This past Saturday my friends and I decided to spend the day in LA and while we were there we decided to take a look at some of the places Professor Zucman suggested.

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Our first stop was the Bradbury building. Immediately after walking in I looked up and was completely amazed. The whole building was absolutely beautiful but my only disappointment was we weren’t allowed to walk up the entire stairwell to the top. Other than that my time there was great and we even took some good photos.

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Our second stop was the Biddy Mason Memorial. This was about a 3 minute walk from the Bradbury building and honestly without the directions I would have never found this place. It was hidden behind a bunch of tall surrounding buildings. All in all this was actually a great stop on our adventure through LA.

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Next we were getting hungry so we stopped by Grand Central Market. Grand Central Market had tons of options to eat ranging from Mexican food t PB&J to even Japanese food. I ordered a Chicken club from the restaurant above called Jose Chiquito but I was so hungry at the time I forgot to take a picture of it. All in all I definitely recommend it.

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Next off we went to The Museum of Contemporary Art. This was actually my favorite part of the day because all the pieces in the exhibit made me actually think. Some pieces I thought to be very plain and made me think to myself “this is famous art?”. Not only that but as an aspiring artist it made me believe that one day my piece could be in a gallery one day. In addition other pieces completely amazed me like the top middle photo of the heart and the top right photo of the collage of eyes.

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By the time we made it out of the MOCA sadly the line into the Broad became too long that we would’ve not been able to get in at a reasonable time before it closed.

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Lastly we visited the Disney concert hall which was absolutely beautiful. We spent a good 30min walking around and exploring the building. All in all my experience was so much fun and I’m glad I experienced it, especially with my best friends.

This past week our activity was to be a different person that our normal selves. For instance if you normally don’t wear makeup and dress very laid back one might do their makeup and wear a dress. The point of this experiment is to put you out of your comfort zone and be something different.

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The way I interpreted “Counterfactual identity” was taking on a different persona and I had the realization that I act and look completely different at work. Not only that but I meet all kinds of new people daily, so naturally I had to do it by implimenting it into my small talk with customers.

Overall I had mixed reactions from the customers. Everyone responded completely differently. When asked what they think my major was no one guessed it. Everyone thought nursing, psychology, childhood development etc. And when I told them it was Criminal Justice most people were shocked. But sadly I couldn’t let them guess my name because I wear a name tag.

All in all most people did respond to me differently. Everyone I interacted with was very formal and understanding while compared to my friends a completely different reaction. While home my friends are very loud, obnoxious and laid back while talking to me.

In conclusion, this experiment was very different to anything I had ever tried before but it was very interesting hearing strangers opinions and first impressions of me.

Artist: Ana Alvarez

Exhibition: Jen Redwater

Media: Animated

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

This past Wednesday I stopped by the LBSU Art Show known as “The Enchanted Borderlands”. I was immediately drawn to the animated/cartoonish style of Ana Alvarez and how this specific gallery was a mix of the Wild West and whimsical fantasy.

Ana Alvarez is an undergrad student here at California State University Long Beach. She is majoring in pre production. And differing from my last post this artist makes animated work, yet she also has a passion for ceramics too. She uses character design and concept art in her major frequently. Not only that but she genuinely enjoys her major. For instance when I asked her what was her favorite parts about her major she responded with storyboarding. She thought of it as a “sweet in-between of illustration and animation”.

Nevertheless, in continuation with her piece “Jane Redwater” it was a style of art that I had never experienced which amazed me. Not only that but the overall piece had many great qualities. Specifically the muted color scheme fit very perfectly with the Wild West theme as well as the the amazing line work. I also admire her sense of shading and sketchy style because it works very well when looking at the image as a whole. Additionally I appreciate how detailed and realistic looking her background is. Not only that but in comparison to her characters it works well because they don’t wash out or outshine each other.

Regardless of my admiration of the piece itself it has more meaning behind it. This piece shows the importance of being united and sticking together which is why Ana used the three cowboys aka the border elves in her piece. Back in the day the cowboys’ kinship is what helped them survive specifically sticking together and handling every situation as a team. Not only that but the togetherness meaning also relates to the gallery’s overall story. For instance the whole story line is based off of border elves being robbed of their mined minerals and how they get them back.

