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Week 12 - Public Art

My sister is a dancer and since we had a lot of time together during this pandemic, she decided to teach me part of a dance! I have never really been good at dancing, but love trying it out so gave it a try. After practicing it a couple times, we went out and I did it out in public! It was fun and only a few people walking by saw, but I liked it! I didn’t want to do it in a crazy busy place, partly because there aren’t really many people out and about during a pandemic, and this is my first time ever doing something like this in public. 

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Week 12 -  Artist - Abramovic-Althamer

Marina Abramovic is a Serbian conceptual and performance artist, philanthropist, writer, and filmmaker. She enjoys various concepts such as feminist art, limits of the body, the possibilities of the mind, and many more. She is often referred to as the “grandmother of performance art”, as she has been doing art for over four decades now. She also created an institute, called Marina Abramovic Institute (MAI), which is a non-profit foundation for performance art. 

Pawel Althamer is a Polish sculptor, performer, collaborative artist, and creator installations and art video, specializing in the contemporary style. He has enjoyed depicting friends, family, neighbors, and visitors in his exhibitions; even sometimes strangers! His art likes to creatively reimagine reality in order to shift conventional perceptions. 

Abramovic and Althamer are very similar, in that they choose challenging concepts that may confuse/go against societal views. They also both find inspiration in people or experiences around them, always working with what they know and creating something out of that. They differ in their media of art, as Abramovic enjoys more “live” art such as performances and filmmaking, while Althamer specializes in sculpting mainly. 

I really enjoy both artists work, but I think I prefer Althamer’s sculptures the most. I like that they are based off of real people in his life, some that he’s had deep relationships with and some he’s only seen for a split second. Each sculpture is unique and individual, made up in a way that is different than the others he’s made, sometimes made up of odd structures, yet you can tell what the person is doing and see their whole form. 

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Week 11 - Artist - Choice

Hannah Corpuz (my sister!) is an amazing artist. I am one of her biggest fans and love supporting her. She loves to sketch and draw whatever she feels or is inspired by in the moment. She has often told me that she doesn’t like to be asked to draw specific pieces for people, she’d rather draw what she is currently feeling. She mainly sketches characters from animes or some of her favorite K-pop artists, but she has also begun to dabble in animation. She is hoping to get a degree in animation and make her way to working at Disney Animation Studios or Pixar! I am highly sure she will make it there some day. 

The second artist is me! Before this class, I wouldn’t have really thought of myself as an artist, but after trying out so many art forms and being asked deep, thoughtful, art-related questions, it has made me think of myself as one! I may not immediately realize it, but many of the things I do are art. One of my favorite forms of expressing myself is through the art of fashion. I love picking out outfits that aren’t necessarily basic and have a bit more to them than an everyday outfit. My friends always tell me I dress up too much for something simple, like grocery shopping, but I just like to always look my best and be fashionable! I’ve also realized that even though I’m a science major, some of the things I do in class or lab are art. One example would be making slides in lab. 

What makes my sister and I similar art-wise?

We both love fashion. Hannah loves designing clothes and sketching out bold outfit ideas. Meanwhile, I’ve dabbled in sewing for a few years now and am always up for learning new patterns or techniques. We’ve always joked that one day she’ll be a designed and I’ll produce her designs.

What makes us different?

She takes art much more seriously. She actually practices technique and has taken numerous art classes, so knows more art history, different styles/techniques, etc. I only do art as a hobby or sometimes by accident, but still greatly enjoy it! 

I think we both really enjoy and appreciate art for what it is. We both love going to different types of museums, like antique art museums or optical illusion exhibitions. I’m happy to be able to get an inside view on what it’s like to be a serious artist from her view and what she learns as a student getting a degree in it!

