#art110

I have a somewhat unconventional approach to my STEM-based major. Whereas many believe that there is a dichotomy between engineering and art, I have come to an understanding that the two need to work in tandem to succeed. My favorite example of this collaboration is the success of theme parks like Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood, here in the backyard of California State University, Long Beach! An amusement park without art sounds bland, without technology seems equally boring. Together, they create an immersive experience that brings out the best in each of them. This is largely my inspiration for pursuing mechanical engineering. With this motivation in mind, I looked forward to taking Introduction to Visual Arts as a stepping stone towards my multidisciplinary goals.

Like many other students, I first registered for ART 110 with the perception that I would treat this class with the same low effort as I did my other General Education classes. In retrospect, this attitude towards the art-based course is contradictory to my claimed respect for visual crafts. With this expectation to input only a low amount of effort for a good grade in the course, I was initially surprised and overwhelmed by the amount of work that was necessary. Weekly excursions, projects, and write-ups seemed too much of a chore. This was wrong of me to think. I would come to realize that this magnitude of schoolwork was no different than in my other courses, and my willingness to do the bare minimum as a result of my perception of art as a low-effort profession. 

While I review the work I put in this semester, I realize the appreciation I have developed for artists and the artistic process through the various conversations and projects I have had. The most memorable conversation I had was at the very beginning of the semester with installation artist, Jenny Rask. She had this insightful view of the details of the world, ranging from the natural beauty of foliage to the intentionality of the assembly of discarded trash. It was refreshing to talk with someone who paid attention to all of the little minutiae of life like myself, I did not feel alone. We agreed that, in a way, we were both artists and engineers; finding unique solutions to problems with a particular aesthetic in mind. My solo experiences had a similar effect. For projects like the plaster casting and finger painting, I found relaxation and comfort of the whimsical quality of creating. These experiences combined, I found myself enjoying the exploration of this field I had little practical expertise in. Moreso, I renewed my appreciation for the effort and intentionality that went into an artist’s work.

I met my photographer at 18 and the artist-model chemistry clicked right away

For me, this was a way to explore my confidence in my appearance.

For Tyler, this was just another portfolio opportunity.

She would shoot on film, meaning the images couldn’t be viewed until the roll was full and developed.

It started in black & white:

Just a fun bedroom shoot, we were still getting comfortable with each other’s company. Jun 2018.

We were both detail-oriented and knew what we wanted out of our working relationship. That being said, it was difficult to capture an intimacy that wasn’t naturally there. Jun 2018.

Even when we were shooting outside it seemed like it was only us. It helped that I had found an abandoned bayside neighborhood, too. Jul 2018.

I began to recognize more locations that she would want to shoot at, and she would often point out good places for me to pose. Jul 2018.

Both in a period of change, we found a friend in one another. Our sessions varied from going on spontaneous 3 AM photoshoots in graffiti-stained buildings... Jul 2018.

...to outings planned down to the outfit and color palette. Aug 2018.

Finally, it was the last shoot of the summer; the last shoot before I would leave for school. At this point, we had become closer than planned. Then again, who plans these sorts of things? Aug. 2018

This was the first photo I had ever taken with her camera. She had been very protective of it since our first meeting, so I was surprised when she asked me. We had spent the day driving to various locations, aiming to catch a sunset shoot in Santa Cruz. We were unsuccessful at this, arriving at a secluded beach just as the sun was setting. To cut our losses we threw a tarp and started playing the guitar for one another. I didn’t know it at the time, but as the sun sank into the ocean, something changed. Good change. Aug. 2018.

We said goodbye the next week.

It turns out we’re both pretty awful at goodbyes.

She starting visiting me albeit 8 hours away, introducing me to her friends in the area. It wasn’t long until we figured out why we couldn’t shake each other’s company. Sept 2018.

We finally admitted our feelings to each other in September, this picture commemorating our first official date: a trip to the Getty Museum. It was weird at first, being good friends, artistic collaborators, and now dating partners. Nov 2018.

I was definitely very good at bothering her at this point. Nov. 2018.

Still, it’s hard to beat her in a competition of “annoying”. Jun 2019.

We don’t go on photoshoots very often anymore. Truth be told, she’s more into producing music right now. I consider myself very lucky to support her. Nov 2019.

These past two shots have been taken by a close friend of hers, coming from her hometown an ocean away. I love that I find her more often in the frame with me than behind it. It makes them seem more full, in the pictures as well. We’re rounding the year this December. We have had some pretty amazing moments so far in our relationship, with plenty more to develop. Nov 2019.

