[proof] 2012-2013

[proof] [proof] FINE A R T S MA G A ZI N E FINE ARTS MAGAZINE

SPOTLIGHT 6 CAMILLE SEAMAN ED KASHI ANNIE CHEN THE ARTS

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TUTORIALS TIME LAPSE LIGHT PAINTING GRAPHIC DESIGN INTERIOR DESIGN RODIN GALLERY 40 FT. SCHOLASTIC ART AWARD WINNERS PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL SPRING 2013

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[proof] 2013

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A B O U T LETTER EDITORS’

Published once a year, [proof] is Palo Alto High School’s fine arts magazine that covers all aspects and mediums of art, featuring local, national, and international artists. Our mission is to showcase student artwork and promote creative & innovative thinking in the minds of students.

[ proof ] 2013

SPO TL I G HT [8]

Ed Kashi

[9]

Maher Salma

[10] Camille Seaman

[12] Angela Filo [14 ] Molly Chen

[16 ] Annie Chen [17] Francis Ge

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Gracie Fang Masha Andreyeva

STAFF Cathy Rong

Keturah Beaumont

George Lu Hilda Huang Jonathan Friduss Francis Ge

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Mehr Sikri Savannah Moss Scotty Bara

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SPONSORS

We would like to thank Michelle Varrin, Ann Wilson, Penelope Livingston, and the Paly ASB for contributing to [proof] Magazine this year. In addition, we’d like to thank our advisor, Margo Wixsom— we couldn’t have done it without you! We are beyond grateful for your help with putting this together.

THANK YOU!

THE ARTS [ 2 0 ] Jacqueline Castillo [ 2 1 ] Rodin Sculptures

[ 2 2] Richard Serra

GALLERY

[ 2 4 ] Graphic Design

[42] Scholastic Art Awards

[ 2 6] Time-lapse

[48] Student Gallery

[ 2 8] Gloving and Light Painting [ 3 0] Dandiya [ 3 2] Interior Design

CONTACT

[ 3 4] Band

paly.proof@gmail.com

[ 3 5] Theater [ 3 6] Summer Choir [ 3 8] Italy as a Local

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SPOTLIGHT

PHOTOGRAPH BY VIVIAN LAURENCE [7]

S P OT LIGHT

ED K A S H I Margo Wixsom

Ed Kashi (born November 16, 1957) is an American photojournalist and member of VII Photo based in the Greater New York area. Kashi’s award-winning work spans from high-end print photojournalism to experimental film.

He is most noted for documenting contemporary sociopolitical issues.

Kashi’s work on the plight of the Kurdish people and the impact of the oil industry upon the impoverished Niger Delta has provided an extensive photojournalistic perspective of these global issues. In addition, he is known for his coverage of religious strife both in America and abroad. Most notable would be his work documenting the Protestant community in Northern Ireland, the lives of Jewish settlers in the West Bank, and the strife between the Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq. From studying the lives of the aging Baby Bloomers and recording the story of Argentenian fishermen to documenting gun violence, and illustrating the lasting effects of Agent Orange on the Vietnamese people, Ed Kashi takes part on the front of modern social movements.

Paly has been fortunate to have Ed Kashi visit campus for the last four years as the featured speaker for the What Matters Photojournalism Forum sponsored by the Photography Program. This year Kashi put a different spin on his presentation. He reviewed recent work that he’s been doing online for TIME using the Instragram app to report on current events like Hurricane Sandy in real time. Kashi noted a photo of a traffic light swinging in hurricane winds, reflected in a flooded street at night as pedestrians raced for shelter. It was the first time since he has been in wartorn countries that he felt afraid for his life in America. His presentation reminds us that photojournalists often put their lives on the line to get the influential photos that tell the stories of our times.

photography by Ed Kashi

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Check our his online gallery at: www.edkashi.com Hurricane Sandy series in TIME Lightbox blog: In The Eye Of The Storm

MAHER S A L M A

SOCIAL

Margo Wixsom

In Damascus, as you walk to the end of the Al-Hamidiyah Souq, the oldest open market in the world, you come to the plaza of the Umayyad Mosque. There, on the second floor of a building adjacent to the mosque, an elaborately decorated arched window overlooks the Check our his online gallery at: www.mahersalma.com

photography by Maher Salma

colorful activities of people coming and going from souq to mosque, pouring in and out along the streets. Perhaps it is this view from their art shoppe that inspires the Salma family amid the swarm of complex beauty. Calligrapher Ahmad Salma has been featured in several former issues of [proof] as we’ve followed his artistic pursuits in geometric drawings and wood carvings. During the Syrian Civil War Ahmad Salma emigrated to Germany for a more supportive and creative environment to pursue his artwork.

His brother, photographer Maher Salma, still lives in Damascus and uses his camera to record the events and people that we don’t see in the newspapers through this tragic conflict. Graphic designer and video editor Salma’s photographic images are haunting and powerful. A man rides his bicycle through an empty, shadowed street. Children run amid bombed, graffittied ruins. Hands in prayer, a girl with Photoshopped halo in the style of Freida Khalo. Maher Salma has the ability of a great artist to show us both the brutality of war framed within the context of the beauty of individual people in Syria – the portraits of a country that we don’t get to see from the AP wire service. His photographs have been exhibited at the Al-Shaeb and Khan Asad Basha galleries, Goethe Institute and French Culture Center in Damascus as well as exhibitions in Beirut and Dubai. His video art was featured Copenhagen, Denmark. Like Kashi, Salma demonstrates to us and to the world the power of documentary social photography.

