day however, it was exhausting as hell. I don’t know what to write about except about what I have been doing the last couple of days…weeks. Im taking two different painting classes so that really takes up a lot of my time, but I enjoy it, nonetheless. I have been working on this circus theme painting for intermediate painting, and I am really enjoying it a lot. The theme for the assignment is abstraction so playing around with realist images trying to change what they portray is very interesting.

Anyway, I have been here, (at the paint studio) for what seems like forever, but im only here for one last quarter so I have to take advantage of these classes before it’s too late.

Well that’s it, I have to go paint now.

Tuesday

So for our last set of presentations, I would have to say that I found the cigarette murder scene to be one of the ones that stood out for me the most. I thought that he presented in a very straight forward way that proved to be powerful. I thought that it was a very emotional confession that constantly keeps the gears turning in your head. Especially if you relate to the issue in anyway, analyzing it puts your life on the screen.

Even though the presentation about the timing confessions was a fun one, I thought it should have been a little more organized. But I also believe that because we ran out of time towards the end it affected the presentation. But I thought it was a great idea, especially since he did not know what people were going to ask him. But then, you got to question if he was actually being honest

Monday Lecture

I really enjoyed Sally Mann’s work the most in today’s lecture. Her images were so upfront and powerful. The way that her children or the other people were looking at the camera, or the way that they were posing really made me wonder what was going on in the scene.

Because the images were very maternal, I was surprised to find out that Jessie had said that her mother never expressed any love towards them.

When looking or creating something personal the imagery or concept, I feel, is so much stronger. It is that personal experience of living everyday in a certain way, that no one else can re-create, or experience in the same manner. I think that’s why these images stand out to me. This was Sally’s life, and she is documenting it in a way that is specific to her. Therefore, I conclude that, because of this, the onlooker tries or even wants to see it in the way she did; in order to appreciate the content that much more.

Art in Athleticism

On Friday I attended the Art in Athleticism fight at the old gym. It was very intense I really wasn’t ready to see that fight. But it could also be because I have never seen an actual fight up close. But overall it was very awesome to see different opponents demonstrate their abilities and talents in such a way. It must have taken a lot of practice and determination to get that good, and to hold your own against another opponent is very impressive. It goes back to the idea of working your mind along with your body to perform in an effective way. Tolerance, endurance, and patience have to be built, and it can be said that the body becomes a work of art in itself, it is molded and worked on to create a whole new form. The end product can be used in comparison to the way things were prior to the new developments.
Here a video, awesome job Desiree!

Sunday. Robert reading

Robert Rauschenberg’s work, although strange and different, introduce a new way in seeing things. His works consists of purely single colored paintings and sculpture made of “ugly things”, as described by one of the viewers. It’s an interesting concept to think about; is there a specific way to see a piece of art? Should there be an elaboration by the artist in order to understand its full meaning and potential?
I believe that the meaning of a piece should be left up to whoever is seeing it. However they should take into consideration the process and the reason that certain materials and implications are made. After all they are in the piece for a reason; to help the onlooker thinking about said ideas.
Rauschenberg explains that painting relates to both art and life, and that her wants to see something for what it is, not for what it isn’t. This statement of creating works of art from what reality has to offer, opens up controversies of whether reality can really be viewed as art.

Saturday. Chapters 7 and 8

In chapter 7, the question of whether comics are a formed of art is raised. According to the author, art is anything that is not created from survival or reproduction. He goes on to explain that art is everything that our personalities and identities help develop. The structure of how a piece is created is based on; idea, form, idiom, structure, craft, and surface. These steps are subconsciously followed, but they must be followed with determination and that potential to want to create something.
In chapter 8, color is introduced. In comics, cyan, magenta, and yellow are the primary colors used to create the iconic representation of what American comics look like. The mood, tomes, role, depth, and other characteristics of comics were represented by a combination of color contrasts and intensities. Colors hold a lot of power, especially when their combinations are mixed and placed next to each other. These colors give of sensations that add to the story line, and are able to express feelings, shapes and depth.

Friday

For my act of kindness, I chose to leave my apartment complex door open. I always find that there are people who have forgotten their keys or just want to get in, waiting outside the locked door. It really is an inconvenience and I don’t know why they just don’t leave the door open. I frequently am left outside these doors waiting as well, and it is very inconvenient. The only other way to get in is by going down through the garage and taking the stairs back up through the inside.
So in order to make people’s, as well as mine, a little easier I grabbed a bag and found a way to tie the door to the rail to hold it open for everyone.

Thursday!

