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​For the third quarter we had to create a compilation of drawings. For a short run-down it was: a sketch of a hand, a sketch of a self-portrait, a full self-portrait, a full-size figure drawing, a full size still life, a sketch of a plastic bottle and a full-size plastic bottle. The medium was simple, mostly charcoal or pastel. The drawings were all from observation which also, for me, made them easier.

Basically, this was my forte. I have been learning how to draw for years and I finally got to exercise them in a classroom setting. Starting with the hand and portrait sketches, I was able to smoothly transition into the larger 24 x 36 pieces. I feel as though the content wasn't too challenging; it was nothing I hadn't done before. 

However, for these I chose to being working in color which I had never done before. I used them first, simply, in my large portrait. I used conte (sanguine and medici) and white conte. For the full figure I went back to using only black and white because it was larger than any drawing I had ever tried before. For the other drawings I chose to work in multiple colours. 

I feel as though all of my drawings turned out really well. I think that the water bottle and the still life, as well as possibly the full figure, could be used for portfolio pieces. I showed the water bottle to admission counselor at Tyler and she really liked it. Regardless, I learned a lot this quarter about how to use my medium to make new looking things rather than the same old things I've been drawing.

*PICTURES ON THE WAY*

I have officially completed my story! This morning, my character experienced a complete transformation on the steps of a Bronx apartment building. She projected her thoughts via successive tweets (all within the course of 3 hours) as the pressure of her new life began to sink in.  

Overall, I am very happy with the way my project turned out.  I loved using the descriptive aspect of the Facebook profile in conjunction with the short and sweet tweets.  Patricia Lebow came to life within the last few weeks, so much so that a few people asked me if I knew her in real life! By using a real Flickr account (courtesy of Lauren Piper), I was able to create a believable visual component to my character as well.  She had a face and a life that could have existed outside of fiction. 

these are the three drawings that I did for my quarter 3 benchmark art project. I picked an artist by the name of Rik Lee to mimic I guess you could say. I picked him because his art work is kind of out there, but at the same time it's normal and really pretty. He incorporates some words in his drawings and only uses hits of color. When I'm drawing I don't like using color, because I feel it ruins the drawing. So it was nice that I found someone whom shared that feeling. I probably could of added more to each drawing, but to be perfectly honest I'm quite proud by the way the turned out overall. I also found it fun, that I got to inquorate my style of drawing in and at the same time learn new styles of art. This was definitely my favorite project so far.

Tajh Jenkins

April 8, 2011

Senior Artist Statement

            This quarter of senior art has been very challenging. The drawings that we had to create we’re very challenging to me because I’m do not trust my abilities as an artist. I think that when drawing things, you trust your skills and have confidence that what you are drawing is good and has meaning. There were times during this quarter when I was discouraged by what I was drawing because I would look across from me to see someone else’s drawing that I thought was way better than mines. Even though I think that my drawings aren’t as good as they could be, I did try my best on each one. I completed every assignment except for the full figure drawing. I didn’t finish that drawing because it took me longer than a week to draw it and after the first week, Kim was posing for the class anymore.

             The drawings that I liked doing the most were the hand drawing, and the self-portrait drawing, specifically the large one. I liked these drawings the most because I think that those were my best work. My hand drawing was very simple and easy to draw and I like the detail that I was able to put in it. I think that my large self-portrait is my best drawing that I create in the third quarter. It looks exactly like me in my eyes. I actually enjoyed drawing both the hand and the self-portraits. My enthusiasm to draw them made the drawings become my best works.

          Having a drawing once a week became stressful because I was used to have ample time to create one piece as we did in the first two quarters. Having a drawing once a week kept me on my toes. The fact that Ms. Hull gave us an extra two weeks to complete any drawings that we missed did benefit me. I don’t think that Ms. Hull getting sick affected me negatively. I think that since we are seniors, we should have been able to hold our own and still complete the drawings and ask Ms. Hull to tell us what she thought about them whenever she came back to school.

            Ms. Hull did a good job this quarter giving the condition that she’s in. As a student, I could have done some things differently. I think that I could have used my class time more effectively. Even though I got most of my assignments done, I found myself procrastinating a lot because we had so much time to finish these projects. I think that I could have used most of the time I took not doing work to make my projects better. Overall I think that I was mostly successful this quarter. I hope that I can continue being successful in the 4th quarter and for the rest of the school year. 

Drawings: 

Here is the link to my 5 page art paper. I wrote about the history of digital art.

In the beginning, I am signing up for a fighting contest and Brooke walks out of the door and teases me for entering. Saying that "I can't fight." and "I must be joking".

Da Vonte Martin
Jareese Long
Amirah Burkett
Kyla Carden
​
The scene that my group and I wanted to recreate was a scene from "High Tension". 

Qianna Nelson

For this quarter we did a lot of still life drawings in which we drew what we saw and not what we thought we saw. This was especially hard because when someone tells you to draw something such as a hand, immediately the thought is to trace the hand. But no. that is not what our task was. Our tasks were to look at certain things and draw everything that we saw and not how we knew them to look. Such as when we did have to draw a hand. We had to stare at our hands and draw the lines and take out the lights and darks as well as add the lights and darks. Drawing our hands were one of our more simpler projects.

Our second project was to draw our self-portraits, this was particularly harder to do then drawing a hand. A face has a lot more detail and getting the proportions are also harder. Drawing things such as the eyes and lips were the hardest parts to me. Because drawing things twice and making them look alike has always been a struggle. 

The next picture we drew was of a person, Kim. She posed for the class and we all drew her. Getting the figure right for her body was complicated and drawing the curves and such was a struggle. 

