M M X V I I I • X I • X X
r t ’ a f t
C a r M i s Alter’s
First
Issue,
with
Creator’s
Chen; Brett Child; Yunying Huang;
Manifesto.
e o s n e o
Featuring
Maribel
Dhanushkodi
&
Julia
Ma x well
Reina Imagawa; Johnny Pérez; Daniel Sevillano;
Siladitayaa Sharma; Guer x Tamayo; Editor Nidhi Singh Rathore; Adit
Barcena;
Echevarria;
Printed
at
Ar tCenter
Produc tion Team College
of
Design.
Maribel Barcena’s manifesto Photo and Imaging
DUALITY I come from a place of constant duality: two cultures, two languages, two perspectives, two lives. My entire life I have traveled back and forth between two places. I am moved by feeling, memories, thoughts and constant questioning. This collection of work is the beginning, the foundation of being able to not just understand who I am and where I come from, but also how to produce work that reflects, communicates and transforms. It the start of an exploration of cultural duality, identity and transcendence.
SEE MORE OF THEM IN REPRESENT
explore time
to of
the
love
one
guess
approximately
right
now.
Another
I
feel
the
introspection
Siladityaa Sharma’s manifesto Interaction Design
humans as a metaphor.
and
in
used to depict conscience
internal reflection can be
brilliance.
which gives a diamond its
total internal reflection
explore is concept of the
direction I would love to
is
what time of the day it
road
man without a watch on the
presence of light helps a
or night. The absence or
us to know if it is day
from the Sun that enables
to the light we receive
light because it is due
by
concept
I
which and
in
represented
wander
can
directions
There are a plethora of
am is
media obsessed
Chinese
who
a
Chinese
of
work,
people.
the
This
By
aim
to
Chinese
art
of
an
This
cultural
and
is
Siladityaa Sharma’s manifesto Media Design Practices
and desire.
identity, personal value,
of
exploration expression
also
grassroots.
everyday life of Chinese
the
and
Culture,
version
depicting
represent
Pop
indigenous
communicate
I
of
an
manifesto.
Post Chinese Pop, is my
collection
of
with the creative energy
artist
I
AMALGA MATION*
My work portrays a response from listening
to
Shibuya-Kei,
a
microgenre of pop music that emerged as retail music from the Shibuya district of Japan in the 1990s. The music uses an inconsistent rhythm composed of multiple genres such as Bossa Nova, Soft Rock, French Pop, Trip-hop, Funk, and Big Beat — each sharing a similar relaxed harmony disrupted by cut-and-paste mixing. The music’s contradictory nature reflects the contradiction in my work – organic lines that interconnect
multiple
shapes,
objects, and characters. The music incorporates sound bites of cute, comical
characters
cheering
or
singing mixed with a variety of bells
and
whistles,
a
cacophony
of sounds similar to the auditory chaos in an arcade. The gleeful cries of the characters give the mellow
rhythms
an
unexpected
angst. Similarly, my work contains characters
with
a
multitude
of
emotions within the space of an abstract collage. The music and my collages both address an obscured, transcendental uneasiness
headspace.
from
the
The
drawings
connects to the escapist affects of the music with a realization of the music’s limited transportive abilities.
Daniel Sevillano’s manifesto Fine Art SEE MORE OF THEM IN REPRESENT
THE CITY IS YOUR PLAYGROUND I love working with skaters. Skaters
are always one of the most creative kinds
of
human
beings
in
this
world. If that’s not good enough of a reason to love them to death, they are also the best people to get tips on where to eat, in a ginormous city like Mexico City ─ where I’ve been working with them a lot over the past year - because they always really know what’s good. The latter is
still
a
mystery
to
me;
the
former, I think, is a matter of how skaters are asked to exercise their creativity
everyday
to
challenge
the hegemonic and prescriptive use of urban spaces. Skateboarding is a political way to play with the city, challenging
systems
of
authority
such as the laws, regulations, and rules, as well as the human labor and technologies that police the way urban spaces should be used ─ how, by whom, and to what extent.
Reina Imagawa’s manifesto Media Design Practices
with
tune
-
methodologies
of
to
place,
and
responsibility
first
I
this
But
and
where
feeling
the
love
I
ego
people want to play in
designerly
aside your “knowledge”,
co-design where you put
aesthetics/taste.
energy
me
very
of the ludic that makes
that
preserve
is
for
it
important
people,
with
with.
