Melanie Bedoya

Jessica Martinez

Materials:
Bowl
Cow Gummies
Bread

Statement:
The gray paste is the substitute for a burger. Each cow head represents one cow. By melting gummy cow heads together to represent a burger, I am criticizing the modern burger because it is  made from multiple cows instead of one.

“Manteles para mama, diario para la housekeeper” Gabriela Zegarra

Artist Statement:

            My work is reflective of my life experiences from a female perspective in an immigrant culture, I’ve been interested in the interaction between text and image, language and lack of communication, as well as artwork directed towards the women in my family. I’ve been experimenting with text as a symbol that represents emotion and turmoil. Because of my Peruvian roots, I can draw influences from the culture to make two dimensional artworks that has a Latino atmosphe­­­re to it. I want to address issues revolving relationships, ones that involve sexually intimate ones, mother-daughter, sibling, and friend-friend relationships. I’ve made work that represents the dynamic of the relationship between my mother and I, and made paintings that highlight the role that my siblings play in our family. Toying with the idea of childhood sensuality, I’ve based some artist books on my perspective of sexuality. Since I’m most interested in continuing work that reflects sensual and sexual imagery and concepts, I have created non-western books to convey sentimental thoughts and experiences of mine.

“Manteles para mama, diario para la housekeeper”

Toilet paper with text transfer, red thread and brown thread, dirt stains

This piece was a continuation of my tissue paper piece, in which I used text transfers on top of tissue paper (toilet paper) to write notes to my mother. In this piece I wrote from my mother’s perspective, of the day to day activities that she has to do. 

Material- Plexiglass, glass fragments, epoxy resin
Statement- This work is an exploration of possible aesthetic qualities that can be found in the floaters in my eyes. First found to be annoying and unattractive, I saw that it was the "medium", not the cell-like shapes, that made these so undesirable.

"Columbus.exe" Lisette del Pino

Program that user sees: 

Source code:

Materials: BLUEJ IDE (Enviroment for small, simple text based Java programs, free download)

Statement: In this piece I wrote the program so that a user (in this case supposedly Isabella Queen of Spain in 1492) could sit down at the computer and talk to Christopher Columbus during his sixth month in North America. While the pictures do not show it well, the user must type responses to Christopher's pressing yet romantic questions. By implying a secret love between the "most catholic and virtuous" queen that Spain has ever had and a ruthless conquistador I am further creating and embodying the character of the seemingly hyper-masculine and self-obsessed historical figures that established the norms of my countries. This piece was an experiment in characterization through text based early 2000's visual computer language rather than through performance. The source code is below and can be copy/pasted into an Java IDE.

Source code:

/**

 * The purpose of this program is for the user to be able to communicate to Christopher Columbus in the year 1492

 * Intended audience is Felipe and Isabella, the King and Queen of Spain. 

 * EDIT: added output for maximum heart rate of user

 * EDIT: added && logical operator to simplify boolean statement

 * 

 * @Lisette del Pino)

 * @11/13/15

 */

import java.util.Scanner;

public class CristobalColon

{

    public static void main(String[] args)

    {

        System.out.println("Isabella mi reina Isabella la \n reina bella \n");

        System.out.println("Isabella and Felipe el rey y la reina de Dios");

        System.out.println("Les habla Cristobal");

        System.out.println("___________________________________________________________________________________________________________");

        System.out.println();

        //Initialize and declare variables

        

        double months; 

        double times;

        double enteredHeartRateRiches;

        String answerOne; //answer to war question

        String answerTwo; //answer to if you miss me

        String answerThree;

        String answerFour;

        

        boolean inLove; 

        boolean ifMiss;

        boolean ifSuppliesOnWay;

        boolean ifAnyNewWar;

        Scanner in = new Scanner(System.in); //import scanner methods

        

        //Prompt user for input

        System.out.println("Please enter how long in months it has been since I have gone away: ");

        months = in.nextDouble();

        System.out.println();

        System.out.println("It has been " + months + " months but without Espana it has felt like " + (months * 100.0) + " months ");

        

        System.out.println("Please enter the number of times the thought of me has passed through your head ");

        times = in.nextDouble();

