The Corsair - Fall 2010, Week 10

Corsair The Santa Monica College

Informing Since 1929

www.thecorsaironline.com

Volume C, Issue 10

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Building standards

While SMC’s newest building projects all adhere to the very latest building regulations, some of the college’s older buildings are found to fall short of current safety requirements.

Photo Illustration by Sal Guerra and George Mikhail Corsair

By Stephanie Forshee Staff Writer SMC students sit in their classrooms everyday with the basic trust that the buildings are safe and following the applicable codes. While most buildings are in fact following set guidelines, some are lurking in a grey area.

Director of Facilities and Planning Greg Brown said, “All of the buildings on campus are

built to the highest possible standards. Newer buildings of course use newer technology than the older buildings, but all the buildings on campus are built to the basic standards that were in effect when they were built.”

The main controversies lie in the fact that the older buildings on campus might be allowed certain exceptions due to their age, but they don’t always ensure safety or even convenience.

ADA For instance, the American Disabilities Act of 1992 lays out specific guidelines that all public facilities create accessibility for the disabled. But after nearly twenty years, SMC still lacks elevators in the Liberal Arts building and also in the Letters and Science building.

“They are part of a transition plan we’ve had since 1995,” says ADA/504 Compliance Officer

Sandi Burnett. “We have known that we’ve wanted to upgrade those buildings but the Master Plan of the college has changed many times.”

Those two buildings alone restrict those with mobility problems to the first floors only, prohibiting them access to sixteen classrooms. There are also several classrooms off-limits in the Airport Arts Campus as well as restrooms

in the ESL building where only staff restrooms provide handicap accessibility.

According to Brown, there is currently a measure in place to destruct both the Liberal Arts and the Letters & Sciences buildings. A math and science complex is said to replace them but this process will likely not begin for another three years.

In the meantime, physically

[See Building, page 3]

News Analysis

A right old election The Republicans enjoyed a comprehensive victory during the midterms, the question now is just how the Obama administration hopes to reach a middle ground with its rivals

By Adam Rubin Staff Writer A clear shift in power occurred in the midterm elections when Republicans seized control of the House and made major inroads into the Senate. This outcome is a harsh and dramatic “red flag” to the Obama presidency. However, The Golden State of California stood out as one of the two states that remained staunchly Democrat, with some significant legislative decisions being made.

The race for the governor was a highly publicized and theatrical event. Republican Meg Whitman pumped approximately $160 million into her campaign – to no avail. She was defeated by Democrat Jerry Brown who served as California governor 28 years ago.

“So the journey is ending, but our mission is not,” said Whitman after her loss. “We did not achieve the victory we worked so hard for.

But that is not a reason to give up on what’s most important. I believe if we all work together to demand change from Sacramento, a new California will rise.”

Barbara Boxer, another Democrat, was re-elected and will begin her fourth six-year term. She defeated Carly Fiorina, her Republican counterpart and former HewlettPackard CEO. Among California’s decisions was

the eco-friendly statement made by rejecting Proposition 23, which would have stalled the progress of the environmental regulations set

by AB 32. AB 32 put the reduction of green house gases into law in 2006.

California continued the prohibition of marijuana by rejecting Proposition 19. Had it passed it would have permitted the growth and consumption of marijuana for anyone 21 or above.

The future of this forbidden crop is not entirely cloudy. Nine California cities passed proposals for the taxation of the plant for medicinal purposes.

In addition, the possession of marijuana will be the equivalent to a traffic ticket in California thanks Photo Illustration by Albany Katz Corsair to SB 1449, which was signed Oct.1 Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina were two of the big losers in by lame duck governor Arnold California on Nov. 2.

But with Republican’s sweeping the board Schwarzenegger. This law will take cross country, their campaigns bucked the national trend. e f f e c t[See election, page 3]

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THIS WEEK

Corsair Newspaper Santa Monica College

Wednesday november 10, 2010

ONLINE www.thecorsaironline.com AFI Festival

By Stephanie Forshee Dozens of new, featured films are currently being screened at the AFI Festival in several of LA’s historical theatres.

QR Code

This is a QR Code, a Quick Response barcoding system made to connect print to the internet. If your phone has a camera and internet capabilities, simply load any code-scanning application and take a picture of this image.

Photostory

6 Radio Flyers

Aldo Cos Contributor Members of an Aztec tribal group preform a ceremony on the quad for the day of the dead celebration at Santa Monica College

News

1 Building Standards & News Analysis 3 SMC Budget

Lifestyle

7 & 8 & 9

Pacific Dissent Taste of the World SMC Femminist Club Barfly

The Metro Art Tour “Boys Next Door” Review

Opinion

4 Midterm Elections

A&E

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Sports

10 Football & Feature: DeMarcus Blackmon 11 Women’s Soccer

Exhibit

12 Artist Profile

Wednesday November 10, 2010

NEWS

Compliance with building codes less than concrete [Building, from page 1]

disabled students cannot access the second floors. But Burnett assures the classes on those floors are always offered at another location on campus.

As can be expected, certain drawbacks do arise with these limitations, in which case the school is prepared. “We will always move a class to an accessible location if we know there is a problem,” says Burnett.

The buildings’ lack of elevators is the first priority, but there is a list of other concerns that SMC staff hopes to address.

“We’d love to have a second elevator in Drescher Hall. It’s too big a building to be dependent with three floors on one elevator that might break down,” says Burnett.

“I would love in my lifetime to see this list of things go away,” she says.

SMC estimates there are over 1300 disabled students that enroll each semester. Burnett says that the exact number of students with mobility problems cannot be estimated though.

Asbestos Equally surprising is that asbestos is present in a multitude of buildings on campus. While a number of asbestos removal projects have occurred, SMC still houses a great deal of the unhealthy material.

“Most all of our buildings, except for the ones built in the last five to ten years, have some amount of asbestos in them,” said Director of Maintenance Jeff Gehring.

According to Gehring, the asbestos can be found in crawl spaces, walls, floors, and ceilings. Also, in the Liberal Arts and Letters & Sciences buildings, when carpeting is placed over the floor tiles the glue contains asbestos.

Michelle Ponder Corsair While a number of new building projects are in various stages of progress, some of the college’s oldest building are found lacking.

“There is no acceptable amount when you’re talking about asbestos exposure.

There really isn’t. One percent is actually the limit but nothing is dangerous as far as for the students,” he said.

“The hazard comes with my staff. We don’t expect a student to be cutting windows out of a building. You would have to be vandalizing,” said Gehring.

Records are kept about which areas are “hot” or test positive for asbestos. “Before anyone goes in there, we let them know where to be careful,” he said.