Today we had more great performances; it’s really inspiring to see people confess such personal confessions. One of the performances that really stood out for me was the one about the miscarriage. The presentation was really amazing, I really appreciated the composition and the ideas and symbols that it portrayed. It was really well thought out, and was a very powerful and moving piece. And especially for being such a personal confession, a lot of thought and emotion seemed to have gone into it.
The weakest piece of the day, I would have to say was Alex’s presentation. I just felt that the power point was way too formal, even thought alex himself was very enthusiastic. I feel that because it was a piece about concerts which are known to be wild and crazy, the presentation should have been, perhaps, less organize, and more free and based on performance. Other than that, it was still very successful, the whole class seemed to really be entertained the whole time we watched it, and listened to his stories and experience.

Wednesday free for all!

Let’s see, today I was able to get some sleep finally after pulling an all nighters for intermediate painting. I painted a Picasso for the assignment that was given, and I’m really excited on how it came out. I’m not used to painting with oils and to see it complete is really exciting. I’m really excited about sleeping, I feel like I have not been doing much of that lately, I underestimated all of my classes and time feels like it doesn’t want to wait for me to catch up.
In spite of that seeing my finished projects makes up for it. I love trying new things and being able to increase the content on my portfolio is very important to me. But it’s also nice to just sit back and watch TV sometimes too.
Let’s see what else happened today…o yes! I went flying! I flew pretty far too. Too bad it was off of my skateboard though. Luckily I didn’t break anything, but I’m super sore and achy. I was skateboarding to work today and there was a lady in front of me who clearly saw me and the direction I was going, and she continued to cross my path, so I tried to make a quick turn and my skateboard got caught on one of those tree nut things, and I took off. It hurt; the stupid lady didn’t even bother to look back…o well.

Presentations

Today’s presentations were really great, and very creative. I can’t really pick one because I thought most of them were very moving. To see fellow art students confessing their most personal secrets is really motivating. One of the pieces that I enjoyed was Erika Frost’s story book. I thought it was a very interactive and playful way to get such a secret across. And to perform it with such enthusiasm added to a strong representation. The story was very well organized and along with the illustrations, was very original.
Furthermore even though Walter’s piece was very creative, I felt like his message was hard to understand. Even though the poster contained good material, I feel like the organization was a little hard to follow. I think it would have been a lot stronger if perhaps the presentation was based on more than just pictures and extended to more personal symbols that may have stood out the most for him. Or perhaps if he used something other than the science project board, something that would do justice to what he felt, or what he was going through. I felt like the poster board may have taken away some of that justification, since we associate with it our days back in high school, for science projects.
Overall, I still think that all of the presentations were unique in their own way and because of that unique connection to their confession, they became really successful.

Lecture

I really enjoyed today’s lecture, the whole twin thing was unbelievable, and really left me thinking about communication. For them to make up there own language and to be able to understand each other the way that they do is really interesting.
I also thought that the whole concept about mapping our different characteristics and values was important. When listening and watching the lecture, I couldn’t help but notice how accurate Kip’s examples were. We all do it, we just don’t think about it, or analyze our actions when we do them. The fact that we, as a society, assume that everything that is shown to us is the truth, proves just how brainwashed we are. A good example was the representation of beauty that is portrayed by a Barbie doll. Once again we believe everything that comes from this “ideal’ doll, and it’s because of her appearance. The propaganda, advertisements, and “facts” that she displays, becomes our culture because the onlooker pays attention to the trends and the need to be perfect. As a result, the stereotypes that are created feed superficial values that are slowly created from exposure to such products.

Art Show!

Last Tuesday, I went to the second opening for Whenever You Are, We Are Already Then, honors’ thesis show. It was a great show, all the pieces were definitely different in their own way. The one that really caught my attention was Carissa Zabada’s piece on the human mind. It was an installation piece that consisted of mirrors that covered an entire room and within it contained different aspects and representations of the human mind. I also enjoyed Leo’s work, after seeing different renditions of it, I liked how he altered it to really make it a more interactive work. I also like the fact that I ate some art, the cake in the tent was delicious. Overall everyone had their own approaches and their own project ideas, I thought it was interesting how no one piece was like the other, everyone has their own visions of what art it and what is created from those ideas are really baffling and thought provoking. They also had a mini interaction piece in which the viewer has to draw a Mickie Mouse and place it on the wall. I chose to challenge this request by drawing a duck instead, I figured they wanted to get some sort of reaction from the different styles of Mickyes, so I wanted to see if I got some sort of reaction by drawing something completely different, in this case, a duck.
Overall, it was fun seeing everything, plus they had great food.