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S P OT LIGHT

CAMILLE SEAMAN Masha Andreyeva

On a typical Thursday morning in February, students shuffled into Haymarket Theater expecting a day of stories, advice, and photography. None of us, however, expected to be taken to Antarctica. Camille Seaman—renowned photographer and TED speaker—opened the annual photojournalism forum, introducing Paly students to the pristine monuments of our planet.

Seaman’s journey to becoming a photographer began as a relationship between a young girl and a camera in New York City. She never quite intended to formally become a photographer, but she took her camera with her as she travelled around the country, ending up in California. By ultimate chance of an unplanned airline ticket, her dedication to photography was sparked by a realization as she set foot in Alaska. Coming from a Native American background, Seaman explained that she was taught that everything on earth as interconnected. Walking alone in a sea of white Alaskan ice, she re-visited her roots. “We are all made of this planet,” she remembers thinking. From then on, she was determined to document the fragile and ever-morphing natural phenomena.

From Qassiaruuq, Greenland to Cape Bird, Antarctica, Seaman has been recording the existence of icebergs, natural giants on the verge of extinction. Students followed Seaman on her journey through her stunning photographs of icebergs, each as unique as the snowflakes that created them. Her images depicted places of pristine silence and crisp air. They took students away from thinking of the icecaps theoretically as distant and unrelated formations, and brought them closer to understanding the fascinating nature and the importance of these fluid structures on a personal level.

Seaman’s philosophy emphasized her spirit as a photographer. “It’s not a money-making profession—it’s a natural curiosity,” she said that Thursday morning. She explained that she approached photography with an attitude of taking advantage of opportunities just as they appear, as she did when she decided to go storm-chasing after viewing an advertisement on TV with her daughter, beginning her current long-term project. According to Seaman, t S e a m a n ’ s photographs ran shivers down my skin. That day, we were exposed to some of the most beautiful and captivating photographs that powerfully, but quietly affected our perception of photography, nature, and ourselves.

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SEAMAN

Seaman exposed students to some of the most beautiful and captivating photographs that powerfully, but quietly affected our perception of photography, ourselves, and our relationship with nature.

photography by Camille Seaman

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S S PP OT OT LL I I G G HH TT

ANGELA FILO Gracie Fang

The Palo Alto Forest, a community photography project aimed to engage children and adults alike, made its opening exhibition at the Palo Alto Art Center on October 6. Artist Angela Buenning Filo, inspired by her earlier work, wanted to consider the trees around us.

Filo has been photographing landscapes and doing extensive projects on orchards in Silicon Valley for many years. Trees became a natural focus for her not only because of her past experience with the subject, but also because she felt that they are an important part of our identity as ecoconscious Palo Altans.

The installation at the Palo Alto Art Center is comprised of a cylindrical web of photos installed in glass, with an opening for people to walk in and admire the collaborative work. Filo decided to do this installation on glass because she wanted to use a non-traditional surface, and loved the idea of transparency.

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FILO

Her collection started with a question: how do the trees that surround us impact our lives? Filo believes that trees are part of our identity - that young people, old people and those in between can all relate to trees around us everyday. The resulting installation honors the role that trees play in shaping our landscape and community.

This collaborative project features work from people of all ages - from children in 5th grade to high school students and adults, though close to half of the photos came from students. This represents the nature of community in our city, as well as our involvement with protecting the environment.

“I wanted to spread the word to get people engaged,” Filo said. “I didn’t want [the installation] to be a photo contest about beautiful photographs, but more about the action of going out to photograph a tree and think about its meaning and write a story about it.”

“In the past I’ve been the one taking the photograph; now I have let go of that and let other people be part of

photography by Angela Filo

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S P OT LIGHT

MOLLY C H E N

Gracie Fang Masha Andreyeva

Some may doubt the benefits of sitting at a desk covered in eraser shavings with a warm pencil in hand at three in the morning. Yet this becomes the very favorite activity of architecture students like Molly Chen --it’s all for design.

Molly Chen, a Paly graduate now attending California Polytechnic State University, is currently among the sleep-deprived imaginative humans that are architecture students, and her insight gives some perspective on the life of aspiring architects. Though she had not thought about architecture as a possible career path until high school, she has had internship experience with local architecture firms for a number of years. A career involving the construction of our environments demands that kind of dedication.

In a typical week as an architecture major, Chen attends four three-hour classes, where she spends a majority of her time sitting at a large desk, designing.

Work is given on a daily basis, inside and outside of class. According to Chen, students trade in their early bedtimes for their pursuit of compositional aesthetics and design. The rigor and the challenge build the muscle architecture students will need to construct real-world structures in which we live.

Art is one of the primary sources that architecture students use to fuel the original design choices and compositions they create. Chen took traditional art classes back at Paly that tailored her ability to work with aesthetics and visual elements.

“The easiest explanation for my fine art drawing technique is to just tell people that I was originally going to be an art major. That’s not completely true, but if I hadn’t majored in architecture I would have probably gone into graphic design. I know that it’s really hard to get any sort of job with an art degree so I picked architecture instead; I can potentially go into lots of different fields with an architecture degree.”

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photography by Molly Chen

ARCHITECTURE

Piet Mondrian has been influential in shaping Chen’s artwork.

She admires his ability to create dynamic space out of very few elements, but at the same time make interesting compositions out of complex divisions of space. She especially values Mondrian’s

“Gray Tree” painting for the use of these elements -- though after taking AP Art History the past year, she was able to appreciate a variety of artistic styles. A broad exposure to art is really one of the best preparations for an architecture degree.