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Week 11 - Art Activity - Choice

For this week’s art activity, I chose the art of coffee pouring. I have a few friends who have tried barista-ing or are currently baristas and they have always sent me pictures of their attempts at coffee pouring and foam art. Some can be quite beautiful and intricate, some can be really simple. You don’t get to experience latte art much, unless you’re at a pricey, aesthetic cafe or if the barista really likes you. I wanted to try my hand at it his week, since my friend has an espresso machine. I have had a few attempts and learned that you first practice by drawing out a design onto a piece of paper in the way that you would pour the milk. You then practice “pouring” by holding the pitcher over the paper and basically trace over the design as if you were pouring. Once you think you’ve got the hang of it and would pour smoothly, you try it out on a real drink! Of course, it took many attempts and I have still yet to master it. I tried to do a heart in this picture! It’s somewhat good I think. 

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The idea I chose was The Pandemic. I had a hard time choosing between making a collage of photos of my different pandemic outfits, making a video, or making a Tiktok. I went with creating a Tiktok because I feel that Tiktok became a huge part of my everyday routine once the pandemic started. It has become my most used social media and something I tend to spend hours on almost daily (I know, kinda sad). 

I am satisfied with my Tiktok because I think it encompasses how my life in the pandemic has been. I’ve mainly been a stay-at-home online college student. Typically, you’ll see Tiktok’s made like this, but with cute, stylish outfits, but I put a twist on it and posted my everyday outfits during the pandemic. I have been basically living in my pj’s and only put on actual outfits when I need to get groceries or run errands. 

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Week 10 - Artist - Joseph DeLappe & Micol Hebron

Joseph DeLappe is the Professor of Games and Tactical Media at Abertay University in Dundee, Scotland. Although now in Scotland, he is a native San Fransciscan (like me!) and is known for working with electronic and new media. He works with online gaming performance, sculpture, and electromechanical installation. He is more recently known for developing the concept “Killbox”, an interactive computer game about drone warfare. 

Micol Hebron is an American interdisciplinary artist, curator, and associate professor at Chapman University. Hebron is known for employing modes of feminist activism through art. She takes bold action through challenging the sexism in the media, such as taking part in a meeting with Instagram about the censorship of female breasts and trying to post a topless photo to Instagram outside of the meeting location (sadly, Instagram deleted her account shortly after). 

Both artists use a numerous amount of media, such as computer script, lectures, live performance, clay, Instagram, posters, and many more. 

I think there are many factors that go into choosing the media they desire. In part, it could be deciding which media will spread their message the best and how it can reach the optimal amount of people. It can also be which media can portray their message in a way that is best understood by the audience or in the way that best portrays the messages meaning. 

One media that I didn’t think of as traditionally an “art media” is the computer software that DeLappe uses to program his games. Gaming and computer related technology doesn’t strike me as an art at first, but through advances in technology, it most definitely can be a form of art and expression. 

I think that Hebron’s work is more of a challenge to society and media, compared to DeLappe’s work. Most of her work encompasses fighting for feminist activism and against the stigmas of everyday norms. Some of their media is common in that it is technology based. 

Media that they have not yet used that could be quite impactful could be more recent forms of expression, such as Tiktok, which is a widely used app nowadays. I used to think of it as just another social media platform, but it is actually greatly influential. I’ve witnessed several times someone post a Tiktok about a great product they’ve purchased, and minutes later that product is out of stock. That is the power of the up and coming media. 

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Week 9 - Art Activity - Time-Series Photography

Photography rule: Take a photo every time I see my cat lay in her favorite laying position (which is with her tummy flat on the floor)

I chose this rule because this is an iconic position that my cat, Opal, assumes. Rather than loaf like most other cats (which she occasionally does), she likes to sprawl out and be completely flattened on the floor, which I love. 

I liked my results because they capture her in various places of my apartment, like chilling in the living room or in one of my roommate’s rooms. They serve as fun memories that I can look back on and will easily remember what was going on at the time. 

In a marketing scenario, a rule-based exercise that could be done as a team could be to each take a screenshot of your phones activity statistics at the end of the day for a week to see which apps we used the most throughout the day or which apps we open when we first go on our phone to get an idea of what consumers are looking for. 

