Checking the freezer on a hot day — we only have one boba ice cream bar left!Taking a trip to the supermarket, we made our way to the ice cream aisle.Aaand it’s empty. These boba ice cream bars are really popular and unsurprisingly are always sold out.While walking back to the car empty-handed, we spotted a sign for boba ice cream! Not the same but obviously inspired by the original.We took a chance and went for it! Finally getting our hands on the boba ice cream!Even though eating it was a mess, the ice cream tasted great!A sign from the ice cream shop reminding us to live in the moment and to take chances on new things (like ice cream)!
Why did you choose this story?
I chose to do a story about my friend and ice cream because it seemed like a very small, personal idea which is what the prompt asked for. I also thought it would be a really fun subject because who doesn’t love ice cream?
How do you think you did?
Personally, I think I did well. I had a lot of fun doing this project and making up a goofy yet interesting story about it!
Which image do you think is the individually “best” image in your story?
I think the 6th picture with my friend holding the ice cream and smiling is the best image in my story. It captures the fun, playful subject matter of the story while also showing how excited we were to eat the ice cream! And of course, it’s a picture of ice cream — nothing can top that.
Does your photostory contain an image that you think is not, by itself, a “great” image, but that is nonetheless important because it helps to tell your story?
I think the 3rd picture of the empty shelf does not really work well outside the context of this story. However, it was very important to the story because it showed that the supermarket was sold out of the ice cream we wanted, thus forcing us to find an alternative.
What would you do different next time?
Next time, I think I would try to take more aesthetically pleasing photos. I noticed that some pictures were a little out of focus or seemed a little bland. Better framing as well as more focus on particular subjects would improve my photography for next time!
Are there other Photo Stories you might like to tell?
Sure, I think there are plenty of other photo stories I could tell. I think I’d want to tell really fun, non-serious stories like the aftermath of a party or a day of rock climbing if I had a second chance to do this project.
Exhibition Information Artist: Maria Abrahamian Media: Ceramics, Steel, Plastic, Handweaving, Glass Gallery: LBSU School of Art, Merlino Gallery Instagram:maria.montiel.abrahamian
About the Artist Maria Abrahamian, the artist of this exhibition, is currently an undergraduate student working towards her ceramics BFA at CSULB. Aside from her studies and undertakings as an artist, Maria also works as a banker which she says gives her some ideas for her art. Nonetheless, she attributes this exhibition to her upbringing in the Midwest with a strong emphasis on the social expectations there.
Formal Analysis There were many different pieces of art within this exhibition with varying sizes and forms. Most notably, there was a large work of art in the center of the room with smaller forms of art surrounding it. For the large work of art, Maria laid out ceramic numbers that surrounded a gym bag stuffed with tights and eggs. In fact, most of Maria’s art within the exhibit had eggs in them! I really enjoyed this as it gave her exhibition a sense of familiarity and a sort of child-like silliness to it. The vivid primary colors of the gym bag as well as in the weave hanging from an oven door on the wall also gave me a really cozy, easy-going feeling. These warm, bright colors really contrasted with the drab white color found in the ceramic numbers, eggs, and shopping cart. However, I believe that this choice of design really helped the more colorful aspects of the piece shine through.
Content Analysis Maria’s exhibition explores the subject of leaving behind what we no longer need as we grow up. More specifically, she refers to leaving behind memories of self-consciousness in her pursuit of womanhood. This can be seen through her inclusion of eggs throughout her exhibition. To her, these eggs symbolized ideas of both sustenance and fertility — reminding us that the prospect of motherhood is present throughout a woman’s life whether it be in her childhood or beyond. Her art also involves various types of what could be traditionally seen as “women’s work” such as cooking, grocery shopping, and baking. She takes this idea and challenges society’s current view on gender roles, asking whether there is safety to be found in what used to hold her back.
