Truth and Fiction

 Floatopia Officially Moved to Kiddie Pools 
Posted April 5, 2011


Due to the recent closure of Isla Vista beaches, locals have taken it upon themselves to keep Floatopia alive and well.  This past weekend front yards were filled with inflatable/kiddie pools, alcohol, floaties, and bikini clad locals.


It is nice to see students enjoying themselves even under the dire circumstances.  According the the Daily Nexus's article "Police Barricades Capsize Floatopia" Santa Barbara County Parks Department is monitoring any type of Floatopia even postings online.  IV Foot Patrol has around 40 extra officers patrolling Del Playa and the beach fronts.  It is said that beach closure revolves around the pollution caused from 2009's Floatopia rage that cost the county approximately over $20,000 in damages.

Can we officially say that Floatopia is back? Has Isla Vista inhabitants made the best of their situation without violating the county’s demands? Is the new location of Floatopia lawful, or will authorities shut down the very notion of Floatopia itself.  According to Officer Smith drinking in inflatable/kiddie pools oppose no immediate threat, he states “I am glad Isla Vista can come to terms with the authorities rather than go against them.  Floatopia is a fun event that doesn’t have to die just because it cannot be held at the beach”. 

Response to Lecture 2

Today's lecture introduced me to many Asian American artists that I was not aware of before. A few that stood out to me the most was Maya Lin's Systematic Landscape, Tatsumi Orimoto's Bread Man, and Valerie Soe's film on Cynthia Gouw.  All three artists seemed to use different mediums such as sculpture, performance art, and film.  These works are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also interesting to learn about for they all have a story behind them.  Maya Lin's sculpture is made out of 2x4 wood pieces yet they convey a sense of movement and an optical illusion of an object in space.  Orimoto's Bread Man persona takes on a new meaning when he incorporates his Alzheimer's "Mama" into his work.  The work is not only playful and fun, but also meaningful and heart felt.  Soe's film involves more scandal and controversy over a friend at UCLA named Cynthia Gouw who initially entered a Chinatown pageant to expose the stereotyping of women, but left with the title Miss Chinatown Queen and went on to become a Chinese American Star.  

Reader: Introduction

Calvin Tomkins introduces the reader to five masters of avant-garde in the introduction of his work, "The Bride and the Bachelors".  He first states that these artists do not share a common point of view or constitute a movement or school.  Rather, Tomkins finds that these artists have a natural affinity in their basic attitudes toward art and toward life.  Each artists has attempted to break down the barriers that exist between art and life they have also discarded tradition notions of the role of the artist.  This "new" artist invites the viewer to participate and interact with his/her work by simply experiencing it rather than defaulting to an interpretation.   Tomkins also points out that all five artists originate from a different country or state yet they all end up in New York City.  In conclusion, Tomkins states that all five artists attempt to break down the barriers between art and life, a impossible undertaking.  

John Cage

1912-1992

American Composer

Merce Cunningham

1919-2009

Dancer/Choreographer

Marcel Duchamp

1887-1968

French Artist

Robert Rauschenberg

1925-2008

American Artist

Jean Tinguely

1925-1991

Swiss Painter and Sculptor 

Themes

Confession

• self portrait
• anonymously have people write down secrets, categorize it, put it on display
• personal blog
• facebook post: if you like the status I will write down a confession about you, etc

Sequence narrative

• film
• comic
• animation
• skateboard and take consecutive pictures on a high shutter speed
• flip book

Alternate persona

• walk in the life of another person's shoes
• alternate ego, be who  you've always wanted to be 
• disguise
• sit in on a class you are not enrolled in, take a test

Personal space

• follow random people until they enter a private space 
• not quite sure yet, more to come

LACMA

Over spring break I went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  While taking the 7 series here at UCSB I have been introduced and learned about different types of artists and their works.  But since taking these classes I have not had the chance to see some of their works in person, until now.  While at the Ahmanson Building I had an opportunity to get a first hand experiences of the works we all learn about in class.  I feel as if seeing art in person is a whole other experience from viewing a projection in the class room.  Yet if we see these works of art in person without the information given in the classroom the work does not hold the same significance.  Since it goes hand in hand, time, space, and knowledge all attribute to an art piece.

One work in particular stood out from all the rest.  The sculpture by Constantin Brancusi entitled, "Bird in Space", was mention by Professor Jane Mulfinger in the 7c class.  In her lecture and even in this picture,  the sculpture looks small as if it could be a pen.  In real life however, this sculpture stands over six feet tall.  At the LACMA this sculpture is put on a pedestal for display thus exaggerating its height.  

Understanding Comics: Chapter 1&2

Scott McCloud successfully attempts to explain the dynamics of comics through an actual comic book.  He engages the reader by including himself in the narrative, taking on the identity of a tour guide and navigating the reader through his own comic.  Through the use of images rather than words, McCloud is able to teach substance material without the conventional boring "book" form.

In chapter 1 McCloud introduces himself and how he became interested in comics, he also goes on to give a lesson on the history comics.  Throughout time, civilization has depicted stories or narratives with the use of images.  In a sense these stories can be called comics.  But what exactly are comics? According to McCloud the definition of a comic is as follows, "juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer".  Although there is a overall description of comics, they are not bound to any formal criteria when it comes to paper, ink, subject mater, style, printing process, materials, tools, etc.  

Chapter 2 goes on to describe and introduce the vocabulary of comics.  McCloud first describes the term "icon" to mean "any image used to represent a person, place, thing, or idea".  There are many types of icons, including, symbols that represent concepts ideas and philosophies, icons of language, science, and communication ($), and pictures that actually resemble their subjects.  Comics also play on the idea of realistic images.  According to McCloud a photograph ist he most realistic icon because it resembles their real life counterparts.  As the example image above shows, an icon can become less and less realistic, finally resulting in an icon referred to as a "cartoon".  McCloud creates a scales with some key concepts.  Complex --> Simple.  Realistic --> Iconic.  Objective --> Subjective.  Specific --> Universal.  

Pun

 Pokerface

Tie Die 

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