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Week 9 - Artist - Eric Singer & Ewa Xebra

Eric Singer is an artist who focuses on electronic and robotic musical instruments. Not only does he do that, he is also a multi-disciplinary artist, musician, programmer, and engineer. Many of his popular pieces are interactive and technological. Most interestingly, he enjoys working on algorithmic music through creating electronic instruments. 

Eric Singer’s musical robots are similar to player pianos in that they both electronically generate music. They are given instructions and produce music, not music played by a human. They differ in their capabilities, as musical robots can produce different sounds than a piano. 

Ewa Xebra is not a typical artist. She is a doctor, but has begun to show her artistic side through personal photos. She posts numerous photos on Flickr to document important moments of her life, most important being her daughter Luna. So far, she has documented every day of her daughter’s life from being born to present day (which is 2,485 days old). The photos of her daughter show a lot of growth and character, as she’s wearing different outfits and in different locations, or doing different activities. I like that they include a bit of context of what is going on in the parents lives as well. 

I think her images are very aesthetically pleasing, surprisingly! It takes a lot of work to take care of and raise a baby, while at the same time remembering to document the whole thing! Let alone dressing her in various ways and making a whole theme out of each photo. It’s nice to see the variation of some days she’s just snapping a photo of a random moment, whereas others are more staged. 

Comparing both Singer and Xebra, they are both producing work that expresses what they are truly passionate about. Singer is passionate about electronic music and software and that’s exactly what he’s putting his work into creating for everyone else to experience. Xebra is able to express her love and care for her child through documenting her everyday life as she ages, which will even be special for Luna to look back at once she’s fully grown. 

If I were to make a musical robot, I think I would make it piano focused, because I grew up playing the piano for about 7 years. It’s the instrument I am most connected too and the best first instrument to learn. 

If I were to take photos of something everyday for 10 years, I would choose my bougainvallea plant. I started growing it almost half a year ago and it’s gone through some crazy times. When I first bought it, it had beautiful pink flowers all over and lots of green healthy leaves. About a month into having it, all of the pink flowers began to die and I noticed it had an aphid infestation! I quickly got all of the aphids off and cleaned the plant, but it took a toll on it and all of the leaves and flowers completely died. After a month of watering it still, it started to come back to life! And is now slowly growing its beautiful pink flowers again. These plants are supposed to grow really big, so it’d be cool to document how large it can get within 10 years and see all the stages of its death and regeneration. 

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Week 8 - Art Activity - Photo Story

A day in the life of a college student during a pandemic

I always start my day by making my bed and tidying my space. This is my bed and desk in my apartment in Huntington Beach on a weekday morning. Keeping my space clean (especially since I’m here most the day, everyday) helps me think clearly and not feel like I’m trapped inside all day. 

Mornings are really important to me and set the tone for the rest of the day. My breakfast consists of peanut butter toast and a cold brew. I usually also eat some fruit alongside it. I like to watch a few Youtube videos in the mornings of some of my favorite vloggers and entertainers. 

This is my workout set up, consisting of a yoga mat, some workout bands, and a roller (and my cat Opal to keep me company). I like to keep myself active and workout a few times a week, especially since I am not as physical, being a student completely online and at home. 

A good portion of my day I am doing schoolwork and attending online classes. I have my planner on my desk to remind me of everything due and keep me on schedule. I like to fill this space with things that make me happy, such as a candle to relax or the picture frame of me and my boyfriend. 

This is me, about to leave to get groceries! My Monday’s always include getting groceries from my favorite place, Trader Joes. 

This is my balcony a little later in the afternoon. I like to make time to come out and read or tan. Spending a bit of time outside refreshes me and also alleviates the trapped feeling of being at home all day long. 

Much of my day is also spent taking care of my cats. Opal (left) and Enzo (right) require a lot of maintenance and cleaning. I have to sweep up their litter everyday and clean out their litter box, just to name a few of the chores they require. Not to mention constantly cleaning up the hair they get ~everywhere~

I like to end my day by relaxing and making a good home-cooked meal. This is beef broccoli and I have my current favorite show playing, The Good Place. I like to cook every night to try out new things and save money. 