        System.out.println();

        System.out.println("You have thought of me " + times + " times but I have remembered you  " + (times * 100.0) + " times in " + months);

        System.out.println();

                

        System.out.println("Please enter your heart rate right now as you think of me amassing riches for the crown: ");

        enteredHeartRateRiches = in.nextDouble();

        System.out.println();

        System.out.println("My heart beats at least thirty times as much when I think of you, at least, " + (enteredHeartRateRiches * 30) + "times when \n I think about \n you");

        System.out.println();

        

        System.out.println("We have run out of food and are eating of the little animals that walk on the coast over our \n measurement strings \n they are often tangled and our \n measurements are inaccurate");

        System.out.println("I have been away for \n" + months + " months and you have thought of me " + times + "times");

        System.out.println("And you have thought of me exactly " + times + " times and your heart rate as you think of me is " + enteredHeartRateRiches + " bpm ");

        

        System.out.println();

        

        System.out.println("Please enter how long in months it has REALLY BEEN been since I have gone away: ");

        months = in.nextDouble();

        System.out.println();

        System.out.println("It has been " + months + " months but without Espana it has felt like " + (months * 100.0) + " months ");

        

        System.out.println("Please enter the number of times the thought of me has passed through your head REALLY ");

        times = in.nextDouble();

        System.out.println();

        System.out.println("You have thought of me " + times + " times but I have remembered you  " + (times * 100.0) + " times in " + months);

        System.out.println();

                

        System.out.println("Please enter your heart rate right now as you think of me amassing riches for the crown REALLY REALLY REALLY: ");

        enteredHeartRateRiches = in.nextDouble();

        System.out.println();

        System.out.println("My heart beats at least thirty times as much when I think of you, at least, " + (enteredHeartRateRiches * 30) + "times when \n I think about \n you");

        System.out.println();

       

        System.out.println("Has there been a war or war acts against Spain since I left? Answer 1 for yes or 2 for no");

        answerOne = in.next();

        System.out.println(" nice ");

        

      

        

      

        

        

        

         

    } //end main

}//end class TargetZone

CONTEXT

            The buttons I am designing will use the same language as political campaign buttons. Campaign buttons bear some similarity to bumper stickers, which are also used for political or other promotional messages. As a novelty item, campaign buttons are part of the hobby of collecting. For the past 100 years, slogans have been used to promote candidates and causes.

            The language of the 4-part campaign button – metal back, paper design, clear plastic cover, and metal pin – lends itself well to my project. The idea of pins as “retro” collectible novelty items enhances the idea of “green-washing” that is related to the piece. Green-washing, a corporation or business’s deceptive advertisement of a product or policy as “environmentally-friendly” or “green”, is a result of the commercialization of the recent surge in bright green environmentalism. The language of the pin suggests a consumer’s ability to acquire environmentalist status through collectible items.

PROCESS

            I will have to finalize the button design on Photoshop or InDesign, and then save the design as a PSD, PNG, PDF, AI, TIFF, JPG or EPS. I will then upload my design to justbuttons.org and order 50 2.25” metal pin-back buttons through this website for $35.00, plus shipping.

SCHEDULE

1.      Finalize button design on Photoshop and/or InDesign.

2.      Upload and order 50 2.25” metal pin-back buttons from justbuttons.org

3.      Receive buttons within a few weeks.

WHY?

The social interaction between the audience, social systems, and the artist through the distribution and receiving of the button pins, and the resulting room of people wearing these pins, is meant to inspire debate and catalyze social exchange. This piece is meant to engage the audience in thought and discussion about their roles as environmentally-conscious consumers in a time of extreme environmental crises. The circulation of the pins will lead to a circulation of questions throughout the audience, such as, “Am I pretending to be an environmentalist? What environmental issues am I aware of that I am not acting on? Are the simple things that I do, like recycling, not enough? Is it my responsibility to do more?” By offering a pin to every person in the audience, each individual will be confronted with the question of their personal environmental responsibility. Whether or not they choose to accept and wear the pin or reject the pin will be a direct reflection of themselves. To wear the pin is to accept responsibility for one’s personal environmental impacts; to reject the pin is to excuse oneself from this responsibility.