Sunday. John Cage

After reading John Cage’s biography I realized that the life of an artist/ musician/ …etc is unbelievably draining. But I am sure its enjoyable. Anyway I found the fact that Cage preferred to leave out the concept of the subconscious. By performing and creating his work by chance means that he has no control over the outcome. But I guess that what experimentation is for. If you don’t try things in a different manner, how will you discover new ways of approaching something? Furthermore the idea of leaving everything to chance, can be questioned to whether its by chance at all? After all he did work in a controlled environment with material he chose before he started. But I guess that can be considered toward limitations other than just chance.
To me this idea is terrifying. Although his work was successfully carried out, I do not think that it is something that can be approached so care free. Well, it can but will you get the results you were anticipating? What if it doesn’t work? Other than my own fears and I really do appreciate his work in wanting to incorporate everyday sounds to something other than just what they are, it is definitely important to consider everyday aspects of life and refresh their function or definition.

Saturday! Chapter five

Chapter five explains how incorporating senses with images, in order to really get an idea across to the onlooker. Expressionism is introduced as artist wanting to get an idea across through the use of Synesthesia. The texture, tone, color, width, shapes, etc, create a new sense of being able to see such feelings. I personally love this concept, who doesn’t? Through synesthesia new concepts can be argued, painting illusions can be created and just the fact that you’re looking at am image that awakens other sense other than just sight is amazing. It’s what makes an image so unique, because it brings it to life.
In chapter six, the concepts of using text and images together to form a new style of narrative is brought up. It is through the relationship of text and picture that the message of an image can be given off. It depends on the specification of the text in relation to the picture that can send a message across. Every different style or combination amplifies something in the image that allows a message to be sent, and it gives the image such a power that makes it come to life. Without this, disaster would hit because the viewer cannot put a story together without hints in expression and words.

Friday! Scary!

My scariest moment was perhaps around last summer or so. I get the scariest hallucinations when I sleep. I’m not crazy, or on drugs, I just get sleep terrors or sleep paralysis.
So what basically happens is that I wake up in the middle of the night, but I am completely paralyzed, no one can hear me, my breathing slows down, and I have hallucinations. There have been documentaries that say that there are people who experience this sometimes see black figures, and I haven’t really seen any, *knock on wood* but I have felt their presence.
Now that I’m putting this into words it sounds like some exorcist movie, but it’s nothing like that I promise, you guys should Google it, it’s interesting.
Anyway, the only way I could describe it is as a very, very realistic, but scary dream. I know when it happens and I desperately try to wake up every time but, I can’t really make that happen as fast as I want to.
Ok so, I “woke up” during my sleep, and I instantly knew I was having another sleep paralysis episode. I panicked like I usually do, but this time it was especially scary. I look around and in my room trying desperately to move or wake up, feeling that if I didn’t do it soon, I would see or feel something terrifying. That feeling alone did it for me, and then out of nowhere I feel some-one or something put their hand on my shoulder. I tried to look behind but I was to scared, and I felt something dark behind me (I was face down) and I started to freak out and screaming my ass off hoping that one of my roommates would see or hear me struggle and wake me up. But like always no one heard me and I eventually woke up with a cold sweat. It was like being in one of those scary movie scenes.
Well that’s just one of many, I’m sure I’ll get use to them soon, and not freak out as much…I hope.

Thursday! Happy/Proud

My proudest moment, thus far, I can’t really specify the day, seeing as I consider it to be an ongoing phase. These last few quarters here at UCSB have been especially intense, but for some reason as intense as it has been I have pushed myself to be more prepared and make sure to do everything right and with full effort. Compared to the way I handled things in the past, I’m doing pretty damn good, if you ask me. It’s very stressful, but I make sure to include everything I want to do, not just what I have to do.
This excitement of being able to handle so much, with promising results gives me even more motivation to do things. I think that it’s because it my last quarter here and I want to take advantages of all of the opportunities that I have available here. I kind of wish I began doing this sooner, I could have done so many things. My thinking process and values have changed as well, I look at things in different ways, and it’s very exciting to know that everything is possible with practice and confidence.

Wednesday.

My proudest moment was probably when I made my first real painting. It was when I had recently changed my major to art, so it was extra exciting for me. After spending the first two years hoping around different majors looking for the right I finally felt like I was doing something I really wanted to do.
So I took my first intermediate painting class, with Phil Argent, in the fall of 2009 I want to say. Before then, I had never really painted something on my own, other than still lives and I don’t count those. The assignment was to paint anything I wanted as long as Text was incorporated somehow. At first I had no idea what to do but after talking to Phil I got started and began my first study. I loved it from the start, and after two study painting I was ready to create the final.
I was ready to go after playing with the same idea for the whole quarter, so after I stretched out my first canvas I got my paint out and started mixing colors. I spent days on it, and a few all nighters, and after seeing it when it was completely finished I was completely satisfied and proud, I never imagined it would come out the way it did. It might not have been that great, but after spending so much time on it I didn’t care. On the day of crit people walked up to me before class and complemented me on my work, it was very satisfying that all those hours payed off. Aside from that crit went pretty well, considering that no one said anything bad about it.
So there it is, every time I look at it, it reminds me of the process and everything I learned and experience during that time.