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Week 8 - Artist - Addario-Cardiff-Miller

Lyndsey Addario is an American photojournalist who enjoys photographing concepts of conflict, human rights issues, and the role of women in traditional societies. She has photographed for many well-known publications, such as The New York Times, Time, and National Geographic. Addario went through being held hostage in Israel while covering a story for The New York Times, but was eventually released. Following this traumatic experience, she created a year-long documentary following three Syrian refugee families as they awaited asylum in Europe. She has moved on to further document other refugees going through tragic experiences. 

Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller focus on multimedia art, with their main medium being sound. Their first work consisted of a dimly lit room, furnished with carpets, cardboard, and artifacts that were triggered when visitors would walk through. Sounds would be played, such as musical instruments, bits of conversation, and stories. They have had recent exhibitions at Contemporary Arts Center, San Francisco, National Gallery of Canada, and many more prestigious locations. 

Addario and Cardiff-Miller work similarly in that they both tell a story. Although through different means, viewers are able to piece together a story, whether it be a series of photographs or audio cues. 

The main difference between their art is the form of media. Addario’s work can be viewed in a minute or less by simply looking at a photo and developing a story that way. Meanwhile, Cardiff and Miller’s work requires time to hear all that the audio is giving in order to build the full story. Addario’s photos tell the whole story through, maybe, the look in a refugee’s eyes or the environment that they’re in; it’s an immediate recognition. 

I think both concepts of real-world stories and whimsical ones are equally important. Although being contemplative and sometimes fun, it’s important to be able to express oneself and follow what you truly want to do. If no one were creative and whimsical, the world would be a very drab, sad place.

I would personally prefer a career like Addario’s. I think it takes real guts to travel to various countries to follow a story; places where you don’t know if you will be fully safe or what may happen. Places of war and conflict where you have no control, yet is some people’s reality. If we didn’t have people like Addario documenting those people’s lives, we would think the world was one big, happy place and we’d be living blindly to reality. It’s important that we know what is happening in other parts of the world so that we can be better, stronger people ourselves. 

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Week 7 - Art Activity - Headshots & Environmental Portraits

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Week 7 - Artist - Nan Goldin & Annie Leibovitz

Nan Goldin is an American photographer. She enjoys focusing her photography on LGBT bodies, intimacy, HIV, and the opioid epidemic. These are rather personal, controversial topics which is always challenging to put forward as an artist. Her work is now most often presented in slideshow form at film festivals and events. Her photos capture natural, vivid moments of girls looking in mirrors, drag queens, sexual acts, and so on. The images are almost as if they have come from someones private photo collection.

Annie Leibovitz is also an American photographer, but focuses mainly on produced portraits. She emphasizes celebrities in intimate, natural settings. She is now considered a living legend, having photographed numerous celebrities such as John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Her images are featured in widely-known magazines and publications, for example, The Rolling Stone.

This photo, titled U.S. Mens Olympic Water Polo Team, Culver City, California (Baywatch Tank), 1996, by Annie Leibovitz, is one of my favorites. I love the composition, that it is so full and your eyes can travel so many places throughout. Although it is a still photo, you can visualize the movement going on and see the flexed muscles insinuating action. It is also reminiscent of Renaissance statues almost, or angelical paintings. They are doing quick, strong movements, yet look graceful. I can definitely feel their strength and vigor through this photo. 

This photo, titled Yogo Putting on Powder, by Nan Goldin, is another favorite of mine. I love how unapologetically natural she is being infront of the camera. She is obviously getting ready for a drag performance and normally, would be posing in front of cameras and putting on their best self. But here we see her slouched over, makeup not yet finished, hair undone, and outfit not yet put on. It’s almost like a behind the scenes shot that not many people get to see. It almost normalizes that not everyone is perfect and all of the beautiful, perfect things you see on magazines or TV don’t always look like that. 

I don’t think that either style of portraits is more authentic. Although Nan’s photos capture intimate moments, Annie’s capture a persons essence as well. You can feel their life story through their gaze and see what they’ve been through by the texture of their skin and the wrinkles they’ve developed on their face. A story can be told simply by a close up of a face, or by catching a vulnerable moment. They are equally personal moments. 

