Alberto Checa- Artist: Ernesto Oroza

Born in 1968, Habana, Cuba, Ernesto’s work deals with functioning within the realm of manufacturing. He produces and distributes speculative publication methods, exhibitions, collaborations. His work has been exhibited at museums like: the MoMa in NYC, Groninger Museum, the Netherlands, Laboral Centro de Arte y Creacion Industrial, Spain. One of his projects which was at the time period after the collapse of the Soviet Union, where Cuba had to manage to develop technological solutions with parts from any apparatus or engine. He produced a series of antena trays that were equivalent to the satellite, which has been banned ever since 2003. He used trays because it was a very accessible object, since it was all over public spaces where people had lunch. He visited Cuba between 1994-2007 recording technology solutions to the banning of the satellites and further information. Which led to his latest exhibition in 2015 where the participators occupied an entire gallery with drawings, media, photos, furniture, textiles and videos. In this show he exhibited “technological disobedience”. He concluded that eventually the cubans began to live under technological disobedience, where they over came their limitations building things such as the rikimbilis- motor bicycles.

                                                   Life As We Knew It         by Susan Beth Pfeffer

                                                                             Summary 

             Life as we knew it deals with the scenario of if the moon was knocked out of orbit and came hurdling towards the Earth. Susan Beth Pfeffer describes the impact it would have on the Earths ecosystem and on humanity. The story is told in Chronological diary entries of a teenage girl. A coming of age story at the worst time. As the story progresses the conditions on Earth become more hostile. She learns to mature very fast when she has to take care of her little brother in extreme weather. She learns how to ration food and the unbearable pain of hunger. The book centralizes on the theme of family comes first in these situations, and that humanity will always have hope even in the most hopeless situations.


                                                                           My reaction

       I read this story at a young age so it is one of the most influential books i have read. I work alot with 'what if' scenarios and the effects that would result. In one passage the protagonist says she heard on the new that volcanoes are coming out of the ground in flat lands, due to the moon's gravity , its pulling magma from underground. A visionary author would think of this, it's absolutely spectacular to me. I write so i have a connection with my characters. I believe that characters need to grow by the end of the story that way there's a sense of accomplishment for both the character and the reader. The most believable character can be put into any scenario and adapt. Susan  does a great job of evolving the girl, and it completely changes her interaction with her family and her attitude towards survival.


Article by Antonio Garcia

George  Segal

http://www.segalfoundation.org/about_bio.html

George Segal was born in New York on November 26, 1924, to a Jewish couple who emigrated from Eastern Europe. His parents first settled in the Bronx where they ran a butcher shop and later moved to a New Jersey poultry farm. 

George spent many of his early years working on the poultry farm, helping his family through difficult times. George lived with his aunt in Brooklyn so that he could attend Stuyvesant Technical High School and prepare himself for a future in the math/science field. It was here that George first discovered his love for art. 

During World War II, he had to curtail his studies in order to help on the family poultry farm. He later attended Pratt, Cooper Union, and finally New York University where he furthered his art education and received a teaching degree in 1949. It was during these years that Segal met other young artists eager to make statements based on the real world rather than the pure abstractionism that was all the rage. He joined the 10th Street scene because of it. 

After his marriage to Helen in 1946, they bought their own chicken farm. In order to support his family during the lean years he taught Art and English at the local high school and at Rutgers University.

In 1961, Segal first started using his body as a mold for plaster sheets. He created an inviormeant for it as well. 

From 1965 to 1999, George Segal was represented exclusively by the Sidney Janis Gallery, New York. During this time Segal was very influential in the pop art seen during this time. 

The last years of his life were filled with new creation and expression. He created black and white photographs of the streets of New York & New Jersey. He remained active, engaged and productive until his death on June 9, 2000. 

