William Luna is nineteen year old Sophomore at CSULB. He is enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering program and hopes for some day to work for an aerospace company and make airplanes for celebrities. He attended Lakewood High School and after attended LBCC where he played soccer for the team. During his Freshman year in college he was attending both LBCC and CSULB. Luna comes from a low income Honduran family and he believes that because of that he has learned to appreciate things more. Luna’s favorite foods are ceviche and pupusas and his favorite color is blue. In his free time he likes to hang out with friends and to play soccer. His favorite soccer teams are las Chivas and el Barcelona. Luna lives in North Long Beach and has never been out of the Unites States, if he were to travel, he would like to go to Spain. Luna has his own 3D printing company that he himself stated with someone else, he said that it is pretty successful. His main job is catering at weddings at a mansion. Luna was a very charismatic person to talk to and very friendly.
Page 3 of 4
Wk8- Art Experience- Automatic Drawing
This week for my art experience we had to do an automatic drawing which I decided to do with my older brother at our apartment. We sat across from each other “crisscross applesauce” and we places a foam board on top of our knees like the activity said to do. I decided to do a foam board instead of a piece of paper because it was more stable and had a hard surface. The activity was a little silly to do but fun. I feel that the activity did not work very well for me because I often found myself purposely moving the pencil and I felt my brother also did the same. I guess we just really wanted for something to happen. I turned on a scented candle and turned off all the lights in order to relax but it just made us laugh because we were joking around that the assignment was like playing the ouija board. Overall it was a fun bonding activity for us both.
Wk7- Artist Conversation- Andrea Lauren Williams
Info Block:
Artist: Andrea Lauren Williams
Exhibition: Sacrifice
Media: Ceramic, clay, paint
Gallery: CSULB School of Art, Max L. Gatov Gallery West
Website: Mrswdubayoo.com
Instagram: AndreaWilliams
About the Artist:
Andrea Lauren Williams is an undergraduate student in the CSULB School of Art Ceramics program
. Williams was born and raised in Riverside, California with a family that has always been big on art and music. In her 20’s she began to explore and try working with ceramics which she became in love with. She was motivated by her husband and she knew that she wanted to go into ceramics. Williams is also a mother and believes her artwork is definitely influenced by that. She is a Christian, and that her artwork does not just focus on a particular religion, rather many. Williams has pigs, chickens, and dogs as pets and also shared that she was part of a band where she played the drums.
Formal Analysis:
The peace that I decided to focus on was one of Andrea Williams favorite. It is a ceramic and clay peace that has a semi- naked pregnant woman with a veil on her head. The women is painted white and outlined with a orange-brown paint. This is painted onto a very tall gray background. When I first saw it resembled a stained glass window that one would find mounted on a church with a religious figure. Underneath the painting of the woman there was a white 3D sculpture of what appeared to be hips with a red flower. This clearly represented motherhood.
Content Analysis:
The artwork made by Andrea Lauren Williams represents the theme of motherhood. There is also a display of Christian faith, but not particular for a specific sect. Her art is more than just religion but rather, about sacrifice of a woman and her body. She wants to represent the unnoticed qualities of a woman’s body by making her the focal point of her work. She uses Christ and Mary in her pieces of work but describes her art, “religous but with a twist.” She hopes people see her art and question religion and what art is.
Synthesis/ My Experience:
Andrea Lauren Williams art was definitely a little unconventional when it comes to religious art. I would have expected a little more of a traditional painting just because she said that she was Christian. I really did not find appropriate the undressed figures but I did like the message that she giving about motherhood. Overall it was a very interesting gallery to see specially because of the size of her work.
Wk7- Classmate Conversation- Jesus Viramonte
Jesus Viramonte is a twenty year old Sophomore. He is pursuing a degree in Psychology and hopes to someday become a Psychologist to understand people’s behaviors. He chose CSULB do to the proximity to his home and it’s no surprise that he commutes. Jesus mentioned that if for some reason he decides not to become a Psychologist, that his second choice would be to join the police academy to become a police officer. On his free time Jesus enjoys to play video games and watch tv. His favorite game is League of Legends and his favorite tv show is Archer. He works at Cerritos Mall at Green Crush serving drinks. He has been working at his new job for a couple months now. Jesus’s favorite type of food is Chinese and when I asked him if he could chose any where in the world to live, he said that he would chose the state of Washington because he likes cold weather. He was definitely very interesting to talk to.