            As an environmentalist, the hardest thing for me has been accepting responsibility for all the choices I make as a consumer that contribute to pollution, depletion of resources, etc. However, after I did accept responsibility for my actions, I was able to make drastic lifestyle changes that have greatly minimized my negative impact on the environment. I still, however, have many more improvements to make. In a time of extreme environmental crises, humans must make rapid changes to our lifestyles. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and there is no time to waste. This inspired I Pretend To Care About the Environment as a social engagement piece. These buttons will serve as mirrors for self-assessment to the audience of consumers attending Senior Showcase. I will use Senior Showcase as a vehicle to distribute the pins and by extension the message of environmental consumer responsibility. Through this performance piece, I hope to inspire honest environmentalists from the audience to make more serious and dedicated choices for the betterment of the world.

 Title: I cant see

In this Performance I intended on showing the intentions of two people in my situation.
The two people being my mother and me , my mother who placed me in an environment
Which I could not escape because I had no power in this situation. I was blinded because I
Was not Entirely aware of the situation I was in , my mother who is pretending to be blind is
Entirely Aware of the situation and free to do as she please which is why I am bound to
The door and she is not. In this performance I am entirely blind and I can't see the strings that
Are tied around me so I cant see where to start to untie myself and the more I try the more it
Hurts , the door is a representation of my environment but also the entrance to a period in
My life.

"Weight of Time" Cody Graber

The downward pressure being exerted  from the weight of the cement acts as a catalyst by balancing the otherwise fragile wooden structure. The friction that is established when the cement cast is latched onto the structure, prevents any further movement from occurring, causing the wooden panels to lock in place. However, due to the positioning of the panels, if the cement cast were to stay in that position for an extensive period of time, the wood will eventually give in and collapse because of  the pressure being applied by the cement and gravity.  I compared this relationship to Alzheimer's and how it serves as an anchor to the mind and the individual,by immobilizing the capability to remember short and long term events causing the person with the disease to lose all sense of identity. Because of this, their conscious is then thrown into a state of limbo, in which they stagnate until the mind decays enough that the foundation can no longer support the weight of the disease. 

Scaffold Installation/ In progress

Materials:

-Bungee Cords

- Flexible material/cloth

- Belt/ Velcro material to create belts to attach to dancers to apply the cords to

-Projector-Extension Cords

Have to:

-Tie the dancers to the scaffold

-Play with the different levels (3)

- Outfit Nude Color or Neutral

-Playing with the Idea of restriction of being “stuck” will creating a sort of architectural sketches with the bungee cords. Not only restricting the dancers but space.

Figure 1 = Dancer stretching cord showing length in relation to structure

Figure 2= structure in relation to human scale.  Opportunity of using al three levels

 -Against the wall creates    opportunity to project

- Consider creating the opportunity to walk around/ under­­

"Alternate Sigil" Antonella Marshall

Materials: Wood, cardboard, tape, mesh, vinegar, art tissue, paint

               The Alternate Sigil is part of a series of sculptures that explores the concept of horror psychology through depictions of grotesque, organic material. The sculpture’s flesh-like material in the center is made of tape and art tissue, giving it the flexibility to fold back and reveal the sigil beneath. Warmer colors with a varnish coating were used to enforce the texture of the flesh areas of the sculpture.

               The outside of the sculpture, including the flesh, represents the exterior, while the grotesque area inside represents the interior. 

"Remembering Present" Jefferson McCarthy

Remembering present

Remembering present is a study of the influence of colors on my memories of the past. This specific green is a color I've unconsciously associated with periods of sanctity in my life. By recreating this color, I am trying to alter how I will remember my life now, in the future.

"Good As New" Stephanie Oyuela

MATERIALS:

Frog plush toy, decrepit bear plush toy, stuffing, ribbon and scissors

STATEMENT:

Through performance I wanted to depict how one day I will most likely have to give up the ability to have children and be left with an empty shell. The inability to bare children leaves some women with a void in them that they can not fill.