Art alone, however, won’t be enough. Every week there is an hour of class time dedicated to learning software such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Chen creates digital compositions in both programs, but also completes a lot of analog, or handdrawn, work as well. Being able to translate ideas into accessible digital formats is highly relevant in the field, especially for the 21st century.

Architecture is an ambitious direction to pursue, demanding artistic vision, fluent ability to work with software, and not to mention, sleep hours. Yet it is one of the most beneficial careers to learn, training you to think spatially, artistically, mathematically, and realistically.

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OT SSPPOT LLI IGGHHTT

ANNIE C H E N

Cathy Rong

One hand scrambling for the right pen while the other smooths out the paper, junior Annie Chen focuses intently on a half-finished comic.

Best known for her card-sized comics, she works with felt-tip pens and charcoal as her primary weapons of choice. Chen started drawing seriously at around the age of 11, and has since attended several drawing camps over the summer. She is best known for her comics depicting the typical issues of Paly students posted on Facebook and her custom cards through Project 868, a student led fundraiser that is aimed towards raising money for Paly and Gunn’s art programs.

Paly’s 2011-2012 AP Art class founded the fundraiser, naming it after the original $8.68 given by PAUSD to each art student. All products are hand-painted, and all proceeds are donated to Paly’s art programs. More information can be found at http://www.facebook.com/Project868 or http://project868.tumblr.com/.

Chen says that drawing comics provides excellent stress relief from the workload of junior year. “Usually depressing or amusing events in my life inspire me to draw comics, and quotes about seemingly depressing things give me ideas, too, ” she said. One of Chen’s favorite quotes is by Edvard Munch; “From my rotting body, flowers shall grow and I am in them and that is eternity.”

Her art is primarily based on things that have double meanings, such as death that can be morbid yet beautiful, as Munch’s quote demonstrates. “He’s talking about something wretched like death, but makes it a beautiful thing; that’s pretty much what I want to do with my art,” Chen explains. She also lists M.C Escher’s paradoxical drawings and Käthe Kollwitz’s woodcuts among her inspirations.

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“I’m sure that I’ll continue art in college, but I don’t intend to go to an art college. I want to minor in art or take a double major with science,” Chen said. In the best case scenario, Chen hopes to get a job creating music album designs or any other designs that have function. She hopes to one day see her art distributed for a vast audience to enjoy and perhaps note the double meanings behind her own work.

COMICS

FRANCIS G E on her AP project

I based this series of self-portraits on the webcomic “A Softer World” by Emily Horne and Joey Comeau [www.asofterworld.com].

Most often their triptychs are accompanied by text that’s dark but humorous, “in the tradition of George Simenon’s ‘romans durs’ (or ‘hard novels’).” I admired the way they paired photographs with text, so I set out to create my own version.

The first images I took were with a self-timer just messing around in my room before the project idea really solidified. Once I got the idea to do it in the comic format, I started writing the text and thinking of ideas for photos to go with each line. I did several macros on my own, making sure to clearly capture the textures of the objects. My mother helped me take the rest of the photographs. I had to know exactly what I wanted the final image layout to look like beforehand so that I could direct her, and that’s very different from my usual, casual style. Several images are from the bird’s eye view perspective or from a bug’s eye view.

photography by Francis Ge

As I began working in the three-panel format, I realized how many design decisions had to be made for each comic - how tight to crop each square, what part to leave in the frame, whether to make the three squares a continuous image or not. On top of the layout (literally and figuratively) came the placement of the text. Where to break up the lines? Where to place the words on the page?

Whether I wanted the viewer’s eye to be able to follow naturally or be forced to move around? My thoughts and questions led to the creation of my own take of comics.

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LIANA KRAKIRIAN

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THE ARTS

DRAWING BY LIANA KRAKIRIAN [19]

ARTS

AN INTERVIEW WITH JACQUELINE CASTILLO A CANTOR ARTS MUSEUM VOLUNTEER

Jonathan Friduss

Q: What are your duties as a volunteer?

A: I’m just a standard volunteer with no specific title but I have a lot of responsibility to make sure that things in the work room go smoothly. I usually help children with their art projects and I keep track of the carrying capacity in the studio all at once!

Q: What are you favorite aspects of working at the Cantor?

A: I love working with kids and I’m really passionate about art so when the opportunity arose for me to combine the two, I jumped

Q: What exhibits or activities do you most recommend that are currently happening at the Cantor?

A: The Jameel Prize is currently going on and it is a competition between artists from the Middle East. All the pieces in the exhibit have deeper meanings and stories that are truly amazing!

Q: What is you favorite piece at the Cantor?

A: My favorite pieces at the art at the cantor are by Giuseppe Arcimboldo. He paints portraits using only fruits, grains and vegetables and the detail in the two paintings at the Cantor are astoundingly beautiful.

Q: Any thought about art or your involvement with a museum that you would like to inform students about?

on it! Helping kids make their art makes me think of the art projects I made myself when I was younger and how much I enjoy them today and that’s exactly what I’m giving these kids I volunteer for. Another great plus about working at the Cantor is the amount of time I get to become familiar with the art in the museum.

Walking through the galleries makes me really grateful for the opportunity to work in such a great environment to a point where it doesn’t feel like work.

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A: Yes! If you’re just interested in seeing what it is that we do on Sundays and if you have young family members or friends, come check out our program! Docent-lead tours start at 12:30 p.m., 1:00 p.m., and 1:30 p.m.

Sketching in the galleries starts at 12:30 and drop-in art making is from 1:00-3:00. Art packs are also available for check-out in the main lobby throughout the week. Come see the new family programs at the Cantor!