Eggs Encased in Gelatin
Synthesis I thought that Maria’s exhibition was very creative and clearly conveyed the ideas she wanted to express. The art pieces really resonated with me because it reminded me of the women in my life and what struggles they’ve either overcome or are going through as a result of society’s expectations of women. Though the content of the exhibition is definitely a serious subject, the formal aspects of the piece helps keep an air of comfort and relatability to Maria’s art. When I first entered the gallery, this exhibition really caught my eye because I thought that the inclusion of eggs was brilliant as it could be seen as a goofy, fun aspect to her art. However, upon talking to Maria and listening to her ideas for the exhibition, the eggs took on a more significant role as a symbol for the femininity of her exhibition. The way an egg can be seamlessly used as a symbol for child-like imagination as well as fertility seemed extremely interesting to me and really led me to enjoy her exhibition!
Was it fun? Was it frustrating? Do you like to draw? Will you ever try again? For the drinking and drawing activity, I thought it was both fun and frustrating. It was fun because I never really give myself any opportunities to draw so having it be a mandatory activity forced me to finally draw! It was nice to be able to just chill and draw trees and drinks after a long day of classes. However, I thought it was a little frustrating at times because I am not a very good artist and so some of my drawings did not come out like I wanted. It’s really tough drawing subjects realistically, especially leaves and people! For my first person drawing, I tried to do a blind contour but I ended up peeking at my drawing too often so it’s a contour drawing instead. Nevertheless, I enjoy drawing in spite of its challenges and I would definitely consider trying this again!
Person 1 (Contour)
Do you think if you practiced for 100 hours, or 1,000, that you would get a lot better?
I believe that with hard work and practice, anyone can be good at anything. Of course, that means that if I put in enough hours I’m sure that I could get a lot better at drawing. It also helps to have an interest in the thing you’re practicing in as well!
What is your major? Can you think of any ways that simple sketching of some kind could be useful in your major?
My major is computer science and I can definitely think of some ways that sketching might be useful! In coding a program, there is a lot of planning that can be done involving what should and shouldn’t be included in the code. Perhaps drawing a map or diagram of the program’s functions and classes would better serve as a guideline for the creation of the program as opposed to just writing it all out without pictures!
Is Drawing a Language? Can drawings say things that are hard to say with words?
I believe that drawing is a language because it can definitely communicate messages and ideas to an audience. After all, language is just a method of communication. Drawings can definitely say things that words can’t explain. A classic example would be trying to describe colors to a subject that hypothetically cannot see. Other than colors, drawings can more easily convey emotion as well as any intangible thoughts a person might want to communicate. Though words are also capable of carrying emotion, I believe that drawings and pictures have them beat in that respect.
Extra Drawing – Future Tattoo
For my future tattoo, I’d want a small Charmander! I grew up playing Pokemon and Charmander has always been my favorite one. I feel like it’d be a cool thing to have as a first tattoo since it pays homage to my childhood and interests. I also think that Charmanders are just awesome in general.
For our week 3 art activity, we formed small groups and found art in nature and framed it with tape. For our art, we chose this seemingly dull splotch of paint on a brick wall. The form of our art is relatively small compared to some of the art pieces that our other classmates presented. The form is also highly textured as seen through the grain of the brick prominently displayed in the picture. Building on that, there is a very strong emphasis on lines throughout the art coming from the texture of the bricks as well as the layout of the bricks. However, the white splotch of paint interrupts all of this and introduces a smoother looking texture with no semblance of fitting in with the lines of the bricks. As for aesthetics, it is honestly a piece that can come off as a little mundane. However, that is precisely why our group chose this to be our art piece. Because it is such an ordinary view, I think most people would never stop and look at this piece of art or try to analyze what they’re looking at. They would never acknowledge the textures of the brick or the beauty of simple lines in this art. I believe that this art piece conveys the message that there is beauty to be found in everyday objects that people walk by daily. Hopefully people will start paying attention to their surroundings and appreciate the beauty in what they otherwise would disregard.
I believe that art does not reside in the body of an object. I think that art is not simply an object but rather an experience that comes with that object. Heck, art doesn’t even need to have a tangible object as a medium! Art can be any experience that carries meaning to its audience. If it can convey a message or feeling to their audience, I think that is enough for it to be considered art. For that reason, I believe that any object or experience can be art as long as someone wills it to be. In other words, I believe that Art is decided by the viewer. So if someone saw a brick wall as art, then yes — my art would still be art whether or not I put a rectangle of tape around it.