Catherine Camargo "Many Lives. Many masters"

Catherine Camargo

Many Lives, Many masters is a book written by Brian Weiss who is a chairman of the Department of psychiatry at Mount Sinai Medical Center on Miami Beach in Florida. He specializes in the study of treatments for depression , sleep disorders, brain chemistry, and anxiety states etc. This book was published in 1988 based off of true and personal events from the author himself. Brian came across a patient named Catherine who suffered with depression , night terrors, and forms of severe anxiety. He believed that her problems may have stemmed from repressed memories from a very early age in her life. Brian wanted to try hypnosis sessions on Catherine in order to recover these memories which may help relieve her problems. Once the sessions begin Brian is astonished by the effect the hypnosis sessions have on Catherine, they are taking her back to her past lives where she was able to fully describe events from time periods hundreds of years their prior. Catherine could describe the image of herself in a past life and could meet significant others from her current life incarnated into different people. During the hypnosis when Catherine would die before describing her next life she would fall into some intermediate state where she was able to speak to “masters”. These masters would teach her lessons during these sessions. I chose chapter four of this book because I believe it stems to beginning of Brian's true undeniable belief in reincarnation when Catherine is able to know details about his own family and their past. I find the concept of Reincarnation so interesting because I think someone who has the power to have even minimal understandings of their past life own a mirror and metaphor to their current living experiences. For example, we look at our own experiences from past years in our lives and are thankful for them to help us reflect and deal with what we may currently be going through. i reflect on old poems and art that I have created to remind myself of old emotions that I may not be going through now. Studying and hunting moments of our past lives, whether from dreams or with people we have relations with today can create an effect like reading one of those poems from years ago and it now makes more sense to you. I want to study this more in order to have more understanding of myself to put into my physical art. To find a way to recreate past feelings into current pieces of artwork.

ARTICLE; "Film as Art"

     Adriana De La Torre

"FILM AS ART" by Rudolf Arnheim

Summary

Film theory is one of the most important elements discussed in the publication, being a collection of  frameworks developed over time in order to properly understand  the way films are made and received. Film theory is not a self-contained field: it borrows from the disciplines of philosophy, art theory, social science, cultural theory, psychology, literary theory, linguistics, economics, and political science.This piece of writing also concerns Cinematography-which is  the  process by which a film strip is exposed to light to create an image- and its many factors: the camera’s distance from the action, camera angle and direction, type of lens, camera movement, and lighting, among others. The art of film stresses the arrangement of objects and movements in the frame to create a successful moving picture.

Reaction

There’s no split between art and entertainment, BECAUSE it is open to interpretation.

 We draw our examples from documentaries, animated films, avant-garde films, mainstream entertainment vehicles, and films aimed at narrower audiences. People have tended to think of cinema as an art by means of rough analogies to the other arts. After all, film came along at a point when virtually all the other arts had been around forever. So it’s been natural for people to compare and scrutinize this new medium with older ones. I think there is also different subcategories of film as art :photographic art, narrative art, a performing art, pictorial art, and an audiovisual art all of which I'd like to further research, explore and incorporate into my work in the future.

Syllabus- Spring 2016

Class Syllabus Spring 2016

NWSA: Sculpture Portfolio I & II
Mon & Wed/1:10pm  - 3:45pm
Instructor: Don Lambert/Room 5112

Course Overview and Objective

Sculpture Portfolio presents an opportunity to explore the fundamentals of 3-D processes and techniques as you develop your conceptual skills and craftsmanship. The course will be partially self-guided in the sense that each student will meet with the instructor to determine 3 appropriate projects to be completed through the grading period. These projects will be re-worked through out the quarter and properly documented through writing and photography for presentation in your final portfolio.

In addition to quarterly projects, each student will complete a written/oral presentation on a contemporary artist. Instruction will be given through tool demonstrations, investigation of various art-making processes and the exploration of current and historical artists within our field. Finally, walking field-trips will add a hands-on elements to our experience of other artists’ work. This course will help you develop your creative process starting with idea generation, and culminating in the execution of well-thought-out works of art.

