Week 14: Artist Interview – Charles Banowetz

Charles Banowetz is part of the Liminal which is a collaborative show that includes about a dozen or more different artist presenting their work. Banowetz wants to state his artistic intentions without feeling like he is being dishonest or prohibited from experimenting beyond this piece of paper. He stated that his focus is mostly on elements of nature, represented both literally and conceptually. He hopes that the art he create will inform or show others where he is able to find peace. His paintings are an attempt to recognize the massiveness of life and an introspection of meditative environments. When I first looked at this piece of art done by Banowetz it does look very peaceful. When I was looking at this piece I was able to see the trees, clouds and fogs that is circulating in the painting. I love art works that is related to nature because it is able to show the viewers how beautiful nature is.

Week 14: Classmate Interview – Guillermo Vargas

For this week’s Classmate Interview, I got the chance the speak to Guillermo Vargas. He is currently freshman and a pre-major for mechanical engineering. He does not dorm here although he said it would have been fun to. But instead he decided to live at home in Compton so he can save some money. Plus the drive to school only takes him about twenty minutes or so. Lives with his grandparents and also has an older sister and a younger brother. Throughout high school Guillermo was in wrestling so he went from school to school. He told me that he knew the high school that I went to so that was pretty cool. He told me that college is very different from high school but he was able to catch on quick and he really loves it at cal state long beach. He loves the freedom that he has as a college student, he can take whatever class he wants at which ever time he chooses to. Guillermo is enjoying art class because it is different than the rest of his class since he gets to interact outside of the class room rather than just listening to the professors lecture. Guillermo wants to make the next three years in college most memorable, I think he will be able to do that since he has a great personality.

Week 13: Extra Credit – Classmate Algorithmic Art

Jasmine Ann Barmun – Text Message Poetry

I decided to do Jasmine’s algorithmic art it was pretty easy to do. All I needed to do was go through my phone and look at the last ten people I message and write down the third word from that message up until the tenth person. Then make a poem out of the words. The poem doesn’t make sense but it sounds pretty funny.

“She’s remember today bro know this not like that dumb”

Alayna Grapel – Alorithmic Art Circle

For Alayna’s artihmic art, I had to draw five circles of any size, four diagonal lines, then five words that relates to my day then draw a personal design of my own reaching from one side of the paper to the other. My outcome is just like hers not that great but it got me thinking about what I did throughout my day. Its kind of like doodling randomly, but different people will choose different words to describe their day. That way everyone can think about how their day went and what they did.

Lacey Alaniz – Algorithmic Art Pattern

  

For Lacey’s algorithmic art I used a ruler and placed it along the 8×11 paper and mark each inch with a dot. Draw diagonal line connecting the opposite dots then draw the opposite lines intersecting the other line. For the coloring, I needed to color every other diamond red, the remaining blue, the alternating triangle green, and then color the remaining triangles yellow. I followed all of the steps but then I messed up on the coloring towards the middle but it still looks every nice. Her algorithmic art was not hard to do but it was a long process. I believe she used marker to color, I didn’t have any markers so I colored mine with color pencil. My work still turned out nice.

Tai Bui – Algorithmic Art Paper Boat

For Tai’s paper boat I couldn’t fold my boat to look like his, I tried following the steps but I couldn’t really understand the process. I got something similar but I wasn’t successful. It was hard for me to follow the step because they were kind of confusing to me. When I am trying to create something that I have never done before I need the direction the be super clear and concise so I can follow it. It might just be me that can’t follow the directions but others might who knows.

Week 13: Classmate Interview – Khoa Do

For this weeks classmate interview I had the chance to talk to Khoa Do who is a freshman at our school. Khoa is majoring in Human Resources and Hospitality Management. But he is also thinking about Healthcare Administration, he didn’t make up his mind yet. Khoa and I known each other since middle school and also went to the same high school, but we never really talked until now. He was very nice throughout our conversation, it would have been nice if we started to talk earlier than we did instead of now. He told me that he is kind of struggling with his classes but he is trying really hard. So I told him if he needed help he can always hit me up on Facebook and I will help him as much as I can. Khoa is currently on the hunt for a job at the moment right now because he wants to start making money to help his parents out. But he said that looking for a job is very hard at the moment because every job requires experience and he has never worked before. During his free time Khoa likes to play games if not then he would go to the park to play basketball with his friends. Its kind of funny how we started talking today even though we knew each other for years, but I am glad that we did.