We did a still life drawing of supplies that were in the classroom. This was one of the more simpler drawing we did. The complicated parts were taking the lights and darks out of the supplies.

The last thing we were instructed to draw was something clear. I chose to draw a pair of lab goggles. I enjoyed drawing the googles and I used colors in this one besides black, since the googles were green.

The final project we did we could chose from many topics. I chose the project where we had to ARTIST FOCUS - choose an artist and create works of art that are inspired by them or that are copies of the chosen pieces.  3 pieces for art 3 students. Choose the pieces you want to copy or be inspired by, create your pieces, upload them to your blog and tell about them and why you chose that artist. Since my art focus has been on city landscapes lately I chose to draw posters of city landscapes. I chose the artist Anne Garney, because all her pictures are really colorful and I love color, and i enjoyed looking at her art so I wanted to draw something like her. 

.

 

For my third quarter benchmark I choose to pick an artist and do a research paper based upon that person.  The artist that I choose is Andy Warhol. I picked this artist is because his artwork is bright with different colors and he combines more then one image within this drawings. Another style is that he will do a single color but make certain elements pop out using a different brighter color. I like his artwork because it so abstract and it seems as though he likes to captures younger audiences.

The history behind Andy Warhol is that he was an American painter, printmaker and filmmaker. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 6, 1928. Andy has four siblings and is the youngest of them all. His parents are from Slovakia and immigrated here after the death of Andy grandparents. When Andy was in third grade he was diagnosed with Chorea, which is a nervous system disease that makes his body twitch uncontrollable and also caused skin pigmentation blotchiness.

Andy was always bed-ridden which caused him to develop a fear of hospitals and doctors. He was an outcast at school so Andy always loved to be with this mother at her side. When he was confined to bed he would draw and collecting pictures of movie stars. This period in time was told to be the period where Andy developed his personality and his skill set.

A little information on his personal life, Andy is thought to be a homosexual and that influenced a lot of this work and shaped his relationship to the art world. Many of his movies were displayed in gay porn theaters drawing from gay underground cultures and openly expressing sexual desires. One of the first artwork he tried to submit to a gallery was a drawing of nude men but it was rejected because of it being “too gay”.

            Andy religious belief was that he was Catholic. He often volunteers in helping at homeless shelters. He likes to do it during the busier time of the years because he thought of himself as a religious person. While volunteering he start to develop more picture of religious theme. He would attend mass but did not do confession or take part in communion because the fear of being recognized. He was self-conscious of being seen in a Latin Rite church but always because he thought that it was a private thing that people did not need to be aware of to the community.

The Last Supper cycle (1986)

 

            In 1949, Andy was admitted into Carnegie Institute of Technology now it is known as Carnegie Mellow University. He studied commercial art at the School of Fine Arts. Then he moved to New York City and worked in magazine illustration and advertising.

 

Diamond dust shoes, 1980

Since, then he has traveled around the states and made different pop art drawing form different museums. In 1968, one of Andy Warhol was shoot by Valerie Solanas who was a screenplay write from some of the films that Andy was directing. The reason for her shooting is because she wanted to a script of her returned but Andy said he misplaced it. Andy suffers majorly from this attack because a lot of physical effects that he would for the rest of his life.

"Before I was shot, I always thought that I was more half-there than all-there – I always suspected that I was watching TV instead of living life. People sometimes say that the way things happen in movies is unreal, but actually it's the way things happen in life that's unreal. The movies make emotions look so strong and real, whereas when things really do happen to you, it's like watching television – you don't feel anything. Right when I was being shot and ever since, I knew that I was watching television. The channels switch, but it's all television."  -  Said after the shooting.

 

            Andy died a year later in 1987 on February 22 at 6:32 in the morning because of post-operative cardiac arrhythmia. His parents sued the hospital because they claim that improper care and water intoxication caused the death of Andy. His body was taken back to Pittsburgh for burial. He was buried next to his mother and father. 

self-portrait 1978

Andy Warhol’s drawings are not only different because of the abstract color scheme but because he captures them with a bold statement.  I like his painting because it takes a simple portrait of someone and makes it bold by adding a bold primary color like red or yellow. I feel like that he takes what he has been through and turns it into something inspiring that involves his religion, sexuality, experience and his life.

Overall Andy Warhol is not only a painter but a film maker and founder of The Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts it was something that he put in his will that he wanted to accomplished for those who have a visual art skill and wanted to continue to achieve it.

A cool fact is that Andy Warhol painting Eight Elvises sold for $100 million in 1968. The highest to ever be priced.

When I first heard that we had assigned assignments for art I was a bit sad. I enjoyed figuring out what I wanted to do for the quarter because it always had meaning to me or my life. However, when I started these assignments, I found them pretty challenging. Partly because I feel as though I'm not that good of an artist but also because I was a bit intimidated by the people in my class who were doing the same artwork but with better skill.

Even still, I tried my best and completed the tasks at hand. The first one we started off with was the hand drawings. I don't know why but I really liked the outcome of my hands. I found them not really easy but enjoyable to do. The hardest part about them though was making sure the dimensions of the gaps between my fingers were right and also the length of my fingers as well.

Then we did our self portraits and I must say that I have mixed feelings about this one. I mean, I guess you could say that I like the outcome of my drawing but I just feel as though I look old. I found it really fun to do but it was really hard to hold a mirror and look at myself, and draw what I saw at the same time. Also, I ultimately hate drawing lips. I can't draw them at all so I was upset with that. 

The next thing we were supposed to do was draw a full life figure and I was that figure. My sister is in the Navy and they have to learn how to stand for long periods of time so she taught me the secret behind it...Secret haha...but I was happy that I could help people draw without moving...it didn't really hurt for standing that long or anything. I didn't even feel self conscience...it was just blank. 