All in all the whole gallery was a very uplifting and amazing experience to me. Just seeing all the different styles and media showed me not to limit myself to just paper medias like painting or physical medias like ceramics. This gallery has made me want to try animation and graphic design. Not only that but the gallery also showed me togetherness specifically noting how Ana worked with her colleagues to put on this entire gallery.

1. I chose this idea because I was recently researching ethical dilemmas for my communications class and I came across the issue of ocean pollution.
2. While drawing this piece I hoped to communicate that our oceans are being constantly harmed by big businesses disposing of toxic and or waste material in the ocean as well as people just throwing their trash into the water because they are too lazy to walk to a trash can. Point is that our oceans aren’t dumping spaces and that there are millions of organisms that live there. Not only that but the constant pollutants thrown in the ocean are ruining beaches and killing marine life. For instance the whole straws and sea turtles dilemma which inspired the whole “Save the Turtles” movement.
3. I think I was semi successful displaying my message because when people look at my drawing they will think straws kill turtles I should stop using them causing the whole straw dilemma to decrease but the over all ocean pollution part I think it doesn’t come off as clear.
4. What I would do differently is instead of having that plain cup that the turtle is in I would make it a glass and draw other marine life and add trash and bottles floating on the top of the cup. Or draw in a hand above dropping trash into the cup.
5. Another idea I might explore that is considered “Shocking Art” is illusion art. I know this one isn’t focused on the overall meaning like my other piece but this art is shocking because I would draw something 2D but it would appear 3D.

1. I chose this story because my experience here at Long Beach has been so much fun and life changing with these two.
2. I think I did pretty well because all these pictures represent my amazing memories I’ve had here with them.
3. I would say that the very first picture because at that moment in time I never thought they would be my best friends or change my life for the better so much.
4. Not at all. To me all these photos are amazing even if separated. They all mean so much to me and always bring a smile to my face at every glance.
5. What I’d do differently next time would probably be putting in a photo at the beach because we are obviously in SoCal.
6. When asked if I have other photo stories if I’d like to tell I would say I honestly don’t know. I think this project is a very cool idea but I don’t have that much inspiration to continually make photo stories.

Artist: Maria Abrahamian

Exhibition: Expectations

Media: ceramic, gelatin, egg yolk

Gallery: LBSU School of Art Gallery

This past Sunday I attended the LBSU Art Show known as “So Long, And Thank You”. I Looked through all the pieces (which were all beautiful) but one artist really stood out to me. Her name is Maria Abrahamian, she had a whole room full of her pieces and it honestly blew my mind because she mixed common items as well as food with her ceramics pieces. Additionally her pieces really drew me to them because I have never seen anything like them.

Maria Abrahamian is a student in the School of Art’s Ceramics Program. She creates pieces using ceramics, weaving, and food to explore female sexualization through childhood experiences. Nevertheless while talking to her I expressed my love of ceramics and she asked if I was in the school of arts but I declined and responded saying I wish but sadly my parents won’t let me. She then expressed how she had been told similar. She said that’s the reason she went to community college before transferring into the Ceramics program. She had been told how it wouldn’t pay the bills and how she had been discouraged yet she still pushed through. Not only that but she genuinely enjoys the program and encouraged me to join the program or at least take a few classes.

However, going back to her piece “Expectations” it had many great qualities to it. Specifically the mixture of textures and shape amazed me. From the smooth, soft and rounded gelatin to the hard sculpted platter underneath the piece was very well rounded. Not only that but the small details of the platter had excellent linework and consistency. Even her color scheme was phenomenal because she balanced the piece very well by making the platter vibrant colors like pink and purple contrasting from the dull gelatin.

Despite my amazement with the creation of the piece it isn’t the only aspect of the piece. Maria’s overall meaning behind it was very inspiring. She stated how “As we age we distance ourselves from our upbringing by leaving behind what no longer serves us” and how it challenges feminine roles. Not only that but it shows how the time between childhood and womanhood collapses as you look back from where you currently stand. After being told this everything came to light. I understood why she made the piece look like bunt cake on a platter to show the stereotypes throughout society and empower woman while looking back on childhood experiences.