Learning
are
doing
having some
fun
and
a
through
language
similar
work
too,
have
finish we together
that
to
having
between what’s awful and
creativity you can tell
on that high energy of
way, because when you’re
oh-this-is-quite-cool
in a non-conclusive but
started
the
helps
Also,
work that we have started
a similar love for the
that starting to share
together
creative
speaking
only be achieved through
meaningful work that can
we
through
is unknowing. Hopefully,
working
fun
engage in this type of
working
but
goals of the people I am
extremely
challenging
goals,
also towards some of the
my
that
working
sure
only
make
together.
when
I’m
not
to
towards
I’m
try
It is more fun, and also
and exhausting, to really
pleasurably
other
At the end of the day,
serious.
times
fun,
to happen to it.
outcome
take
seriously
the
to
don’t know what is going
over
starts
Their play is sometimes
the
ludic
doing design is when the
the design, and I truly
of
in
and
is
skateboarding.
act
There
intentionality
space.
positionality
an
urban
My favorite moments of
with
interactions
ludic.
service
constitute their unique
the
want my design to be in
methods and forms that of
design. If anything, I
for research that won’t
specific
core of their techniques,
at
playful
done
invent site or people-
have
sacrifice the ludic for
is
in
skaters
somehow - like how the
the
that
spontaneous
energy
or
naturally
so
are
they
with
ludic
because
skaters
their
working
love
I
working, At
the
almost
in
life,
so
we
new
narratives
city.
for how to play in the
writing
get together and start
ludic
as collectively find the
to individually as well
a bunch of humans trying
to feel like we are all
end of the day, it begins
instinctively.
what’s
Brett Child’s manifesto Photo and Imaging This work is from a series I made which focused primarily on my identity and how it is shaped by both the external world as well as past experiences, the latter primarily in the form of memories. My actions and choices shape my experience just as the external world around me shapes my experience, but my actions and choices made are in response to previous experiences. It can become difficult to discern where the domain of the individual gives way to the external as they are so intertwined.
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The specific catalyst for making this work was to explore my inheritance from my father after he died. He was not present through much of my life and when he died he left me something much more impactful than any physical object could hope to be. I was left with what he had given me at birth, an identity that would be shaped by straddling the line between two cultures. This series was my way of working through my personal history and my
inherited
history
while
also
attempting
to
reconcile the differences between how I view myself and how the surrounding world views me.
* As
a
kid
growing
up
in
Los
Angeles,
I
was
a
timid person due to my insecurities coming from a diverse background as well as dealing with a confused
sexual
identity.
My
parents
were
both
Salvadoran immigrants with laborious jobs, my mom as a housekeeper and my Dad as a gardener, which they kept throughout my entire upbringing. Usually when I would get out of school I would rush home, and watch cartoons without my parents to police my afterschool activities, I spent most of my time watching cartoons. For me cartoons were a form of artistic freedom that granted the abilities to create any kind of reality that was desired. I have always envied this freedom in cartoons and so as an artist, my goal has been to investigate this freedom of structure through my use of various mediums that emulate
whimsical
characters
and
environments.
These characters and environments also come off as abstracted and monstrous, originating from a place of intuition and unconsciousness. I can identify with the obscurities that arise in my work because my
identity
is
also
obscured―consisting
of
an
amalgamation of different cultures that may or may not have been intended to amalgamate.
Daniel Sevillano’s story Fine Art SEE MORE OF THEM IN REPRESENT
TAMAYO
In my art I always want to celebrate my culture and identity, even if it often feels as if those two things may be in conflict. Whether it’s through character designs, storytelling, or illustrations, I want to share the history of my family with others, and reach out to other queer chicanxs like me. Growing up there were little to no shows where I could see me and my family represented. I want to change that, and create content that allows people like me to feel heard and appreciated.
Guerx Tamayo’s manifesto Illustration
FOTOS GRATIS
I wanted to give a gift to the town that my family is from. I thought taking portraits in a studio setting would not only provide a new experience for the town, but also serve as a meaningful gift.
Though my initial plan was to rent equipment from a photo studio, I quickly realized that there weren’t any in the region. I would have to build a studio from scratch. I went to work collecting what I needed: light bulbs and wiring from the hardware store, scrap wood from a friend. I made a seamless out of sheets, built light stands, made softboxes, and set up at the gazebo in the town square.
I spread the word around town. Fotos Gratis. Bring your lover, your dog, or the whole family. I hoped that up to twenty to thirty people would show up. When the day came, over two hundred families arrived. In many cases, it was their first time having their portrait taken. The experience felt like a beautiful celebration of community. The following week, I handed out free prints for everyone.
Johnny Pérez’s manifesto Fine Art SEE MORE OF THEM IN REPRESENT
Chinese/Taiwanese but
generation can’t
more about unfettered exploration. gratitude
for
being
diversity, and people.
the
topics
of
power, remember
attending
an
Asian
American
place.
It
really
spun
my
world
around.
happened in the fraternity was ridiculous.
racism, patriarchy, and dick-swinging that
Greek fraternity in parallel. The underlying
Especially with the fact that I had joined a
Asians.
