Prototyping

Our team is in the midst of prototyping our exhibits before we shift into full-blown building mode. Below are pictures of prototype pastes/gels for our Squeeze Tube piece, and a miniature array of our Twinkly lights experience.

We've been playing around with a variety of materials and construction styles, and we currently have proof-of-concepts for 5 of our pieces.

Last weekend we also got two HUGE boxes of used disposable cameras which we'll use in our Flash Explosion exhibit. We'll be spending some time with the camera circuit boards, and keep you all updated (provided we don't shock ourselves too badly).

"Undone": Progress on our Film

Hey guys. Nicole here. Yun and I are in pre-production, trying to secure the different aspects of our film that need to fall into place before we actually start shooting, which will hopefully take place in a week. Things seem to be slowly but promisingly coming together. Thanks to some back-and-forth skyping between China and NY we managed to write our script over winter vacation. We've since finalized it, and have been devoting our energies to casting, storyboarding, figuring out crew and shooting locations, etc. As far as the visual arts element of our project is concerned, I've been working on some sculptures that will be incorporated into the film as props.

As we move forward, Yun has been sharing many film-experience pearls of wisdom with me, a film-making neophyte (it's so incredible to collaborate with someone whose artistic vision you really trust!). So far I've found the process of getting this thing off the ground totally all-consuming/rewarding/terrifying. Both Yun and I are excited to move on to the filming stage to remind ourselves what all of this planning and preparation has been for.

As you can see, I've included some images of the sculpture-props I've made.

G-mail chatting it up

Hi!

My project has been quite the process! I didn't expect it so time-consuming, but nor so fulfilling. I'm reaching over 100 pages on my novella, which is in gmail-chat format. I still have to add more stuff, but I'm hoping to minimize it so it won't be such a challenge to bind...

But overall, my project is tracking two Asian American high school seniors in Southern California (2008-09) through their college application process and their navigation of senior year--you know, that year with the drama, activities, and anticipation of where one would be going to school next year.

To get more perspectives on the college application process, particularly with a emphasis on Asian Americans, I send Facebook/ e-mail/ and one-on-one interviews with Asian American high school seniors or those recently graduated (college freshman/ sophomores). There was an impressive response and interest in the subject. I noticed that there was a significant disparity between perspectives of the college application among different backgrounds, but a unifying connection was--stress!

I hope I do the stories justice! Here's a small excerpt (formatting changed from the copy and paste...)

from:
Amy Nguyen xXaznprinxessXx@gmail.com to Gabrielle Chen gwchaing@gmail.com
date:
Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 7:42 PM
subject:
Chat with Gabrielle
mailed-by:
gmail.com


7:26 PM Gabrielle: :I
me: oh math crap.
7:27 PM Gabrielle: ?
me: i suck at calc
Garbrielle: i just cracked open the book. The tutor is like blah blah blah. Don’t understand shit.
________________________________________ 5 minutes
7:33 PM me: ughh
7:37 PM Gabrielle: garble garble
me: mumble mumble
natasha bedingfield - the one that got away <3
me: youtubingngnggg
7:38 PM me: :) the chorus
7:40 PM my dad is being a dickhead.
he blocked youtube on my computer
Gabrielle: ....
why? College app season? x)
me: 'cause he's an ass ?
he thinks he's a god by controlling what i can and can't see
7:41 PM or whether or not i can even use the net
7:42 PM Gabrielle: D:
7:43 PM me: i'm actually trying to do the online quiz for calc like a good little kid. XD
Gabrielle: ah!
i should do that
okay, i'm going to let us all go
hm
me: you reminded me by doing im-ing me
Gabrielle: the mix is better, i think, than the original?
me: yeah dancy one right ? cya later….at math.

Comic book- brainstorming, panelling, sketching.

Hello!