Wk7- Art Experience- Group Video Production
This week for the art experience we were asked to form groups and create a short video. Our group consisted of Elidia Ramirez, Valentina Ramirez, Gabriela Hernandez, and myself. After struggling on deciding what to do we came up with a concept that we felt was something that a lot of CSULB students have a problem with. We decided to title our video “CSULB Student Problems” in which three of us are struggling with the notorious stairs leading to lower campus. We decided to show how no one wants to climb them, Gabriela demonstrates that by being bored. I demonstrate confusion by not knowing if I should step one or two at a time since they are so small. Elidia is taking a different route which is running the steps paying no attention to those around her. Valentina recorded the video and edited it, she also came up with the great idea of making it funny by putting in the theme song from the movie Rocky.
Wk6- Art Experience- Photowalk
This week for the photowalk activity, I decided to be apart of Dorothy McMahon’s group. We walked around CSULB looking at all of the different water displays on campus. I decided to be part of this group because I found it fitting to look at the water sites since our school’s slogan is related to the beach. I found it appropriate to take a look on how water is incorporated on to the university due to the close proximity to the beach. We began on upper campus and slowly worked our way down to lower campus and ended up at the Japanese Garden. When we began, I was kind of disappointing because the first things we encountered was an empty water fountain. After that; however, all of the other sites had water on display with the exception of course of the energy water system that we have here on campus. Although the water was not visible you still knew there was water inside because you could hear it. On our walk I also decided to capture drinking fountains because I felt that they also play a component on how water is present on campus. I decided to take close and far shots of the sites because I just wanted to have fun with the assignment.I wanted to capture the beauty of water in my photographs. I really had fun with this assignment because it was something that was not like what we had been doing for the past few weeks. I liked how we got to break from our schedule that we have been following week to week. This assignment also gave me the opportunity to get to see the Japanese Garden for the first time. It was such a beautiful place especially to take pictures.
Wk5- Artist Conversation- Kristi Jensen
Info Block:
Artist: Kristi Jensen
Exhibition: FUSE: Join to Form A Single Entity
Media: copper, steel, silver, fire, saw, hammer
Gallery: CSULB School of Art, Max L. Gatov Gallery East
Website: She has no website
Instagram: whipperton
About the Artist:
Amongst the many artist that made up the gallery one of the artist that captivated my attention was Kristi Jensen because she spoke with such a passion about her work. Kristi Jensen is an undergraduate student in the CSULB School Art Metals & Jewelry BFA Program. Jensen started as a Sculpture major but later decided to switch to metal because it is easier to manipulate. She has been working with metal for two years now and loves it. The pieces that she had in the gallery were assignments that she had made for her particular class. She explained that she is known for turning in things on time and complete, which she of course feels delighted by. Jensen tends to use a lot colors on her work specially blues, light greens, and orange tends to work its way in as well. Some fun facts about Jensen are that when she was a little child she moved a lot from place to place and ended up going to ten different Elementary Schools, she was a flight attendant for a few years, and that she has eight tattoos. Other than working with metal, Jensen also loves to cook and drink red wine, spend time with her husband and dogs, and enjoys reading and knitting.
Formal Analysis:
The object that I decided to do my analysis on was not actually something created by Kristi Jensen, but rather by another artist who I was unable to speak with. Since the gallery was a collection of works by different artist it was difficult to distinguish who made what. Regardless, the artwork I chose was a metal and orange glass light fixture. I was drawn to this light fixture not only because it was the very first thing you would see as you went in the door but also because it had an Arabian style. The orange stained glass gave it a feeling that it belonged in a church somewhere and I just love that. The light fixture was six sided and it had a dome on top with a bunch of triangles. The light fixture was simple but yet at the same time very elegant and just plain beautiful.
Content Analysis:
Kristi Jensen’s work does not particularly explore a specific message because she is just very driven by the process and creating her artwork. She just loves to actually be very hands on, on her assignments. She explained how fascinating it was to just try different methods to create her work, for example she explained all of the different ways on how to get different colors on metal with using different pigments sometimes even fire and ammonia. She seemed very free on the things that she creates. She explained that when she gets stuck and doesn’t know what to do, she refers to photo clippings from magazines that she had saved and gets inspired by the things she sees.
Synthesis/ My Experience:
I really enjoyed this gallery and getting to see the different works of art created by different students. I wish however that the artist who made the light fixture I really loved would have been there to have interviewed him. The gallery definitely had a lot of different artwork to see, ranging from jewelry to light fixtures, to even a chair that seemed to have been made out of rust. The fact that it was only one gallery open was a little disappointing because it was very crowded at points and often times I ended up finding myself having to go outside to get some fresh air. Overall, this was a great experience.
