mayaquinnscloud

[mayaquinnscloud]

Artists statement

I knew I really wanted to take something from the short story Sabrina and Corina, that one just struck me as very heart breaking and I could see all of it so vividly in my head.  I think the part where Sabrina was finding this to be a humorous story and Corina was horrified by it just shows the two different worlds these girls were living in.  I could feel the pain Corina was going through where she grew up with her cousin and loved her so much but the two girls priorities and lives took them in two different directions.  I felt the kind of guilt Sabrina might have felt for not being able to help her cousin even though it’s out of her control.   I was struggling with coming up with an idea but this passage was very vivid. 

I think the images I chose in the background felt so cold and empty.  It reminded me of the kind of night where people are just making decisions that they know aren't good for their well-being.  It kind of just represents self-destruction and not really thinking into the future. 

I wanted to retouch on the collage portion of the semester because I did an analog collage for that project.  I wanted to give digital collage a try. 

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In the book of short stories by Kali Fajardo-Anstine, I found the story Cheeseman Park beautifully written and painfully relatable. For my final project for this class, I wanted to draw attention to this tale. 

My grandparents grew up in North Denver. I know for a fact, that they roll over in their grave each time someone calls it, “the highlands”. For the narrator to begin the story with a shout out to North Denver, immediately caught my attention. But as I continued reading, I shared more similarities with her than I would ever care to admit. 

I also moved to a west coast city for a brief period of time to escape Colorado only to meet a guy that would break my heart and also force me to call 911, just as Liz did when she moved to California only to fall in love with a married man to do the same. When I moved back to Denver, I turned to the comfort in alcohol and other vices to release built up trauma and pain that I had held in. I also found bizarre comfort in meeting strangers and rebelling against my mother.  

I will never forget that period of my life because it was my darkest ever and the reference in the chapter to how Cheeseman Park used to be a cemetery and how I felt close to death in a controlling and toxic relationship. But because of it, I will always appreciate the best moments. The poppies symbolize those moments. Poppies break through the snow after a long, and dark winter. They rise bright orange and strong. 

“Always remember, this is our home” is a quote Liz’s mother says to her about Denver. When I came to Colorado after returning from this dark time in my life, I could feel that message pulsing through my veins. 

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“I kept thinking about that story,” she said. “The one about the devil at the dance. Remember?”

My grandmother told the story often. A beautiful girl disobeys her family by sneaking into a midnight dance. She’s only there for a short time when a good-looking man slinks toward her out of the crowd. She discovers he can dance well, and not just for an Anglo. He twirls her for hours until the girl notices the faces around her, wide-eyed and gape-mouthed. Her arms suddenly burn, then her lower back, and eventually her lips to throat—all the places where the man touched her. She screams as she notices that his feet, like the devil’s, are hooved.

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Doña Sebastiana

Sabrina & Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine shares any new viewer what its like from her eyes and others. During the first chapter titled “Sugar Babies” I was quickly drawn in when the young boys accidently dug up some bones near their town. Further long within the chapter, it was Robbie and his visions that drew in my inspiration for this final work. When Robbie was explaining how he wasn’t scared when he discovered the bones but more so scared of the skeleton lady that was at the foot of hid bed one night. His grandmother explained that he might have seen Doña Sebastiana. In other words, lady reaper. I went and did some more research about this lady reaper and found out that  … “She is more a symbol of mortality and penance, a bleak reminder of our fragile and sinful state. The Aztec figure known as the “Lady of the Dead,” presided over such celebrations…”* This lady reaper is known for protection and watches over those who need it. With this notion I wanted to create what I would think Doña Sebastiana would look like. I also wanted to incorporate some natural Colorado elements.

If I were to take more time on this piece, I would mess around some more with watercolor. It is a hard element and I feel like I could have done better for the boarder and her head piece/hair. I also wish my photos would have picked up on the gold highlights more then presenting them in a pale yellow tone. Over all I am pleased with this outcome and Happy to finish strong.

It was an interesting semester, but I am happy to be apart of this class and still be able to see everyone’s work. I hope everyone enjoys their break and stays safe. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧

For the artwork I did a mix-media. I used watercolor, ink wash, acrylic paint, and pen ink.