Here are some of the finished drawings of my comic book which I'd done last quarter. I've finished writing the story during winter break, when I was in UK. Currently, most of my stuff are still in sketches and panels; yet to be inked. I need to get more work done by this weekend!　がんばつて! By the way, my style is pretty manga-ish =)



Rainforest


Beginning


Classroom scene

Now that I've shown a preview of my work, I'll write a little bit about how this project first surfaced. It all started in Fall 09-10 (last semester). I took the class ARTSTU 14A: Drawing Comics for Non-Majors with Juan. I've always liked reading manga since I was young and I do draw some fan arts and bits of sketches every now and then. However, I've never really found the time to produce a proper comic book. I've been reading a lot of "drawing manga books" but until I took this class, I've never done any inking, paneling, character design, story boarding, etc. Juan was simply amazing, allowing us the freedom to produce whatever comics that we want for the class's assignment (yes even abstract comics!).

And with this grant (which I'm very grateful for as materials and printing are very expensive), I am planning to expand my comic book to 20-30 pages. Most of it will be in black and white but there will be some pages which will be colored. I'll be using mixed media: markers, pens, water color pencils, acrylics. All of my work will be hand drawn and I'll only be using Photoshop for touch ups and maybe some effects.

Till next time,

Cheers!

Mei Yueh

Beginnings

I had the opportunity to break-in the soles of my feet and dance during the winter break while I was home in Boston. (nice way to stay warm!) I took classes in Flamenco, Ethno-Hatian dance, American Tribal Style belly dance, Tribal Fusion belly dance, and Middle Eastern dance. Unfortunately I was never able to take classes in Kathak nor Tahitian dance as I had planned; it was really difficult to get in touch with dance instructors and schedule classes during the winter holiday.

Through my experience thus far I have had the opportunity to reassess and reignite my creative development as a dancer. There were many more moments than I expected where I found myself hitting some walls: Are there limitations that came with a dance’s expectations, rules, and etiquette? Will different aspects of dances contradict each other? Can a fusion/collaboration be created while keeping intact the integrity and authenticity of the individual dances?


I attended a lecture at the beginning of my break in Boston titled: “The History of Belly Dance: From the Sacred to the Profane.” It was presented by Naraya of Vadalna Tribal Dance Co. based in Boston. Naraya is absolutely amazing, she is not only the founder and artistic director of Vadalna but she is also a wife, mother, and Ph.D candidate at Brandeis in the field of Anthropology. Her lecture peeled away layers of hidden history. Belly dance is a product of creative imagination and it continually changes with what the dancer want to take away from it and give of it. But the beginning of “belly dance” is not exactly clean and clear cut. Its origins derive from profane paintings of women in which explorers claimed danced for men in North African and Middle Eastern countries in which they had explored and eventually colonized. The idea of belly dancers were further explored at Chicago’s world’s fair where Middle Eastern culture was exploited, misrepresented. Colonialism, exploitation, male dominated sexual desires drove the thoughts that began the ideas behind “belly dance.” Even today belly dance does not get the respect it deserves from general audiences despite the evolution it has seen. As much as dancing has been an outlet for artistic expression it has also been a means to speak my mind and demonstrate my power as a being and as a woman.

I’m in the process right now searching for music and creating the troupe and solo choreographies for Arts Affair in the spring. I talked to the ladies I teach on the weekends and we may do a rehearsal performance for Stern Hall in a common space in front of the dining hall if we can get permission to do so before spring break.

progress!

Hey ho. Here's some paintings I've finished.... trying to get more focused on exactly what I'm doing, I think I'm going to include my whole moleskine sketchbook since I just finished one and have begun another. Grappling with subject matter since I want to move away from portraiture, or at least direct my work with some kind of bent. I have enjoyed shifting styles, which wasn't entirely intentional for any of these, but it just turns out that I get restless doing one thing for too long. Undecided as to whether any of these is particularly more successful than the others. Though they do look cool sort of hanging out together, like a painting party. Not really a lively one, however.

Overall it appears that I am sort of groping around. But I am getting things done... I have a lot of smaller digital pieces and sketches that I'm not sure what to do with. Here are a few..

Cheers!