Author: ayalakim

“Good artists copy, great artists steal.”

Pablo Picasso

In modern society, there is so much technology at our disposal that almost everyone has a social media account. Now, there is a new wave of Internet Culture that is diverse in its contribution back to society. Four paths make up Internet Culture. The first being freedom to express yourself and share your experiences throughout life to followers/friends. Also, with this freedom, some guidelines are to be followed depending on which platform is used. Another contribution that Internet Culture provides is empowerment. Hence, many YouTube influencers and Instagram models. Yet, the average Instagram user empowers themself and those who they influence through their posts. But some risks come with Internet Culture as well. These risks are trolls, scammers, and harassment. Therefore, with these risks brings fear, the final contribution. Internet Culture instills fear of being canceled by other users.

Many products that are endorsed by influencers are copyrighted to ensure originality. But does it work on social media? For Instagram, in terms of copyrighted music is yes because posts that break the guidelines get it taken down. However, looking onto a broader perspective copyrighted content and products do not have a strong regulation on fraudulent products. By doing modifications on more accurate recognition of stolen content on social media. Therefore, educating the user on the terms of conditions about copyright.

After using Creative Commons, the final licensing I chose was Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). I chose it because I deserve credit for my work. I also want to share it with the viewers and have them remix, adapt, and build upon my work. As long as it’s creative and non-commercial. Therefore, this license is the best option for me.

Initially, I wanted to remix artwork and paint a version of it. Except I noticed cool fabric in my mom’s closet that I knew was going to be helpful in this project. When I finalize my brainstorming I realized how I can use the cool fabric. Scrolling through Instagram there were many examples of remixed art. People were recreating famous art pieces using their self and home objects. Hence, my recreation of The girl with a pearl earring. I enjoyed playing dress-up with the fabrics I found. I wrapped the fabrics around my head and applied light concealer. It came out better than I expected when I went to photoshop a black background onto my picture. All in all, it was a fun project that makes me excited to try new concepts to remix in the future.

“Graffiti is one of the few tools you have if you have almost nothing”

BANKSY

When cruising around downtown you may come across street art. Places like Santa Monia, Long Beach, and Venice beach are loaded with street art that varies from graffiti style to picture statements. These statements tend to be current events or political opinions. However, street art is meant to resonate with the locals. It is sharing an experience or perspective when interpreting this art on our own.

Los Angeles is another great place to view art in an energetic city. Many artists travel to create their art on these walls, in order, to share their stories and passions. Local artists get to live around other artists and aspiring ones to potentially collaborate. Just like many other big cities, San Fransico is another prime example of experiencing street art. Whether it is in performance or an art piece there are many different things to observe in urbanized cities.

I tried to recreate the wall found in Venice Beach. To capture its true nature I researched different kinds of calligraphy and graffiti art techniques. Another noticeable thing is how street art is more of a statement of proof of being in said location. Yet, it could also be a way to gain a bigger audience by placing your art in a public venue such as a wall in front of the beach.

Next time you are cruising down your city look out of the window. Take into attention all the smaller details that surround businesses, parks, and other locations. Street art can be inspiring and most of all it is usually created by a local artist.

Artist: Kiyomi Fukui
Website: http://www.kiyomifukui.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiyomimiz/

This week’s artist feature is Kiyomi Fukui Nannery and she is a Japanese American artist who lives and works in Long Beach, CA. She earned an MFA in Printmaking from the California State University of Long Beach and a BFA in Graphic Design from La Sierra University. Kiyomi also practices participatory performance and fiber arts, such as tatting and crocheting. Kiyomi’s main concept is to capture transient intimacy and irrespective of media.

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Her style of art is a production that requires support from her audience. For Apologetic Garden, she inspired the audience to write letters to later plant into a wood crate. She shared her personal experience with unspoken apologies for her mother. This, in turn, inspired her audience to write an apology letter too. Unfortunately, regret is a common emotion felt. This emotion is instilled from the moment they wrote their letter. This letter will then grow into crops as seen in the gallery above.