D3 - Artist Conversation - Destiny Randall

Artist: Destiny Randall

Exhibition: Hanging by a Thread

Media: Fiber

Gallery: LBSU School of Art, Gatov Gallery West

Instagram: @makingmydestiny

Presenting this week at the California State University, Long Beach, School of Art in the Gatov Gallery West as Destiny Randall, along with her associates Sage Larae Monroe and Sandra Olagues. Together, they assembled the Hanging by a Thread exhibition this previous week. Destiny Randall is one of the few students in the BFA for Fiber within the School of Art at CSULB. With her preferred medium, she likes to explore concepts related to identity and mental health. Recently she has taken up photography as a means of displaying her fiberwork, as seen in this exhibition. Some other photos of her work can be viewed on her Instagram account, “@makingmydestiny”.

While Randall has displayed several pieces of her artwork at her most recent exhibition, a stand-out exhibition was a quilt titled “Beauty Born of Pain”. This is the second image shown above. Initially, the most eye-catching aspect of this fiberwork is the hot pink fabric used to detail the face and neck of the depicted subject. Upon closer inspection, it can be seen that the fabric is patterned with hearts and small dots, giving it both greater depth and cohesion with its pastel-themed surroundings. The white accents of this pattern match the accents of the green background, which appear in the form of small flowers. It is clear that the textiles chosen for this quilt were selected with a union of color kept in mind, the pattern of one complementing that of its neighbor. For example, the main color of one fabric can be seen as the accent of another. The hues collect to form a solemn woman, looking into the viewer with can be interpreted as disdain or sadness. The small fabric flowers sewn into the cheeks suggest these emotions, appearing to be the artist’s representation of tears. The stitches made into this quilt are careful, forming a distinct cursive-esque background that is seen in many traditional fiberworks. The familiarity of this style contrasts with the jarring lines that construct the subject’s face.

The medium of fiberworks, specifically a quilt, seems the most symbolic of what “Beauty Born of Pain” attempts to express. It is most commonly associated with warmth and security. This immediately contradicts what is portrayed in the quilt: a woman with radiating sadness. Perhaps the use of textiles was an effort to show something that is typically unsightful, a person crying, in something that is associated with something homely. Both comfort and sadness are familiar feelings, but to put them side by side exposes their similarities in vulnerability and honesty to one’s self. The palette of fabric used also illustrates this theme of comparing things that are seemingly opposites, the pink and teal being known complementary colors. Albeit very different in their composition and given the meaning of their hues, the contrasting colors succeed in creating a solidarity of calmness.

 C2. Artist Conversation: Hanjialin Bao

Artist: Hanjialin Bao 

 Exhibition: MFA - “GUI”

 Media: Digital, watercolors 

 Gallery: LBSU, School of Art, Max L. Gator Gallery.

 Website: www.hanjialinbao.com

 Instagram: amber_baoo

The Gallery I chose to do was Hanjialin Bao. Hanjialin is currently pursuing her masters degree in Fine Arts. She graduated from Xiamen University, she's a graphic designer, comic and a storyboard artist, and is currently attending CSULB. Her goal is to incorporate traditional Chinese art in the modern American merchandise.

As I was analyzing Hanjialin’s art, immediately you can see the warming pastel colors and then the bright color red. In her art, you can also see how much time she invested to do beautiful pieces. She made her art very smooth, You can see the details of every piece such as patterns, by making her art big, and using up most of the paper. In her exhibition you can definitely see her culture through her beautiful art.

Hanjialin grew up in China, and most of her inspiration is where she grew up. Hanjialin Bao wants her audience to appreciate and learn Chinese culture, specifically in chinese myths and legends. In her project, “Gui”, she expresses Chinese traditional culture, and her own myth world. She introduces Chinese culture to Modern American art. She states that she gets her inspiration from “... Chinese realistic painting, makeup and clothes from Beijing Opera and decorations [from] kites…”, that she grew up in her culture. In her drawings, she uses detailed patterns, traditional clothing and accessories, that women wear.