After the 1994 earthquake, much of the asbestos was in fact disturbed. Still, Gehring isn’t worried about asbestos exposure from a natural disaster.

“If there’s an earthquake of that magnitude, that’s probably the least of our concerns,” he said.

Disaster Safety In a 2008 press release issued by the school regarding the Student Services building, it stated: “Most of the current

Money matters at SMC

By Miles Arnold Staff Writer

This cash deferral will help the state not put out as much money in 2010-2011. It also means that instead Last year, California community of getting the money for growth colleges were one of the public enrollment right away, the colleges will sectors that were on the front line of have to front the money until the start state budget cuts. But it appears that of the next fiscal year. this year may not be quite as bad as The money that the school will receive had previously been will be enough only forecasted. to reduce the number Theresa Tena, director “You have to reof students who may of fiscal policy for the member that last be on a wait list. Tena Community College explained, “There is no League of California, year’s budget was way that we can meet all explained that in terms passed in a time the demand we’ve been of the new 2010-2011 seeing.” where there was a budget, community According to Tena this colleges did reasonably tremendous amount isn’t so bad. “We did well in specific areas of economic uncerrelatively ok compared like enrollment growth to the other areas of where the state added tainty.” the budget.” She added, $129 million. However, “We didn’t get cut schools may have to the other areas of -Theresa Tena like wait a while before they education, like K-12,” see that money because which is projected to of the funding cash deferral the school lose roughly $3 billion in the 2010received.

2011 budgets.

This means that the general air of Santa Monica College Vice President optimism that is currently being felt Randal Lawson also feels that given the in public education could quickly circumstances, Santa Monica College evaporate when the budget is finally was not forgotten. He explained, “We put into practice. feel that governor Schwarzenegger did “Instead of getting the money by the a good job acknowledging community end of June 2011 they will receive it in colleges and protecting them.”

July of 2011 which is the start of the In regards to the uncertain future next fiscal year,” Tena explained. “It’s a of education funding, Lawson said sort of accounting gimmick to achieve that, “signs are pointing to recovery.” one time savings.”

Education did not completely lose out “You have to remember that last in this year’s budget. year’s budget was passed in a time It is estimated that the University where there was a tremendous amount of California and the California State of economic uncertainty,” said Tena. University systems are going to receive “We are coming off last year’s revenue $200 million to make up for last year’s decline, which resulted in an eight deficit and enough money to cover the percent cut to the community colleges.” projected enrollment growth.

facilities are not connected to a centrally monitored fire alarm system and lack fire sprinklers, and most have interior hallways and doorways that do not meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. “ While Brown assures all the buildings are currently connected to a central monitored fire alarm system, the PE locker rooms still lack fire sprinklers.

“Those aren’t really the important reasons that we’re doing the building,” says Brown.

“The really important reasons are to consolidate student services from many, many locations scattered all around campus to one centralized location where we’ll be able to give students better service.”

The Department of General Services does now require fire sprinklers in California community colleges.

But Brown says, “The requirement for fire sprinklers in every school is fairly new so older buildings do not have sprinklers.”

The PE locker rooms’ building will likely be replaced in the next 18 months. A new Health, PE, Fitness, and Dance building will replace it.

“All of the buildings still have a fire alarm and the fire department would respond,” said Brown.

In the state of California, an earthquake is nearly as likely as a fire. Again, Brown states that the buildings comply with earthquake safety regulations.

“All of the buildings are checked by the Division of State Architect. The buildings on this campus are built to the same standards that K-12 schools are,” he said.

The school participated in the statewide earthquake drill Oct. 21. The SMC Police Department failed to respond when asked to provide information on the October drill and other issues pertaining to this article.

Corsair Newspaper Santa Monica College

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Elections [Election, from page 1]

Jan. 1 and less than an ounce will be a $100 fine with no court appearance or arrest record.

The rest of the country witnessed a dramatic swing right as the political mood of the country became clear. In the Senate, Democrats lost six seats to the Republicans – a change that narrowed the gap between the parties but meant that Democrats still maintained control.

Democrats lost 60 seats in the House of Representatives with Republican claiming overall control. Republicans now have the task of choosing a speaker for the House, with Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner fully expected to assume this position.

Nancy Pelosi is expected to remain on – but as speaker for the House minority.

However, there appears to be a growing insurgency among Democrats to see Pelosi removed from this position.

“Following the loss of our majority, we should fully understand the causes of our historic losses before we begin the process of rebuilding. If we do not learn from our losses we will remain in the minority until we do learn,” Democratic Representatives Marcy Katpur of Ohio and Peter DeFazio of Oregon wrote to colleagues.

This further polarization between the parties will be a serious impediment to Obama when he hopes to pass through the House his next round of bills, with Republicans and Tea Partiers sure to railroad any measures that even hint at expanding the already broad reach of the government.

After 16 months of Obama’s presidency, many see the latest elections as more of a referendum on his effectiveness as president. How he reacts is sure to have the country and world on tender hooks.

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OPINION

Corsair Newspaper Santa Monica College

Wednesday November 10, 2010

Midterm exam: ‘F’-ing crazy

By Jonathan Mendoza Staff Writer

It’s official, the votes are in and the 2010 midterms have made a compelling case to be considered one of the more outlandish and bizarre election seasons in recent memory.

Beginning with the obvious: The Delaware Witch Trials saw Republican candidate, Christine O’Donnell, respond to comments she made on Bill Maher’s show – probably one of the last places you want to drop the Ball – with one of the seasons best campaign ads where she reassured voters with the now infamous lines, “I am not a witch.”

While the amount of time and money invested in these commercials, aimed at convincing the American people witches don’t actually exist is laughable, O’Donnell didn’t manage to cause quite the hysteria that the run of Jimmy McMillan and everyone’s new favorite political party, “The Rent is Too Damn High Party.”

Perhaps it was McMillan’s facial hair, which puts Tom Selleck’s moustache to shame, or his progressive standpoint on marriage between man and shoe.

Or maybe it was the rentrelated, hip-hop album McMillan released – now available on iTunes.

Whatever it was, it made Jimmy McMillan a bigger internet sensation than Keyboard Cat, and while he didn’t win the election, he certainly won some hearts along the way.

And as wild as it is, McMillan’s beard seems fairly tame compared to how Rand Paul’s campaign turned out. Paul’s first eyebrow-raising moment came when his opponent, Jack Conway, ran an ad accusing Paul of being part of a secret society that forced a woman to worship the all-powerful and malevolent deity known as, “Aqua Buddha.”

