Artist: Kiyomi Fukui

Exhibition: Apologetic Garden

Media: Fiber arts, printmaking, graphic design

Website: http://www.kiyomifukui.com

Instagram: Kiyomimiz

Kiyomi Fukui is an artist who earned her MFA in printmaking at CSULB and her BFA in graphic design from La Sierra University. She has many exhibitions located at different universities and art galleries. Her main interest when creating her work is capture transient intimacy, irrespective of media, according to her website.

Kiyomi showed us her origami piece, and the form she chose was 1000 cranes. Her cranes had crisp folded lines, and the color of the paper she used looked either white or off white. All her folds are straight and the cranes were on the smaller size. It does have an affect on the viewer and the piece when all the cranes are lined up in a row.

When listening to Kiyomi, she explained that the repetition of folding cranes is representing the act of giving a prayer. She said that her and her dad doesn’t have the best relationship but they are working on it. The act of giving a prayer comes from her hoping they can start to understand each other. She also uses art practice as a therapy and it helps her process a lot of her emotions and feelings.

I really enjoyed listening to Kiyomi Fukui speak about her work. I liked how she told us personal stories and how she ties it into her art. It makes it seem like she is very passionate about it and puts a lot of heart and soul into what she creates. If I ever have a chance to visit one of her exhibits, I would definitely take the opportunity.

1. For this sustainable art activity, my idea was to show that you can make art out of things that right outside in your backyard. I decided to see how I could transform a couple succulents and a flower pot.
2. I used a flower pot, dirt, succulents, and flower decorative stake.
3. I do think my piece was able to express my idea. I decided to use a succulents because I wanted to show that you could rearrange and put things together to create something. I decided to put some succulents hanging over the pot and onto the ground to show that there isn’t a limit when creating art. Most times, it’s standard to keep succulents or flowers in a pot, but I thought why not be different and add some longer succulents over the pot.
4. Using succulents influenced my work because it taught me to be careful. Plants are living and fragile. I wanted to make sure I didn’t ruin any of the succulents while I removed them from one pot to put into another.
5. If a kiss is genuine and passionate, I think it should last for however long a person wants it too. It two people who are kissing love each other, then it should last however long it feels right for them.
6. I think a great meal should last 30 minutes. This gives a person time to appreciate what they are eating. When I am eating a great meal, I like to not be distracted and to have time to enjoy it and not rush.
7. I think a work of art should last forever, unless the artists feels otherwise. If someone creates a painting or drawing, they put effort and thought into it, and don’t think someone’s creativity should only last for a certain amount of time. Even if that meant recording or taking a picture of a piece of art, it’ll always be there for someone to look at.
8. I think a marriage should last as long as a couple’s lifetime. Marriage isn’t just something that someone should do unless they 110% know that they want to spend the rest of their life with someone.
9. I think a human life should last 90 years. We only live once, so why not want to live for as long as possible.
10. I think knowing lives and artwork are finite actually make experiences better. I think it helps people appreciate experiences and moments more because we may only get to do certain things once in our lifetime.
11. I think clean water, air, and land should be long lasting. Even though human lives are finite, there will always be new human lives, which means it’s important that everyone life on Earth is living in an environment that has clean water, air, and land.
12. I do think one person can help make a change when it comes to climate change. The simplest thing I can think of is riding a bike instead of driving your car. It may not seem like you’re making an impact, but you definitely are.

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I never knew much about the world of net art. But once I started to explore, I realized that the art world is much bigger than I could have ever imagined. I decided to look at different net artists and see what they are able to create using a computer and technology. First I looked at Eva and Franco Mattes website. One of their pieces of work that I found interesting was the “Personal Photographs”. This was a metal tube bending in different directions with wires inside. It gives the audience an idea of the internet and how it operates into everyone’s day to day life. Next I looked at Petra Cotright, who is another net artist. I was really intrigued by her website and her work. One of her digital pieces that stuck out to me was “The infinite sculpture garden”. There were 20 pieces in this work, and her idea was to portray the boundaries that can be torn with emptiness. And lastly, I found Olia Lialina. Her website was very intriguing, and she had a lot of components to it. One of her pieces that I found was “Crystallize and Emboss. It showed landscape pictures and I thought it was interesting because people never look at the world from up high. We always look at our heigh level. And then if you hovered your mouse over the picture, it would zoom in closer to see more detail which I really enjoyed looking at. Overall, I think the world of net art and artists is very different and unique, and I found it very enjoyable to see what these artists are able to create.