Then we did a drawing of a still life drawing which was a landscape made up of a sheet, stands, vases, fruit, bottles, and even skulls. I found this drawing to be the hardest yet I don't really know why. Maybe because I had to draw it from the perspective of someone sitting in front of it rather than looking over top of it. This was weird to me because the lines of the table that the items were on weren't straight...they were curved and it was just alot to it. The hardest thing to draw would be between the sheet and the skull. since the skull had such a distinct shape to it, I didn't know how to make it look as though there was a "back" to it. The sheet was hard because it just had so many creases and curves in it. I don't know, I don't really like how mine came out, but I guess it's alright.  

Then after that we did drawings of things that were transparent like glasses, or a bottle, or a picture frame. I did a bottle which I thought was pretty easy to do. The shading was the tricky part because I didn't really know how to go about putting the detail into the specific areas. I also didn't like how my bottle came out a  bit crooked. 

I love charcoal drawings though because I feel as though it's bold and free. You can do anything with it and with a mark and a smudge, you can make things come to life. 

​This quarter we had to do many different drawings based on different things. Mostly perspective and shading. I found most of these drawings different for me because I'm not used to drawing things that need specific specifications. Each week we had a new drawing to complete. Most of the drawings were the same just a bigger size. I'm proud of my art work and I hope you enjoy. 
Self portrait small 


hand drawing



 
Clear bottle Small


Self portrait large

 
Bottle Large 


Still Life 

These are pictures of Spring. The first picture is a picture of an artist named Henry Serra, I believe that is how you spell his name. The reason I say that this picture is spring is because you just grab the feel from it. You see people sitting lake/river side just relaxing. Some in the shade others in the sun. I mean you can just feel the spring peace from it. The picture that I got are also Spring related. Like the first of my Grandmother's flower you can see it budding and trying to come out. The second is of her yellow flower bushes which are sprouting into season, just like the sun would after a long winter. The third is from the side of the school on Arch st. The cherry blossom trees I think, but you can see that they are blossoming. Just looking beautiful, these are what i think help represent this pic from Henry Serra.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25608237/spanish%20routina%20vid.mov

this link leads to my daily routine throught out the day i enjoyed ecording this video it was loads of fun

Characters

 

Charles - A host of a late night talk show. He’s a male in his 40s, mild-mannered, funny, knows when to be serious about things.

 

Ellen - A young 15-year-old girl living in Arizona. She has a rebellious mind and talks to her stuffed bear.

 

Subcomandante Marcos – Spokesman for the Zapatista. He is a rebel and a philosopher; he fights for the rights of the indigenous people in México.

 

Javier Garcia – Mayor of the fictional city of Monte Negro. He is a man with power and is disgusted with the rebels in his city. He has a soft side for his family.

 

Inez – A young indigenous girl in Chiapas, she talks with her doll when she wants to understand something.

 

ACT 1 – Scene 1

 

(Charles enters stage, fixes himself up while looking and the audience. He begins to talk to them in a friendly, yet assertive voice.)

 

CHARLES
Hey everybody! How has your day been? ... Well, today I was on CNN and you know, I started looking through the news... I read this article that my friend sent me, it was about the prime minister of India. He’s been accused of scamming around $31 billion dollars from India’s treasury. Anyway Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says he’s innocent, and it got me thinking.
   Don’t we hear about things like this all the time? I mean, it’s either companies or governments that always do this kind of crap. Now, I’m not blaming the prime minister for what he might have done, but the average person has developed this... thought, a thought about governments and companies having control over humans like you and me. It makes people seem insignificant.

 

(Looks down at the floor to ponder a moment, start looking up as he starts talking again)

 

Here’s another thing I want to say: People don’t stand up for themselves!

 

(He starts talking more aggressively)

 

If people fought united for a cause, anything, I bet they would achieve their goal and it would benefit mankind. You might be saying “Well Charles, aren’t there organizations trying to benefit mankind already?” Yeah, but I’m not talking about getting a signature from a lazy citizen who sits on their ass all day, supporting a kid in Africa by sending monthly payments.

 

(He talks a bit more calmly, with a sentimental feeling)

 

That’s not help, that’s financial aid!
   There are some people who stand up for themselves... um....

 

(He does a hand motion as if he was remembering something)

 

The Zapatista! Who knows about them? ... A few of you might...

(He looks away from the camera)

Do we have any pictures of a Zapatista?

(A picture of a margarita appears for the audience)

No! A Zap-A-Ti-STA! Not a Margarita!

(Picture of Subcomandante Marcos appears for the audience)

Anyway for those who don’t know, the Zapatista are revolutionaries, doesn’t mean they go shooting up every other place they go to... they only use their guns for self-defense. * They’ve never attacked first. Their goal is basically make it a fair game, not only for the indigenous people they’re helping, but also for all of Mexico. The indigenous people they’re helping have the same trouble as many indigenous people in any country, adapting to the new world. Just like when your mother-in-law moves in with you...

 

(Shrugs)

 

It’s tough! I’d start a revolution too, if she ever came back!

 

(Shakes fist in the air)
 
Anyway, Corporations and governments take away their land, and indigenous people have a hard time being looked at equally compared to the modern new world citizen.

Going back to 1994,NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) was made to make a free trade system with Mexico, Canada and the United States. It was a great way to get Canadian bacon to your local Denny’s.

 

(He gets closer to the audience/camera and whispers)

 

It’s HAM!

 

(Goes back to original position and resumes monologue)

 

But seriously folks, NAFTA came with its downsides. NAFTA actually ended up abolishing Article 27, section 7 of the Mexican constitution, which had the indigenous people’s land no longer protected by the law.