CASTILLO/RODIN

RODIN S C U L P T U R E S

Jonathan Friduss

Auguste Rodin is a French artist considered to be the preeminent sculptor of the nineteenth century. Art historians attest that his work is the most influential on twentieth century sculpture due to Rodin’s ability to manipulate surfaces, his consideration that a mere part of the figure be viewed as a work of art and a revolutionary process he invented involving the assembling of older works to create an entirely new work. According to author Yvon Taillandier, Rodin was profoundly influenced by Michelangelo, who he acknowledges for “[freeing him] from academic sculpture.”

The largest collection of Rodin’s sculptures outside of Paris, and the second largest collection in the world is at the Cantor Arts Center on Stanford’s campus. How did Stanford amass a collection of such magnitude of one of the few iconic artists who is recognized both within and outside the art community? Albert Elsen. Elsen was the Walter A. Haas Professor of Art History at Stanford from 1968 until his death in 1995. His curation of the Rodin exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art, and “Rodin Rediscovered” at the National Gallery of Art are considered to be the seminal exhibits that cemented Rodin as a significant art historical figure.

The Cantor owns approximately two hundred works by Rodin. Of these, thirty exist in the Rodin Sculpture Garden, an outdoor exhibit that is open all hours, with lighting for nighttime viewing.

photography by Erin Riley Masha Andreyeva [21]

ARTS

RICHARD S E R R A

Jonathan Friduss

Richard Serra, a minimalist artist, studied at Yale University between 1961 through 1964 and was inspired by Philip Guston and composer Robert Mangold. He has created a diverse body of work ranging from pieces created with giant manipulated steel sheets such as “Sequence” to large-scale black “drawings” done with a paint stick such as “No Mandatory Patriotism”. A show of these black drawings was exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art from October 2011 to January 2012.

Although Serra says that his work does not have to be approached in a certain way, a seminal aspect of his sculptures is the manner that he manipulates the setting and space that the work is placed in. Every angle and perspective of Sequence interacts with it’s exterior and can be viewed as an abstract composition. His work can be considered feats of art, architecture or engineering and are renown for their ability to be experienced flat or three dimensional entities.

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SERRA

Serra has been embroiled in several controversies.

He is often commissioned to create massive sculptures for open areas, often some of the only large areas in the vicinity.

These works both visually and physically break up the space that they have been created for. In one circumstance, a sculpture was boycotted with such vigor that it was removed.

In another, the proposed sculpture was not created. In the seventies, a worker installing one of Serra’s works was crushed and killed by a sheet of steel. Another worker in the late eighties had his leg amputated when the taking apart a different work by Serra.

“Sequence” is currently located outside on the north side of the Cantor Arts Museum at Stanford University until 2016 when it will be placed permanently in the new wing of the SFMOMA. It has been placed at Stanford by Doris and Don Fisher, two philanthropist art collectors who have had a long history assisting Northern California museums. Stanford journalist Cynthia Haven says that “Eventually, after about a decade, the steel [that makes up “Sequence”] will cease to oxidize and will become a permanent deep... amber”. She recommends people view it before it is transferred indoors to the SFMOMA because it will be the only time that one can experience it outdoors.

photography by Sarah Limb

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ARTS

DESIGN

Masha Andreyeva

From silkscreen to CMYK, graphic designers are connoisseurs when it comes to the creative process. For centuries, these artists specialized in composing ornamented texts and propaganda to convey a message. Today, demand for these skilled craftsmen is growing exponentially across many industries, making fluency in the visual language essential.

This year, Paly welcomed professional author-illustrator and designer Christy Hale to teach the first Graphic Design course. Her students have been developing key skill sets such as traditional paper detailing, typography, color-alteration, layer blending, and pen tool illustration. They’ve worked with creating album covers, calendar artwork, restaurant menus, brand packaging, and magazine spreads introducing them to the various ways that graphic design is applied today. Graphic design skills are beneficial in any arena, be it a café or an institute. Graphic design is everywhere, really, and these days, it’s a considerable benefit to know how to do it.

THE PURPOSE 1. To draw people in.

2. To communicate in the most visually delicious way possible.

3. To amuse, persuade, announce, inform, {insert the verb} by means of artistic and textual composition To help you get started, we’ve compiled a handy composition of resources to introduce you to what graphic design is all about.

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GRAPHIC

INPUT

+ designer + idea + vision + skill tech =

OUTPUT

voice elegance impact reaction art

-Creative Suite [ Photoshop, InDesign, Adobe Illustrator ] -Old school skills [ paper detailing, adhesion, composition ] -Web Design [ CSS, Java, HTML, WordPress ]

THE TERMS RGB: Red-Green-Blue color space for graphics CMYK: subtractive color model for printing Vector: non-pixel based graphic that doesn’t pixelate when size is altered Rasterized image: pixelbased image

THE SKILLS

Comp: Comprehensive; display of what the layout of the initial project before printed Gamut: range of colors available on a printing device HLS: Hue, Lightness, Saturation color space Typography: witty & artistic use of letters and words

THE FIRMS & COMPANIES IDEO Astro Studios Arlo Wonderful Union

Un.Titled TAK! Sofake Meta Design

THE SCHOOLS THE JOBS RISD Yale MICA Carnegie Mellon VCU Art Center College of Design CalArts SVA Parsons Pratt

(2012 US World & News Report

THE RESOURCES

Computer Graphics Advertising, PR Brand Identity Game Design Printing [posters, album art, campagin publicity] Publishing Industries [posters, album art, etc.]

