Iprobable Monument Pt:2

When I first came across this monument I acted like the multitude of people that pass by it on a day to day basis, taking no note of its meaning, paying no attention to its existence, the monument had just became an object in your path that you avoided bumping into. When I actually took the time to notice the labor and craftsmanship that went into making the bust I began to notice the scratches, dents and tarnished marks that were purposely made and also accidently- probably from the regular drunkards that took a break and leaned on the statue or smashed a bottle against it.Like the small and slow-paced town it was founded in, the statue was old and had its history and yet it was unexposed to its surroundings and was paid too little of attention to, to be truly appreciated.

As I began to gaze at the monument I realized that what I wanted to change about it related to a meaning that had far to do with what originally the monument was made for. However because I realized that this is about what we want to do with the monuments and there are no limits I began to seek a way to augment the bust in a way the spoke to the community and supported the LGBT individuals inside it.

Being a bisexual teenager in a small sheltered town was not as easy as I expected it to be, unfortunately living in a home with a homosexual father strongly embedded in his catholic faith wasn’t quite as easy either. Confiding into anyone was out of the question because even my closest friends couldn’t grasp the concept of homosexuality or even the concept of being attracted to the same sex.

How I would come about starting this alteration process would to first raise the money for my supplies and tools. Fortunately I have numerous friends and family members that have heavy duty machinery and plenty of work space to create my pieces. To raise the money I would promote my idea to friends and family and fellow teachers that supported me and my work during high school .

6 monumental ideas

The first concept was to create a globe with two flags spThe first concept was to create a globe with two flags speared into it, the first flag being the city emblem and the second flag being the rainbow flag symbolizing the LGBT community

The second concept was to create two flags for the men to hold between their fists

The third concept was to have the men pulled apart holding the gay flag between them with a written statement placed below pertaining to the fight and demand for equality for the LGBT community among the rest of the towns people

The fourth concept was to have the men painted in drag queen make up style and decorated in “drag-queen” like attire

The fifth concept was to make the men look as androgynous as possible, more so in a way to make the general public wonder about weather or not they’re gender is truly that important.

The sixth and final concept I came up with was to have both the men leaning in and about to kiss while their hands, that were once in a tight clenched grip, are then caressing each others cheeks

Improbable Monument: Part 1

                       

 




The Bill Soberane's Monument

Analysis: 

The monument is a bronze sculpture capturing the bulging biceps,pertruding veins that symbolize the teamwork and partnership between Bill Soberane and his business partner Dave Devoto. Bill was the founder of Petaluma's Worl Wrestling Championships, witch put both th sport and the town on the map. For 59 years Soberanes was newspaper columnist for the "Petlauma Argus-courier" which also gave hi mthe edge to open up the sport to the community and to the neighboring towns, which then quickly spread throughout the county, then state, and soon enough the world. The first Petaluman wrist-wrestling match was held in Gilardi's Bar in the early 1950's with Oliver Kolberg defeating Jack Homer. Soon enough the win and the boasting spread state and worldwide and the the first World Wrestling Championship happened in 1962. 

This monument is found on a very busy main road in Petaluma, CA. It is specifically found at the corner of East Washington St. and Petaluma Blvd North. Hundreds to thousands of cars drive by this piece everyday while everyone is on their way to dropping of their kids at school, on their way to and from work and even running errands, Personally i have passed this statue numerous times, so many times i wouldnt be able to count, but i realized what history i was simply missing and overlooking, how one simple and yet humble man from a small and humbling town was able to create such an impact in history and even the world through just his passion for a sport and life choice. It makes you think about how long you have lived in a town and although you begin to believe that you have seen everything from one end to the other, you are still missing so much and have yet to learn where you really were raised and have come from.


Intervention/Alteration:


 As i began to look at this piece numerous things began to pop in my head about what to alter and change and some changes didn't even have to do with the significance of one many changing the world through a hobby/sport or passion instead it got me to think about my "small" and "humbling" town and how even though its only 45 minutes away from a fast paced, "hustle-bustle" city, the people in this town are so naive and inexperienced to the ways of people unlike themselves. What Im getting at are the simplicity of the people in my town, how they cant even talk about "gays", "homosexuals", "lesbians" to bring up the topic was basically something "ungodly". The kids that i grew up with were predominately white and were either hicks or skater kids or punks, and thats it!!. And it wasnt until this year and these past few months that a few of my close friends from high school have 'come out' and opened up to me and our group of friends about being wither bisexual or homosexual! 7 years after the beginning of our friendship!!! its insane to think about how your closest friends were still scared and timid to trust the people they were surrounded by, but i dont blame them because to take on such a load in such a small and closed minded town, let alone a small and close minded Catholic High School would be a lot to take on and ask yourself a lot for. 

1. So to lead to my first altercation I saw not two men grasping fists and leaning to take the other one down; i saw two men leaning in and kissing while carressing each others faces. and strong statement below empowering  and demanding people to expand their horizons and learn from the people around them and to accept them in any way shape or form. 

2. the second alteration were the two men holding a globe between there hands symbolizing how a a leadership and a partnership allowed them to take on and conquer the world.

3. The third alteration was the two men grasping 3 flags ; one flag with the city emblem, the second being a rainbow flag, and the third being a flag of the globe.  