(Looks at audience with a serious look.)

Don’t you hate it things like that happen? Talk about a buzz kill... It feels like finding out you wet your nice clean bed the day you just cleaned your sheets by yourself. For most of you that was after you left moms house right?

 

(He squints and points to a random adult in the audience)

 

Yes, I’m talking about you!

Anyway back to the subject that’s one of the many reasons the Zapatista want fight for their cause. It’s funny... In other parts of the world, there are people that would want to have a modern revolution in order to help people and change the way their government works. Here in this good country, we complain about EVERYTHING and are either too frightened or too lazy to do it, and expect one person, our president, to change the world for us. Last time I checked, America was the people’s country, not the responsibility of one man or woman. It’s us who have to revolutionize the world!

 

(He grabs a nearby chair, stands on top of it)

 

We the people of the world can unite and overthrow this super power controlling our world!

 

(In a louder voice, almost yelling)

 

For the world and for the human race! Freedom and equality for all!

(He steps down from the chair slowly, fixes his suit’s cuffs. Coughs and fixes his voice)

 

Ahem!

 

(He is clasping both hands together, in front of his chest.)

So I leave you with this thought, how are you making the world a better place?

 

 

ACT 1 – Scene 2

 

(Ellen is holding her stuffed bear is lying in bed with it, while looking up at the ceiling)

ELLEN
Hey bob! You wouldn’t mind listening to my rambling right?

(Gets comfy)

Great! Listen, don’t you think life is a bit boring? It’s the same thing, day in and day out, school, home, work. There’s no purpose. I want there to be a purpose for me to get up in the morning. I want to aspire for something; I don’t want to waste my life for 7 hours a day at school thinking I’m not contributing anything to the world!  I remember in history class, our teacher was telling us about people that made changes in our history. Many of them weren’t educated to begin with, but as we went forward in history there seemed to be a system developing. Men with fancy coats or suits and an education were the ones that had power, they took the spotlight from the other people I considered heroes, or innovators in history. Like they say, history repeats itself, and those same men in fancy coats are still here today, different names, and same story. Continuing the system passed down generation from generation.

Don’t get me wrong, school and life have its fun times. I love learning; it’s society I’m mad at. I don’t like inequality, or the idea of doing something just one-way. I don’t like the fact that you need to do certain things to be noticed or taken into consideration as a being in existence in this world. Why isn’t the world equal to being with? Our president is no different than you and me. His skin is just like ours, we breathe the same air, and we walk on the same earth.

There are people in other countries where equality is being challenged. I remember learning about some American Indians losing some of their land here in Arizona... this whole discrimination thing happens even here in the US. Are indigenous people any different than you or me? I don’t think so, then why are they disrespected? Why are they considered outsiders compared to the “average citizen”? What makes them so different? Are we just jealous because they were here first? There are just some things you can’t learn in school...

 

I’m not looking to join some organization or group, I want a way, a method of being able to change the world and make it a bit fairer for those who are discriminated. I wonder if there’s anyone like that in our world. Heck, I’d join them. Better than trying to let some predictable politicians do it...

              (She falls asleep for a little while, she wakes up after a couple of seconds or so)

I’m not tired! I have to stay awake, Bob; my favorite stand up comic is going to be on in a while.

(Flips herself around in the bed)

 

I wonder how Dora feels about this. The whole inequality thing I mean. She’s been my friend since forever! Her mom brought her here when she was little, and they’ve been living in the US for a long time. There’s been a lot of talk about immigration recently, I know that her mom’s an illegal immigrant, I’d be worried if the government was trying to get rid of my mom from this piece of land I call home!

Jeez... to be put under that much pressure everyday. I’ll have to look into that more, Bob. Take note!

 

(Ellen starts pacing around her room)

Ready? AHEM! Note to self: Research some stuff about helping not only undocumented people, but people who are discriminated and do something about it!

(Jumps to her bed and starts watching TV, Points remote to TV and yawns.)

That’s all for today Bob, I’ll reflect tomorrow morning I’m tired and now, time to watch my favorite late night show.

 

Act 1 – Scene 3

 

(Subcomandante Marcos is writing in his journal, during his 2006 campaign throughout México, he is sitting down on the back of a truck, he speaks his thoughts as he writes)

MARCOS

May 3, 2006

it has been a couple of months since this campaign started, it’s been a brutal quest to find friendships and respect.

As I walk in the same territory as my adversaries, I’ve not only encountered people who might be against our ideas, but people within their system who support us.

They encourage us to bring peace to this land, which was once governed by actual people, not blinded bats seeing only power and money.

We want to bring peace not only for our indigenous brothers and sisters, but for the many different people who inhabit this place we call home.

Human discrimination has been a sin inside us for many years, like a dirty jewel, once clean and lustrous, then smudges and unable to be returned to perfection.

Many of us have been discriminated at one point in our lives.

Whether it is because we are homosexual, male, female, or we support a cause, it is our duty to unite... and stand as one.

This is why I’m on this long lasting journey.

I thirst for the feeling of synergy and justice.

I wish for the term “inequality” to disappear for every single Human being on this Earth.

I want to take the pillars that make up this capitalist world, and take it down.

Then rebuild it...with the thought of everyone in mind, and the every other person out there.

(Marcos stops writing; he looks up at the sky with longing look on his face)

 

One day...

 

Act 1 – Scene 4

 

(Javier looks out of the window in his office. There is a protest outside; he stares at the massive group of people.)

JAVIER

Look at all those people... they have no idea how dimwitted they look like. They’re acting like savages. That’s all they are, savages! They know nothing about how this world runs, and how hard it is to maintain it the way it is. Complaining won’t fix anything.