Blog Post #4 Extra Credit

My three most favorite activities were the Painting & Drawing, Student Choice, and Sculpture (Plaster Casting). The Painting & Drawing gave me the chance to work with spray paint so it was pretty fun. The Student Choice was hard but at least I was able to do whatever I wanted. The Sculpture was fun because I got to create something myself and had a good time at the beach.

My three least favorite activity were New Media, Portrait Photography, and Remix Culture. I didn’t like the New Media because I am not the type of person to just act out whatever pops into my mind. I thought that the Portrait Photography was kind of creepy. I didn’t even do the Remix Culture because I couldn’t think of anything to remix.

A. Tuesdays in UT-108, it gave us the chance to meet in class and ask Glenn questions about any confusion.

B. Activities Overall, we were able to do some hands on art.

C. Artist Conversation, it was not my favorite thing to do because the artists kind of made it hard for the student. I understand they all have their own expectations but it definitely got harder through out the semester.

D. Classmate Conversation, it was pretty fun and I got the chance to meet new people.

E. Using Your Website, it took me a couple times to get use to it but after that it was very easy.

Week 12: Activity – Algorithmic Art

For this week’s activity we need to create an algorithmic art which is work that that is created by following a set of rules or instructions or procedures. We are asked to create anything we want that involves procedures on how to accomplish it. So what I decided to do was fold a heart, with my twenty dollar bill but it could be any bill one, two, five, or ten dollar bill. Here are the steps on how I folded the heart;

1. Start with the bill that is in good condition, fold the right corner diagonally.

2. Unfold the corner that you just folded then fold the left corner diagonally.

3. Unfold that corner also, you should see that it formed an X, now push the tow side of the X together, and push the middle crease down.

4. Repeat step 1 to 3.

5. After that fold the right and left corner towards the middle.

6. Unfold and flatten the corners down so it would make a square.

7. Then fold both of the corners on both of the squares towards the middle crease then unfold and flatten the corner down.

8. After you finish with that side, now repeat steps 4-7 for the other side.

9. Fold the bill in half, then unfold it. Now, pinch the middle section along the crease that you made then bring the two triangles together.

10. Flip the bill over, then fold the flap that has a corner sticking out down. You will see that the two corner’s back are against each other, just took the corners in to hide them.

11. If you like you can insert a quarter in the middle. Finish

Folding the heart with money was one of the first thing that I learned how to fold beside the paper airplane. At first when I started folding the heard it was hard and kind of complicated but as I continue to practice it became easy over time. The heart looks plain and simple but it does have a special unique feature and special meaning to it depending on how you interpret it. I rarely fold these heart unless I am giving it to my girlfriend.

Week 12: Artist Interview – Katherine Cox

When I was at the art gallery I was very interested in the ceramics done by Katherine Cox. At first when I walked into the Dutzi Gallery I was like “Wow it looks like jade,” her ceramic works looks very beautiful, the carvings that are on the ceramics are perfect and they all have a unique pattern that made each other stand out. I thought it was very beautiful and it captured my attention right when I first saw it. Cox said that the use of of ceramic vessels and enclosed forms as sites for creating and displaying stories and imagery. Mainly she is interested in how the vessels that once functioned within the parameters of longstanding pottery traditions might deliver narrative imagery, motifs, and emblems. The forms are used to create a dialogue with the ideas of domestic within a home and how these ideas affect people. I really like the idea of how she focuses on how the ideas would affect the people since others opinion would help us to strive to do better. She stated that these are a reflection of how societal pressures contribute to an individual’s mindset, patterns and decorative elements suggest a presence of femininity. The images used come from her personal history with narratives that have been repeated through human history and she hopes to create a dialogue between people to change the narrative to be something different. She said that her choice of imagery came through a variety of experiences including how she grew up in Michigan and living in Southern California. She wants her work to drawn the viewers into the natural elements of the piece and relate to the various human experiences that they encounter. I really enjoy looking at the work that Cox done, they were very beautiful and very meaningful.