Yet as bizarre as Paul’s Sunday nights sound, his shining moment really came on the campaign trail

when one of his supporters, Tim Profitt, was compelled to force a female protestor to the ground and stomp on her head because he feared for Paul’s safety. Later, in an interview Profitt took the crazy up another couple

story of 2010. Alvin Greene won the South Carolina Democratic primary with a campaign that he ran out of his father’s house, hardly speaking and only spending $10,000. Oh, he also endorsed a rap video

goes to Jenny Oropeza, who won her California Senate race despite the fact that she was dead. In fact, this election season a total of four candidates who died during the campaign process won their respective

Jonathan Bue Corsair

notches, stating that he wanted an apology from the woman he steamrolled because he could have potentially injured his bad back.

Also from the depths of the Deep South, comes perhaps the best Cinderella

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entitled, “Alvin Greene is On the Scene,” and had a few obscenity charges levied against him as well.

However Greene’s primary win, as baffling as it may have been, wasn’t the strangest victory this election season. That award

Fall 2010 Staff Rebecca Slawter Brandon Quin Brian White Sal Guerra Jennifer Martinez Daniel Ross Tieg Slattery Kevin Duron Ingrid Rosales Alica Forneret John Stapleton IV Jeremy Biglow Guiliana Dakdouk

Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Photo Editor Photo Editor Photo Editor News Editor Opinion Editor Sports Editor Calendar Editor Lifestyle Editor Online Editor Exhibit Editor Design Editor

Faculty Advisors Saul Rubin and Gerard Burkhart

races.

Conversely a strategy that didn’t work, has never worked, and will never work, was the approach Rich Iott took. Iott decided it was a good idea to not only pose for pictures dressed in full Nazi regalia,

Reporters

Alexandra Ahneman,Zuleima Alvarado, Nisha Anais, Miles Arnold, Jonathan Bue, Alessandra Catanese, Emma Dantoft, Kevin Duncan, Alvaro Escalante, Jennifer Ferrada, Stephanie Forshee, Khalil Grier, Cyndi Gomez, Wendy Gonzalez, Matt Gottesman, Zineb Hafiz, Danny Henson, Vaimiti Herlaud, Vera Hughes, Sean Hunt, Alexandra Lazar, Neelofer Lodhy, Ariana Masters, Cristina Maxwell, Sarah McIntosh, Jonathan Mendoza, Michael Mendoza, Brandon Minikwu, Natalie Miltcharek, Julie Newsome, Wendy Ng, Ayla Pound, Adam Rubin, Laysa Quintero, Michael Santana, Stephanie Sommer, Ashli Townsend, Vienna Urias, Lauren Walsh

Photographers Anisa El-Khouri, Luana Kasahara, Albany Katz, Danyale Kotur, Konstantin Marowitz, Ariana Masters George Mikhail, Ted Olsson, Michelle Ponder, Geraldine Plachart, Laysa Quintero, Alex Rogers, Jarrad Rosson, Alex Soltes, Sara Stark, Sammy Solimon

but then also to defend his actions, as well as the SS itself, on Anderson Cooper stating, “They were doing what they thought was right for their country. And they were going out and fighting what they thought was a bigger, you know, a bigger evil.” I guess he was speaking about the threat of a non-aggressive Jewish population, or the world powers-namely the US and UK-that united to fight against the Nazis. Whatever the case, it is no mystery why Iott did not win.

Not to be outdone in the defense of idiocy, Nevada Tea Party challenger, Sharron Angle, who when asked why her commercials seemed to always include Hispanics engaging in illegal activity, responded with, “You know, I don’t know that all of you are Latino. Some of you look a little more Asian to me.”

Apparently Angle felt the best way to crack down on illegal immigrants was by stopping people randomly because she isn’t actually able to discern ethnic differences.

Better yet was her response for justifying this disability. Angle stated that our country was a melting pot of ethnicities and that she was evidence of that because she’s been called the first Asian legislator in the Nevada State Assembly, even though she has never been called that by anyone but herself.

But by far the winner of the title of craziest of crazies in the campaign race goes to Basil Marceaux, a Tennessee Republican hopeful, whose political platform included requiring everyone to carry a gun, pardoning the crimes of anyone who voted for him and also banning American flags.

It’s safe to say the moral of this story is to go out and vote! Seriously the fact that some of these people could potentially be elected to office is a scary and resounding reminder of the importance of voter participation.

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Wednesday November 10, 2010

A&E

Corsair Newspaper Santa Monica College

Local art not just found above the surface

Sammy Soliman Corsair Onlookers and attendees of last week’s Metro art tour walk through the underground subway tunnels of LA’s public transportation system. The Metro art tours occur every first Thursday and first Saturday of the month.

By Michael Santana Staff Writer Ordinary cities have ordinary subway stations; Los Angeles is not an ordinary city. Their metro is a work of art.

The free Metro Art tour takes you on an underground adventure, allowing you the opportunity to learn the history of the different art that resides throughout the Metro stations.

John Coanda, the art docent who led last Thursday’s tour, was well informed of the art he described. Besides knowledge, his passion for what he discussed shone through. Sharing facts about the art and those responsible for designing each station, much was acquired from his information. Art aficionado or not, many can enjoy the experience of not only learning something new but also gaining greater appreciation for the art, the city, and

the effort and details behind it all.

With three different stops on the tour, you learn how each station has its own theme.

Sheila Kleine, an artist who has contributed to other public art projects as well, created the Hollywood/ Highland station’s art. The theme of the station is “the beast under the street,” as Coanda described it. When observing the architecture, one has the feeling of being in the presence of a beastly creature.

The Hollywood/Vine station, which was a favorite for many of the tour attendees, had a Hollywood theme.

Artist Gilbert Lujan worked on this station with a vision to evoke the history of Tinsel town.

Palm trees are placed throughout, along with old-fashioned cars on the benches. Placed on the walls are art tiles, one of them a painting of

“Boys Next Door” touch hearts

By Guiliana Dakdouk Design Editor In casual conversation, if one would poke fun at the mentally challenged, they would be scrutinized and shunned for their insensitive humor and political incorrectness. Thus, watching a comedic play that’s premise is a communal residence where four mentally handicapped adult men live might be slightly uncomfortable.

“The Boys Next Door,” a play written by Tom Griffin, is one that on first thought might seem to have crass humor and takes jabs at those who are mentally challenged. However, it soon becomes heartfelt and tragic.

Santa Monica College’s production, as directed by Pat Train Gage, ran last Friday through Sunday to sold out audiences of all types.

With the help of quality writing, Jack (Joseph LeMieux), Arnold (Brad Golden), Barry (Eloy Mendez), Lucien (DeAngelo Paschal), and Norman (Jonathan Ramos) cracked up many laughs through use of grand character choices and good line intention.