(JAVIER Walks away from the window sits in his desk)

They always come here to city hall and protest. Yelling won’t help you at all... they’re always complaining about the same thing too. They want equality or whatever fits their standards these days...

 

(Raises his voice)

 

They can’t have equality!

 

(Slams his fist on the desk; he hears the chanting going on outside, Javier calms down. Speaks in a more calm tone.)

It simply can’t be done. Not everyone can be equal... that’d take...CENTURIES!

They don’t know how much malice I have towards them... I’d take this desk and throw it right at them if I could, but that’s probably what they want me to do. It’s too much effort to satisfy these people. It’s like talking to stupid kids!

(Pauses)

Unfortunately it’s my job as mayor to keep city alive and running. The only thing standing in my way of doing that job are those people out there. They’re my problem... unfortunately. I put too much work into trying to suit their needs. It’s taking time away from my responsibilities...

They’re keeping me away from the only time I have with my kids. As much as I am the mayor to these people, I’m a parent to my children, my wife’s husband. I don’t wish to act so brutal against these people. But I have priorities. They do not understand this game we’re all playing, this game of life.


                        (Sound of door opening in the background, Javier doesn’t bother looking.)

No Sandra, I don’t want anything. I’ll be going home in a bit... thank you anyway. Why don’t you leave early today? It’s good to be at home with your family while you still can.

                           (Javier goes back to talking with himself)

They’re walking around, causing mischief, just because some people get treated differently than others. All you have to do to be part in this world is get a job and be part of the work force. Anyone who doesn’t participate in the way this world is supposed to work can go rot and die by their own means. That includes any rebels, “indigenous” people, or any other hippie out there.

                       (He keeps staring. Thunder noise in the background, it’s beginning to rain)

Oh my, it’s starting to rain. I better get going. The scene will look more violent in the rain. The weather will take care of them though. But they’ll be back the next day, and the next. There’s a never-ending feud between power and people. To be honest, one can’t live without the other, I have a responsibility for these people, not all of their demands can be met, but without them, my job is meaningless. Without them there isn’t anything for us to control, or to “dominate” as they say. We all have a good person inside us all; some of us just chose to be the way we are because of what we do.

It comes down to this raging protesters, I could care less if we both hate each other to the bone. But I look at my daughter and care so much; I hope she never has to see the tainted world we live in.

 

Act 1 – Scene 5

 

(Inez is looking at the Zapatistas; She’s holding a doll made of various cloths.)

 

INEZ

(To her doll)

Hey, do you know who those people are?

(Pauses)

I don’t have a clear answer either.
Why do they wear those masks, most importantly, why do we cheer for them?
Papa started wearing a mask like those people. They all talk about things like equality, and justice. Things Mama says I don’t understand yet.
One day I asked Mama about the men with the masks on. She told me there are people who want to change the rules of how we live by. Mama kept talking. She told me about the “government” and other words I couldn’t understand. One of them was “revolution”.
My Mama said that they want to be like a man that was in a revolution a long time ago. That man fought for people who couldn’t defend themselves and wanted things to be fair. “Zapata was his name, and this legacy he left behind are the Zapatistas” Mama said.
Are the masked men fighting for the same kind of “fair” Emiliano thought of?
Are they fighting for the same reason my friends and family are fighting for?
I’m young; I won’t understand anything for a long time, Inez, that’s what everyone tells me. But what I DO know is that when the time comes, I’ll know whether it’s worth it to put a mask on my face.

Tyler as Subcommandante Marcos from scene 3.

For the third quarter, my art class was given one project per week. While timing was difficult because we only had two class periods to work on a single project, it was an enjoyable experience because I learned a lot about myself as an artist. One of our early projects in the third quarter was to look at a plastic water bottle and try to re-create it on paper. I used a VOSS bottle as my inspiration and was able to create something that I am proud of. Other notable assignments were a self-portrait, drawing of a hand, and a full body drawing. Another assignment was to draw something that was clear. I chose to draw an empty soap bottle dispenser and was able to capture the curves of the bottle and its overall size and shape on the paper. 

Blase Biello
Ryan Francis
Anwar Abdul-Qawi
Anthony Torrance

The Final Project

Monologues

Characters:

Joshua Bartlett - 24 years old, American college student.

Gabriel Johnson - Late forties, white. A legal advisor for Nike Incorporated. 

Teenage Boy - Boy, around 16 years old. Wears Nike shoes.

Pakistani Boy - Boy, around 10 years old, worker in Nike factory.

Pakistani Woman - Pregnant woman, maybe 6 or 7 months. Husband works in factory.

News Reporter - Female news reporter. (Only audio)

Scene 1

Male, probably around 23 years old. Standing with a camera pointed at him, obviously directing his attention toward the camera. Somewhat nervous but also excited.

Joshua

.. Uhm.. Hi, My name is Joh... Wait, Is it recording? .. Oh okay.. I just didn’t see the light, ya know... Let me start over then.. Uhmm… Are you sure? I still don’t see the light... Okay, Sorry, Dude, I’m just nervous.. Hooo. Okay… 

(say this very quickly) 

Hello, My name is Joshua Bartlett ah-and this is my documentary project for.. Damn! That was too fast… Okay. Seriously, I’m going to do it this time.. Hoo.. Okay.. Yo, I’m Joshua Bartlett and this is my fin... Did I really just say “yo”? Shit. Hold on.. Give me a sec, I got this 

(Stands up straight, straightens shoulders, smiles) 

... Hello, I’m Joshua Bartlett and this is my final project for world economics. For this video I’m going to attempt to discover the truth behind Nike’s labor conditions. And under my circumstances I’ve actually been able to travel to various places and countries to try to find answer from people who’ve dealt with this firsthand....