*https://delgadoarts.wordpress.com/2011/08/15/dona-sebastiana-lady-sebastian/#:~:text=She%20is%20an%20unusual%20figure,our%20fragile%20and%20sinful%20state.&text=The%20Aztec%20figure%20known%20as,%2C%E2%80%9D%20presided%20over%20such%20celebrations.

[mayaquinnscloud]

Sabrina & Corina

Sabrina and Corina easily consumed me.  I was kind of nervous to read a book for our final project because I wasn’t sure when I would find time, but it was easy to make time for it.  It was nice to get wrapped up in a book and I actually ended up finishing it in about two sittings.  The way Kali writes her characters made it so easy to grow attached to what was happening in their lives.  I loved that it was written in the backdrop of Denver, Colorado because it made me feel like I was viewing the stories firsthand.  It had a sense of familiarity.  The themes that she touched on with abandonment, balancing femininity, gentrification, etc were all very important.  Overall, adore the way she writes and I felt like I could easily understand and sympathize with what the characters were going through.  It was cool to find out that she is Metro alumni as well.  I specifically loved her stories Tomi, Sabrina & Corina, and Cheesman park.  I’m unsure of what I’m going to make my art out of at this point, but she painted so many vivid images in my mind I will make something work.

[mayaquinnscloud]

Performance Art: I am not oppressed.

Following what’s going on in the world, as a Muslim, I felt obligated to talk about this and especially in the way I love most: through my work.

I am a proud Muslim. As this proud Muslim, I can tell you that my religion in no way calls for violence and murder; in fact, it calls for peace, equality and love between everyone, Muslim or not. Everything you see about Muslims is what the government and political system wants you to see...

Please, I only ask this of you. DO NOT BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU SEE ON MEDIA! I cannot stress how important this is to me. The world is protraying Muslims as terrorists, ignorant and uneducated people, when in fact we are civilized humans just like you! This portrayal actually makes it so hard for us to fight this Islamophobia we face daily and live among everyone else. I cannot tell you how many times Muslims were beaten up, killed and harrased for being Muslims. Since when was abusing people for their religion okay?

It’s 2020 and there is a concentration camp in China, trapping millions of Muslims, brainwashing them out of Islam. FAMILIES ARE BEING TORN APART JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE MUSLIMS! They are forced to drink alcohol and eat pork (considered as sins in Islam), sleep with each other without marriage (also considered a sin) and are banned from prayer. You may not agree with our beliefs, but for sure you can agree that terrorizing people in this way just because they have different beliefs IS NOT OKAY!

My main focus was the Hijab; for those of you who don’t know, a Hijab is a veil wrapped around the woman’s head, along with dressing modestly. It is a way to show loyalty to our religion and obedience to God, similar to nuns. I have one question for you: why is it when you see a nun you have this immense respect for her, but when you see a Hijabi, you think she’s oppressed or “forced to wear it”. My mom is a Hijabi and the ammount of stares she gets when we go out is raging!

Please I do not ask of you to believe in what we believe in, but we are all entitled to believe in whatever we want and respect others who don’t as well. All I humbly ask is PLEASE do your own research; do not believe everything you see on social media!

If you’ve made it this far THANK YOU SO MUCH! I appreciate you giving time for this so so so much!

[mayaquinnscloud]

Video

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Remnants : Performance art project

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remnants: performance art project

Lately I think I’ve been getting really caught up in the nostalgia of certain songs. I found myself kind of wishing I didn’t attach certain songs to people from my past because the song is really good but I can’t hear it without thinking of them. The more I thought about it, it goes both ways. Songs also remind me of people who I will always love and it makes the song more special. Like the song don’t know why by Norah Jones will always remind me of my mom. I decided to compile a short list of songs that remind me of people in my life, the good memories, some bad ones, some people I don’t talk to anymore, and some people who I know are permanent in my life.