Instructor

Don Lambert
NWSA, Sculpture Department Head
email: lambert.nwsa@gmail.com

Required Materials

• Sketchbook (any size- for note taking and brainstorming)
• Closed-toe shoes (no sandals or flip-flops)

Expectations and Grading Policy

Your final grade will be assessed on your progress and participation throughout the class and on the final
project, such that you demonstrate:
• Technical mastery and application of the learned skills and principles
• Ability to follow directions as given in the syllabus, handouts and lectures
• Active participation in critiques and discussions
• Good attendance and promptness (attitude and effort)
• Completion of projects by the due date
• Creativity and originality
• Craftsmanship and presentation
• Overall Improvement

Critiques

You are expected to be an enthusiastic participant in this class and take ownership of your work and
development as a creative professional. The function of critiques is not only to receive feedback on your work, but to build essential skills of presentation, negotiation, and persuasion.
Projects must be ready for peer review BEFORE class or critique begins, unless otherwise specified.
Craftsmanship and presentation greatly affect your grade.

Sketchbook/Archive

Maintain a sketchbook that contains all of your research, work in progress, source materials, etc, in an easily accessible presentation that shows the sequence of your work. Document all your brain storms, questions, research, sketches, rough-drafts, etc. in a short document and save all materials gathered as part of your projects. Consider how to organize, plan and present this material professionally. Make it easy to go through, with individual exercises labeled clearly. Bring this journal to every class. This will serve as documentation of your thought process, and will be reviewed by instructor.

Final Portfolio and Exams

You are expected to take time throughout the semester to re-work your projects based on instructor and peer feedback. Individual conferences with the instructor are available throughout the course. If you would like a conference, set up a meeting with the instructor. Your final portfolio will consist of documentation of your finished projects.

Class and Shop Rules

Use of cell phones are strictly prohibited during class time. Internet usage should be limited to class-
related research (no checking email, social networking sites, etc). Continued use, after a warning, may result in disciplinary action. Specific Rules for RM5112:
• Food and Drink are not allowed in the wood shop.
• Spray paint, resin and mount adhesives must be used outside of the building.
• All materials and works-in-progress must be stored in closet. Anything left out will be discarded.
• Clean up after yourself.

Shop Policy

Our classroom consists of two rooms- the wood shop and plaster area. Students may do work outside of class-time in the plaster room, as long as there is no class in session or by obtaining permission from the instructor teaching at the time you wish to work. No one is permitted in the wood shop without instructor supervision. A lab computer is accessible during class hours; however files saved on the computer are not secure- plan accordingly. Access to certain shop equipment requires that you pass a safety orientation.

Attendance

Attendance which shall be required of all students during the days and hours that school is in session.
Students are expected to: attend class as scheduled; arrive at class on time; and demonstrate appropriate behavior and a readiness to learn. Students are responsible for catching up and getting any assignments, notes or readings missed because of absence.

• Class Attendance - Students are to be counted in attendance if they are physically present in
class for at least half of the class period, have been excused by the teacher on a class-related
assignment, or have been requested by a member of the school support staff for an approved
school activity.

• Tardiness – A student is considered tardy if he/she is not present at the moment the school bell
rings for the class assigned.

• Early Sign-outs - No student shall be released within the final 30 minutes of the school day unless
authorized by the school principal or principal’s designee, e.g., emergency, sickness.
Source: Miami-Dade Curriculum Bulletin 2012-13, page 26.

Honor Code

Students are expected to follow the Honor Code of the New World School of The Arts. All assignments must be original and completed independently during the quarter.

Disabilities

Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with documented disabilities. Please contact the instructor to work out the details for any accommodations.

Disclaimer

This syllabus is subject to change at any time during the quarter. You will be notified of any changes or will be issued a new syllabus.

Freshmen sculpture trap

Hi Freshmen Sculpture Students!! This is a trap!!! Please include the following word somewhere in your drawings. It can be small, we just have to be able to see it. It must be written in all caps.

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