Week 12: Classmate Interview – Adam Price

I met Adam Price because I asked him about the activity that we were suppose to do this week because we were both confuse about it. So we talked for a little and decided to just do the classmate interview. Adam is a senior at our school and is majoring in Mechanical Engineering and he will be graduation at the end of this semester so congratulation to him. I kind of envy him for graduating this year because he does have to worry about school anymore, besides the fact that he has to work. Adam lives in Cypress so he drives to school every day because he wants to stay focus on his education since he is a full time student. He said that the one thing he regrets most about college was that he did not minor in Computer Science. At first Adam took this art class for his General Ed because his younger sister took this class last semester she recommended that he should take it too since it was very easy. But Adam began to like the class more because it is something different than all of the class that he took before because he gets to be outside and looking at things rather than just sitting in a classroom and learn. Adam told me that he got a job offer from the Navy Research and Development Center near Death Valley, so he will be working there after he graduates. He is hoping that he would gain a lot of experience and knowledge from working there, so when there is better offer he would accept it without doubting his abilities. I think that Adam is a great person and he will do just fine after he graduates and enters the working world to begin his career.

Week 11: Artist Interview – Gabriel Garcia

Being out at the art gallery is amazing like always because I get to see the beautiful artwork done by different artists. I enjoy looking at all the art work done by the artist because each piece of their work represents something to them and they carry a deep meaning to them that most people wouldn’t understand. When I look at their artwork I can relate to the meaning of the artwork or some time it tells me a different story. Just like Gabriel Garcia’s art work, he said his art work represents the challenges of an average man living in society where he needs to show his strong masculinity. I thought that this was an interesting topic and the way he represented it in his artwork. From what I see and how I was raised my men are expected to show their masculinity no matter what because that is naturally how the world was created. The way my dad raised me was that as a man I must not collapse to pressure or violence and my dad would always tell me an eye for an eye. I grew up thinking in a way where if somebody helps me I would help them back but if some body was to hurt me i would do the same thing back. My perspective began to change as I got older because I began to my own ways of thinking about society and how I should deal with it. So walking into the gallery seeing the strong words that he created in his art work, it reminded me of how my dad always taught me how I need to be strong and protect my pride. The word violence has a very big impact on my life because I dealt with violence for a long period of time throughout school because I came over from Vietnam when I was in elementary school, so I was bullied and alienated in many occasions. I can see in his art work that it consist mainly of black and gray. I think that black and gray shows a lot of masculinity for some reason, I just can’t explain why. Seeing some of the words that he used in the gallery it definitely brought back some memories for me and at the same time it did show me that masculinity is one of the problem that we face in society. Its just like how there are people that do not accept homosexual and I never really understood why. I think that everyone should have a choice to decided who they want to be and how they live their lives and people should not interfere with what they decided and just accept their decision, because they are no different than anybody. I really enjoyed looking at Mr. Garcia’s work because definitely brought up memories and thoughts that I have about society.

Week 11: Activity – Sculpture

     

This weeks activity is my favorite one in all of the activities that we did throughout the semester, so I had a lot of fun doing this activity. For the activity we needed to go to the beach, dig a hole near water, insert one of our hand or foot, use the wet sand to pour in it the hold and pack it, then use the plaster that we mixed to pour in the hole, then wait for about twenty five minutes for it to set and dry. My favorite part was digging the sand, I thought it was pretty fun. Mixing the plaster was pretty messy because it was windy so it blew it all over me and stuff. I think the most scary part was when I was trying to pull my foot out of the whole after I pact it with sand, I was worried that the hole would collapse. After I pull my foot out I poured the plaster in and was pretty worried that it the shape of my foot wouldn’t come out and I would have to start over. But after twenty five minutes the plaster was dried and I dug up my plaster foot, it turned out pretty nice. I think that I did an amazing job and really happy with the outcome because when I looked at my plaster foot I was able to see the shape of my toes which was super cool. I had a really good time at the beach because I was there around 11:00 am so the sun and the wind felt very nice. While waiting for the plaster to set I had the chance to exercise and enjoy the breeze at the beach and absorb some Vitamin D from the sun. Just like Glenn said, this activity is just a reason for us to have fun at the beach and I did so this was the most stress free and fun activity.