The show opened to Arnold, a character diagnosed as “marginally retarded,” having a slight nervous breakdown while trying to introduce his character.

Golden’s choice of giving the character slight neurosis was witty, but it did not play up as strong as the whimsy of Ramos’ character.

Norman, a clever but mentally challenged character who works at a doughnut shop, was comical in all sorts.

Ramos commendably meshed humor

within his actions and lines to create memorable moments.

In the second act, Norman invites Sheila (Alyssa Tyson) over to his apartment for a date. The physicality between the two characters leads to a warm interaction that reminds audiences that regardless of where you come from, spending time with people we care about is crucial to our sanity.

The peak moment that left most of the audience speechless was when Barry’s father, Mr. Gonzales (Omar R. Contreras), visited his son for the first time in over five years. There is reference to an abusive relationship between the father and son but nothing is seen until the two are on stage by themselves, and Mr. Gonzales strikes Barry. The moment was one that imprinted Mendez’s fear stricken face into your brain soon giving you chills.

Both Contreras and Mendez made an impression as strong moving actors creating an uncomfortable tension that shined a light on the struggle of mental disabilities even in their own family.

Despite an awkward use of the side wings in the Studio Stage, the set and props illustrated the individual dynamic of each character. Arnold’s attachment to his chair and rugs, Lucien’s attachment to his books that he can’t even read, Barry’s attachment to his golf clubs, and Norman’s attachments to his doughnuts all signified the reliance to a tangible object to maintain their sanity.

In essence, what originally seemed like an off color play soon treated audience with an odd surprise and warm feeling created by a cast and crew that really put their hearts in the show.

the classic film, “The Wizard of Oz.” Decorating the ceiling are 19,000 film reels. Two original film projectors, donated by Paramount Pictures, are also on display.

Lujan, in a statement to corroborate with his art said, “What evolved, in searching for design elements and solutions for this station, was the implication of Hollywood as a dream factory for world culture. The ingredients were light and power, fantasy and enchantment, glitz and glitter.”

The following stop on the tour was the Metro station at Sunset and Vermont. Artist Michael Davis included numerous elements from the neighborhood surroundings of medical facilities, such as Kaiser Permanente and Children’s Hospital to come up with the theme for this Sunset/Vermont station. The station

incorporated sciences such as medicine and astronomy into its creation.

On the floor is blue travertine tile, nine different shades of blue for the nine planets. There are also sphere shaped disks on the floor, each containing different medical symbols and microscopic images of things such as bacteria, chromosomes, sperm, fertilized eggs, etc.

Josephine Ho, one of the people who took Thursday’s tour said, “I grew up in LA and never took public transportation so this was eye opening. I think more people should take the tour.”

“Tell your friends about it,” said Coanda, upon arrival back to the Hollywood/Highland station. “Make sure you mention it’s free, that ought to spark their interest.”

The tours are every first Thursday of each month at seven p.m. and every first Saturday at ten a.m.

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Corsair Newspaper Santa Monica College

P H O T O S T O RY

Wednesday November 10, 2010

San Fernando Valley Radio Control Flyers

Photo Illustration by Sal Guerra Corsair Two airplanes taxi towards the pit stations on Apollo XI Field in Encino during some practise runs.

Photos & Text by Sammy Soliman have taken the time to build and setStaff Photographer up their equipment. These miniaturesized aircrafts are either fueled by There are many different kinds of Nitro (a mixture of methanol, oil and hobbies, knitting, collecting baseball nitro methane) or are electric powered. cards, or playing an instrument. To Due to their relatively small size, some, it’s a way of spending their many unfamiliar to the hobby may free time. Here at The San Fernando consider them as “toys,” however Valley Radio Control Flyers field, there have been many reports of injury aircraft model enthusiasts from all – even death – due to these miniature over Southern California gather to planes and helicopters and should not share their love for the hobby. be underestimated.

Helicopters and airplanes fly There are many different types gracefully through the skies, doing of planes and helicopters zipping advanced flying maneuvers under the around the flying field. The range control of their skillful pilots, who includes sport, aerobatic, trainers,

Local park flyer Victor Edwards (aka “Video Vic”), uses his transmitter to see if the elevator,aileron,rudder and throttle controls are working before getting it in the air.

Izik Mualem doing some last minute adjustments to his radio control airplane before he flys it while his flying buddy watches.

ducted fan, gliders, scale models (which are replicas of their full sized counterparts) and turbine powered jets and helis. Helicopters are also able to do advanced maneuvers and they can even hover upside down which comes to a shock to people who have never seen them in action before. Speed’s can get very fast, with some planes traveling over 200 mph and costing more than a small car. Although many of the models are quite costly, there are many budget-friendly, easy to fly RC models that make the hobby both fun, accessible, and worry free for a novice.

Wednesday November 10, 2010

LIFESTYLE

Corsair Newspaper Santa Monica College

Let them eat LACMA

By Vera Hughes Staff Writer

us to each other: what, how and why we eat.”

The event was host to a plethora of Around 7,000 years before what activities for those in attendance. The is known as the “common era” the feeding of a fat man as a modern day world changed forever. People all salute to Bacchus, the ancient roman over the planet who were once hunter- god of excess was accompanied by gatherers started planting their own watermelon eating contests held by crops, agriculture was discovered, and the frisky Ms. Barbie-Q, who dropped a sedentary lifestyle was embraced. her falsetto only to grunt at her At the center of this paramount participants to “EAT! EAT! EAT THE event lies food. It was the necessity of WATERMELON!” food that led to the harvesting of crops People were also encouraged to and that lead to one of the biggest interact with food in unique ways as changes in human life in history. there were opportunities to create Food can be found at the center of drums out of watermelons by inserting everything that matters in the world, small microphones into inch long we are dependent on it, and it is incisions made into the side of melons crucial. And there are many ways to and banging on their surface with explore the complexity of the human your hands. In addition, as you walked race’s relationship with food. into the museum, you were allowed Last Sunday, the Los Angeles to eat a doughnut off of a huge wall County Museum of Art patterned full of symmetrically spaced hanging up with Fallen Fruit to present doughnuts.

“Let Them Eat LACMA”, an event While some exhibits and organized to showcase food in all of contributions to the 71 different pieces its glory. Members of Fallen Fruit, an of work on display were nebulous in organization that celebrates fruit and purpose, many succeeded in making its connection to mankind, say that significant statements. this event was meant to “examine the Dana Gingras, one of the many most primordial thing that connects artists showing work on Sunday,

had a piece that she called, “What Is Mine Is Yours.” Out on the LA Times Central Courtyard, Dana Gingras and her husband, Justin Charbonneau, partook in a violent and intense sharing of a lemon.

