My Drawings
My Self Portrait...ish
Renaissance Book
Chicano Park Mural
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Since we were looking at the different types of renaissance, we went to Chicano Park to explore their art and the history held behind it. During the trip, there was one image that really got my attenition, and it was the Quetzalcóatl mural (first and last image on the slide show).
The Quetzalcóatl mural was the first attempt at collective mural painting in Chicano Park. Attempting to unify the various images painted by the hundreds of Barrio Logan residents in the early stages of this movement, a core group of artists worked on it during the span of a year. The mural is called Quetzalcóatl because of the mythical feathered serpent of Mexico (the one rising up before the Coronado Bridge), the Aztec god of wind and learning. In the mural there is a swastika placed in the middle, which is the ancient symbol of transformation and movement. In the mural there is also a skull with the Christian cross representing the source of death for the thousands of native Mexicans during the period of evangelization. Behind the skull rises the sun, whose eye represents the ollin, a symbol for movement. I think that this is my favorite one because of the way they mashed everything up and how the colors are used. Not only that, but the whole mural represents movement and knowledge. |
Artist Mash-Up Project
Reading Latter
Rated from most difficult to the easiest book read this semester:
1.V for Vendetta by Alan Moore, 228 pp.
2.The Stranger by Albert Camus, 123 pp.
3.Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier, 464 pp.
4.Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas, 704 pp.
5.All the Bright PLaces by Jennifer Niven, 388 pp.
6. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, 288 pp.
7. Impulse by Ellen Hopkins, 666 pp.
8. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, 388 pp.
9. Ao no Exorcist Vol 01 by Kazue Kato, 200 pp.
10. The Rising of The Shield Hero Vol 01 by Aneko Yusagi, 300 pp.
Total pages read during S1: 3749/14 = 267.8 pages per week
Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta was the most challenging book (graphic novel) I read this semester. The way the characters in the book spoke was sometimes very different and at times difficult to understand, I had to re-read it a few times sometimes. I would also get confused by what was happening and had to go back a few pages to start reading from there. The Stranger by Albert Camus was second in my list. It’s not that it was difficult but rather boring, it's one of those books where you feel like a third grader wrote it. It lacked description and was very "to the point" kind of writing. I would often lose track of what I was reading and would have to re-read the entire chapter which is why it took me so long to read even though it was only 123 pages long (don't get fooled by the amount of pages, when a book is boring it takes twice as long to finish). All the Bright Places by Sarah J. Maas, 5th book on my list, was not difficult but got very sad towards the end and made it hard to finish (not going to lie, I had to stop a couple of times to get emotionally prepared for what was going to hapen). The Rising of The Shield Hero Vol 01 by Aneko Yusagi is my last book (manga) because it was easy to understand, of course this does not mean that it's my least favorite.
This is actually less reading than I usually do. I think because it was mandatory and graded, I wasn’t really motivated to read (which should have been the opposite), it seemed too... forced. I’ve read a lot of manga, but because there were so many volumes I decided to only put the first volume of two. If I counted all of the books I’ve read, it would amount to reading a book every two days. I think I’ve read a good amount of pages and am content with where I am, although I don’t read a wide variety of books as much as I’d like (mostly adventure, sad, and fantasy books), so I will start reading different genres. I will also be reading more challenging stuff (just not so challenging that it’s boring and hard to understand). The amount of reading I’m doing is not coming from force (well, being graded makes it kind of forced) and I plan to continuing reading. I do plan to challenge myself to read some classics. I think that’s actually my goal.
1.V for Vendetta by Alan Moore, 228 pp.
2.The Stranger by Albert Camus, 123 pp.
3.Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier, 464 pp.
4.Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas, 704 pp.
5.All the Bright PLaces by Jennifer Niven, 388 pp.
6. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, 288 pp.
7. Impulse by Ellen Hopkins, 666 pp.
8. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, 388 pp.
9. Ao no Exorcist Vol 01 by Kazue Kato, 200 pp.
10. The Rising of The Shield Hero Vol 01 by Aneko Yusagi, 300 pp.
Total pages read during S1: 3749/14 = 267.8 pages per week
Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta was the most challenging book (graphic novel) I read this semester. The way the characters in the book spoke was sometimes very different and at times difficult to understand, I had to re-read it a few times sometimes. I would also get confused by what was happening and had to go back a few pages to start reading from there. The Stranger by Albert Camus was second in my list. It’s not that it was difficult but rather boring, it's one of those books where you feel like a third grader wrote it. It lacked description and was very "to the point" kind of writing. I would often lose track of what I was reading and would have to re-read the entire chapter which is why it took me so long to read even though it was only 123 pages long (don't get fooled by the amount of pages, when a book is boring it takes twice as long to finish). All the Bright Places by Sarah J. Maas, 5th book on my list, was not difficult but got very sad towards the end and made it hard to finish (not going to lie, I had to stop a couple of times to get emotionally prepared for what was going to hapen). The Rising of The Shield Hero Vol 01 by Aneko Yusagi is my last book (manga) because it was easy to understand, of course this does not mean that it's my least favorite.