Illustration Film and Video design Environmental Design Package design Web Design Freelance (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Aiga.org Gdusa.com Graphicdesign.com Designtalkboard.com Behance.net Creativeallies.com Smashingmagazine.com Americandesignawards.com Smashinghub.com www.bls.gov/ooh/Arts-and-Design/ Graphic-designers.htm

photography by Masha Andreyeva works featured by Paly graphic design

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ARTS

TIME-LAPSE Masha Andreyeva

Ever watched the sun set in thirty seconds? Or a flower sprout, bloom, and wither in five?

If you have, it’s likely that you were watching a time-lapse. Essentially, a time-lapse is a sequence of photos that are taken at a set interval. Think of it as a sped-up slideshow of images, flashing at a high enough frequency to appear as a video. The photographs are sewn together with the help of software to create a video, and thus, a snippet of condensed time is born.

THE BASICS Sound simple? It can be, but first you’ve got to know the basics about time-lapsing.

Timing is everything: Time-lapses function by basically capturing moments at a set interval of gaps. Where a normal video would capture and play frames at 24 fps, a time-lapse would capture the frames at a slower interval, like one frame for every 5 seconds, and then play it back at 24 fps creating the effect of sped up time.

So, yes, you’ll need to do some math: - figure out the duration of the event, and how long you want the time-lapse video to be - the interval rate : a five second interval between photos is a good standard rate to start with.

Keep in mind that this depends on the effect you desire and the shutter speed you choose. If you want a smooth, slower transition of people for instance, use smaller intervals.

Settings: - Smooth, blurred motion: set small aperture (f/18 – f/22), low

shutter speed (1/15 – 10 seconds), and short interval - Blocky and jittery: set large aperture (f/1.8 – f/4), high shutter speed, higher interval - Low ISO (for less noise) - Large Jpegs—raw too big, takes way too much disk space Equipment: - tripod - dolly - dslr camera - intervalometer - heavyweight - software

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Subject Ideas: - starscape - cloudscape - stoplight traffic - sinking ink - wilting plants - melting icecubes

TIME

TRY IT 1 . Select subject and desired effect 2.

3.

Calculate interval rate

Adjust camera settings for shutter speed, aperture, and ISO

- set to manual (you don’t

want the camera to

change the exposure for

each frame)

- you want a low ISO,

and most likely a large

aperture and high shutter

4 . Set up tripod in a reliable location using heavywieght and take test shots 5 . Attach intervalometer with the interval settings and start it 6 . Relax, monitor, and enjoy the scene 7 . Download images and use software to edit and sew them together

photography by Masha Andreyeva

Try these resources:

http://vimeo.com/22439234 The Mountain by Terje Sørgjerd http://www.learntimelapse.com/ http://www.enriquepacheco.com/10-tips-for-shooting-time-lapse

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ARTS

L E T THERE BE LIGHT

Masha Andreyeva

The word photography was born from the reactive combination of the Greek words phos and graphis. Together they translate into one simple definition: “to draw with light”. A significant portion of the photos flashed before our eyes are clear, polished, and realistic—we don’t quite think of them as drawings. But, in fact, there exists an entire subcategory of photography that is composed—literally—of drawings with light.

Take Pablo Picasso for instance, our cherished cubist painter and iconic artist. Together with renowned photographer Gjon Mili, Picasso traded in his paintbrush for a flashlight and created some of the most famous early light paintings. They were instantly erased into space, invisible to the human eye, but imprinted preciously onto the delicate monochrome film.

Since then, light painting has evolved into a broad art form, intertwined with technology and surrealism. Today, most photographers have access to a fluorescent palette of colored light ranging from flickering matches and flashlights to custombuilt LEDs and cathode tubes. As in painting, each “light brush” has its own hue and texture with which the photographer paints the masterpiece in thin air. As a painter must have a gifted hand, so a light painter must fluidly choreograph the path of light with the motion of his body. The fusion of light and drawing that is photography is most evident in this whimsical art form.

Light painting has attracted hundreds of young photographers, including our very own Paly alumni, Bradford Thorne and Alex Lenail. Just a year ago, they began experimenting with the medium, building and wiring their own light mechanisms, and shooting locally. Since then, they’ve developed a signature style depicting a Tron-like aesthetic, blending vibrant electric patterns with fluid light graffiti to create imaginative pieces of art. Their methodology involves careful brainstorming, sketches, and repeated trials until they actualize the piece they imagined. Thus far, they’ve built a sizable collection of elegant photographs, enough to begin the construction of their collaborative website xenophos.org.

Another way to approach the technique is to take it from a surreal perspective, as current Paly senior Scotty Bara does. His works depicts flickering motions and fleeting human figures, giving his images a dark and abstract tone. His work is improvised, taking on a more spontaneous artistic approach. Scotty has worked with techniques like gloving, automobile lights, and light graffiti, demonstrating an original identity as a light painter. light sources: ipad hardware: flashlight LED a camera on which you can adjust the phone bike light aperture and shutter speed, such as an lighter headlights SLR camera match steel wool fire cathode tubes a tripod

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LIGHT

W H A T’ S T H E M A G IC? Having some experience in light painting myself, I’ve made a basic guide to get you started on drawing with light.