Wk5- Classmate Conversation
I had meet Gabriela Gonzalez since last week when I saw her walking around Samuel Jernigan’s gallery. This week I decided to ask her if I could interview her for the classmate conversation and she very kindly said “yes”. Gabriela Gonzalez currently a nineteen year old Sophomore who is undeclared. She did mention, however, that she is interested in pursuing a degree in Sociology or Psychology because she would like to become a counselor some day. Gabriela attended Jordan High School in North Long Beach and applied to a couple colleges and universities but ultimately ended up choosing CSULB because she wanted to stay near her family. Gabriela’s favorite color is black and her favorite type of food is Mexican. She explained that when it comes to food she just sticks to the comfort foods that she knows she already likes. But when I asked her if she would be willing to try a different type of food, she said she would be willing to try Italian food. On her free time she either likes to sleep, eat, or watch Netflix. Gabriela also likes to play volleyball and listen to all types of music with the exception of country music. She especially enjoys listening to Bruno Mars and Nirvana. When I asked her “what is something that people might think of you at first glance ?,” she responded that she thinks people get the wrong impression of her and that they immediately think that she is intimidating. She also described herself as “very anti-social,” which was definitely not the case because we talked for a really long time and it was very interesting listening to her. For me at first glance she seemed kind of shy but as I approached her and continued talking she opened up more and became much more comfortable. It was an absolute pleasure speaking with her and getting to know her better.
Wk5- Art Experience- Cuisine & Beyond
For the art experience this week I decided to do it on food. I love food but the dish I decided to do it on which is Sushi, I have never tried eating. I personally eat very little fish and very rarely. When I do eat fish it is cooked not raw like in Sushi. I decided to do an inedible type of sushi which goes well with my personality. I wanted my work to show the great damage the ocean is under because of all the plastic pollution. I made sure to replace anything in my sushi roll that would come from the ocean. The seaweed was replaced with a tan plastic bag and the inside was replaced with pieces of white and blue plastic bags. The only thing edible is the steamed rice. My hope is to inspire people to stop harming the ocean if they would like to continue enjoying the wonderful things it provides. This activity was a little challenging because when I was rolling the sushi the rice kept on coming out. Over all I really enjoyed doing this weeks assignment and I hope others do too.
Wk4- Artist Conversation- Samuel Jernigan
Info Block:
Artist: Samuel Jernigan
Exhibition: Weigh of Whimsy and Ideals
Media: ceramics, spray paint,wood, steel
Gallery: CSULB School of Art, Max L. Gatov Gallery West
Website: cargocollective.com/samueljernigan
Instagram: samueljenri
About the Artist:
Samuel Jernigan is an undergraduate student in the CSULB School of Art Ceramics program. Jernigan’s interests other than creating sculptures include watching cartoons, reading comics, and playing the guitar. Jernigan has loved music since a very young age and thought himself to play the guitar at age ten. He stated that his musician background definitely carries onto the artwork he creates. Jernigan describes his artwork as “ a bunch of giant toys” which is really appropriate because it is very whimsical. Three facts about Samuel Jernigan are that he lived in his car for three years, worked for a farmers market, and has a fascination with pens that write well.
Formal Analysis:
The sculpture that I decided to do my observation on was an orange fish. The fish is made from ceramic and is spray painted orange-red. One of its eyes is spray painted white and the other yellow. There are also some small hints of gray spray paint throughout the entire body. The spray paint used by the artist is Montana brand spray paint because it is top of the line spray paint imported from Germany. The fish sculpture captivated my attention from the very beginning because it looked a lot like a character that can be found on a Doctor Seuss’s story.
Content Analysis:
The theme that the sculptures explore are belonging, alienation, and contradictions. Jernigan explained that he created his bust’s and different heads so that they can go into one another to show that people can decide what they want to be. He also mentioned that his artwork is very Victorian inspired because he likes to bring in a classical aspect to his artwork and contradicting it by bringing in a funny aspect.
Synthesis/ My Experience:
Samuel Jernigan’s gallery was very enjoyable and fun to walk around in. Stepping into the gallery immediately transported me onto a “Toy Story” world where I myself was the same size as the toys. The colorful sculpturers were brought to life with all the vibrant colors that Jernigan utilized.The sculptures looked very much alive with their welcoming faces and smiles. I really liked this gallery because it brought out the child in me and made me curious. I also liked the fact that Jernigan used a Victorian aspect on some of his sculptures because I am fascinated with the Victorian period. He was able to create something completely new but at the same time he brought in a classical aspect to his work.
jhonatan2016 