Collective Aesthetic paper-6.1.11
The Wissahickon High school 24th annual art show of 2011 was very successful in my eyes. Seeing all of the art work collectively come together i s always an enlightening experience. The art students worked very hard this year and others to ensure that they had a strong collection of work. I have watched many of these student grow with their skill in art, much as they have watched me. The process of the work is always fun to watch, but the development of the students is much more rewarding. We, as a collective group, show what it really means to be a growing, developing artist. The methos that we’ve learned and the struggles that we’ve faced have led us to this point in the year. With all of the work coming together, you get a very good visual of the things we have experience and where we will be heading. The art show was very successful as a whole. The pieces reflected our time and effort spent while also showing the work of Mr. Miller. His teachin method is unique to say the least, but the freedom that he allows us to, is what makes the work so good. We are able to run free with our ideas until our legs wont carry us anymore. I will never forget this class or this art show. It was a great way to end the year and it will forever remain in my memory.
Still Life Tragedy Narrative-3.18.11
It was a dark day in December when Francis the solid brown horse decided he would go out for a run. He began to lightly jog, eventually spurring into a full gallop as he raced through the streets of London. As he galloped across town, Francis decided he would stop to grab a drink at the local bar. Francis had just recently turned 21, yet had very little experience with alcohol and was known to be a terrible drunk. After a beer, Francis felt recharged and ready to run. He payed the bar tender and walked out to the cold, wet streets of London. He attempted to jog but was far too drunk to even stand on his 4 legs. He crashed down to the ground and began to cry for his mother. As he wept in the gutter, a police hog walked the corner and shouted ” WEEEEEE, Francis you are under arrest for being drunk in public! Don’t you dare try and run!” Just then, Francis’ adrenaline had kicked in, sending him sprinting away from the officer. He was out of control, galloping blindly in his drunken state. Unable to see where he was going, Francis jumped into a wood chipper and died. Upon his death, all that was let behind was Francis’ solid brown head, which Mr. Miller likes to hang on his wall from time to time.
Still Life Comedy Narrative-3.18.11
It was sunny June afternoon in 1975 when Debra Manikin decided what she wanted to do. Debra was a brillient student, always acceling in every class that she enrolled in, as well as soccer and basketball. Debra always wanted to be a doctor growing up, but upon her senior year in high school, her life plans to a dramatic change. Debra was riding her bike to her friend Isabel’s house when suddenly a dump truck filled with radioactive gatorade pulled out infront of her. She slammed into the truck, her bike penetrating the tank, and was drenched in the radioactive electrolytes. She was cold, shivering, and felt an odd desire for cheese. She began to walk home when she noticed something on her face. It was hairy, bushy, and hanging over her lip. She was scared and tried to rip it off, only to find herself in extreme pain. The radioactive drink had given Debra a mustache and truely turned her into a man. She cried and cried until she realized the benefits that could come from the stache. She joined the freak show and lived happily ever after.
Haikus:
Charlie Thurston; Sara Gross
Baby at the start Look, Pretty flowers
We start our quest for money Ill pick them from the ground
To be an old fart Look, ugly flowers
Dan Center ; Katsyuki
Shoot the enemy Dangle from the string
Fire away into the dark I am constructed of knotts
Confederacy When will i be straight
Garion
Rewind the music
Now press the button to play
Rock and roll chunkdog
Comic story- As the clouds began to roll over the town of Mayfield, the people soon realized that this would not be an ordinary day. As the black and purple began to take over the sky, a mysterious vortex began to tear away at the atmosphere. One by one the dinosaurs of earths past began to rain amongst the earth, reaching numbers of hundreds of thousands. Many attempted townsfolk attempted to flee in their vehicles but found little success. The entire town of Mayfield was destroyed, and would not be the last. The news traveled quickly to the U.S government, which decided to design nuclear superman in an attempt to save the remaining human population before they reached extinction. The supermen traveled quickly, saving hundreds in a matter of minutes. Just as the battle seemed to be taking a turn, the nuclear plants at which the supermen where created, overreacted and destroyed the earth.