I would choose Nan Goldin to take my environmental photo for me. I enjoy her candid style of catching people at raw, vulnerable moments. I feel like that way, you’re not always sure what you’ll get out of a photoshoot, whereas with Annie, having it be produced and manufactured isn’t as flowing as I’d personally want. 

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Week 6 - Art Activity - Drawing II

My Campus Map

CSULB Map

My map definitely focuses on the areas of campus that I spent the most time in. I only spent about a semester and a half actually on campus because I am a transfer student. Covid started halfway into my second semester, so I didn’t have too much opportunity to explore the whole campus. Being a science major, I was mainly in the center of campus at the science buildings or lounging around the neighboring food areas. Otherwise, the only reason I’d venture over to the business buildings or music area was to briefly meet up with a friend. 

Automatic Drawing

This experience was kinda weird at first, but ended up being really fun! My roommate and I sat around my desk and held on to a purple pen (that was sadly dying). During our first pass, we did it while just watching a show that was on the TV, creating rigid lines. In the second pass, we played music and were moving around to the music, so had longer lines and more curves. I feel that we were somewhat in the zone, just having fun listening to music and feeling it as we drew. 

Compared to last week’s drawing, I enjoyed this one a lot more because I was able to do it with my roommate and have a lot of fun. They are similar because it includes drawing in my own unique way, but they differ in that I did this second one with someone else and didn’t really look too much at the paper while doing it. Drawing can be done in a variety of ways, from blind sketching/drawing to having the complete control taken away and sharing that drawing experience with another person, or even more. 

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Week 6 - Artist - Camille & Sarah Elgart

Sarah Elgart is a greatly talented choreographer of Los Angeles, but she does much more than just choreograph. She dabbles in directing and producing as well. Elgart enjoys creating site-specific, large scale productions and dance films, focusing on creating magic out of something simple, such as an airport or bus terminal. Her live performances are not all she is known for. She has also worked with famous directors, like J. J. Abrams, to film commercials, television, etc. 

Camille (Dalmais) is a French singer, songwriter, and occasionally works as an actress. Under the company Virgin Records, she has released numerous songs and albums of the genres new wave and bossa nova to avant-garde style as well. Her music has become quite famous, one of her songs “Le Festin” being included in the Pixar movie, Ratatouille. Her music definitely sticks to its international roots and she does best when she is working as a solo artist. 

Both artists have their own forms of getting into the “zone”. This concept reminds me of the movie, Soul, which includes a space where people who are in the “zone” drift off to in their unconscious mind. We don’t just see artists getting into the zone through painting or singing, but we also see people in the zone while playing sports, winning a video game, etc. Camille enters into her zone when she is performing on tour or recording in the studio and really feeling what she is singing. This can be heard through many of her songs, such as the ones in her album, Le Fil. Sarah must get into the zone when watching something she directer or choreographed be carried out, watching every detail follow her design. 

Both artists’ work are connected in that they transport you somewhere else. Watching Sarah’s choreography takes you away from the boring, simplistic terminal of an airport and brings you somewhere exciting and lively. Camille’s song, “Le Festin” also transports you deeper into the setting of the movie, making you forget you are sitting on your couch. 

Similar to the Automatic drawing exercise, these artists are expressing how they feel and the emotions that arise naturally from there. Everyone has feelings, but artists might just have a better way of expressing them in their own way and can be perceived easier by others. The Automatic drawing isn’t a direct representation of the feelings me and my roommate were having in the moment, but can be interpreted as so. If we are relaxed and loose, you’d expect long, soft, curvy lines that “go with the flow”; whereas, if one of us were stressed or tense, the lines could end up rigid and harsh. 

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Week 5 - Artist - Kara Walker & Russell Crotty

Kara Walker is a talented artist who focuses on gender, race, and sexuality through her unique silhouetted artwork. With the technique of silhouettes traditionally being used as a proper Victorian medium of portraits, Walker juxtaposes this purpose with her explicit creations of paper-cut fornication or violence. 