This is actually less reading than I usually do. I think because it was mandatory and graded, I wasn’t really motivated to read (which should have been the opposite), it seemed too... forced. I’ve read a lot of manga, but because there were so many volumes I decided to only put the first volume of two. If I counted all of the books I’ve read, it would amount to reading a book every two days. I think I’ve read a good amount of pages and am content with where I am, although I don’t read a wide variety of books as much as I’d like (mostly adventure, sad, and fantasy books), so I will start reading different genres. I will also be reading more challenging stuff (just not so challenging that it’s boring and hard to understand). The amount of reading I’m doing is not coming from force (well, being graded makes it kind of forced) and I plan to continuing reading. I do plan to challenge myself to read some classics. I think that’s actually my goal.
Reflection
What is the purpose of art? Well, I think that first we would have to look at what art is, so what is it? According to google art is “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. the various branches of creative activity, such as painting, music, literature, and dance.” However, art is a very controversial topic. The answer to questions like ‘what is the purpose of art?’ will always be different depending on who you ask.
During the course of this semester we looked at this question and on what art is/meant to us, finding our own meaning to these questions through our various art creations. In art class, art was created in the form of objects, paintings, drawings, and so on, while in English class, art was produced in the form of writing, literature, etc. Throughout the projects and activities we’ve done, I have learned learned how much of an impact words and paintings can have on a person, and how much they can reveal about the artist. While that is true, I also learned how some things can’t be given meaning.
During the first few weeks in art class, Jeremy would start the period by pulling up an image of an art piece and telling us to write about what we noticed, made us feel, and thought about it. The point of this was to try and find what the artist intended, but most of the time we would instead give it our own meaning. One time a painting was a series of pastel lines put next to each other. While the class shared out what they thought the artist was trying to express, I just saw it as a bunch of lines with terribly ugly colors. Some of the answers seemed ridiculous and over thought, giving it way too much meaning. But that’s when I realized what they were saying were they’re own opinions/what they felt when they saw it, and that we weren’t really going to find out what the artist was feeling.
In English class, one of the first few poems we read was called “Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins. This poem really stood out to me because the author was talking about how a poem should just be enjoyed, but people always try to find a deeper meaning to it, striping the poem until the core is “found”. I realized how even then we analysed the poem and found it’s meaning. I am quite guilty of this, whenever I read or see something beautiful, I always try and give it my own meaning, and it’s just literally impossible not to do.
Now to go back to the question, ‘what is the purpose of art?’ I don’t think there is a definite/true purpose to it. I think it’s just up to the person to give it the purpose or not, whether it’s just because it looks cool, or to express and communicate feelings, or was simply created with no meaning behind it whatsoever people interpret art differently, but in the end, it is just art.
During the course of this semester we looked at this question and on what art is/meant to us, finding our own meaning to these questions through our various art creations. In art class, art was created in the form of objects, paintings, drawings, and so on, while in English class, art was produced in the form of writing, literature, etc. Throughout the projects and activities we’ve done, I have learned learned how much of an impact words and paintings can have on a person, and how much they can reveal about the artist. While that is true, I also learned how some things can’t be given meaning.
During the first few weeks in art class, Jeremy would start the period by pulling up an image of an art piece and telling us to write about what we noticed, made us feel, and thought about it. The point of this was to try and find what the artist intended, but most of the time we would instead give it our own meaning. One time a painting was a series of pastel lines put next to each other. While the class shared out what they thought the artist was trying to express, I just saw it as a bunch of lines with terribly ugly colors. Some of the answers seemed ridiculous and over thought, giving it way too much meaning. But that’s when I realized what they were saying were they’re own opinions/what they felt when they saw it, and that we weren’t really going to find out what the artist was feeling.
In English class, one of the first few poems we read was called “Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins. This poem really stood out to me because the author was talking about how a poem should just be enjoyed, but people always try to find a deeper meaning to it, striping the poem until the core is “found”. I realized how even then we analysed the poem and found it’s meaning. I am quite guilty of this, whenever I read or see something beautiful, I always try and give it my own meaning, and it’s just literally impossible not to do.
Now to go back to the question, ‘what is the purpose of art?’ I don’t think there is a definite/true purpose to it. I think it’s just up to the person to give it the purpose or not, whether it’s just because it looks cool, or to express and communicate feelings, or was simply created with no meaning behind it whatsoever people interpret art differently, but in the end, it is just art.