D2 - Artist Conversation - Mirabel Wigon

Artist: Mirabel Wigon Exhibition: Advancement, MFA Spotlight Media: Painting Gallery: LBSU School of Art, Gatov Gallery West Website: mirabelwigon.com      Instagram: @mirabelwigon 

Mirabel Wigon is currently pursuing her Masters in Fine Arts for Drawing and Painting at the School of Art at California State University, Long Beach. She also completed her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts for Traditional Art within this college. Having grown up in predominantly urban environments, Wigon’s work tends to focus on the familiar sights of city-dwellers like herself. However, she attempts to convey these themes through abstraction rather than pure description. This can be seen in her latest exhibition at the Gatov West student art gallery as part of an Advancement course within her MFA program. It is because of her fascination with puzzles and obscurity that Wigon avoids naming her already-cryptic paintings, as they may give the piece a direct solution for its meaning. Instead, she encourages her work to be interpreted. In a personal conversation, Wigon was pleased to hear about her audience’s initial confusion with her paintings that eventually melted into an appreciation for their elusive nature. While her talent with paints and canvas is prominent, Wigon states that she is “still improving as a graduate student by talking to [other students]”. 

Like many of her works, Wigon’s painting, as shown above, is unnamed. This piece is immediately eye-catching in its considerable size and use of high contrast palette. The canvas seems to cover the majority of the height of the wall, immersing the viewer in its illustration. The colors used across the canvas seem to be a gradient from left to right vibrant neons and warm tones to cold blues and grays. The convergent sides of this painting both contain details in the palette of its opposite, as seen in the bright windows of the building on the right and the dull blues of the cars on the left. This creates a balance in its use of color contrast. The shapes in this piece are objectively incomplete, the persons present seeming almost ghostly in appearance. The painting itself seems almost like a window, its composition of perspective so enforced through the use of direct lines and negative space. Looking at this piece is akin to looking down a long alleyway, in terms of the point of view. Lighting is used to create the illusion of texture, varying from the bright reflectiveness in the puddles on the sidewalk to the systematic shading of the worn cars and buildings. 

The balance between the light and dark aspects of this painting is clear, and can be interpreted as the duality of many urban environments: being both a pinnacle of success and poverty. This is synonymous with Wigon’s own experience in the city, being surrounded by the high contrast that makes up her neighborhood. Perhaps this explains the variants in the painting’s color gradient, emphasizing that something is typically not entirely one thing or another, but a combination of various elements. It became clear that the translucent and nondescript figures are an indication of the passage of time as if the painting were a frame in a timelapse. As a city rarely rests, it is reasonable for a depiction of a city to be restless as well, refusing to be confined to a single body. 

The first artist I seen was Jillian Thompson, a twenty-eight old who is a graduate from CSULB and is now working to get her MFA degree in printmaking and metalsmith. Her gallery is about the ideal of African American sisterhood and the process of gathering and wearing hair styles that are about African American culture. Jillian pieces all consist of African American culture that emphasis women. She took a huge interest in the relationship between the people and hair. Thompson said her pieces are dedicated to hair and where it comes from. Her pieces are based off African American culture. 

One of her pieces had chains on the board with hair and extensions packages were colored with brown to give it a heavy dark vibe. The chain gives it a negative energy because it is rusty and old. Also, the size of the hair packaging is small compared to the size of the artwork. I thought it was really creative how she used a real chain, since her gallery was about sisterhood I thought the chains had to do with something about sisterhood because the point of sister hood is to be linked and since the chains were linked it made more sense why she used chains in her piece. In this piece there was hair hanging which caught my attention as I came in the gallery. There was also wool to hold the hair pieces which was very interesting because it had a similarity to the hair that was hanging from that piece.  I was also looking at a piece that had some kind of plastic and paintings on them. For some reason this art piece made me think about paint ball shooting because it was colorful, and it looked like the colors were all scattered around. From far away you can’t see what’s on the plastic but once you get close there are people’s faces on them.

When it came to ask questions, I asked Thompson if she can tell me more about her piece with the chains, she said that the whole piece represented hip hop culture in the African American culture. She also mentions how she included the chains so black women can have chains of their own because they didn’t have much gold chains. The chains were meant to be given to females and how are overlooked and don’t get the credit they deserve. Once the piece was explained to me, it made more sense of why she added what she added in that piece. I then moved on to ask about the piece with the plastic I asked if she can explain to me why she used plastic, she responded that first of all the plastic is from the packaging of the hair extensions. She mentions how people are unaware of where all her materials come from. She explains how she did this piece, she did it by pasting pictures on the plastic which is called soak screen. The pictures are of her friends doing their hair, of random people, random things she found on her Instagram feed.