(Waits a few seconds then stands normally again)

 Whooo. That was good right? Woo!

(Jumps up, smiles. Quickly simmers down again though.) 

Oh, I mean .. Yeah. That was cool. Are we good? .. Thanks. So, we can use that?.. Great... Are you ready for this? Like we’re about to go to all these places. This is gonna be amazing. Seriously, amazing…

Scene 2

Nike Executive. Older, white, male in suit. Seems rather uninterested and is speaking frankly. He is alone behind a desk but apparently speaking to someone and answering questions. The name card on his desk says Gabriel Johnson. 

Gabriel Johnson

…Our code of conduct is accessible by anyone with Internet access and it states that Nike Incorporated will employ no one under the age of 16 or one who is unwilling to work. We do however employ contractors over seas to manage our factories. If you read our code of conduct, it says, word for word, that we expect the contractors to follow this code and it’s common knowledge that expectations are not always met. Nowhere in the code of conduct are the contractors required to truthfully report that the factory is following the code or to report that their employees are satisfied with their working conditions; though it is, once again, expected to be reported to Nike Incorporated openly. All businesses operated by Nike personally follow this code and that’s what it controls. Nike cannot completely control the foreign factories due to an issue that has already risen; the factories are not required to give employee reports and even if they did, there is no way for the reports to be proven legitimate.

(Pauses. Face changes to serious and interested. He moves to a position that seems less robotic and more like a person would naturally sit.)

Can I say something? Man to man?.. Okay. Personally, I mean just my opinion.. This is no way reflects the company but, I know what those contractors do and I’m not a fan. Kids shouldn’t work, trust me, I have 3 kids and I’d never want them to have to do anything like that. But.. This is my job. This company pays me to represent them when people like you wanna know why we employ these contractors. We do it because it cheap, but I’m not lying when I say we have difficulty monitoring them. Plus, you and I know that making sure they didn’t mistreat their employees would take money. And you really think the big execs wanna give up any of their money? No. They’ll do anything for that extra penny. I don’t agree with that, I know there’s more to life than money.. But I also know that I need the money they pay me to put my kids through school so they don’t have to work. So, no, I don’t agree with Nike’s decisions .. But I’m just doing what I need to do to get by…

 

Scene 3

Teenage boy in city setting. Happy, excited. Speaking to someone and answering a question. Standing.

Teenage Boy

…Oh, dese kicks? Oh yeah, dey nice right? I just got dese fo’ like 80 bucks, nice righ? ‘N’ since dey white I gotta, yuh know, keep ‘em poppin’. Yuh can’t step in puddlez erh nothin’. ‘N’ deff don’t be playin’ no ball wid ‘em. Cuz’ den dey’d get maaaddd dirty. Ya just gotta shine ‘em up when ya take ‘em off and these Nike’s … Dey’ll be poppin’ fo’ months… Huh? Why I got tah know who made dese? I don’t know but dese ahr nice shoez, man… Kids made dese?.. Well, why dat matter? It wadn’t in Americur, righ? Cuz’, now datd be drawin’. Buh, don’t dat only happen in dose pohr countrees? And dats jus dem kids tryin’ tah make a dime. Like, maybe dey shouldn’t have tah work like dat but.. If dey don’t work… Who gunna make mah shoes? 

Scene 4

Young boy in Pakistan. Speaks broken English with an accent. Works at a Nike factory. Was walking down a busy street but is stopped to talk to someone. Not very emotional but some distress can be noticed.

Young Pakistani Boy

Yes, I work at Nike factory. I make footballs. I need job becus Mama es dead. Papa es drinking. I leave home for safety. I need to leave. I be worse now if not... I work for dollhar for food and water. For evry day I werk I ghet 2 dollhars a day for work. 2 dollhars es not much bhut.. bhut it es better then nothing. Before I leave home, Papa send me to work. He say, “You man. Man work. If live here, you need pay for you. You pay for your food, I pay for my food.” I not want work then. I want play with friends at school... That why I leave. My 2 dollhars buy me no food. My 2 dollhars buy Papa drink... Work is difficult. Very tire. I sleep after, always...Hmm? Yers?... Yers... Ah! Yers, age. I 10 yers.  

Scene 5

Joshua sitting casually at a table. Josh is speaking casually to camera man(not seen).

Joshua

Dude, some if this stuff is .. it’s crazy. Like that uhm.. What was that guy’s name? ..The Nike guy... G something... Gabe! Right, Gabriel Johnson. Yeah, that was so weird, like, he was telling us all this bullshit and then he just.. Told us.. everything, kinda... That’ll be great for the project... haha, that kid was so hype about his shoes. That was funny, dude..

(Glances at watch)

Shit! We gotta go. I asked this one woman if we could talk to her.. Apparently her husband works at one of the big factories..

Scene 6

Pregnant woman in Pakistan who speaks broken English. She sits in front of fireplace. She’s tending the fireplace but her attention is divided between it and someone who she’s talking to. She’s talking casually. 

Pregnant Woman

...No, I do not work. Most work is difficult because of this.. 

(lightly pats belly and smiles.)

I like work.. It’s not fair. I sit and my husband works.. I want work too.. We need it, he does not get paid many at factory. Only 3 dollhars American for his work a day... And his work very long.. Dinner es cold when he home... 

(tone starts to shift into a more annoyed/uneasy tone.) 

..It bothers me much. I worry for him. He work many hours at factory. When he get home he pass out. Not even get in bed... 

(aggravation/distress is clearly noticeable now)

..Why do they treat  people bad? These are people. They are trying to make dollhar for families.. How we gohin’ live wif 3 dollhars?!

