The rough sketch of my graffiti was quick and easy. I probably took two minutes making the initial draft. The lining was a bit more difficult, though. It’s been a while since I inked something so I had to take it slow. The coloring part also gave me some difficulty. The colors I chose just happened to be some of the markers in the collection that is running dry, so blending was an issue. Overall, this isn’s the best graffiti I’ve made. I’ve done some before on shoes, using the same markers and pens and it came out way better. Maybe if my markers weren’t dying it would’ve come out better.

-Rosa Eap 🙂

For my exhibition, I wanted to explore themes of imprisonment and feelings of being stuck or trapped. With recent events, it feels like we are all trapped right now. It’s an interesting feeling because now there is so much freedom to do things at home (since everyone is under stay-at-home orders) but we are stuck. We are forced to stay at home unless necessary. I have never felt so much liberation in my activities but also restriction. This exhibition doesn’t reflect or represent these particular feelings, but it does represent the general idea and feelings of the aforementioned.

The artists I have chosen to explore these ideas are Sopana Nop, Brandon Young, and Angelina Ley. These artists all have worked with these ideas before and are very familiar with these feelings.

Angelina Ley’s piece “Prisoner of My Mind” shows pieces of jail bars in a scattered form. Inside is a mine cart with a chicken on top of a piece of track. In front of the bars is a saw and there are various red splotches on the ground. The important point of her work is the compactness of piece. There is very little room amidst all the bars, giving a suffocating feeling to the art.

Angelina Ley’s piece “Desolate” shows a small mound of ice blocks surrounded by snow. Underneath the ice are merman monsters swimming around in water. Just like Ley’s piece above, tight spaces are a reoccurring trait. Just like “Prisoner of My Mind” there is a suffocating feeling to the artwork. However there is also a sense of loneliness to the piece.

Overall, Angelina Ley’s art feels compact and claustrophobic.

Sopana Nop’s “Tower of Ruins” shows a building surrounded in foliage and covered in moss. Inside is a staircase that leads halfway up the building before being cut off. The important point of Nop’s work is how empty everything feels. There is a unnatural emptiness in her work, an unsettling feeling.

Sopana Nop’s “Endless Well” depicts a lone well that reaches to the ends of the Earth. Like her piece above, it feels empty. The well is full of water but it feels like it is missing something (besides a bottom). The well looks deceiving from afar because you would never imagine it leads to the end of the Earth.

Overall, Sopana Nop’s art feels “incomplete” and empty.

Brandon Young’s “Ruined Chamer” depicts a stone ruin with foliage all around it and foxes within. An important point of this piece is how scenic it is, or rather, how fantasy-like it is. Looking at it, “Ruined Chamber” looks like it came straight out of a book which adds to its aesthetic qualities.

Brandon Young’s “Wasted Sea” shows a landscape that is barren and dead. Skulls decorate the floor as well as dead coral. Like his piece above, this one is very atmospheric. If one were to walk through it, it really would feel like walking in wasted seas.

Overall, Brandon Young’s work paints momentary tales and scenery.

-Rosa Eap 🙂

My video: https://youtu.be/AjKC_HALNBc

My goal for this video to just show what a typical Sunday for me looked liked.

I thought I accomplished my goal pretty well. From when I woke up to when I had to stop recording to upload the video in time, I was documenting what I was doing.

I think next time I would choose a more fun day to vlog, such as Saturday. On Saturday, I was playing games with my friends through discord and doing my makeup. They would’ve been more interesting to film in my opinion.

My favorite Youtuber is penguinz0 (his real name is Charlie). He is a reaction channel of sorts that also plays video games.

Charlie isn’t afraid to voice his opinion and will unapologetically let people know what they’re doing is wrong. I really admire that confidence in opinion and try to be real with other people in the same way.

As stated above, Charlie is very real with his audience. I think for my own videos I would do the same, being as real and honest with my audience as possible.

