16
The Tide
ARTS
November 2014
Emmanuel Porquin mixes athleticism with artistic ability by Christa Karim If you have heard of senior Emmanuel Porquin, then you may know him as the guy who runs track. However, many people are not aware that his passions extend beyond the track; Emmanuel thrives in the world of art as well. Emmanuel has been pursuing art since he was young, his sister Genisis Porquin being his inspiration. “When I was younger, I would always doodle characters and thought that if I honed my skills, I could be as good of an artist as my sister,” recalled Emmanuel. Emmanuel is now in his second year of AP Studio Art here at RM, and usually works on one project every week to ensure he has enough pieces for his portfolio by the end of the year, increasing his chances of scoring a five on the AP test. Emmanuel said, “It’s a tight schedule but I endure it, by the end of the year I have a portfolio filled with amazing work.” The plethora of support Emmanuel gets from his teachers encourages him to do his best work and still get it in on time. “My wonderful teachers Mrs. Stanton and Mrs. Posey give me advice on how to make a piece better or ideas on how to make the piece more complete. I’m making progress at a rapid
pace but still Emmanuel dedon’t feel scribed, “The bold rushed enough lines and warm to just throw a colors of the hawk random piece stand out against together at the the soft space backlast minute.” ground, yet there However, is still a connection when Emmanbetween the two. uel works on a This connection piece at his own gives it a sense of pace, he can mystery and other spend up to a worldly vibe. It is month drawing a hawk entailed and revising his with a fierce spirit art before being that in a sense consatisfied. nects it to the highEmmanuel est heavens.” is drawn to Emmanuel is animals, and waiting to fill his PHOTO BY NANCY JIN portfolio up with thrives to present a different “Deficit Clock” uses a variety of artistic themes. his best work side of their characteristics people do not before he plans on selling anything. Until usually see. This is part of the reason his then, his pieces can be viewed whenever art form of choice is surrealism, a twentieth the AP classes have art shows, or possicentury art form in which an artist com- bly on an instagram account (@Emanzart) bines unrelated images or events in a very Emanuel has been contemplating making strange and dreamlike way. for his artwork. Emmanuel said, “My concentration is Emmanuel is leaning towards going to based on spirit animals and connecting American University because of its exceltheir environment and characteristics to lent track program and its successful coach, those of a human. I am interested in that Matt Centowitz Sr. particular art form because it can tell a Because a lot of good art schools don’t variety of stories and each person can in- have Division One sports teams, Emmanuterpret the piece in their own way.” el struggles to find a balance between both “Space Hawk”, his fa- his athletic desires and artistic desires. vorite work of art that he However, Emmanuel said, “If I didn’t has created, took him two run track I would probably put all my atweeks to create, adding tention into art.”. feeling and meaning to Although Emmanuel is already an the piece with each pass- amazing artist, he still finds himself iming day. proving every day. “My favorite media “Space Hawk” is would be drawing because I have been told a drawing made with that I have good designing skills. But I’ve sharpies, pens, colored only been painting for three years and over pencils, and pastels. those three years I have seen my painting
PHOTO BY MADDIE FRANKE
skills improve.” said Emmanuel. Looking at the artwork itself, however, it is almost impossible to tell that he has been painting for such a short amount of time. The talent evident in his works makes it seem like he has worked on his art for much longer time than expected. Occasionally, athletes can be stereotyped as people without artistic abilities. Emmanuel completely breaks that stereotype. Emmanuel mixes his athleticism with his artistic ability, and is determined to dedicate time to both his two passions. Although a majority of Emmanuel’s time is dedicated to track, he still works incredibly hard on his art, and his efforts pay off in the overall quality of his work. Emmanuel will probably be going to a school with a better track program than art program, as it is difficult to find a school that has equally challenging programs fit for such a many talented person as Emmanuel. However, he will still make an effort to put as much attention as possible into his art, and we will be seeing pieces by Emmanuel Porquin in many art shows in the future.
PHOTO BY NANCY JIN
“Space Hawk” uses a surrealist method.