Scene 7

Joshua is walking on a crowded street in Pakistan. He is making his way through the people while talking to who’s holding the camera. Mostly in a venting type way.

Joshua

This is ridiculous! Actually ridiculous! How could people act like that? Just treating people like shit? Just because they want another 10 dollars to go with their 10 million?! Like what the fuck is that? … You know what.... We’re going to the factory. We’re going right now. 

(starts walking vigorously. He sounds determined.)

... No, but we’ll find it. Ask people or something. I don’t know! But we’re going there! Someone needs to stop these assholes! They can’t just do this. Who do they think they are? Don’t they realize these people have families? These people are children. These are people. People... What the hell does all this civil rights shit mean if these Nike can treat these people like slaves?!.. I don’t know, dude. But we gotta do something. We can’t just sit here. There are hundreds of people who might die because they can’t afford a bowl of rice because some greedy CEO’s want all the money they can get their grimy hands on. I’m not about to just sit back and watch it happen! I’m not!... 

Scene 8

Joshua is yelling at someone through a door. He is furious and bangs on the door in frustration.

Joshua

Let me in! Open the fucking door! I just want to fucking talk to someone!

(Hits door)

Let me in!.. I have the right to talk to you! Open the god damn door! … 

(Walks a few feet away from the door, hands on hips looking down, extremely frustrated. Then suddenly turns back around and runs at the door. Hits it again.) 

You’re breaking the law! Let me in! These are fucking people, not useless pieces of shit. Why?! Why are you treating them like shit?! They’ve been in there for fucking hours, no breaks, no water, and for what? Three fucking dollars?! You want money for yourself?! 

(Takes out wallet, pulls out a few bills, and throws them at the door)

Here! Take the fucking money. Don’t you feel anything? These people are dying in there.... You know what? Just fuck it.. 

(Begins to walk away, looking defeated, walks off stage, lights slowly dim but suddenly flash back on fully when Joshua runs back and rams the door with his shoulder, door opens and Josh runs through. Stage black.) 

Scene 9

Newscaster reporting story is heard. Three chairs, one small stool, on the stage. (One is a big comfy chair, good condition, next is a small stool, next is an old folding chair, last is a lazy-boy type and worn condition) One TV in the center/front of stage, facing the chairs. Light is only on the TV.

News Castor

Breaking news from Pakistan today with reports of a riot in a factory, allegedly owned by Nike, that lead to 5 deaths and several other injuries. 

(Light on the small stool, now occupied by the pregnant woman, intently watching) 

One of the 5 people who died in the rally gone wrong belongs to an American citizen,

(Light shows on big, worn chair with the boy sitting in it. He’s not paying attention and it wiping off white shoes with a napkin.)

 Joshua Bartlett, 24, who happened to be filming a project on the labor conditions of Nike factories

(Light on first chair, where Gabriel Johnson is now sitting, leaning forward in his chair, intently listening). 

He went to the factory in search of answers, only to find the working conditions worse than expected. Enraged, Bartlett began yelling and eventually coerced the workers to rebel against their supervisors in an attempt to secure their rights as human beings. The rebellion turned violent as the upper management had weapons and turned them on the workers. 

(Light on the folding chair, empty at first but then an obviously inebriated Pakistani man plops into it, holding a bottle on liquor. He stares at the screen with a glazed look)

Also among the deaths were two adult men, one woman, and a young boy, all workers at the factory. Most of the battle was caught on camera by a young man traveling with Bartlett, who was only injured. This footage only confirms previous rumors of Nike’s mistreatment of workers in the third world and a law suit is expected in the upcoming months...

In other news, a fi...........

(Trails off, still heard at a low volume.)

Once there is silence, the American boy finishes wiping off his shoes, put them on and walks out. Lights out on his chair. The pregnant woman just blankly stares at the television as tear silently fall from her face and she rubs her pregnant belly. Lights out on her. The drunken man is obviously sleeping, snoring loudly. Lights out on him, he’s silent. Gabriel Johnson stares at the television. Fists and jaw clenched. He stands up goes to the TV and turns it off. Walks off stage. Lights out.

The End

Video of Scene 1:

Natalie Sanchez

4.8.11

Q3 artist statement

This quarter in our Art two class, our main focus was working with pencil and charcoal. We were assigned to draw a series of pieces, using these sketching tools during the course of thus unit. Though some of the students in the class found this entertaining and easy, most of us found it ridiculously difficult to capture our model objects in a real light.

  The most difficult part of this quarter for me was learning how to draw and shade correctly with charcoal, especially when I had to create a charcoal self-portrait. The first self portrait that I created was completely unrealistic and proportionally inaccurate as my head was too small, my eyes came out too little, mu mouth too tiny, and my nose too narrow. I drew everything too robotically and consequently, and ended up with a portrait that did not resemble me at all. On top of this, I had to use charcoal to draw this piece, and since I am usually not good at using charcoal, this process was made more challenging. In the end, however, I tried drawing this portrait again and letting go a little. I drew exactly what I saw and tried to be realistic when scaling the proportions of my nose, mouth, eyes, and face. The end result came out much neater and much more accurate than the first portrait that I attempted to draw.

The best part in this quarter for me was drawing my large glass charcoal still life because it was the first time I dared to use colored charcoal. I was inspired to use colored charcoal after looking at one of Emma Hoeinstein’s art pieces. It was a still life of a water bottle and it looked extremely real because of the different colors that Emma incorporated into the piece. In my drawing I used blue for the light reflected on the vase, pink and dark pink for the ribbon on the vase and the shadows cast on said ribbon, brown and green for the leaf that was placed inside the vase, and brown for the wooden table.