The word “sharing” is somewhat misleading, though, when you take into consideration that they were ripping the lemon out of each other’s mouths, biting, sucking and gnawing at one another with only the lemon separating them.

As the acidic insides of the lemon poured down both of their faces, their mouths began to bleed, and they had to occasionally take swigs of pepto bismol to alleviate the burning. Gingras said there were two main parts to her performance piece. First, she wanted to remind us of our animalistic nature, and what better way to bring us back to that rawness than by demonstrating it with food? Gingras was working towards breaking boundaries and explained that she believes that “you’re more fully human if you can explore these things, the freedom to destroy food.”

Her second focus for the piece was on relationships. Although Gingras and

Charbonneau were the only couple performing the lemon sharing live on Sunday, they had a video playing all day that showed the other couples that Gingras had erotically, comically and intensely rip lemons apart.

There were different types of couples in the video, and every scene exhibited a different set of emotions between the two people as the lemon was devoured.

Some couples seemed nervous in the beginning of their interaction with the lemon, and others were ferocious the whole way through. Some couples were even smiling at each other with their raw, bloody lips. “Each couple is different with how they share a lemon, and it’s the same in real relationships.

Every relationship is different”, Dana says.

Overall, museum goers were left with the images of people covered in bits of tomato and watermelon, half naked fat men and half naked skinny men, swirls of pepto bismol-pink and lemon juice splattered on cement, heaps of smashed fruit abandoned beneath the fruit drop station, and a new found sense of connection to something most people overlook every single day. Food.

Photos by George Mikhail Corsair Left: Gina Gingris and Justin Charbonneau demonstrate a violent sharing of fruit in an attempt to encourage viewers to consider having a more involved relationship with food, a relationship that is typically passive.

Right: “The infamous Boom! Boom!” sits near the Rodin Sculpture Garden at LACMA Sunday afternoon after eating pudding, pizza, and chips while reading “Food and Wine” magazine for museum-goers entertainment.

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Corsair Newspaper Santa Monica College

LIFESTYLE

Wednesday November 10, 2010

A Taste of the World Vietnamese Soup

Anisa El-Khouri Corsair

By Alessandra Catanese Staff Writer

George Mikhail Corsair “The ‘trademark’ graphic I’ve grown quite fond of is a vector image of a man sporting a long beard. Actually a friend of my fathers, he allowed me to snap a quick photo of him a few years ago and it just grew from there,” said White. Today this image can be found posted all over LA, from small stickers discretely showing up on electrical boxes, to a movie billboard on Melrose.

Pacific Dissent needs no consent

By Ayla Pound Staff Writer

from a photo of his dad’s friend.

Moss opted to use his image of a pig with a baby head, and it is clear that they both found great comfort in Photoshop.

“For the presiding year we made it a habit of going out ‘bombing,’ so to speak, twice a week, and once we found how easy it was to steal large format copies from Kinko’s, all heck broke loose,” says White.

Beyond the simple act of slapping stickers onto stop signs and easily accessible places, they began pushing the limits with their efforts made to get their pieces up.

It turned into a frenzy, as they started “running across freeways to glue up a five foot poster to the center divider, scaling gutters up buildings to get the billboard on top, and even edging off the peaks of buildings while one held the others ankles.”

As their popularity grew, Moss and White decided to create the Pacific Dissent Company, which, as it says on their website, “is the product of a massive amount of ideas, coffee, and marijuana.”

They continue to create new pieces of art, and are taking part in various art shows in galleries throughout the city.

As this new counterculture continues to develop, it is evident that the art being created is intended for the greater good of society, rather than an improper form of expression.

“My favorite piece is the one happening right now you’re involved as well,” says White.

“The collective as a whole ‘is’ the art and its just as much ours as it is yours, or anyone else. My art is on this planet with everyone else and that being so, it is only a fraction of the framework that makes up the collective thought that forms what we call ‘art’, which is the true favorite piece.”

From bus-stop signs to freeway underpasses, it’s evident that the city of Los Angeles is no longer safe from works that are taking the art world by storm.

Street art has become an increasingly popular way for people to display artwork in a public setting, while taking the risk of “defacing” public property in the process.

This new and improved type of graffiti is becoming increasingly mainstream, as artists and their work are becoming more widely accepted. What was once viewed solely as vandalism, has been given a breath of fresh air, as Los Angeles develops a new opinion on the matter as a whole.

Artists such as Banksy and Shepard Fairey, have become household names in an industry where privacy is key.

Banksy, a street artist from England renowned for his controversial images that seem to find their way onto buildings as if by magic, recently took part in the documentary, “Exit Through the Gift Shop”, which shone a never before seen light on the subject and allowed the public an insiders view to the world of street art.

The American-born Shepard Fairey, became famous for his Andre the Giant Obey stickers, which led to his own OBEY company. Most recently, he created the Obama Hope poster, which will remain the legendary symbol of Obama’s campaign.

Consequently, this type of art is dominating the landscape of Los Angeles, and it is no surprise that new artists want into the scene.

As a child, former Santa Monica College student Charlie White was immersed in a world of photography, art, and architecture. His dad, a photographer of the like, allowed his son a chance to continually view various works of art as they made their way in and out of his house.

“Most everyone he surrounded himself with was in some way connected to the art world, and so after many babbling lectures, from pretentious artists and self proclaimed art critics, my understanding of detail and simplicity grew, as did my respect for the creative form,” says White.

His love of art developed into an urge to create it himself and prompted him to create his own works, using the city of Los Angeles as his canvas.

When his life began to revolve around “slapping stickers” onto every surface he could get his hands on, his friend Moss, who asked the Corsair not to use his real name, became interested as well and decided to join Art by Moss the bandwagon.

Together, they set out to cover the city in their This illustration, “Baby Seppuku,” accompanies Charlie White’s signature stickers. White’s trademark consists of an depiction of a bearded man on the streets of LA, both used as image of a man with a long beard that was developed artistic signatures for Pacific Dissent Company.

Now, I now what you’re thinking, “Soup again?” And after last week’s recipe, I don’t blame you. However, take my word for it when I say, this week’s recipe is the best one by far.

Being relatively new to the American food scene, Vietnamese cuisine is very flavorful and extremely healthy.

You may have heard of or even tried Pho before, being as that’s the most commonly served Vietnamese dish here, but I decided to try something new.

Sup Mang Tay Nau Cua, or White Asparagus and Crabmeat soup is an awesome and easy recipe to try out, but be warned, fresh crab is very expensive.