Marvel’s success continues with announcement of Phase 3 by Jessica Ji and Stella Ho “I’m no prophet, but I’m guessing that comic books will always be strong,” stated Stan Lee, creator of Marvel Comics in an interview with Broadweek. His guess proved to be true – his comic books have garnered worldwide fame and the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie franchise has grossed over $7 billion dollars since the release of “Iron Man” in 2008. With the announcement of the next nine movies in the Marvel franchise, the comic book hype has never been greater. “Iron Man” marked the beginning of a new era of superhero movies. Unlike previous movies, it had a unique blend of humor, action, and complex character storylines that kept critics pleased and audiences coming back for more, a trend that continues in all of Marvel’s subsequent big screen efforts. “I love the dynamic character development in Marvel movies,” said freshman William Liu. With the commercial and critical success of “Iron Man”, Marvel was able to kick off Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which culminated in “Marvel’s The Avengers” in 2012. For the first time, GRAPHIC BY NANCY JIANG superheroes from different movies - such as Captain
America, Iron Man, Black Widow, and the Hulk - were brought together as a team, generating excitement for casual movie watchers and comic book fans alike. The movie catapulted into the box office and into the hearts of audiences, cementing Marvel’s spot in the film industry for many years to come. The movies in Phase Two, which commenced after the events of “The Avengers”, placed a focus on more relevant issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder in “Iron Man 3” (2013) and politics in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014). “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” was also notable for its inclusion of Falcon, the first African-American superhero in the franchise. The next film in Phase Two, “Avengers: Age of Ultron”, is slated for release on May 1, 2015. It will bring back together the same team of superheroes from “The Avengers”, but promises a much darker tone than its predecessor. The film will feature Ultron, a villainous robot created by Iron Man himself, who plans to eradicate the human race as the Avengers struggle to stop him. Two new characters, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, will be brought into “Avengers: Age of Ultron” along with the original team. However, both Marvel and director Joss Whedon have been criticized for hiring white actors to portray these two characters, who are half-Romani and half-Jewish in the comics. The studio has heeded the call for increased diversity, and the nine films announced for Phase Three promise more racial and gender diversity. Arguably one of the most important films announced was “Black Panther”, scheduled for a 2017 release. “Black Panther” marks the first Marvel movie with an
African American lead, breaking Marvel’s Marvel plans to split this installment current trend of hiring mostly white men into two parts, with part one slated for reto headline their films. The film promises to lease in 2018 and part two for 2019. Marinclude more diversity with the B l a c k vel’s biggest effort yet will be the climax Panther hailing from the of a storyline that has been set up since the fictional African nation of end of the “The Avengers”. Wakanda. Other movies that have been an The introduction of nounced include “Doctor Strange” (2016), this hero is a major posi“Guardians of the Galaxy 2” (2017), “Thor: tive development for MarRagnarok”, and “Inhumans” (2018). vel, who had previously It is inevitable that the universe will only cast African American expand beyond Phase 3, and Marvel characters in supporting Studios have already released teasroles. er trailers and exclusive The Black Panther is rescenes to generate hype portedly also going to make for upcoming projects. an appearance in the upcomBased on the perforing film, “Captain America: Civil mance of previous MarWar” (2016). In particular, this third vel films, the commerinstallment in the Captain America cial success of Phase 3 franchise has instigated much of the is almost guaranteed. hype, as it promises fans an exciting con“Marvel movies are flict of epic proportions between Captain a lot of fun to just America and Iron Man. watch with your Another important decision made by friends and have Marvel Studios was the announcement of a good time.They a “Captain Marvel” film, scheduled for redo have problems, lease in 2018. The introduction of Captain which can’t be igMarvel marks the first Marvel superhero nored, but the majormovie with a female lead. “I think this is ity of them are very really great news. It’s a huge step forentertaining and ward for Marvel,” said sophomore allow you to not GRAPHIC BY NANCY JIANG Erica Lin. think too hard The only major female superhero in while watching them,” said junior Matias the established Marvel Cinematic Universe Cardinale. thus far is Black Widow. “Captain MarThere are still many more of Stan Lee’s vel”, however, will promote the idea that comics to translate onto the screen, but for women are just as capable as men of saving now, Marvel knows how to keep their fans the world, and will help tear down the per- satisfied. “Honestly, I want them to keep ception that superheroes movies should be doing what they’re doing,” said freshman catered more towards men than to women. Ryla Cantergiani. Just like its superheroes, The third installment of the Aveng- Marvel Studios is always looking towards ers franchise was also announced, titled the future, giving viewers something to “Avengers: Infinity War”. watch, year after year.