At the end of the quarter, the class still had a little time to finish one more project, so I decided to make a presentation about the surrealist artist, Frida Kahlo and her artwork. This project was very fun for me because I was able to find out more about an artist that I admire very much.  Through this project, I learned that Frida Kahlo lived a very painful life, and that, in every one of her art pieces, she incorporated a personal message. She would usually depict the pain she had to endure in a certain time of her life through her art pieces. I presented this information on a keynote.

All in all, this quarter was very productive for me. I was able to get all of the art pieces done on time and was satisfied with each and every one of them. I was also able to learn more about an artist I had only heard about briefly. There were times during this quarter where my talent was being pushed to its full extent. I felt very overwhelmed and frustrated during this process because I thought that I was not going to be able to complete what I was being asked to complete. In the end, however, I was able to develop new skills.  I was satisfied with all of my final products.   

Here is the Link to my Frida Kahlo Presentation.

         

Personally, I found this quarter to be very challenging. Each week we were assigned a different piece of art to complete. i found myself having to redo and learn different ways to accomplish the goal that was set before me. Most of the works that i created are the third or fifth copy of what was originally created because I was not satisfied with what I created. Only Having one week to compete each piece put me under a lot of pressure and put me behind in my work because I did not feel as though I had enough time to compete each piece. I usually found myself making up work outside of class. I feel that the classes could have been more instructed instead of students figuring everything out for themselves. Most if not all of the classes were never really instructed. We were simply allowed to go and draw. I could have managed my time better, but I truly did put in an honest effort even though I do not consider myself to be an artist and was under pressure.


Hands 



Self Portrait small







Life Size Drawing







Clear Vessel Small




Clear Vessel Large







Still Life 




Paper:

 

Exploration of a Renaissance Artist: Focus on Benozzo Gozzoli

Online link for paintings: http://www.wga.hu/framese.html?/html/g/gozzoli/1early/index.html

Trial by Fire Before Sultan description:

            Behind the small crowd of people is an old stonewall corner. Each individual crack on the wall is highlighted on the seam of the wall. On the left side of the wall the cracks become smooth and less visible. On the right side the cracks are faintly visible. The darkness of the space near the right side of the wall shields the cracks. The side of the darkness lies behind the sultan.

            From the bottom right hand corner to almost the top right hand corner, stretches the seated body of a man who is assumed to be a sultan. His robe is golden yellow with a vague pattern of blue trimming the bottom. Each wrinkle that accompanies sitting is visible. The robe gathers in the lap of the sultan. He wears sleeved shirt underneath the rode, but only the left arm is visible. In the center of the shirt, along the sultans chest are eleven gold buttons. On his head is a hat in the shape of a round pointed triangle. There are lines that run from the furry white rim of the hat to the gold button on top.

            The sultan’s eyes are looking down upon the crowd that is implied to be before him. His lips are thin and almost covered by the thick rust colored beard that he wears. To the left of the sultan is a man covered from head to toe in a red robe. The man’s head is covered also by a hijab. Behind the man is a knight fully dressed in metal, but his head gear is not pointed. It is rounded to his head. Beyond and in between the knight and man are the heads of three more crowd members.

 

Death and Ascention of St. Francis description:

            Under the arch of a bright rainstorm lies a town square. The sky behind the storm is light blue, almost the color of crystal water. Directly under the arch but still above the town, five angles float on a wisp like cloud. The angels almost appear as the morning sun. Under the angles is a yellow stone house. At the top is a section with three triangular windows in a row and a circular one above the middle window. Under the top section is a layer of red shingles coming out in to the crown that is gathered in the town square. To left of the house is a old, gray church-like building and to the right is a pale, red rectangular building.

            A large mass of people stand gathered between the buildings. For the ones closes to the rear of the crowd only the shapes and colors of their heads are visible. In the front of the crowd are men in white robes, the y hold long wooden poles above their head.  In the center of these men is another man, but he holds a book opened toward his face. One man kneels with his hands in the prayer position at the head of a dead body. Another man leans over the dead body that is raised on a high blue table. This man wears a red robe that is trimmed with white at the top. One the table lays a man that is covered from head to toe in a yellow robe. His head rests on a red pillow.

 

Argument:

             Artists of the Renaissance were considered to be people of the future. Their art possessed certain qualities that distinguished the transition from medieval to present day art. Many artist abandoned arts connection to the church and went off in a separate direction to find the beauty of the world. However, in the majority of Benozzo Gozzoli’s work there is a clear connection to the church. Although his work was connected to the church, it still possessed the qualities of the “new” art that was introduced during this time.

            One characteristic that was introduced during the Renaissance was the idea of focusing on realism. The artwork was meant to look as if it were real people and real objects. In all of Gozzoli’s pieces the people are painted as if they were and individual. The people have features unique to them, making them look more life like or real.

            Artists of the Renaissance also adopted the idea of perspective. Artists made objects that were further back in space appear to be far off in the distance of the artwork. Techniques of using a vanishing point assisted artists when painting. Art was no longer 2-demensional. Figures were shown in their true form. Gozzoli demonstrates this in his painting Death and Ascention of St. Francis. He shows the 3-dimensional figures f buildings and people.

                        The only argument that would exclude Gozzoli from the artists of the Renaissance is his high focus on the church. Other then that he met all of the other characteristics of the Renaissance.

Works Cited:

"Italian Renaissance Art." Carrie Text Electronic Library. European University Institute, 2006. Web. 3 Dec 2010. <http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/carrie_books/gilbert/07.html>.

Nicolas, Poich. "La Renaissance ." Web Museam. BMW Foundation, 2006. Web. 4 Dec 2010. <http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/glo/renaissance/>.