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To arrange

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To cut

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To align

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Verb list

To Become

to sleep

to cry

to laugh

to smile

to tear

to strike

to yell

to dance

to eat

to light

to destroy

to create

to sink

to hold

to lie

to swear

to squeeze

to hug

to cut

to drink

to grow

to scare

to hide

to swing

to run

to listen

to gaze

to stretch 

to jump

[mayaquinnscloud]

Performance art

It’s pretty disturbing that performance art has some beginning roots in displaying human beings.  This is so dehumanizing and bothersome.  They would abduct people from their home lands and put them on display in cages for entertainment, “scientific study”, etc.  This just furthers the ideals of the manifest destiny.  Colonizers and white people believed that God wanted them to spread their ideals and “knowledge” over the world.  It is really disturbing that colonizers and white people believed anyone other than themselves were animalistic and needed to be “tamed.”  

The “two undiscovered Ameridians” performance was a very clever and groundbreaking way to uncover the reactions of people from all different kinds of backgrounds.  The purpose was to see the general ideas people would formulate about “the other” and how people would react to this un-prefaced spectacle.  

The second reading regarding the hidden history of performance art was very interesting because it talked about the varying things that can be considered as performance art.  Sound, dance, actions, movement, etc. There are so many ways to express a message.

[mayaquinnscloud]

Perfect music choice for this project. I love that you used a song with mainly instrumentals from Outkast. It’s makes it so it’s easily recognizable, fits the vibe, yet doesn’t distract from the visuals & these are some of my favorite artists in the vids. Super sick concept. Our fashion, music, food, trends, everything, etc would not be what it is today without black creators

Artist Project 3

For this project my idea was quite simple. I chose to present a reminder to appreciate, support, and amplify black voices. I truly believe that without black excellence, we would not be excelling in music, fashion, and art the same way we do today. This is not to say other cultures do not contribute, simply recognizing what black culture does for the United States specifically through clips of music videos and music. The emphasis is on hip-hop and R&B only because it’s been my focus these past couple days. I would like to point out the way that black culture has also contributed and influenced all rock, jazz, and blues too. Music videos include “Don’t touch my hair” - Solange, “C.R.E.A.M” - Wu-Tang, “Tomboy” - Princess Nokia, and “Brown sugar” - D’Angelo. Also included is a MTV clip of Lil Kim, Da Brat, Aaliyah, and Missy Elliott. The song is “SpottieOttieDopaliscious” by OutKast.

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Supercut project: Woman

I created this project with ideas, objects, expectations, associations, & symbols that I relate to my experience of womanhood/femininity and a glimpse of others’ ideas.  It would be incredible to have a larger scope of diversity in personal experiences and connections, but I was limited on time.  These are concepts of my own and some ideas I got from one of my friends.  I came up with this idea because I was thinking about how so many women have different backgrounds that shape the idea of what being a woman means to them.  We share a lot of experiences in womanhood, but there are a lot of other aspects like culture, religion, race, socio economic status, sexuality, gender identity, etc that have an impact on our view of what being a woman represents. 

Overall, this was my first time making my own video on premiere pro aside from the technical exercise video.  I’m pretty happy with how it turned out and it was fun to learn the software better.

Credits list for “woman”

Song Title: ChloexHalle- Forgive Me (Slowed and Reverb)

https://youtu.be/SLQ7ysTgR3M

Moon Footage

https://youtu.be/3f_21N3wcX8

Flowers Blooming

https://youtu.be/HJaM5JtYYGw

Solange

https://youtu.be/83LeK-t-kTw

Kali Uchis

https://youtu.be/MTdj-6Bd5wk

Waves Crashing

https://youtu.be/icDwkh0kF0k

Halsey

https://youtu.be/Q_dqfcvTZik

Fire

https://youtu.be/zMoHZkQ4c3o

Crying

https://youtu.be/DN17WttrGvc

Clouds

https://youtu.be/Wimkqo8gDZ0

Kat Euphoria

https://youtu.be/VL4uXxlg8bM

Butterflies

https://youtu.be/OD3mN-HZ3Ss

Janelle Visuals

https://youtu.be/PaYvlVR_BEc

Lana

https://youtu.be/p54zWa27Ukw

Cats

https://youtu.be/UiFjONQDHNM

[mayaquinnscloud]

03’ Bonnie & Clyde by jay-z & Beyoncé came on shuffle on my phone and I instantly thought of this music video. The music video is Fukk Sleep by A$AP Rocky & FKA Twigs. They share similar themes but the video has a futuristic twist. I’m really happy with how it turned out. :)