Anya Contreras

Andy Goldsworthy

Andy Goldsworthy is a British sculptor, photographer, and environmentalist producing site-specific sculpture and land art. He is associated with environmental art and land art movements. From a young age, Goldsworthy worked on farms as a laborer and has likened the repetitive quality of farm tasks to the routine making of his sculptures: “A lot of my work is like picking potatoes; you have to get into the rhythm of it.”

Andy Goldsworthy uses exclusively natural materials, saying, “My remit is to work with nature as a whole.” He works with resources such as ice, snow, leaves, bark, petals, stones, feathers, and twigs to understand the energy running through landscapes that he also recognizes within himself. Holes are a common element in his works because he finds holes to be a literal method in getting beneath the surface of natural materials in order to explore their intrinsic energetic properties. His greatest inspiration is the flow in nature; specifically of water. Flowing water, in the form of either rivers or oceans, serves as a natural force that informs the elements of repetition and concepts of cycles and time in his work. He is famous for interpreting the subtle shifts of place and time through his work. He understands that nature is constantly in a state of change, and this change is the key to understanding. The transience in his works is what he observes in nature. For his ephemeral works, Goldsworthy often uses only his bare hands, teeth, and found tools to prepare and arrange the materials, even finding gloves to reduce his sensitivity to his process. Some of his more permanent sculptures, such as “Roof”, “Stone River” and “Three Cairns” employed the use of some machine tools. Observation and intimate interaction are inseparable from Goldsworthy’s work. When he interacts with nature as a material, it transcends surface and form into an exploration of the processes of life within and around it. When these pieces are left alone, these processes continue to work upon them.

Photography plays a crucial role in Goldsworthy’s art due to its ephemeral and transient state. According to Goldsworthy, “Each work grows, stays, decays – integral parts of a cycle which the photograph shows at its heights, marking the moment when the work is most alive. There is an intensity about a work at its peak that I hope is expressed in the image. Process and decay are implicit.”

Jessica Martinez

Artist Response

Los Carpinteros

The Carpenters

Los Carpinteros are a group of artists who decided to renounce the notion of authorship by banding together in an attempt to work as past guilds of artists had. However, their group name is also a form of authorship, there seems to be no way of escaping the concept. Marco Antonio Castillo Valdes, Dagoberto Rodríguez Sanchez, and Alexandre Arrechea make up Los Carpinteros, although Arrechea left the group in 2003 to continue his career as a solo artist, maybe he enjoyed the idea of authorship.

All three artists were born around 1970 in Cuba, where they live and work. However, showing in Cuba in recent years has become infrequent, not just for Los Carpinteros but for other Cuban artists as well. As art continues to become more conceptually driven, people in Cuba are having a harder time understanding the art, because they lack the context necessary to engage with the work. The group travels frequently and describes it as necessary part of their process. Moving from place to place requires reinventing and adjusting to that place. So the work they create does respond to the city they’re in, but the themes are internationally applied.

The group deals with society and its relationship to the physical word, that being spatially and in terms of objects. They create seemingly functional objects that are then deemed “fake” or not functional, and in there lies a humorous quality that exists in their body of work or ouve. They have a self directed standard of production in order to ensure their productivity. Thier creative process begins with drawings, that serves as models for the sculptures as well as two dimensional art work. from these models discussions take place on how the sculpture will be made and how effectively their ideas are portrayed. the decision is then made to materialize the object or not.

Los Carpinteros had a desire to produce everything they made and to interact with the work while it was in production. So, when their studio was based in Cuba,  parts had to be manufactured in Madrid, Spain, they felt disconnected with their work, which resulted in moving their studio practice to Spain. This motivation to be in contact with their work comes from their interests in domestic objects, because they are traces of the human hand.

Objects are produced by people, because there is a need or demand for them. Domestic objects, like furniture, and living spaces are all items created with a specific function in mind. Los Carpinteros motivation is to then make that object impractical as part of their creative process and exploration.    

 

Los Carpinteros, Escalera, 2001,

Powder-coated steel, 36.75 × 30 x 54 inches.

TD I also want to ask you about Marcel Duchamp.  (Interviewer)

AA We love Marcel Duchamp. But Marcel doesn’t love us. He is dead—he can’t.