Chin, and Hollywood’s awful portrayal of
lectures about the glass-ceiling, Vincent
remember my instructor, Connie So, and her
was just looking for an easy A. I distinctly
confident
‘Asian Americans’? Our lives are fine.” I
young
here nor there but have finally found a
my
thinking, “Why would anyone need to study
imagine
me. The lost ones that have grown up neither
I
self
—
it
Taiwanese brother who is representing those similar to
conscious
Seattle. I’m not even sure as to why I did
the
-Eddie
Huang,
familiarize themselves with.
undergrad at the University of Washington,
Studies course during my sophomore year of
I
and love, something that everyone should
covers all of the nuanced phases of life
me.
embodiment as a designer (past, current,
around
the different phases of emotion. Her music
delicate understanding of the world around
that has inspired you, your work, and your
future)
Has been the textbook for me on how to feel
me normalcy. The curse was the loose and
your own words. Please describe anything
and
-Sade, the most classic musician of all.
from elementary to high school — it gave
this world.
outside of just putting more things into
you make is also of upmost importance. Think
its purpose and use. The ecology behind what
taught me to look at things outside of simply
-Victor Papanek, designer/educator who has
On inspiration, creation, and identity in
a part of a predominantly APIA community
have
it both a blessing and a curse. As a second-
For him, the desire for school is less about practicality and
help
up in the suburbs of Pasadena and consider
working with small to corporate technology companies.
I
constructs have built my perspective. I grew
Maxwell started his design practice in the Bay Area
American,
the notion of my identity and how these
A current student of Media Design Practices at Art Center,
POWER; DIVERSITY; PEOPLE.
Interviewed by: Elise Ma
Maxwell Chen’s manifesto Media Design Practices
fear of being ousted of the goodwill of those that are wh-right.
You know, when people mention power, there is
generally a negative or fearful undertone.
militant within ignore ― it’s the only way for change.
I believe that understanding the life cycle
of something like a cheeseburger on your
plate will help garner a new understanding
between APIA and black culture, our people,
action in killing on behalf of us.
must
be
some
connection
our
creations?
conscious individuals I’ve ever put my ears to. His music spans the gamut of racial
we’re creating and why. Don’t underestimate
understanding the power you hold.
here to everywhere.
DIVERSITY
In most everything I do nowadays, I question
divide and socio political problems from
-Yasiin Bey, one of the most inspiring and
responsibility to know exactly what it is
With the power to create - we hold the
with
world (I’ll spare y’all the family plugs):
play
systems
at
inspired my work and understanding of the
and creators. What are we making, and what
are
have definitively changed my perspective and
The same can be said to all of us as makers
going on there. In any case, some people that
the oppression — I don’t know. Something is
There
personal
identity.
my
product, and ultimately the commerce takes
infiltrated
has
type, the demand drives commerce around the
pervasively
say that it’s interesting how black culture
might
a burger creates the demand for this food
majority
Before I get into this one, I just want to
the
lives, everyday, playing mini gods. Ordering
that
PEOPLE
identity
have the food. It’s almost like we live our
and appreciation for what it means to even
the lens that I have. Even if it means being
or whatever. I know, gruesome, right? But nuances
work. But as it stands now, I’m content with
slaughter my own meat. Maybe a chicken or cow
at
up feeling the need to be critical in my
one day am hoping for an opportunity to
stance
tension and friction, I may not have ended
is simply understanding it. For example, I
a
years of my life. Had I not experienced that
has helped me comprehend this notion of power
taking
of the most confusing but transformative
power that really scares people. But what
and
Looking back it feels like those were some
oppressive. Maybe it’s about the abuse of
Just seeing that word right now, it feels
right. And no one dares empathize out of
If you weren’t white, you weren’t
POWER
How we create should be
outside of ourselves.
deep understanding of all things
we create needs to incorporate a
more importantly, how and what
honest to our personal values. But
needs to be forthcoming and
creators and makers - our work
around us. As designers, artists,
fair to living things and the world
Represent Represent Power in Color Power in Color ARMORY CENTER FOR THE ARTS
ARMORY CENTER FOR THE ARTS
145 N Raymond Ave. Pasadena CA, 91103
145 N Raymond Ave. Pasadena CA, 91103
Represent Represent Power in Color Power in Color ARMORY CENTER FOR THE ARTS
ARMORY CENTER FOR THE ARTS
145 N Raymond Ave. Pasadena CA, 91103
145 N Raymond Ave. Pasadena CA, 91103
REPRESENT is an exhibition that celebrates Art Center’s students
and
alumni
of
color
and
their
explorations
of
self, identity, and visibility through creative work. The exhibition will be held at The Armory Center For the Arts in Pasadena, CA on December 1st. The gallery opens at 3:00pm with a reception at 7:00pm.