Finger painting was a very relaxing experience. I don’t paint or draw much so it was nice to be able to just have fun with paint! It was an easy activity which I kinda expected since it is finger painting. However, I didn’t expect how much paint I’d be going through! It was also a little harder to blend my colors than I expected.
The experience of painting without a subject was kind of freeing. It removed any sort of pressure for correctness that comes with painting with a subject. However, I felt a little unsure throughout the painting process as I didn’t know whether I had done enough painting or not. Compared to other paintings I’ve seen, I’d say mine is very inept. My painting had very solid colors without a lot of blending. This was a fun exercise but I think I’d want to use more paint next time I do this!
How did you feel performing Maintenance Art in the area around the USU?
In all honesty, it definitely was not what I expected to do as my first activity in an art course. Cleaning a dirty sculpture I’ve passed by for years was not something I really looked forward to doing. However, I feel like it was a good experience as it taught me the maintenance of art is an important aspect of art as a whole as well. If we never cleaned the sculpture other students would also just see it as a old, dusty piece of metal as I once did. Instead, they are able to fully appreciate the art piece for what it is.
How are Mierle Laderman Ukeles cleaning the steps of an art museum and Richard Serra flinging molten lead against the walls of an art museum different? How are they the same? Are one or both “art”? Are one or both “not art”?
In her Manifesto about Maintenance Art, Mierle Laderman Ukeles elaborates about the idea of a death instinct and a life instinct. She describes the death instinct as doing your own thing or a dynamic change while the life instinct is the perpetuation and maintenance of a system. I believe that Mierle Laderman Ukeles cleaning the steps of an art museum perfectly illustrates the life instinct while Richard Serra flinging molten lead embodies the death instinct. Though seemingly polar opposites in their ideologies, they are both art pieces that illustrate the way new art can be created using existing art (Ukeles using the steps of an art museum, Seres using the walls).
Was Mierle Laderman Ukeles’ Maintenance Art performance at the Wadsworth Atheneum “art”? Did the fact that her performance was at an Art Museum make it art? What if instead, she had simply gotten hired as a janitor at a factory somewhere and performed that job for 6 months? Would that have been art? What makes an act “art” or “not art”?
I believe that anything can be art, it just depends on how a person defines it. Seeing as it is called “Maintenance Art”, I can accept that Ukeles’ performance can be considered art. I believe it is art not because it was at an art museum but because the performance conveyed a message. Though someone else might differ, I believe that if she just did the same thing as a janitor it would not be art as there is no message being conveyed.
Is an object or an action Art or Not Art because of some intrinsic property of the medium? Or because of the intention of the person performing it? Are all paintings on canvas art because paintings on canvas are exhibited in art museums? Is all house painting not art because we don’t exhibit painted houses in art museums? Can a painting on canvas ever be not art? Can painting a house ever be art?
I think that art is wholly based on whether or not it can provoke thought or convey a message or feeling. If there’s a painting on a wall regardless of where it is, it shows that it was meant to be a piece to be looked at. If a wall is just painted, there won’t be people that wonder whether the painted wall is trying to convey any sort of message or provoke any thoughts.
Has Mierle Laderman Ukeles, or Jennifer Lopez, made you think differently about “Women’s Work”? Is “Women’s Work” ever art? If yes, when? If no, why not?
Yes, after learning about Women’s Work in class I realized how it can be considered art. I define Women’s Work as stereotypical work associated with women, usually as unpaid homemakers. I think that Women’s Work is art because the stereotypical tasks such as child rearing or taking care of a home conveys a message. It depicts feelings of love and sends the message to nurture the ones we care about.
In class we discussed the woman who cleaned Donald Trump’s Star on Hollywood Blvd. Whose Star would you get down on your hands and knees to clean?
Honestly don’t think I would clean any celebrity’s star. Though if I had to pick, it’d be this one:
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