 Kiyomi’s artwork is not just what can be seen but it is also an emotion felt. The nature of the color is from tea stains that were spilled. Also, tea stains created cool patterns with reds, blues, and yellows. All of the shapes in her pieces are organically produced by her audience. For instance, Tea at 3307, her set up for the table cover is used as art because of the stains of different colored tea. 

The elements used are all produced by nature in many forms. The organic setup for how the audience and the artist collaborates with their stories. It is great to demonstrate the different outlets for artists such as the projects Kiyomi Fukui focuses on. She is a great artist who values the experience gained from her exhibitions. Many of them are huge on empowerment to grow and accept.

I enjoyed how the tea stains were lively colors. She included other elements into her table set up such as lemons, honey, sugar cubes, stirrer sticks, and greens from her garden. Her idea of transient intimacy is demonstrated when the audience participates in her activity displayed with her exhibition. I gained insights into a different form of art. Considering, Kiyomi’s different projects and the ideas she stimulates on her audience is to remember that we are human beings including the emotions felt are valid because that is all that is left after sincere apologies. Another perspective on how we can unit with others and create art that captures an “in the moment” feeling.

When I was searching for what to recycle I found old polaroids that did not develop. I thought about what I can do and decided to paint an abstract style with black and white acrylic paint. So that once it dries I get to use a pop of color. Since I already owned paints and some brushes I got crafty with no real idea but just letting the paintbrush do its magic. The technique I use when painting abstract is not allowing myself to create an image in my head but have an aesthetic for shapes, lines, and dots.

My choice of medium and recycled materials to create this piece did influence my experience for the art piece because it was new for me to paint on a polaroid. It did have some challenges since the surface is glossy. Yet, it was fun and entertaining because I did not need an initial picture to start the painting process. My first idea was to show an abstract painting and I was able to convey that through my piece. Its main message is to let go of things you cannot control and just let things fall into place because everything has a solution.

For the following is a series of responses to the duration of each activity such as a marriage, a meal, a kiss, a work of art, and a human life. Marriage should last as long as possible if its a healthy relationship for both partners. A meal should last as long as it takes the individual to eat. Human life will last as long as it should. To set a deadline on life is not real, there are different paths that a person can take that will give different sets of outcomes. It depends on many factors that cannot determine a deadline that works for a majority.

The way we experience things is unique to each person’s perspectives. The sense of ephemeral artworks and human lives that have a finite time does make a difference in how we experience them. If we have an acknowledgment that it is our only chance to experience the time with a person or once in a lifetime art we become greedy. This greed is projected on how attentive we are in the present moment. We stay involved in whatever the experience is because we want to be able to say we did it. Since experiences become our memories we as human beings tend to cherish these moments better. These kinds of connections are what make life full and powerful.

Things like clean water, air, and land should be sustainable but since we destroyed its natural state it becomes a product to be extended for long-lasting water and air. Even though it should be long-term sustainable to ensure life. One person can start the conversation for Climate Change but it takes union among the people to make a global difference.

The game that I chose to cover is named Growtopia. It is a multiplayer sandbox platform with crafting. There are no goals exactly but there is an infinite number of worlds where you can create anything with other player friends. The things in Growtopia grow on trees, for example, Dirt Trees, Lava Trees, and Jetpack Trees.

Almost anything you can imagine grows on trees. Some of the features are unlimited worlds and its free to play. Only a single currency can be earned and thousands of amazing items to discover.

The video above shows how my character can destroy and build in the game which is important to know for this assignment. My character's name is SorryFoo from and inside joke with friends on the platform. By being able to create my way of life I can sell and buy crops to be able to level up on the game.

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This first image from the gallery is a deal from purchasing pepper as my new crop to grow and invest in. The second image will demonstrate the process of growing pepper and any crop you invest in. In this world, you are allowed to “hire” other players to work in your field in exchange for world-locks. Each stone has a value of gems. For example yellow is 1 gem, blue is 5 gems, and red is 10 gems that can be exchanged for world-locks to buy different crops to further your character in levels.

For pepper growing trees it takes each tree 1 day, 5 hours, 11 minutes, and 47 seconds to harvest. That is what the third image is explaining. This game not only teaches its players about a business it also gives them the experience of investing world-locks to level up their supply with higher demanded crops. This allows the players to earn more money and reach their goal.

