Art Speak

Hello! Last Sunday, we hopped onto a boat and went to Alcatraz(The Rock) for an art adventure! Alcatraz's history always fascinated and I really enjoyed visiting the island. There were mulitple installations in the Aiweiwei exhibit but my favorite is "With Wind". The With Wind installation incorporated handmade kites by Chinese artisans and some kites included quotes from Aiweiwei himself, Nelson Mandela and more. I was amazed at the size, color, detailed images on the kites, especially with the dragon. I felt the most connected to this part of the exhibit because kites were a significant toy, plaything in my childhood. My parents talked and told stories to me about playing with handmade kites when they were kids and they've also taught me how to fly one. I really enjoyed walking through the room and it brought back some sweet memories. 

-Ivy

On Sunday us Asian Art interns went to Alcatraz to see a really cool exhibit by Ai Weiwei. In case you don't know who that is, he's an amazing Chinese artist and activist who has been arrested several times for speaking out against the Chinese government. His show is about freedom of speech which is in stark contrast to its setting in Alcatraz. The dichotomy between the prison and the art is powerful - it really got to me. He also did a wonderful job of bringing the audience into the exhibit not just with the lack of barriers between us and the artwork, but by having postcards at the end that will be sent to prisoners of conscience around the world. It was an amazing experience and everyone should check it out before it's gone! I put some of the pics I took up top to give you a taste. 

Aliya

I know this may seem conceited of me, but I really love this print of a tiger I made last year. I spent a lot of time carving into the linoleum, both class time and my own time. I think it took me a little over a month to finish carving (maybe because I'm a perfectionist). Most prints were made with a press, but a few I made with barons.

Well anyways, tigers are my favorite animals. I admire them so much. They symbolize strength, fearlessness, and stability. And I just really find them to be the most beautiful creatures that walk on this Earth.

I titled it "Apex". Getting the linoleum to look exactly how I wanted was a literal pain in the neck. My neck hurt every day when I hovered over my desk carving it. But after all that hard work, it turned out how I wanted it to! I don't remember exactly how many I made, but it was more than 30 prints. 

I hope you guys enjoyed my print! I know I did.

-Queena

I've been absent for quite a bit now. What with winter break, work, college applications, and school, its been a whirl wind. But, as my first post of 2015, I'd like to share with you all, Andy Lovell. An artist who's main medium is print making. His work is something really close to my heart and i hope you all enjoy him as well. My favorite pieces done by Lovell are his perspectives of the London underground train systems, so heres an example of that.

While looking for print inspiration for the upcoming activity development, I came across the beautiful works of Shinji Ando. Shinji Ando was born in Japan and also obtained his art education there. During his printing career, many of his works were presented in private exhibitions in Japan as well as the U.S. 

Etching is a traditional printmaking technique which incorporates the process of using an etching needle to create an image on a metal plate. His beautiful prints are created by combining a few plates with chine colle to get a saturation of color. Chine colle is also another printmaking technique which allows the print maker to print on a delicate surface. He often would use a soft, silky Japanese paper called Gampi paper for his prints. He has various colorful etchings but my favorites ones would be the botanicals. The intricate lines along with the color choices for each print are really unique and beautiful. 

-Ivy

My favorite (and the only one I know) ukiyo-e artist is Hokusai. Published sometime in the nineteenth century, The Great Wave off Kanagawa is his most famous print. It consists of huge waves rolling off the coast of the Kanagawa Pefecture but the actual focus should be on Mt. Fuji hiding the back, a common feature in Japanese art of this time. Why does this piece interest me? It was made during a dark period of his life, specifically when he became a victim of poverty and lost his wife. The continuous tragedy in his life inspired him to create Thirty-six View of Mount Fuji, a collection to show the contrast between the secular and sacred forces ruling Japanese life in his time. It's possible, he was openly criticizing the hedonistic themes, like those of erotic scenes and prostitutes, that fellow artists of his era chose to portray in their art. It can be left to interpretation if actual proof of my theory is never discovered.

Samya

This last Sunday I really learned a lot from Ali and her husband about the art of print making. Also, how there are many types of print making it there, naming some of them are etching, mono prints, wood block printing, and more. My biggest take away for the day was being able to experience and play around a little with print making especially since I don't really have any experience with this type of art. With the guidance of Ali, I learned ways of what I can do when facilitating the art activities such as relocating certain materials for easier access. Another was that for this project, a person does not necessarily have to use his/her prints only but can also request to use someone else's as well. Lastly, the amount of paint you use also determines the outcome of the images, so informing the audience of this aspect would be good. 

Printmaking last Sunday was great! In my experience, I have only printed twice using linoleum and I felt it was really refreshing to get the opportunity to print again. I thought it was kind of exhilarating when printing with Ali and Calixto because the pace was faster than usual. We were a bit rushed, but at the same time it felt like we had a lot of time left to print. We used both the barons and printing press to create out prints. I remember Ali telling us that the paper had to be on top of the template, and I thought it was cool how we experimented with different colors and paper. We made a lot of prints! I mean look at these! 

And that's not even all of them. Time flew by so fast, but that was because of one thing that Ali said to us that day. And that was to not think about the subject and form too much. Just go for it. That was my biggest take away. 

It was really fun printing with styrofoam plates because they were to easy to carve into and print with. Hearing about Calixto's specialty in screen printing really made me want to see the process in person. I had a great time and really enjoyed last Sunday!

-Queena

Hello! This Sunday, we spent some time discovering and experimenting with prints with Ali and Calixto at their art studio. The experience was amazing in which I learned a few printmaking process terms(etching, mono printing, screen printing, wood block, lithography) and got to do a few of my own prints! 

The process of making a print was fun as well as challenging. We drew on a small piece of styrofoam to create a matrix. I kept in mind that my drawing will be reversed once it's printed. This was something I took note of to remind visitors that will doing the printmaking activity at the museum. 

Ali also shared a method for cleaning up. Rags and a large, rectangular bin of water would be useful because we could place the paint rollers into the bin and immediately wash the paint off the rollers. Then we could clean the paint off the work surface with the rags. 

Ali and Calixto were very welcoming, friendly and I really enjoyed this art experience with them. 

Here's a photo of us listening to Calixto explain about the process of screen printing!

-Ivy

Today was a productive and changed my perspective on who can do art and be successful. A tip that Ali gave and resonated with me was using rags to clean up. As random as it sounds, I think it's both something that's cheap to buy and we won't have to worry about throwing away copious amounts of paper towels. Based on what I learned today, I'd definitely advise people both to take their time and accept the fact that print making is a process, you can always add to what you've made and improve. Once you eliminated the idea that your work has to be perfect, you're bound to have more fun and let your ideas flow. I'm expecting this will be a fun project to facilitate on Sundays and that people of all ages will partake in it, whether it's a totally new concept to them or if they have prior experience.

Here I am picking up my newly cut out print and getting ready to stick it onto one of my former works to create a layering ghost effect.

Samya