For those of you who feel you can’t cook, give this recipe a try. This soup also features a new ingredient most probably haven’t tried before, Nuoc Mam, or fish sauce. Don’t be afraid, it’s only a small amount, and it adds just the right burst of flavor.

In Vietnam, soups are traditionally a breakfast dish, filled with noodles and vegetables. However, Sup Mang Tay is customarily a small first course dish as it does not have any noodles.

Start by mixing the chicken broth, half the fish sauce, and some salt and sugar into a medium sized pot on medium heat, once that starts to boil, lower the heat and let it simmer. Meanwhile, take a smaller frying pan and heat it up with about a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add chopped shallots and garlic and let them simmer for about a minute and add the crab, the rest of the fish sauce, and some black pepper. Let the crab mixture heat through for about a minute and then put it aside for later.

INGREDIENTS 4 cup Chicken broth 1 tbsp and 2 tsp nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish sauce) 1/2 tsp sugar 1/4 tsp salt 1 tb vegetable oil 6 shallots, chopped 2 garlic cloves, chopped 8 oz fresh or canned lump crab meat, picked over and drained Freshly ground black pepper 2 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot, mixed with 2 tbsp cold water 1 egg, lightly beaten 5 oz white asparagus spears, cut into 1-inch sections with canning liquid reserved 1 tbsp shredded coriander 1 scallion, thinly sliced For the continued article, the full recipe and a video of me cooking the dish check out A Taste of the World at TheCorsairOnline.com.

Wednesday November 10, 2010

LIFESTYLE

Corsair Newspaper Santa Monica College

SMC feminists attempt to shatter glass ceiling

By Stephanie Sommer Staff Writer At work with fellow employees daily, you do the same work, fold the same pile of clothes, fry the same burgers, scan the same groceries, and everything seems to be equal. But when the paycheck comes, is everything still equal?

The SMC Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance sees the glass ceiling that is still suppressing women and has decided to make an effort to make a difference.

According to a study released by the General Accountability Office (GAO), “Even accounting for factors such as occupation, industry, race, marital status and job tenure, working women today earn an average of 80 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts.

This pay gap has persisted for the past two decades, remaining relatively consistent from 1983-2000.”

The FMLA established its purpose to “promote awareness of feminism and woman’s issues.” Their goal is to merely make people aware of the reality of inequality so that they may be guided by personal decision rather than shear ignorance.

SMC student Marie Holguin thinks feminism is “a belief, a principle and a conviction.” She sees the value of the FMLA and their goal to make people aware of the unequal reality we live in. “There is always a need for alliance among students and peers. They create a sense of unity and comfort and often promote confidence and change.”

Just finishing promotion for the Barbara Boxer campaign, Silberman says they are in flux, trying to get vamped for the second project. This new project will take place Thursday, Nov. 18, with a guest speaker addressing the Equal Rights Amendment, in which woman’s rights are not specifically named. Although the task of overcoming the inequality obstacles seems dauntingly difficult she believes they must continue to make efforts to see change.

Although some may find the small eightmember group insignificant, the FMLA is attempting to make significant change.

“We’re a group of eight chicks trying to get shit done,” Vice President Samantha Silberman spoke of her members.

SMC second year student Max McNamara thinks that standing up for gender equality is just, but states his reservations. “As in any movement, there are fundamentalists that take the cause to extremes and possible illogical terms. “ It is this stereotype that feminism has had stapled to its forefront. Most see the negative side of feminism, which alienates men especially, but the SMC group has a different approach. They see that “friendly is better.”

“We are a group of woman who want to create social change and social awareness.”

Silberman expressed. “Ignorance is not bliss! People always forget what we fought for as women, but the truth is, we are still fighting.”

She believes SMC students and staff alike treat all students justly and not on a bias of gender or race. McNamara see’s the fairness and equality rendered at SMC and believes that groups such as the FMLA is helpful to “enlighten people of the affairs that are present on our campus and our society as a whole.”

The issues FMLA fights for are mainly National based dilemmas, issues that have potential to make radical change. Both McNamara and Holguin find SMC to be a campus that promotes equality among all students, unaffected by gender, race and sexual orientation.

Holguin believes it is helpful to have groups such as the FMLA on campus, she states, “Students should be encouraged to congregate based on their beliefs, groups like this promote awareness and tolerance.”

It’s been said that it is not quantity of the people fighting that matters, rather the quality of the fight. The Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance may be small in number, but their vision is mighty.

By John Stapleton IV Web Editor Editor’s note: As a rule, we don’t run “bad Barflies” because negative reviews often say less about the bar, and more about Barfly’s pent up aggression towards his father and his suppressed abandonment issues, devolving into the kind of rambling, bludgeoning criticism usually reserved for out-sourced tech-help receptionists.

However, in the interest of pure entertainment, we’re including this review of Backstage - a bar whose generous attempts at restitution still couldn’t sweeten the sour taste left by Barfly’s first impression.

Imagine that it’s August of 2005, and you live in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, and you just caught your wife banging your best friend and the plumber at the same time in front of your dog. Then you wake up to find it was all just a bad dream, except you really live in the Ninth Ward, and it’s actually April of 2010, and you just went halvsies on a shrimping business.

That’s what it’s like to spend a night at Backstage. I could save 1000 words by showing you a picture of what my night was like, but they wouldn’t let customers take pictures – at a BIRTHDAY PARTY! I don’t know if you’ve ever celebrated a friend’s birthday in public, but having the bar you’re celebrating in request that you stop taking pictures of each other at a birthday party is like being at a rock concert and being asked to use your inside voices.

Dear Backstage bar staff: it’s a karaoke bar in Culver City, not an A-List club in Beverly Hills. If you want people to enjoy themselves at your bar, stop being so aggressively pretentious. It’s as if you’re challenging your customers to give less of a shit about karaoke bars as a whole. Backstage is the bar equivalent of those middle-aged women who still go to clubs, shooting tequila and wearing tee shirts with slogans like “It Ain’t Gonna Lick Itself” across the front in rhinestones. And while I can at least suffer through being inside a drunk, snobby, 35-year-old woman for a couple hours, Backstage would come in dead last if I had to choose between drinking a pint inside its crowded bar, or drinking a pint chest-deep in baby shit.

The drinks were under-poured and over-priced, and while this isn’t the first bar I’ve reviewed to offer disappointing drinks, it’s the first to reject the idea of compensating for bad drinks with excellent service - the staff was too busy telling us they were too busy to even crack a smile. I’m assuming management thought this would make the bar appear to be hip and edgy, but it just makes Backstage appear to be a bar full of pompous prima donnas who stand around expecting to earn your hard-earned cash by hardly earning it. It’s called customer service, not customer loitering. If I had to rate this bar on a scale from one to bacon, it would be a cellulite-buttered bagel.