Setup and settings (lights on):

on your camera, set the mode to Manual set the aperture (shutter opening size) to the largest size (larger sizes correspond to lower f-stop numbers; for instance my largest aperture is f/2.8 which lets in more light—we want this for shooting in the dark). set th shutter speed to between 8 and 20 seconds (this regulates how long the aperture is open; since we want a long exposure to be able to draw our figures, we need a long shutter speed--feel free to adjust exposure time as necessary ) set the ISO to the lowest value (100, for instance; this minimizes the amount of noise) be sure to have the flash off place your camera on a tripod in an open space where you will be able to move focus your lens on where you plan to be standing set your camera to a ten second timer for it to automatically so that your hands don’t shake the camera

Lights off:

this is your moment on stage, with the space around you as a canvas you can try drawing pictures and words reflecting the light from walls for a softer effect drawing in different locations in the depth of field (for instance start close to the lens and swirl out into the background) outline objects and silhouettes be sure to have fluid motion at medium speed, and don’t spend too much time in one area or you may overexpose that section of the photograph (it will be too bright)

Hope this starter is helpful, but the key to success is experimentation, and it is up to you to do and create your original light painting aesthetic.

photography by Scotty Bara Alex Lenail Bradford Thorne Masha Andreyeva [29]

S P OT LIGHT

DANDIYA

EXPLORING INDIAN CULTURE

GEORGE LIU

When Viv asked me to be a board member of the Indian Culture Club, I laughed. The idea of having a Chinese person being vice president of the Indian Culture Club is pretty funny.

Of course Viv was a good friend of mine, and being part of a club sounded like fun, so I said yes. At first I didn’t think the Indian Culture Club was gonna be a hassle, but it surprisingly took a good amount of my time. Our club meets every Thursday at Luncwh in room 1708 and we actually have a lot of things in our club that we want accomplished. In Milpitas there is an exotic place called the Indian Community Center, which helps us with many of our Indian Culture Club activities. They gave us free tickets to an Indian dance for up to 20 people.

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DANDIYA

The type of dance was a Dandiya, which is an old Indian folk dance that incorporates the use of hitting sticks together to the rhythm of old Indian folk music. To be honest, it doesn’t sound nearly as fun as it actually is. Getting people to go to our little Indian dance party proved to be a lot more of a hassle than what we expected, mostly because nobody wanted to go(not surprising). To make matters worse, our club advisor Ms.O’shea cancelled on us, and we had to find a last minute replacement. Lucky for us, our amazing photography teacher Mrs. Wixsom was able to fill in and chaperone for us. We were able to get about 13 people to go through guilt and friendship and the offer of authentic Indian curry. The Dandiya event turned out to be loads of fun and everyone had a blast. Even though we had our ups and downs, the Indian Culture Club will continue to flourish and prosper.

photography by george liu margo wixsom

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S P OT LIGHT

DESIGNING YOUR BUBBLE Masha Andreyeva

In high school and in college, a student’s room is a canvas of space, and it is the student who is the artist. It’s a place where self-expression extends itself into an encapsulating microenvironment custom-tailored for our own mighty fine taste. It’s our physical bubble of thoughts, memories, and personal tokens. Not only does the act of designing our rooms obviously expand our creative abilities, it also shapes the way our room affects us. The art we create by personalizing these bubbles of ours plays a sneaky role on our psychology, moods, and well-being. Although there are given limits, like wall regulations or parental laws, it’s of most importance to work around them and take advantage of the space we do have to ourselves both at home and in the dorm. With no further ado, we’d like to share some creative ideas for the design of your own little environment.

Style: Deciding on one style helps your room stay organized and aesthetically fresh—you choose whether you prefer raw modernism or warm vintage depending on what you like and how you want to feel.

- modern creates a sense of order necessary in a busy students life—it plays with bold shapes and colors that catch your attention and boost your motivation.

- vintage or bohemian could work if you prefer a comfortable retreat designated for relaxation and a sense of calm.

- keep it cohesive and reflective of your lifestyle.

C o l o r:

It’s much more than an aesthetic element. It’s been proven that certain colors predispose us to feeling specific emotions, and knowing how you would like to feel in your room should be reflected in the colors you choose.

Art :

fresh green: stimulates motivation, focus, composure, peace yellow: activates memory, nervous system, creativity, optimism orange: welcoming. boosts energy as well as appetite red: arousing--increases heart rate, blood pressure, & irriability blue: cool, calming, but can be overwhelming in large doses neutrals: inviting, warm, relaxing, and visually organic

Put thought into how you fill your space and make your room meaningful and inspiring. walls: play with proportion: blow up a favorite photo to poster size--it makes a bigger statement

get album art from vinyl covers from flea markets designate a frame or corckboard for posting small photos, concert ticketse, & personal tokens that would normally create a random clutter on the wall buy prints from local artists, friends, or benevolent organizations, like helpink.org include creativity posters and calendars

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objects: use authentic souvenirs as 3D art pieces

create removable masking tape murals

include plants or terrariums to promote well-being

be sure to include interactive functional pieces, like travel maps and brainstorming boards

use fabrics: scarves, throws, rugs

lean canvas painting against the wall for a sense of dimension and variation

use books as sources of color and create book stack sculptures perhaps with snarky bookholders upcycle old objects and jars into containers and art

INTERIOR

Idea Resources: CB2 fokal.com thefancy.com design-milk.com behance.net

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Dido-Aeneas/778300

AlmapBBD

photography by Masha Andreyeva [33]

THEATRE Keturah Beaumont

Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes of a play? Who manages the lights, the props? Ever wonder how the forest turns into a castle in the blink of an eye? All of your questions about how the magic behind the scene is created can be answered in one word: “Techs”. Paly’s very own theatrical technicians and their dedicated parents are the very backbone of the theater program here at Paly. The tasks are endless, including, but not limited to, brilliant lighting, intricate costumes, magnificent make-up, and lifelike set designs.