Study #1

Study#2

Final

Tuesday. Embarassing!

Ok, even though this happened so long ago, I still remember it as one of the first times that I really got embarrassed. So it happened in the second grade...or first grade, whatever the thing is it happened. It was during Christmas and my class was signed up to do a Christmas play/show/ pageant thing, and my part was to do a little dance to the song “I want to wish you a merry Christmas”. Ok this is where it starts.
So during my childhood I loved to spend my class time in the clouds, or so I was told by my teachers, so I sometimes didn’t pay attention to things. But in my defense, I was a kid at the time and kids never pay attention!
When the night of the show came around I got myself all ready to go and off to school we went. For some reason I never thought about what I was supposed to do once I got on stage, but once I did I wished I hadn’t. I went up there in front of all the parents and teachers and tried to follow along with the rest of the girls. It turns out we had a little dance to do and I tried quickly to figure it out, in order to catch up. I was so disoriented and lost; I was all over the place.
Everyone laughed- and I mean everyone. I was so embarrassed, I never saw so many people looking at me at once. After the show everyone walked up to me to tell me how cute that whole skit was and how funny I was. Sure it was funny to them, and it is now that I think about it, but at the time I was so embarrassed, which is why I still remember it to this day.

Monday: lecture

The messages that artists such as Catherine Opie and Robert Mapplethorpe bring up, raise questions of lifestyles and what society considers to be right or wrong. The use of the human body demonstrates a stronger concept because it is forced into the onlooker's face, becoming inevitable. They are definitely strong images that trigger the way we interact in certain situations, and make us more aware of how our mind is influenced by society.

By using the body to represent a concept, the idea becomes more personal and universal, which also enables a stronger response. Furthermore, when we look at advertisement, our ideals and values are manipulated in order to feel like we fit into a certain image.
As a result people become more conscious of how they build their bodies, and tend to only care for what the media portrays the perfect person to be.

With artists such as Sam Hsieh, the idea of time is once again shown right in our faces, what took him a year to accomplish we saw in a matter of minutes. These concepts help us see time and the way that it takes its toll on our bodies.

sunday! Confession Brainstorm

One of my confessions revolves around the idea of my hate for confrontation. It is something that I feel I can’t escape, and that eventually leave me vulnerable to the problems of real life. For this exercise I want to demonstrate this by creating a white mask with an eye in the front that hides my face from people and conflicts. I chose a mask, because I always feel that I could express myself the way I want when I don’t have to look at people in the eye. I still chose to have an eye, to demonstrate a window of still having enough courage to attempt to confront those or that which I am hiding from.
Another idea I had was about my fear of graduating and being released into the real world to fend for myself. After all these years of being under my parent’s safety net, I have grown accustomed to having that comfort and I fear that I am not completely prepared to face life’s rude wake up call. For this idea I would like to surround myself with objects that represent accomplishments, and objects that suggest this change in lifestyle.
The last idea I had was my fear of rejection, not just with people but with my goals. After working so hard to get where I want to get, I’m afraid that it can all be taken away from me in a single moment. So I would like to demonstrate that by having a red stamp in my forehead with the words “reject”, as a way of trying to deal with that fear.

Chapter 3 and 4

Chapter three talks about closure and the illusion that there is more to an image or idea, without actually considering what is presented to us. This sense of “closure” allows us to see images and transform their meanings and motion as an act that consist of gestures and narratives. But in order to experience closure, the onlooker must be consciously involved with their creativity and imagination. As a result a sense of space and time can be created, giving the narrative some realism. `In comics these attributes can be demonstrated through the aid of transitions such as , subject, action, scene, moment, aspect, and non sequitor.

Chapter four introduces time, and our ability to acknowledge it in images. The illusion of time can only be observed by what is perceived in an image. The sequence in an action builds that time as our eye wander from point A, to point B, to point C, etc. Furthermore the panels, or frames in which we see these images only add to dimensions in different times and space. When we look at an image, we automatically believe that the image stands in its own different world plane separate from our own. Its like the framework itself is a portal to the image’s world.