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https://vimeo.com/user112652030/review/406968817/3e5423bee8

1. My goal is this video was to share with my Art 110 classmates the new hobby I have been starting ever since quarantine has happened. I wanted to share my new love for painting.
2. I do think I accomplished my goal. I was able to show everyone my different panting I have done, and I explained why I like painting. It’s a good way for me to relax and get my mind off everything.
3. Next time, it would be cool to vlog myself painting, instead of just showing my paintings. I also think I should’ve talked about my favorite colors I like to paint with.
4. Vlogging was fun and something different, so I do think I might do it again, and maybe share my improvements with my paintings along the way.
5. One of my favorite YouTubers is Tati Westbrook. She is a makeup artist, and I personally have a big love and interest with makeup. I love to explore and work with different colors and techniques. I grew up doing my own makeup for dance, and when I realized I was pretty good at it, I started to love watching makeup videos on YouTube. Tati is really good at makeup and does unbiased reviews on new products, which are very helpful.
6. What’s appealing about Tati is how humble and down to Earth she is about what she does. She really takes the time to make her videos the best that they can be. And of course, she is really good at makeup, and a lot of the techniques I use are stuff that I got from watching her videos. I have also been able to discover new products from her channel. She posts 3 times a week so I always have something to look forward to watching.
7. Lessons that I can take from Tati is to me confident and not care what others think. If you are passionate about something, share it. Don’t be embarrassed or ashamed. Because your passion or interests can spark the same in others.
8. Authenticity is the quality of being original and authentic. When someone is authentic, they are showing their real selves. They are showing their true personalities. When someone is authentic, it shows in the way they present themselves, and you can tell if one is passionate about something because when they talk about it, it seems so natural for them.
9. I think performance is catering to a certain form of entertainment, genre, or audience. Performance is scripted. For example, when I had a dance performance, we learned a dance and practiced for many months to perfect it. But with improv, a dancer can organically create movement on the spot. Performance may not always portray someone for who they are.
10. I think authenticy and performance are different, but they can also be the same. They are different because authenticity is, for the most part, always true, but performance is most likely fake. However, I do think they are similar because someone can be a performer, such as for plays and shows, but have a passion for it. So their love for performing can be authentic.
11. I think both videos of Jennifer Aniston are authentic, but in different ways. In the video with the live audience, you can tell that she is enjoying herself, and although she’s probably more energetic on live tv, she still seemed to be enjoying what she was talking about. In the video of her at home, it was also authentic because you were able to see a more calm, at home version of her, without a live audience. But she knew that the video at home would still be seen by many people. So although she acted different in both, it was still authentic.

Artist: Heather Anacker and Krista Feld

Exhibition: Dwelling

Media: Fiber Art

Gallery: Gatov Galleries East and West

Heather Anacker and Krista Feld are both students as CSULB. Together, they are working on their BFA in Fiber Arts. Both are extremely passionate about their work, and their goal is to spread the appreciate of Fiber Arts. They like to explore ideas that will portray a message to their viewers. They want to show spaces where they create their work and are able to create art that they are passionate about.

The gallery that they created had many pieces and components. There are Fiber art tools that are hung up on the wall. And when you walk in, there is a mantle with different scents in jars, to add to the experience. Each piece is unique and has a personal meaning to Heather and Krista. They had sewing machines from their grandmas, and aprons and tools that they make to create their work. One of my favorite parts of their gallery was their own working space. One was a small room with shelves, and the other was a woven hanging pod. It’s interesting to see what they created how why they personally like to work in spaces like that. The woven pod was grey, and the small pop up room was pink and white.

The ideas they are trying to create is that they wanted their gallery to be a space for people to come and see how Fiber Art is created. And to allow other people to have a space for their ideas to be created. They added pots of food to their gallery to share the experience of what they eat when they are in their studio creating Fiber Art. They wanted their viewers to see how they experience their art making and the processes they go through and the environment they are in.

I was very pleased with seeing Heather and Krista’s gallery. I have never seen anything like that so it was interesting to see someone recreate a space to make Fiber Art. I am personally not too familiar with fiber art so it was really eye opening to see people who are so passionate about it. I would have loved to see the gallery in person, and it’s making me realize there are various types of art that I want to learn more about.

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I really enjoyed my experience when I drew the map of CSULB. Once I got a clear outline of the map, I was able to easily fill in all the building. It was very therapeutic because once I started remembering the building and where everything was placed, then I started to remember everything else. It was interesting because I have looked at the map before online, and with the help of remembering how the campus looks, I was able to mostly draw the full map. When I did the automatic drawing activity, my brother helped me out. I kept my pencil still while he turned the paper. I didn’t know what to expect or how my design would turn out. It was interesting because the design could change depending on how the paper is being turned.

I was very pleased with how my CSULB map turned out. There were a couple things I didn’t remember, but for the most part, I was able to fit everything on the map. Once I finished my map, I started to remember small details that I didn’t have room for, like the streets surrounding the campus, the dorms, and more of the buildings behind the library that’s on upper campus. For my automatic drawing, I wish my drawing looked a little different, but it as very organic, so I wasn’t worried too much about it. I would definitely like to draw the map again just to see more of what I can remember.

Artist: Mahsa Soroudi

Exhibition: Inner Fragments

Media: Painting

Website: https://www.7500miles.org/curators

Mahsa Soroudi is an artist who was born and raised in Tehran. When she got married, she moved with her husband to Malaysia , and now they live in Southern California. After listening to her interview, Mahsa is very passionate about her origins and where she is from, and she takes pride in that in her work. She likes to explore different ideas and show her audience what it’s like for women living in Iran.