Lastly my overall experience with this piece was immensely positive. I loved her creativeness and whole meaning. I would have never thought to mix food and ceramics. Not only that but the piece reminded myself of the time I spent with my grandmother in the kitchen making bunt cakes just like this, so this piece warmed my heart.

This past week’s activity we again met at Piotr Kowalski’s 1965 sculpture NOW. There we sat and just observed and sketched. We created 6 drawing, 2 drinks, 2 trees and 2 people.

Ultimately this week’s activity was both very fun and frustrating to me because I really enjoy drawing but I am a perfectionist. To elaborate on that, throughout high school I took numerous art classes and was constantly drawing, sketching, painting, and sculpting. So when returning to drawing this past Wednesday I felt like I wasn’t at my 100%, which is why I was so frustrated.

But when asked “Do you think if you practiced for 100 hours, or 1,000, that you would get a lot better?” I believe you would get better the more hours you put and work into something. It’s the same as math, skateboarding and many other activities. The more you draw you get a better feel for the pencil or pen and it might inspire you more to keep drawing too.

In addition I am a criminal justice major and simple sketching does indeed come in hand/useful in my major. For instance, say someone got robbed and there was only one witness. Police would have that witness be interviewed by a criminal sketch artist who would make a drawing or even a 3D rendering on the computer of the perp.

Lastly, in my opinion I believe that drawing is not a language. I consider a language to be full of words that you can communicate but drawings can’t speak/have full languages. However, I do believe drawings can have hidden meanings in them and can create a message.

This past Wednesday our class again met at Piotr Kowalski’s NOW sculpture but instead of doing another activity involving the actual sculpture Professor Glen Zucman wanted to show us that all art isn’t intentional and it can be found almost everywhere and anywhere. Thus resulted in our class breaking off into groups of 4-6 and finding our “art”.

Our artistic piece is very fun and different from others in the class. Most were 2D or sections of nature while ours was 3d and surprising. Not only that but our piece generally has amazing form and shape and no matter how much blank space it has it still has great depth, length and width. It also absolutely amazing me how when looking at different angles it can be seen in differently which absolutely transforms the overall aesthetic to be very pleasant and astonishing.

And when it comes to content it can be interpreted all different ways. However my group interpreted the piece to be a student’s journey throughout college. For instance, you start from the very beginning when you are a freshman and as you go through the year it’s a whole new world of change and pleasant experiences. Then it continues to sophomore and junior year which are less memorable therefore explains why the piece goes downward. From then on it gets to senior year so the piece skyrockets back up to display the excitement about graduation and being done.

Nevertheless although our piece is unique I don’t believe it was art before we taped a frame around it. I believe this because the piece’s actual practicality is used to place and chain bikes so they don’t get stolen. It’s not really meant for anything other than to meet its purpose. And I believe the same when the tape is gone…it will just turn back into a plain old bike rack.

In my opinion art doesn’t have to reside in the body of the object but I draw the line when people just take something random and tape it off. In my opinion that is lazy and uncreative. There was no work done, no uniqueness or creativity, and no actual personal meaning because it’s not even your own handmade piece.

Not only that but I do believe there are exceptions when it comes to art being something other than an object handmade or not. One of these exceptions is photography. For instance, photographers take pictures of beautiful landscapes or sunsets or even animals. Point is those photos taken are considered art in my eyes.

In conclusion I am open to the idea of art residing to the experience of the viewer in addition to the piece but when it goes out of proportion and leans more towards the experience there’s not really much art considered to me. For instance, when someone points to a random object and compares it to their life I don’t consider that art but when someone looks at a piece with movement and depth as they follow leading lines or even the strokes throughout the piece that is what I consider an experience.

1. Overall I had a very pleasant experience while doing this painting. Me and Makalo were talking and having fun while spreading the paint across the poster.
2. It was definitely easier than I expected because I was worried the paint was just all going to turn a poopy brown color but we were actually able to avoid that for the most part.
3. Making a piece without a subject was definitely harder for me because I always think about what am I going to paint or sculpt with great detail then continue to draw thumbnails before I start my piece. But this experience was ok but to be honest this seems more like a background to me instead of a finished piece.
4. This seems definitely much messier and relaxed compared to other paintings I’ve done myself and seen but I’m starting to warm up to the idea of abstract paintings slowly.