Despite all of this, the company I kept carried the day, and we ended up having a pretty good time - I just wouldn’t want to give any of the credit to Backstage for facilitating this. All I’d have to do to make our night infinitely more pleasant is relocate my party to essentially ANY other structure on the planet. Like an outhouse. Or a shooting range. Or an S&M dungeon with no safe word.

It comes down to this simple rule: If you want to open a bar, and all you want to do is make money and be blatantly rude to everyone in general, don’t open a bar. Do something less deceptive and more directly offensive. Open a plumbing business and bang married women in front of their pets.

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Corsair Newspaper Santa Monica College

S P O RT S

Wednesday November 10, 2010

Alex Soltes Corsair Freshman defensive back Brian Hawthorne is immediately swarmed by the Glendale College offense after pulling down an interception in last Saturday’s contest against the home team Gauchos.

Depth at quarterback fosters Corsair victory

By Michael Mendoza Staff Writer Despite the absence of starting quarterback Travis Williams, having suffered from a fractured wrist against L.A. Valley College in the game prior, the Corsairs managed to pull off a victory against the Glendale Gauchos 28-21.

Freshman quarterback James Cammack struggled at times under center, completing only three of 15 passes and throwing for 41 yards. However, Cammack made up for the dismal air game with his versatility as a runner, making Santa Monica College’s attack unpredictable to the Gaucho defense.

“We think James is a talented player,” said Head Coach Lindheim Gifford.

“Within the structure of the offense, he can do some things that Travis wasn’t able to do; he’s not as tall and as big, but he can make a lot of plays with his feet,” he said.

Rushing for 46 yards and averaging 5.2 yards a carry, Cammack played a vital role in SMC’s ability to complete long drives and convert on late downs.

The Corsairs started the contest off with a bang, driving down the field for 35 yards and capping off the series with a two-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Benjamin Irwin-Crayton in the first quarter. The Gauchos would dominate the second quarter, keeping the Corsairs out of the end zone and scoring two touchdowns of their own, leading the first half 14-7.

But the second half would belong to the

Corsairs, as their first score of the new half would come from a 40-yard kickoff return by freshman Deshawn Stewart.

“It was a tremendous boost,” said coach Lindheim. “We’re playing with our third quarterback of the year, and offensively we’re struggling to generate points. I knew the special teams and defense had to pick it up and they did,” said Lindheim.

The Corsair’s running game continued to pick up speed as well, producing another touchdown by freshman running-back Brandon Tillis. The Corsair’s running game would go on to rack up 135 total yards off of thirty-four carries and two touchdowns.

The passing game wouldn’t stay quiet for too long either, and sophomore Chase Fletcher would later hook up with freshman

Jonathan McNeal for a 28 yard touchdown pass.

After 14 unanswered points in the second half, the Gauchos were too far behind to make up the lost ground and fell short at the final whistle by one touchdown.

With the final game of the season this Saturday, the Corsairs will take on West L.A. College, looking to go 5-5 and .500 in the winning percentage column; something that seemed unheard of at week 7 of the season.

“I think going 5-5 would be a huge boost to our program, and winning the last two [games] going into the off-season would give us great momentum,” said Lindheim.

“We started the season off with a win and we want to finish with another one.”

By Kevin Duron Sports Editor

but I guess they deserved to win,” he added.

The Corsair offense, usually finetuned and orchestrated with sophomore standout Mercy Tejada at the helm, found difficulty connecting in the unfamiliar conditions of Cougar town.

“The weather was really windy and muggy, and the field was made of real grass, not the usual artificial turf,” said Head Coach Aaron Benditson. “There were real bounces, and it was hard for the girls to adjust.”

But if the offense lacked evidence of an SMC advantage, solace can be found in their stone-cold defense, which has looked impenetrable all season save for their hiccup vs. L.A. Pierce last week. “[The defense] was definitely awesome.

I take pride in the fact that they responded effectively with a clean sheet after last week, when they allowed four goals,” said Benditson. “We hadn’t done that all season, and I’m happy they took on that challenge this week because good things happen when defense is solid.”

The Corsairs are currently sitting in the eighth position of the 16 WSC South teams to qualify for the playoffs.

The inter-state regional ranking proves significant because only the top 8 teams of both the North and South Conferences clinch home-field advantage in the first games.

“It’s important to us to get a home playoff game for the first round of the regionals, so the remaining two games on our season are crucial,” said Benditson.

And with another 6-0 victory against L.A. Valley yesterday afternoon, the Lady Corsairs need one more win to bring the playoff battle to their familiar, more forgiving home turf.

Ladies get back on track

After last week’s crucial conference defeat at the hands of top-ranked and undefeated L.A. Pierce College, the second-place Lady Corsairs bounced back with a 1-0 triumph against College of the Canyons.

With their overall record now at 10-35, the Corsairs have the opportunity to polish their style of play as the regular season winds down in preparation for the fast-approaching playoffs.

“Now we have two easy games ahead of us and it was a good win. We struggled in the beginning, but we came out in the second half ready to play and we did well and got the result we needed,” said sophomore Brianna Edwards. “Now we are just going to prepare for playoffs and work hard these next two weeks.”

The sticky 95-degree spell in Santa Clarita slowed both offenses in Friday’s showdown, but SMC has been running hot all season. Freshman Sarah Barrington gave her team the advantage with the first and only goal of the match when she powered the ball past the Cougars’ helpless keeper.

Following the score, sophomore Jen Hager tried to steal a quick second goal to double the Corsair lead, but narrowly missed the post, a relief to the highly concentrated Cougar audience. The home team fans were disappointed with their team’s performance at the final whistle, as the loss caused their conference record to dip below .500.

“I was definitely hoping that COC would win,” said spectator and COC student Michael Brumleve. “We had a pretty good season for both men and women’s soccer. We could have definitely defeated Santa Monica without a chance,

Reported by Alexandra Lazar

Wednesday November 10, 2010

S P O RT S

Corsair Newspaper Santa Monica College

11

Alfredo Luna Corsair Demarcus Blackmon, 21, a middle linebacker on Santa Monica College’s football team, poses on the field at Corsair Stadium. Blackmon, a business major at SMC, plans on continuing his football career at the university level and lives by the motto, “work right, work light.”

Linebacker Demarcus Blackmon sizes up nicely

By Pyoung Yi Contributor

The names are few: Pago Tagofau, H.B. Blades, Marcus Buggs. They are current NFL linebackers who stand under six feet. Such heights are not prototypical for the linebacker position, yet these players have earned a spot at the highest level of professional football.