Art Show Reflection- 6/2/10-As a whole, i felt that this years art show was a success. The culmination of various art styles truly made the show an exciting experience. Personally, i felt my set up could have been stronger especially my paintings. None the less i am happy with what i had in the show. As far as the other artists, i felt that their hard work from the year payed off as displayed in the show. As a group i felt we showed that hard work does pay off when it comes to art. Without the criticism of others and the desire to make art, we would not develope as artists. We put together a show that would make people think, ” Wow, Wissahickon has some great artists”.
Diptych Reflection- The two games i chose were Yu-gi-oh and Pokemon. I wrote two small poems about each of the games as if they were in an argument with each other. I drew small pictures on both of the pieces that were incorporated into the words of the pieces. My goal of the pieces was to make the text turn into figures and people. I failed to achieve the goal of putting layers on the pieces but i was happy with how the pieces came out. I used acrylic paint on plywood to make my pieces. I grew up playing these games in my childhood and that is why i chose to use them in my project. They are both card games and kids still play them today. My work ethic was based off of making the pieces similar while still having them differ from each other. I believe i accomplished this goal although i did not follow the project guidelines.
Game Language prompt- The two games that have contributed to my child and who I am are the card games Pokemon and Yu-gi-oh. I grew up playing these games and that is why they contributed to my life the most. If these two games were to “say” something to each other I believe they would argue over who is the better game. The games have similar goals to them which is to beat your opponent with the cards that you have. The games both use monsters as a tool to fight with. As a kid i would play these games and almost be lost in how the games would work. The math behind it I would leave up to my older brother and sister because i was too young to do it myself. The games do not effect my life now but it is funny to reflect on how much I enjoyed the games and how i used to look at them.
Culture Reflection- I started my culture cards with characters. Each card has numbers on the top right corner to represent the order the flow in as apposed to randomizing the cards. The first card is a Mexican man holding orbs. I created the to represent how the balance of ones life is in their hands and to represent my Mexican background. The second card is a bald man holding money. It represents a man giving up everything for his last dollar. Streaks of paint are cutting through him to show how in American culture, money is everything. The third and forth card show two characters being fed. One is accepting the food while the other denies it. This reflects again with the American culture and the difference between our food consumption and the consumption of other nations. The fifth card represents panic and confusion. I painted these symbols to show how scared we can be of some things and how surprised we can be at others. This leads into the sixth card which is a figure with an elephant head. It represents political power and the ” republican elephant”. The seventh card is a young boy smoking a cigarette and offering one to those around him. This shows the type of influence that is in everyones culture and how some things can be passed down, not only through genes. The eighth card represents art in general. How it has impacted my life at certain points and continues to today. Although someone may have no idea what the card means, to me it makes perfect sense. The ninth and 10th cards represent how my parents raised me. Always keeping an eye and watching what I said. The backs of the cards are random characters and lyrics from random songs.
Familial reflection- Cards 11 through 15 represent the kids in my family. There are five of us, with me in the middle. The 4 cards that represent my siblings have question marks over top of them while the center card has an exclamation point. Each card has the same figure in it, only with different colors in the background. Cards 16 through 20 represent my mother and father. Card 16 is a man wearing a hat. I drew this character because my father always seems to be wearing a hat. card 17 and 19 have a woman with a colorful background behind her. This represents my mother because she has an artistic past. Although she no longer does art, she has certainly influenced me and my siblings. Card 18 is a thin man smoking a cigarette. This represent how my parents have been smoking for the past few years along with my sister and I. This ties into card 20 with a man holding a beer on his tongue. The back of this set is characters with lyrics on each card. One of my favorite backs are in this set because of the use of the silver tape. I used it to cover a penny and you can see Abe Lincoln clearly. This tied into the lyric quote of my choice which was ” Where da’ cash at.”