Adding on, each character is responsible to work together with other players to sell, grow, and invest to get boosted onto the next level of business on the game. On the second video, it shows my character and other players selling and buying products from each other.

I chose to convey how these three different players are my artists in Growtopia because they are all playing different roles in this world. One is my employee working on the field to harvest more crops in exchange for one world-lock while I go and sell my investment to other players whether it is crops or machines bought with gems. Other player friends like Telluric in the last image shows how we work together by destroying the construction to create new land to grow crops. The last kind of player on this game is the one who does not sell most of their investments but collects the gems left from crops.

For this week I tried my first vlog and I had a lot of fun getting creative in front of the camera. For me, blogging was not something I saw myself doing until it became homework assignments. It then became vlogging with my laptop or phone which made me feel like a “YouTuber”, but I get to share my week with the viewer and hope to inspire the viewer to find a new hobby or rekindle an old one.

I could not directly say I accomplished my goal but I know the viewer thought to themselves about wanting to get crafty or learn a new skill during this quarantine. By keeping yourself productive you can ease off on the tension or stress of being indoors can be for many. Choosing hobbies you never thought twice to can be attempted during this “free time” but most importantly having a good time by yourself or your quarantine family. Something I would do differently is to have a better idea of camera quality set up, have better voice-overs and learn the angles that suit me best. It’s okay to be self-conscience you are trying a new concept like vlogs which can be intimidating at first but getting comfortable is worth the effort to inspire others. I would like to show more of my bubbly personality because I enjoy doing the activities shown. Therefore, vlogging/blogging is something I will love to continue to do.

I enjoy watching Shane Dawson, Jeffree Star, Amber Scholl, and Garrett Watts on YouTube. They are all different content but all in all, I like to believe they are authentic and genuine on camera when it comes to their craft. I like to get creative with makeup or DIY projects so I can learn some techniques from Amber Scholl or Jeffree Star on how to demonstrate the steps of each craft. While Shane or Garrett can teach me how to keep it fun and use edits to highlight any moment.

Authenticity and performance go in hand with each other, especially for celebrities. Someone could be authentic but it also their performance that people enjoy. For example, Jennifer Aniston on the Jimmy Kimmel show in the studio is more of a performance because she has professionals getting her ready with pointers of what she will respond to. While the one from home during the coronavirus pandemic she is more relatable to the public. She explains her experiences of ordering online and reorganizing her home while finding old treasures such as her audition tape. Both Jennifer and Jimmy are more relaxed in their conversation talking about how they are dealing with quarantine. Therefore, I would say that authenticity and performance can exist together depending on what environments and context.

While working on the cognitive map of Long Beach State it was easy at first and relaxing because I felt that I remembered most of the campus. however, after a couple of buildings, I realized that I did not know many of the names of these buildings near the Library and ran out of space for the rest of the campus.

I added my favorite tree to relax under that is in front of the galleries next to the art store on campus because it is important to me. My close friend Isabella who is an art student in CSULB share this location with me to cloud gaze and just focusing on nature to get out of our heads. This campus has many trees which is one of the things I appreciate the scenery. Therefore this activity was a path down memory lane considering current events (Covid-19) that keep me away from public areas. Yet, I would do this again to see how much I can remember and new memories to recall.

For this part of the activity, my sister and I used my old board to tape the pieces of paper once more to play a game. We picked our color pens and started to draw with our eyes closed. We laughed a lot at first but then we just started moving the pens in circular motions that you can see on the left more prominently. While on the right it is just swift motions and interference of the middle piece which looks like a flower or balloon dog.

After we finished the drawing I noticed that we went wide on the motions and jumped around a lot on the page. Some of the lines are shaky and end abruptly but easy to see. There is still some white visible but space was all used. All in all, it was fun and entertaining to do.

Exhibit Information

Artist: Mahsa Soroudi

Media: Photography, Graphic Design

Website:https://www.mahsasoroudi.com/

Instagram: @mahsasoroudi

The artist Mahsa Soroudi is an Iranian independent art curator and an artist that earned her BFA in Visual Communication at Azad Art and Architecture University, Tehran in 2006. She moves to different countries to compare life from her new home to the one in Iran where she grew up. During the interview conducted by Glen Zuckman, she discussed her succulents and how the artistic process was unconsciously representing her new life in America. She has traveled to many Asian countries that have given her a vast understanding of their cultures.