Mahsa’s first piece that is shown in the interview is of her planted succulents. One of them in in a tray with different compartments, and the other is in a pot. The colors of the succulents are light green, and then there is the brown soil that it’s planted in. Her other work that she discussed in the interview is a collaboration with other Iran artists, and all the paintings portray their life in Iran. A lot of the pieces look very abstract and some have various colors, while others are black and white, with a hint of a primary color. I personally think that these pieces convey a very powerful and important message.

Mahsa got her inspiration from culture and where she grew up. She has a personal connection and experience with these other artists because they are all from the same place, and have gone through the same experiences together. The ideas explored in there work is that they want their audience to forget about the stereotypes that most people have on Iranian woman, and to instead look at their art and realize that they are people to, and they shouldn’t be treated any differently, just because of where they are from.

I think Mahsa Soroudi is an inspiration too many women and young girls. I really enjoyed learning about her persona life and where she is from. I don’t think it’s very common for girls and women from Iran to have someone who is willing to break stereotypes. Her message is powerful and her artwork and collaborations really did impress me.

“I was walking all alone one day, you were walking then you saw me standing there, but I didn’t care. Then you came up to me and said you were waiting for this moment cause it was so rare, then I saw you there. You looked me in the eyes but I wanted to know your your intentions, do you belong with me, is it meant to be?”

“Everything is now so perfect, everything is how I want it all to be. I always want to be with you, every sight I wanna see is you. We’re gonna make it through, everything we do.”

“I was walking with you and I stopped, you looked at me and then you smiled, your eyes they shine, you’re a bright light. Then you went and bend down on one knee, and I knew you were the one for me. It’s all so clear, you and be here.”

“Everything is now so perfect, everything is how I want it all to be. I always want to be with you, every sight I wanna see is you. We’re gonna make it through, everything we do.”

1. When I was writing this song, I was trying to think about a couple and their mindsets while keeping their relationship strong. I wanted to make it seem like they met, and then they talked for a little, started dating, and eventually got engaged and married.
2. My process was to first find a tune, then I wanted to figure out how long I wanted the song to be. The first and third verses are similar is size and tune, and same with the second and fourth paragraphs, which was the chorus. Once I got the tune it was easier to start creating the lyrics.
3. It was hard starting it off, but once I started to create lyrics, it was easy to keep adding on. The chorus was the easiest part of the song to write. The hardest part was keeping the first and third paragraphs of the song similar. I had to make sure the tune was the same, and I also had to make sure the lyrics were able to create a story.
4. I think my song writing was successful because I was able to tell a story, and with the chorus, I think it tied everything together. I think if someone were to listen to my song they would understand the concept behind it.
5. I probably won’t write another song. I love and appreciate music but I don’t think I have the passion and talent to create music.
6. If I had to write another song, it would probably be about a breakup. It was fun writing a song about a couple, but I also think since there are so many break up songs it would be easier to get inspiration and I would be able to think of better lyrics.

• For this weeks art activity, I wanted to see if wearing glasses effected how someone perceived me. I wanted to see if they thought I was smart or nerdy (nothing wrong with being either of those things.) I personally don’t think wearing glasses has anything to do with how smart you are, so I was interested to see what other people thought.
• Most people thought I was a business or communication major. I asked them if my glasses affected their answer, and to my surprise, a couple people said yes. No one responded to me out of the ordinary, but it was interesting to see that the glasses did make people think I was smarter.
• My conclusion about this experiment is that there are stereotypes even with small things. Some people still thought I was a business major because of my glasses. Or some just thought I was smarter in general. I told them my major was speech-language pathology and some were surprised. I think it’s important that we don’t judge a book by its cover, because the idea or opinions you have of someone can be completely different from how they actually are.

1. I chose this idea because I wanted to share with people the importance of being thankful that we live in a first world country. Most people, including myself, take for granted the things I do have, especially food. I took a picture of my pantry to show that I have access to food, however, I easily forget that not everyone in this world has easy access to food.
2. I hope to communicate to people that it’s important not take the food we can easily get for granted. I work at Trader Joes, and every time I work I always notice that most people buy a ton of groceries at once. I am lucky enough to still live at home with my parents and am able to save a lot of money that way. But I always think to myself, if I lived on my own, I would never be able to buy as much groceries as some people do on a daily. I am fortunate to have parents who still provide me with groceries, and that I’m also able to help them out whenever it’s needed. Not only are there people in other countries who don’t have easy access to food as we do, but there are also people in our community who need help getting food.
3. I think I was pretty successful because after talking with my friends, they also agreed that they take the food they have for granted. This topic is something that most people might think about from time to time. I’m hoping people look and this and take a moment to realize that there’s always people who have it worse that we do, and that there’s people who have worse living conditions.
4. If I had to do this project different, I would’ve liked to take a picture of a video of a local food bank. I think it’s important that we donate do the less fortunate when we can. It would have been a great way to also show that people work and volunteer to make sure that everyone in our community has access to food.
5. If I had to explore another idea through shocking art, I would like to do something about the lives of people who are in the military. I personally know someone who’s in the military and although they love what they do and they love fighting for our country, being away from family and friends can take a mental toll on someone.