Stereo Typical reflection-
Heroic Identity 10.23.09
Prompt: What defines a hero and what is heroic about you currently, or what heroic qualities would you hope to develop as you age
What defines a hero to me is someone who does their part to help out others to the best of their ability. Even if they don’t succeed at doing so, they still put a positive thought in the world and to people. For me, I am heroic as far as being an older brother. I try my best to help out my younger siblings and maintain life in the Sanchez household. As I grow older I hope to find more and more reasons to define myself as a hero by helping out people. If this trait is continuously passed through others by the example that some set, the world could be a better place. Instead of thinking about yourself, think of others and do your part to make this world a better one.
“Other” Identity 10.13.09
Prompt: In what ways or situations do I find myself treated as an “Other”?
I find myself treated as an “other” when it comes to looks, style, and race. Today in society, people are quick and easy to judge others. It is almost a game to see how much you can ridicule someone and poke fun. I am judged as an “other” because I am Mexican and I don’t hang out with the best of crowds. Even though this is the case, it still doesn’t give people the right to jump to the gun and judge others based on what they let their eyes see. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if the beholder is no trying to see beauty, they can only see the ugliness in people. I prefer to ignore what others see me as and live on how I want to be. I don’t have to let myself be judged just to get an idea of how I want to act and what I want to be. If I let others views control my life then society would run the world.
Stereotypical Identity 10.1.09
Prompt: What is your perception of how you are perceived by others?
My perception of how others see me is blank. I believe that everyone has many different perceptions of me based on what they see, what they are told, and what they actually know. Others perception is vague as is mine, for I am also one who perceives on what I hear, see and know. Though I believe everyone deserves a chance to represent themselves. As do others which is why I think those who know me view me as a calm, collected, chilled out guy that likes to make art and music. My perception of those who know me is what I know myself to be. Those who don’t I can not really say/ Minds can go wild or go no where at all and there is no way to tell. It’s a guessing game on both sides and who knows what the other is thinking unless told. People spin comments at each other here and there, but some could think that they are lying or making fun of them. Some one could be lied to and believe that they are receiving a compliment. It is somewhat harsh thinking about others perception though, one could think so high of themselves that they believe they are the best and that everyone thinks he/she is the greatest person alive. I like thinking of others perception as blank, I find it to be easier then worrying about others thoughts.
Familial Identity 9.18.09
Prompt: How are you positioned within your family dynamic and how does that influence your identity?
My family position is dead center in the middle. Between 5 children I am the 3rd and being in that position definitely makes you feel a little odd. I feel like I am the glue of the family or rather the one that keeps everyone on the same level. From this I gain a sense of responsibility with making sure everything is alright with my younger siblings as well as staying close with my older ones. I never let them stray too far away and I try to maintain a consistent friendship with my familia. I have taken a roll from this and try to keep my head on straight so that no one looses theirs. I listen and hear what everyone has to say and always give feedback which has impacted how I act and who I am. It has made me a very open person who will do his best to help you out. My family dynamic has helped me for the better and I am truly grateful for that. As far as art goes I have grown up around it with my mother being an artist herself. Over the years I pased through all the stupid elementary art classes and felt like I was learningmore through my doodles than the art classes. So I learned of different art styles from my older brother and sister, Saul and Mariana, who both have greately impacted the art that I create today.
Cultural Identity 9.10.09
Prompt: How do you define culture and how does culture define you?
I define culture as the beliefs and systems in which a person abides to and lives by. One’s culture is what makes them who they are and summarizes them in a whole. Where you come from, how you were raised, foods, background, traditions, religion, the list goes on. Culture defines me as a free willed being of simple desires and needs. My culture and the lifestyle I was raised on wasn’t one of difficulty, but of simplicity and commonness. I grew up with little, but from this I grew to love art. My culture has driven me to do what I love to do, which is creating art. Taking my surface and creating what others can’t see really means the world to me. I cherish what culture I do have because in a way it’s all I have.