"Seeing the past..." review

In Paula Levine's article she makes a point that as beings in a fast paced and high rushed world we overlook the minor and major landmarks and accomplishments that built us as we are today as a society. We tend to overlook and subconsciously avoid the history that "defies physics" and "shakes up our perspectives". Monuments are landmarks of history that educate any age group and culture. We can learn from another and from those in the past, possibly making a wiser choice in the everyday decisions that we can make today and tomorrow. Not only are they historical landmarks but they are pieces of art that convey a story, a feeling, a purpose  and an idea. They are the symbols of modern day and past artists speaking/expressing their perspectives and points of view for others to observe and basically build their own opinion/perspective off of that initial piece.

Mining New Territories

Breaking down the process of handling and dealing with OCD and the main components of what seem to be my current/ daily issues.

A Situational/Circumstance System ^_^

i decided to create a system of my daily process for getting up and getting ready for work. This a a lengthy process for me because there is a lot of "care" i do for myself, more for the piercings and facial care, surprisingly enough i never put make up on so this saves me 15 minutes of my morning and i also dont do anything with my hair. i have a beleif that when you get ready to work you dont prep yourself for a date or an outing! when you do it takes away from your work ethic and determination. The only leisurely thing i do in the morning is either change my piercings and get myself a Soy Chae Tea Latte to enjoy on my walk to work.

A Surfer's Dream Come True

Rock Running is a form of hypoxic training to increase lung capacity. It forces your body to learn how to work better even when the regular, consistent supply of oxygen isn't available.

Preliminary drawing : gills 

shark gills

Anatomy & function of gills

For my augmented body project I decided to alter my body in a way that I saw benefiting me in a 'fun' and yet functional way. What inspired me to create gills is my new hobby in surfing and the training regiments that I partake in to better myself as a swimmer and surfer. Those exercises consist of training the lung to increase in lung capacity and to train the body to function when consistent air supply isn't available. So i came about the idea of having gills to eliminate the training and risks of being caught under a wave for too long and not being able to come up for air. Basically, being able to breath under water allows the surfer to paddle faster and consistently without having to duck beneath the wave, but basically paddle right through it, and to most importantly avoid the main concern of drowning when the surfer is caught beneath waves and cant resurface for air.

Augmented Body Research

Foot Binding:
         From the late 10th century to the mid 20th century foot binding was an intense cultural practice pushed among young girls and middle aged Chinese women that are wealthy and in the upper class, this practice was a  representation of their freedom from manual labor.  It eventually became very popular because the Chinese men believed it was "attractive"because they would have narrower and slender, dainty feet. there were even variations in which the process was done to bind the feet and prevent foot growth. Some ways required breaking of the bones, and other ways required a slow bending process by wearing tiny specially curved shoes.
         By 1874 Christian woman called an end for the practice in order to promote equality in between the sexes. These woman and even men from other religious practices and tribes believed that the practice was basically a sin because it violated the creation of god.


Brass Coil Neck Rings
          Woman from the Kayan Lahwi have worn these neck rings that elongate their necks from the birth of their tribe. the reasons for wearing and adding on rings through growth are for physical appeal and sexual dimorphism, to allow woman to have more slender necks. it was also believed that it allowed woman to have more of a "dragon" appearance since the dragon was an important figure in Kayan Folklore. As far as today, the woman have began to remove the coils in order to protest the cultural exploitation and to break away from the restrictions that came with it

Logo Heist

Hurley is a youth lifestyle brand rooted in surfing, skate, music and art. in my experience I have seen this label be represented with young adults and teens partying hard like there's no tomorrow and "living on the edge" with their "hardcore" lifestyles. So basically when i think of a 'Hurley' i see an image of young teens at a skate park, beach or run down house drinking till they "Hurled".

Indeterminacy assignment-Group Project with Arturo Najera

1. Post on Facebook

2. Paint a swatch of the color(s) the person has chosen. if the person comments on the conversation but does not post a color, leave the color blank, but still acknowledge the post with the time and persons name. 

3. make a grid and chart chronologically in order by time, all the posts on team mates facebook post and self post

GRL- Graffiti Research Lab

Revolutionary. As our surroundings change so does the youth in our nation, they grow and adapt, the world is becoming a fast paced technology-dependent and tech-savvy population. In return a new source of urban-communication has developed in response to the growth of our Cyber-age. In this site a group of outspoken individuals, Evan Roth, James Powderly and the agents of the G.R.L, have come together using their knowledge and skills to create a new modernized outbreak of "everyday" graffiti. Laser point graffiti has truly caught my eye and apparently everyone else in Europe has been aware of this kind of technology for years now, one person even stated that GRL is like "Hasselhof big", at first their fan base stretched out to most of the eastern side of the world; Spain, Italy, Austria, London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, etc. and recently their followers and practice has spread to the states and most western hemisphere! They have even be asked to produce their work on media films like on rapper videos and radical art galleries.http://www.graffitiresearchlab.com/blog/

BRAF- Black Rock Arts Foundation

"The mission of the Black Rock Arts Foundation is to support and promote community, interactive art and civic participation."

BRAF was founded by numerous individuals that founded and help produce the well known social gathering and cultural event 'Burning Man'. These individuals organized numerous community-involved art projects in the Nevada dessert, and immediately decided to expand their capabilities and projects outside of the Nevada desert, when they quickly realized how these immense and gigantic projects brought the community together and how it invited individuals "to interact with both the work itself and the community at large". The pieces that have already been made through the surrounding communities are absolutely stunning and such a proactive way to keep young individuals involved in projects outside of their daily lives as well as being a part of of something that literally landmarks their work and ultimately beautifying their cities. http://blackrockarts.org/