This year’s production, the musical, Into the Woods demonstrates the ability and diligence of our Techs, who have worked endlessly to make this year’s productions no less than spectacular. Their work has enhanced your experience, as an audience, to be as awe-inspiring as the acting itself, the little details that our Techs work tirelessly on make the production all the more extraordinary. We would be lost without our Techs and all their efforts to compliment and accentuate the labours of our exceptional actors and wonderful director, Ms. Woods. Michael Najar comments on the importance of our collaboration and community spirit while working together to create the ultimate storytelling experience, stating that “theater has a long history of collaboration between stage craft and acting and without it, it would not be possible to make a great performance,” which we strive for with every production.

Actors, although deserving of much praise for their talent and courage, are often seen as the sole divisors of a production’s greatness, however, we would like to take a moment to show our appreciation for the devoted student crew, teachers, and parents who commit themselves wholeheartedly in order to guarantee success and overall excellence of every production Paly puts forth to produce.

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MUSIC Hilda Huang

When the football team travels down to play in the state finals, the cheerleaders go too. But so do the over eighty musicians that are comprised of the all-volunteer pep band, and who left Palo Alto at 5:00 a.m. the day of the 2010 California Interstate Federation football state championship game to warm-up their fingers and instruments to cheer on the Vikings to a win.

Palo Alto High School’s instrumental music department nurtures over 150 musicians in the woodwind, string and brass instruments, comprising the Symphonic and Concert Bands and the Orchestra. Musicians also have the option to play in the Jazz ensembles, as well as the spirited pep band. Annual participation in the CMEA festival has earned both the Symphonic Band and the Orchestra numerous accolades, including unanimous superior titles for both groups in the last four years.

But Paly musicians play more than just many substantial student arrangements of popular crowd-pleasers from Lady Gaga. Literature ranges from the classic Bach orchestral suites, Mozart symphonies and standard band repertoire to Pokemon theme song arrangements, improv jam sessions and Jazz works. This year also marked the inaugural collaboration between Orchestra and the Choir, as they joined to perform one of Handel’s Missa Brevis at the end of October in 2012.

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THE ARTS

CHOIR IN ITALIA Mehr Sikri

This past summer, Palo Alto High School choir students went on a trip to Europe to showcase their talent and to visit some of the most well known destinations.

“The trip was awesome hands down,” junior Theodore Hu said. “We had super talented seniors, so I felt really honored to sing with them in one of the most musically centered places in the world before they went off to college.”

The students traveled a great amount during the trip, giving them a tremendous scope for understanding and appreciating the different areas and the varying cultures.

“We started the trip just outside Venice in Venezia Mestre for two days and went to Venice to see all the wonderful sights,” junior Emma Noroian said. “Then we were in Florence for three days where we saw all the different piazzas and some museums and had lots of free time. After that we were in Rome for the last three days where we visited the Colosseum and Vatican city and so much more.”

As the choir group traveled through Europe, the students experienced similar feelings and reactions to their surroundings, but they each remembered different performances as the most memorable of the trip.

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CHOIR

“The most memorable performance for me was in a small, very decorated church,” junior Lia Jundt said. “The conductor of the church choir didn’t speak a lick of English, but we could all tell how excited he was about us being there. The whole time we were singing, he was dancing and conducting to the side. That made what we were singing seem really important; it brought one man so much happiness.”

In addition to singing, the choir group enjoyed exploring various places and submerging themselves into different cultures.

“Besides singing, Italy was so full of history--it was so cool to visit the Colosseum and imagine where the gladiator battles took place or walk on the Elysian Fields,” Hu said. “We took rides through Venice on gondolas and visited the huge Duomo in the middle of Florence. Our group saw the David statue (by Michelangelo) up close as well as his other works, which seemed like they wanted to come to life.”

During some reflection, students thought about the purpose of their trip and some believed the trip was meant as an chance to explore a new place.

“The purpose of the trip was just to have an adventure and experience an entirely new culture and sing in a very magical place, where some of the music we sing was written originally and we shared American traditional music, such as spirituals,” Noroian said.

Others considered the trip more about the feel of the music itself.“We went to Italy because Italy is one of the main capitals of music in the world,” Hu said. “They say Venice is synonymous with music.”

“The purpose of the trip was to go and share music with people from other countries who speak different languages,” said Jundt.

Overall, the students considered the trip educational and inspiring, a positive experience and an adventure away from high school. Some especially remember the trip for the performances, others remember the trip for the amount of culture that was absorbed, and yet others remember the trip for the experience of visiting a new area while doing a favorite activity.

“My favorite experience is a tie between the boat ride back from visiting Venice where someone started singing and we all just joined in, and singing in a church after an Italian children’s choir,” Noroian said.

“All the parents and kids and just everyone looked so happy to hear us sing and they were all much more enthusiastic than the parents here.”

photography by Michael Najar [37]

S P OT LIGHT

aly

as a

LOCAL

SAVANNAH MOSS

1.Visit the Opera in Milan and wait in line the afternoon of so you can see the historic opera house without the price or commitment of booking early. You will get to meet some quirky and helpful locals and get a ticket for a tenth of the price. Once the opera starts move seats to get a better view.

2. Experience Venice at night—the tourists and heat fade will into the shadows and the trendy natives will lead the way to the best restaurants and cafes.

3. Watch the World Cup at a local café—it will be the most exciting soccer game you will ever watch. Everyone will be wearing their favorite players’ jersey and screaming in Italian. The night will end in fireworks and wine.

4. Shop the boutiques during the sales.

5. Have breakfast at a local café.

7. Watch a parade and don’t listen to guidebooks.

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ITALY

8. Get late night gelato in Rome.

9. Ride the bus to Pasatan from Serento and almost fall off a cliff.

The only way to see the Almafi coast is from a bus.