There is no question that what she produces is art. She utilizes drawing, as well as painting, text, film, shadow puppetry, and so much more. I would say her style helps in communicating her idea. Using silhouettes almost serves as a theme or idea that has a deeper meaning behind the simple outline. She is able to tell an intricate concept through a simple form, which speaks volumes to her artistic choice. I love that her work is inspiring and pulls focus to issues as important as sexuality and race. Not many artists want to challenge media or modern ideas or get political, so it takes courage to put so much work into your art and know that your ideas will receive criticism, not only for the art itself, but for the ideas behind it as well. 

Russell Crotty utilizes spheres to incorporate elaborate sceneries, full of detail. HIs contemporary style engages landscape, astronomy, and many more beautiful concepts of nature. His artwork is definitely considered drawing, as he uses a ballpoint pen as his medium to meticulously draw out these beautiful scenes. 

His work speaks to his interest in the world around him, but most importantly, astronomy. He is known for making many contributions to the astronomy society, referring to his observational contributions to NASA and ALPO (Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers). 

His style helps communicate his ideas by using spheres and circles, to show that there is no bounds to these expanses of scenery and their beauty goes on and on. It is definitely difficult to encompass the beauty of nature in a drawing or even a picture, which is the downfall of it. I am a big fan of his artwork, as I am a major space nerd as well. Its infinite bounds intrigue me and I feel that there is an endless amount of information to learn about it. It’s amazing that space is so old and we are but a tiny, tiny millisecond of its existence.

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Week 5 - Art Activity - Drawing

I enjoyed this assignment! I wouldn’t say I’m very artistic, but I do like to try artistic things such as drawing, sketching, painting, etc. I definitely recognize that my sketches aren’t great, but that’s the fun of art! It’s art! So everything is great. It’s my unique style that no one else does naturally. I would definitely draw again. Practice would help me better draw what I am seeing with my eyes, rather than draw from looking at an object and then looking at the paper and recreating it in my head. It would help me work on shading, contouring, etc. 

In my major, sketching is used prominently in lab! Sometimes we have to sketch cells that we see under a microscope in order to identify what we’re looking at. For example, in my recent labs we’ve discussed how some bacterial cells can be rod shaped, circular (called cocci), have flagella sticking out of one side or both sides or all over. These things help determine what we are looking at, so it’s important to sketch things accurately. 

I would say that drawing is a language. For example, my sketches communicate that I don’t have great shading technique or realistically draw. Simple sketches like stick figures can narrate a whole story. In the documentary for how Frozen 2 (Disney) was made, they would have story board drawers roughly sketch out numerous story boards so that the animators could have an idea of what the characters will be doing and what the scene should look like. Without that communication, it’d be really difficult for the animators to understand what to do if simply given a verbal explanation. 

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Week 4 - Art Activity - Remix

This week I wanted to take advantage of the fact that my family visited me in SoCal and we got to go to Disneyland! My parents brought up the fact that we had been there just over a year and a half ago, so we should try to recreate the picture we had taken on our previous visit. I know, the placement and everything isn’t perfect, but it’s the best we could do with the hustle and bustle of Disney going on around us. You can see the small differences we’ve individually made, such as our style choices, different hairstyles and colors. We’re also really lucky to have made it through the Covid times without anything happening to our family, so I’m very thankful I was able to be with all of them again, after minimal contact for over a year!

I’ve definitely experienced many mashups in my life. I would say the most prevalent type I notice are musical mashups. My boyfriend does DJing as a hobby, which is basically mashing up different songs, melodies, bass, singing, etc. in a way that is different and gets people excited. It, of course, involves a lot more than that, but I appreciate that mashups are simply putting two things together, but doing it in an artful way.

In terms of the Girls Around Me app, I find it quite creepy that there would even be someone who went through the whole process of coming up with the idea, pitching it, and putting in all the work to have it coded and made. It’s crazy how at no point in that whole process did they think it wasn’t a good idea. Although it is not technically illegal, it’s an invasion of privacy and takes advantage of the good media can be used for.