Ms. Soroudi mentioned how her father is a painter and growing up in a moderate Muslim family allowed her to be more open in her art. She watched a lot of Hollywood movies that gave her an insight into Los Angeles, California. A week after she married her fiance they both moved away from Iran to the States. Moving to America for her was not about refuge but to get inspiration and learn from the diversity of the cultures here. Mahsa was born after the Islamic Revolution that shaped her to have a neutral perspective. Even though in her work and posts on social media website convey how she was going through a difficult chapter in her life, ” there is a lot of conflicting ideas and feelings that people might have in specific situations” she said during the interview on Youtube. This demonstrates how her family’s point of view is different about the revolution since her mom was working and new political changes were made.

However, for artist Mahsa, it was a new opportunity in a foreign country. In the Youtube interview video, she shows us her tray of growing plants. She compares them to her own experience of moving into her new home at the time. The first leaf to grow takes time for the roots to adapt and grow strong. Where she learned to adapt to life in LA and continue her art in Newport Beach. She mentioned how plantation is different from Iran, and that plants are as important as a person. They need the care to survive. Overall, the succulents represent her growth in a new environment but to never forget your roots.

A way I can relate to her art and her experience is that I am continuously growing even when I am not in a comfortable environment. Getting comfortable with the uncomfortable is important to get out of your shell and learn about the different cultures around us. Especially in a city like Los Angeles. Her 7500 miles is also special to me because I understand where her emotions about women’s roles are subjective to others that take their individuality. Women are not just mothers, wives, and daughters. But are also their passions and Mahsa message of only showcasing Iranian women artists is a perfect example of women being seen for their craft and not expected toles. By curating a feminist exhibition to encourage the view of women in their intimate moments in life.

I saw no beauty in winter only cold,

grey,

the loneliness and isolation;

now I see the snowflakes

on your lashes.

The crunch of snow

under my feet that echoes in my mind,

like the sensation of your laugh;

the sun that rises bright,

luminous,

like the shine of your big smile,

as the snow begins to fall;

I see beauty in winter

because now I see 

you.

Artist: Sienna Brown

Website: http://www.siennabrowneart.com

Instagram: @Siennabrowneart

Sienna Browne is an artist in her fourth year of the Drawing and Painting BFA program at California State University, Long Beach. A multimedia artist, Sienna uses sculpture, drawing, weaving, writing and painting to interpret her message. From listening to her presentation and visiting her website and Instagram I had more insight into her style of art and her story.

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Her early work from 2017 uses many lines and bright colors. Some of the pieces are puns. For example “Sushi Rolls”, “Fruit Flys”, and “Brain Freeze”. It conveys a fun attitude that makes it approachable art. A majority of her work is big canvases that portray a straightforward sight that is easy to identify what is painted. I enjoyed these because the work was bold and eye-catching with the purples, yellows, and reds it drew me to look longer.

During her 8 years of experience with creating art, she was able to channel her sub-conscience and her past relationship with food. From 2017 to 2018 she created pieces that she soon realized was a response to herself regarding her life. Struggling with an eating disorder for ten years is a huge part of her life that she was able to express through pieces about food puns. That was foreshadowing her new creations in 2018.

During that period she told her story through her pieces some were black and white others was colorful. She used many lines giving it many details and depth to its meaning. By showing the action of each that gave us an insight into her battle with an eating disorder. Sienna used oil, charcoal, and mixed media for many of her pieces from 2018. I know that working with oil paint or charcoal can be a challenge of its own since they can be difficult to work with and she can execute such clean work in her pieces that give them a rhythm to speak their message.

I paint too and that is why I appreciate her work as well as its message. As I am not an expert nor am I studying art I enjoy the process of creating my own and experiencing the emotion I put into the message. When I started painting in middle school up until now I would try to create one big piece or a very detailed medium size was my way of not losing my touch. Also seeing similar aesthetics we share is awesome. I enjoy using bright colors and painting with oil or acrylic, and sometimes mixed media