11. Visit the Grottos from a boat driven by a local—don’t waste your time with the Blue Grotto. Have Lorenzo bring you to the secret Green Grotto. You will be able to swim in it and lay out on the beach.

12. People watch in Capri—Park yourself at a café in the center of town to watch the Italians display their favorite outfits. Every young person in Capri will come out on Saturday night to show off their own unique styles.

photography by Savannah Moss Kristen Moss

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GALLERY

PAINTING BY ABIGAIL HERNANDEZ

PHOTOGRAPH BY OSKAR EHRENSVARD [41]

GALLERY Congratulations 2013 Scholastic Art Paly Award Winners

Mountain, Neda Hart

Mall Flower, Josie Butler

Smoky Volcano, Daniel Hammerson

A Radial View, Josie Butler

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Walls, Josie Butler

SCHOLASTIC

Poppies, Bryn Sullivan

The Old Ford Out Back, Josie Butler

Sunset on Water, Shaked Rotlevi

Sailing into the Unknown, Clara De Martel

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GALLERY

Technipendent, Masha Andreyeva

Time Keepers, Masha Andreyeva

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Landscape in Tahoe, Conor Burns

Lonely Tree, Paul Phromthong

SCHOLASTIC

Mountain, Neta Hart

Clare Island, Cian Mullen

Flowers in the Windowsill, Josie Butler

Waiting, Cathy Rong

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GALLERY

Leaving a Mark, Sigourney Bengston

Candle Light in the Knight, Josie Butler

Where’s Waldo?, Josie Butler

Birds on a Wire, Nikki Freyermuth

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Alive, Vivaan Bhatia

SCHOLASTIC

Underground, Masha Andreyeva

Traffic Light, Scotty Bara

Light Rider, George Lu

Bright Night Skylines, Stephanie Cong

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GALLERY

Lost Cohesion, Annie Chen

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Fear Woman, Gracie Fang

Geometric Illusion, Gracie Fang

Synapse, Chris Skokowski

Untitled, Ken Shin

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Decayed Man, Annie Chen

GALLERY

Buildings, Nathan Hecthman

Cantaloupe, Nathan Hecthman

Peaches, Nikki Freyermuth

Cooper, Anna Boyce

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Bay Channels, Nathan Hechtman

Beach, Ken Shin

Bouquet, Meera Bhide

Shadows, Meera Bhide

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GALLERY

Sister’s Eye, Oskar Ehrensvard

Illuminated Eye, Vivian Laurence

Shadows, Oskar Ehrensvard

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Lights, Kristina Savvateeva

Untitled, Scotty Bara

Untitled, Ken Shin

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GALLERY

Sky, Kristina Savvateeva

Untitled, Mary Champagne

Untitled, Savannah Moss

Venetia, Prachi Prasad

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Untitled, Claire Marchon

Untitled, Savannah Moss

Untitled, Hilda Huang

Untitled, Alisa Glenn

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GALLERY

Untitled, Hilda Huang

Path to Nirvana, Annie Chen

Untitled, Hilda Huang

Untitled, Rebecca Segars

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Untitled, Hilda Huang Passion, Emily Semba

Self Portrait, Sarah Bramlett

Untitled, Autum Macerno

Glass vase, Martin Ehrensvard

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GALLERY

Man of the Year, Erin Riley

Self Portrait, Abigail Hernandez Egg Box, Oskar Ehrensvard

Self Portrait, Anthony Liu

Still Life, Caroline Nore

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Untitled, Hilda Huang

Scotty, Oskar Ehrensvard

Untitled, Hilda Huang

Hands, Kate Apostolou

Grandma’s Glasses, Oskar Ehrensvard

Unititled, Leslie Cho

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GALLERY

Unititled, Leslie Cho

Ducktape Glove, Oskar Ehrensvard

Spilling Milk, Oskar Ehrensvard

Glass Fruit, Martin Ehrensvard

Technology, Nathan Hechtman

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Yellow Pants, Oskar Ehrensvard

Thinking Upon the Stars, Oskar Ehrensvard

Untitled, Francis Ge Embracing Disorder, Vivian Laurence

Hooves, Leslie Cho

Untitled, Hilda Huang

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GALLERY

Aced, Oskar Ehrensvard

Untitled, Francis Ge

Self-portrait, Oskar Ehrensvard

Tall Glass, Martin Ehrensvard

Figures, Liana Krakirian

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Optimum, Gracie Fang

Energy Valley, Vivian Laurence

Portrait, Aaron Chandler

[63]

GALLERY

Untitled, Scotty Bara

Untitled, Lauran Kerr

Keyboard Keys, Oskar Ehrensvard

Untitled, Hilda Huang

Untitled, Erin Riley

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Feminine Machine, Vivian Laurence

Untitled, Hilda Huang

Typewriter, Francis Ge

Drapery, Lauren Kerr

[65]

GALLERY

Droplets, Anna Boyce

Orangutans in Borneo, Indonesia, Ana Sofia Amieva-Wang

Br没l茅e, Anna Boyce

Veins, Amanda Fu

Greek, Katie Faulkner

[66]

Untitled, Savannah Moss

Still Life, Katie Faulker

Isolation, Annie Chen

Mutation, Alisa Glenn

[67]

GALLERY

Angels, Amanda Fu

Still Life, Amanda Fu

Mountain, Claire Marchon

Figure, Elani Gitterman

Man, Alexander Jenson

[68]

Perfect Yet?, Erin Riley

Moon, Meera Bhide

Still Life, Kate Apostolou

Girl, Kristina Savvateeva

Camaderie, Abigail Hernandez

Skeleton, Sarah Bramlett

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[proof]

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