Authenticity is being real. It’s showing the truest state of something.

A performance is something that is staged or planned.

I think authenticity and performance can coexist. You can still express real feelings while performing something. An artist can show their true selves on stage in a planned concert. This doesn’t apply to some artists of course, but for many it should stay true.

I think there has to be some kind of ratio of authenticity and performance for many videos. If you’re a celebrity doing an interview but you have an upset stomach, to some degree you need to pretend that pain isn’t there. I don’t think many people are willing to show their 100% real self on camera when there is something they don’t want to show. So I believe both clips are equal in how authentic and performative they are, with authenticity being the dominant trait.

-Rosa Eap 🙂

• Artist: Mahsa Soroudi
• Website: https://www.mahsasoroudi.com/
• Instagram: @mahsasoroudi
• Twitter: @MahsaSoroudi

Mahsa Soroudi was born in a moderate, Muslim family. Her parents were artistically talented and exposed Soroudi to many different cultures. She grew up in and went to school at Tehran, Iran, home to the best universities in Iran.

Soroudi has two projects: Nature’s Cadence and 7500 Miles.

Nature’s Cadence:

In Nature’s Cadence, Soroudi explores ideas of displacement and resettlement through plants. She does this by cutting and replanting succulent plants and observing how they adapt to their new environment, emulating Soroudi’s experience of leaving her country. Her plants inspired her and taught her how to remain beautiful and strong in unfamiliar areas.

7500 Miles:

7500 Miles is an ongoing project that represents specifically Iranian women and their contemporary art. This project is in an Exhibition called Inner Fragments. The exhibition has done shows at various locations such as Michigan State University and the Fitton Center for Creative Arts. Inner Fragments focuses on universal themes that women experience, their inspirations, and all the feelings that came with being in their roles. As of March 29, 2020, there are 18 artists being featured in 7500 Miles.

Elahe Farzi, for example, is one of these artists. In her work, she explores “the spirit and time of narrative”.

Soroudi’s work speaks of important messages. One can flourish no matter the conditions and you are beyond what society says you should be. While I have never personally needed to be told this, it is still a powerful message.

-Rosa Eap 🙂

Exhibition Information

• Artist: Sienna Browne
• Exhibition: Product of the Palette
• Media: Ink, Mixed Media, Oil, Charcoal, Acrylic
• Gallery: Black Umbrella Tattoo and Art Gallery
• Website: https://www.siennabrowneart.com
• Instagram: @siennabrowneart

Sienna Browne is a fourth year at California State University, Long Beach and is in the Drawing and Painting BFA program. In her exhibition, Product of the Palette, Sienna showcases her work from 2015-2019 to “commemorate the past and celebrate the process of transitioning into a new reality”. Sienna’s artwork in her first three years of college share her struggles with her eating disorder and body dysmorphia. Her work in 2019 explores themes of celebration and life as she beats her eating disorder.

Sienna will be selling all of her artworks, which will be going to her teaching credential. The purpose is to let go of her past and move onto her future.

I will be talking about my favorite piece that will be displayed in the exhibit, Crash. The piece generally follows an orange-blue complementary color scheme with hints of purple. There are paint drips on the top that cut through the piece. Blocky images fill the piece which are hard to give an identity to.

Overall, this piece feels overwhelming but calming. The business of the painting makes it hard to discern what exactly is crashing, but the color scheme brings balance. If I were to take a guess on what is being depicted, I would guess cars in a city environment.

Other cool artwork:

Sushi Rolls was when Sienna learned she was unconsciously painting about her eating disorder.

Hearing Sienna talk about her exhibition was a fun experience. Her concept to have people symbolically walk through her journey with her eating disorder is inspiring. It takes a lot to let people see your most vulnerable moments in art form. Although I never personally went through something extreme as eating disorders and body dysmorphia, I did face a lot of shaming from my family for being “fat”. Sienna’s artworks connected to me in that sense.

-Rosa Eap 🙂