Five-foot-8, 220-pound DeMarcus Blackmon sees himself competing at that level. For the second straight year, he is the starting middle linebacker for Santa Monica College football’s defense.

Blackmon, because of his size, was not expected by many to be a standout player, or even a first stringer on a college team. But, through an unshakable spirit and hardnosed determination, he has established himself as a star player in the Pacific Conference and has won the respect of coaches and teammates.

“He’s physical for his size, and has good instincts. He knows how to read offenses, read the line of scrimmage,” said linebackers coach Lee Lowe.

Playing middle linebacker, or “Mike,” is no walk on the beach. It is the most important position on the opposite side of the ball; it requires proper reads, calling audibles, and anchoring the defense. “[Linebackers] are the captains of the defense,” said Head Coach Gifford Lindheim. “They have to run like defensive backs and be physical like defensive linemen.”

Blackmon relishes the opportunity. He is social by nature, and seems to slide into the role of being a leader without much adjustment.

Aside from his on-field play, Blackmon has acquired a reputation amongst teammates for being tough, and has made sure to bring some substance to his vocal personality.

“He walks the walk out there. He’s our version of London Fletcher,” said Lindheim, referring to the Washington Redskins’ inside linebacker.

On a recent night after practice, sitting outside the SMC Pavilion, Blackmon, a stocky 20-year-old with an easy smile, mentions that where he’s from, it was either football or basketball.

“In the south, in Sunnyside, you either pick one or the other.”

Blackmon is a native of Sunnyside, Houston, Texas: a small, city south of downtown Houston.

At eight, Blackmon began playing in youth football leagues. By the time he was in fifth grade, while playing for the Southwestern Rangers, he had been smitten by the sport and decided football was going to be a long-term career goal.

Then, one day, tragedy struck. While a freshman at Madison High School, one of Blackmon’s confidants since childhood, and a fellow football junkie, Justin Burrell, was killed by a drunk driver. The loss was so difficult for Blackmon that he seriously considered giving up football.

He wasn’t sure he had the passion for it.

“I wanted to quit,” said Blackmon. “But my mom, she encouraged me and told me, ‘keep going.’ She was very supportive of me. Made it to all my games. She’s someone I can talk to about pretty much anything.”

After conversations with family friend and former Los Angeles Raiders receiver, Darryll Hobbs, Blackmon decided on transferring to Santa Monica College.

“The history of the school, with players like Steve Smith, Chad Ochocinco, is what made me want to come here,” said Blackmon.

In 2009, after arriving at SMC, Blackmon impressed the coaching staff with his eye-opening ability and consistent work ethic; before the start of the season he was penciled in to be the quarterback of the defense.

When asked, there are various reasons people give for playing football: the physicality of the sport; the cerebral strategy and undeniable teamwork required to be successful. But for DeMarcus Blackmon, his main motivation is his three-year-old son, DeMarcus Blackmon, Jr. One of his desires is to provide a better life for his son by playing professionally.

“It gives me a different mentality. When I’m out there practicing, before games, he’s on my mind,” said Blackmon. “It gives me a fire on the inside.”

Shorter linebackers like Blackmon are often vying to prove themselves out on the gridiron. For Blackmon however, he’s made it clear that it is indeed not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.

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EXHIBIT

Corsair Newspaper Santa Monica College

Wednesday November 10, 2010

Rough times produce

Great Art

By Danny Henson Staff Writer It takes a certain artistic skill to discover the beauty in unexpected places. For illustrator Corinne Felicity Mazzola Pedulla it was acquired at a young age while growing up in Boston.

Rummaging through trash cans with her family almost every night for years, she searched for anything of value, and kept an eye out for interesting looking objects that she could take home to use for inspiration in her art.

Pedulla, now 28 and about to receive her A.A. in Art at Santa Monica College, still uses her keen sense of vintage aesthetics to enhance her work.

“To this day, I still pick up things on the side of the road and rummage through thrift shops and yard sales,” she says. “I use them in stilllifes, in the background of photos and even in my abstract art.”

Pedulla’s personal life has been filled with experiences that have influenced her artwork.

In March 2004, she was a victim of a severe car accident caused by a drunk driver. “My best friend didn’t survive the accident, and I almost didn’t survive,” she explains.

The tragic incident left her with a brain hemorrhage, 36 facial fractures, and 96 stitches on her face. Her severe injuries lead to a fascination with facial expressions, which she began to incorporate in her artwork that same year.

“My art has become very therapeutic,” she says. “I feel like when you suffer from any kind of trauma, you spend many years trying to heal from it.” For Pedulla, art and trauma have formed a symbiotic relationship.

Another thing facilitating her artistic growth

is the quality of her teachers. She feels that the art school she attended in Massachusetts didn’t provide enough direction, but found the art professors at SMC to be remarkably helpful.

“They were really amazing at developing the skills I already had,” she says.

Three teachers influenced Pedulla’s art.

“Jeff O’Connell, my drawing 1 teacher, first introduced me to perspective, which most art teachers I had in the past always seemed to skip,” she says. “His class helped me to slow down and see what is actually there.”

Pedulla’s Drawing 2 teacher was Anne Marie Karlsen, who took the class through styles such as surrealism, abstraction, realism, and expressionism. “After having to create all these pieces, I realized it was surrealism and the pop art movements that I was most interested in and they just came natural to me,” says Pedulla.

“Then there was Linda Lopez, a very eccentric painting teacher. I learned color theory in more detail in her class and how to really capture the light in a painting.”

“I believed I was a good artist before taking these classes, but after taking them and examining my latest work, I can see that my art skills have not only increased, but I gained the ability to push myself further in each piece, all the way until it’s complete,” Pedulla says.

Currently, she is illustrating and writing a children’s book in a Norman Rockwell style. “My goal is to finish that by the New Year,” she says.

She also applied for a spot in various gallery shows at the Topanga Canyon galleries, but won’t know if she is accepted until December.

Aside from illustrating and painting, she plays in the alternative rock band, Sweet Release.

“Music is more a hobby for me,” she professes.

“Art is what I’m trying to do as a career.”

Laysa Quintero Corsair Corinne Felicity Mazzola Pedulla resides in Encino and works out of her apartment. Mazzola has converted her small closet into her studio, and spends more time there than anywhere else in her apartment. Below are two of Pedulla’s Illustrations:

(Above) “The Prank Call” is an illustration of two girls on the phone cunningly trying to trick someone on the other line, prismacolor pastels and colored pencils on bristol.

(Left) “A portrait by Norman” is the recreation of the famous painter turned marine Norman Rockwell who passed away in 1978, oil on canvas.