Reviewing The Arts

I believe reviewing the arts is very important. Art is everywhere and is a big part of life. Being able to understand what other people see in art and interpreting it through their eyes is very useful. It opens a door to different ideas and helps to broaden your mind. Before I knew how to review the arts, I had no idea what components were needed to do so. Thinking differently when visiting a site, giving detailed analysis, writing clearly and grabbing the reader to make them interested. When I started, I didn't know how to structure my reviews. Now at the end, the presentation is better and I feel I've learned the basics of how to write art reviews. Reviewing the arts has really improved my overall ability as a writer and as a thinker. It has helped in making me come to focus how I see the meaning of it. Columbia College was such a great community to do such reviews and brought me even closer to the campus, students and teachers. Taking the opportunity to review Columbia's art students as not only helped my reviewing but my writing overall.

Columbia College Review Final

The Columbia College is one that stands out among other colleges downtown Chicago. Maybe for its absurd school's colors, half circle logo titled "create change". Students standing outside drawing on the floor with colored chalk, dancing in the streets, showcasing their arts. The campus as I see it is pretty big, the environment is in the loop downtown Chicago. I see Columbia as a window to opportunities with your creative mind and go forward. After hearing some of the current students here, I really see a strong division of people who would agree and disagree. I stand in the middle; Columbia is a great school that helps students enhances their skills into the major they want to proceed. The many exhibits this semester had showcased proved this.

Walking in the gallery for the first time I noticed how cold the atmosphere was. There was a lot of open space for people to walk around, white walls and a dull-looking brown painted on the pillars. The benches had random-colored pillows placed on top that were way too big. The only lighting in the gallery was on the paintings – there were no other light. The first body of work I came across was Jennifer Hines’ three paintings. The artwork to me feels somewhat weird and disturbing. Photographic images of naked women sitting, holding themselves, wrapped up and covered in some sort of plant-like rooted figure. The colors seemed to be random, as an artist I couldn’t relate to this piece of work.

Another piece of work I stopped to look at was Colleen Mcgrann's of mine. 'A triptych of herself photography'. The three pictures were rather creepy with a mysterious, blurry look to them. The pale-yellow color scheme, with a girl in white night dress looks like something out of a cheesy horror film. The process of her planting something isn't appealing since there is no visual of where she is, the background being emptiness. I couldn't feel really anything from her piece.

Walking around the gallery I did seem to pause at the video clip created by Victoria Bradford called 'Blue focus'. The video involved images being shot out on the screen at random. It was dazzling. The text looked like font from a typewriter, it moved at an awkward rate, disappearing and reappearing, the background always white, with photos of a girl constantly being repeated. It looked like a complete mess and gave me a slight headache. It just seemed like a weird video to me. Perhaps if I had met its creator, I would’ve had a much greater understanding.

The piece of artwork I most related to turned out to be a simple notebook. Kelly Parsell's my 'Spanish book revisited' was this piece. She used this book when she was a child learning Spanish but she also put in her own drawings and little notes. It was her personal little book in which she did whatever she wanted to. I was able to relate to this as I've also kept many journals, notebooks and sketchbooks from when I was younger. Like her, I can never seem to get rid of them. It's the stuff in the past I just don't want to forget or let go. A personal journal.

In the open areas, comics are the main focus, though there are other displays. However, the other displays really don’t connect with the comics at all and seem very random. The atmosphere was welcoming yet congested; there were a few less seats for students, which was bothersome and made it harder to get a seat. The amount on display made it feel like there was so much going on.

The first piece I look at was Angeline Mascarena’s "A day in the life of a snowman" pen and ink on board, 2009. This cute little snowman comic is very amusing. Its execution is simple but it tells you a story that makes you ask a lot of questions. Who throw the snow at him? Why did he make a snowgirl and rip out her heart? The comic is plain, nothing in the background – a good choice as no more was needed. The artist didn't put any words, just pictures to let the reader guess for themselves. The color is plain as well; nothing bright, mostly cool light purple, grey colors to match the snow and sky. It immediately catches the viewer’s eye with its simplicity. It gets them to look when walking by and makes them want to stop and notice what is going on in the image.

Joyce Rice "My last winter in grawn, MI" Digital Print 2009. Her comic was on one side and on the other they picked her biggest panel from her comic and enlarged it redoing it, painting on the wall itself. The art style is very interesting and sticks out a lot compared to some; it’s her own style. Colored in only blue tones and one light brown color it looks well made and completes the image, she not even needed to put any other colors looks well. The text is easy to read and clear, cell shading, a clean piece of work. The story is compelling to make you want to view the full comic page to start from the beginning to find out what’s going on.

Stephanie wegryzn and john coxworth hellgeezer' digital print 2009 has only text on this piece is the title in English and Japanese, looks heavily shaded, tones, black and white, the mood feels serious and some sort of mystery to it. Blood in each individual panel. Detailed smoke making it confusing to the characters, black to white fading setting a mood, lighting very important hitting the characters and objects. The comic pages makes you wish there was more, or turned into a comic or a manga book.

This gallery really is a comic book artists’ treat. Seeing such variety of work from the student body, it’s really an eye opener to view and understand the talent others show and their knowledge of the style of comic books. The different styles, techniques, rendering one can do when making a comic, the feelings and ways that get the reader to get a much better understanding of what the artist is trying to bring forth in their work. Location: 623 S Wabash Ave, first floor. Gallery Hours: Monday through Thursday, 9am–7 pm, Friday, 9 am–5 pm

The Harrison red line stop is the closest by 623 S. Wabash Columbia College Building. The only time I would ever go on the Harrison stop would be to visit my relatives on Rosevelt or go visit Chinatown. I remember the first time I ever been there when they remodeled it from Columbia College and Jones College Prep Students who adopted the el stop through the CTA program. The leave symbols that are repeated down the el actually really look like weed (keep in mind I've never done drugs in my whole life). They badly decorated the platform and pillars with poems of haiku's. I'm no fan of poems or anything and this really didn't help interest me whatsoever. So most of the haiku's made no sense to me and just sounded rather ridiculous.

One was about love and it went "Listen! His sweat working it's way down my cheek is whispering." The poem doesn't even sound finished, and was just so random. I would of loved to see at least a poem that would maybe relate to well I don't know...transportation? Something that got someone thinking while they traveled to wherever they were going. Most of the pillars were vandalized, people were ripping it with whatever object they had with them. You would of thought that we would change poems time to time so something like this wouldn't happen.

The color scheme seems pretty dull. A bunch of yellow, orange, red colors. I really am dissapointed on how Columbia handled this. We had a great opportunity to make something look amazing, yet they somehow made it looks tacky. I hope people will act and give their input to Columbia and maybe we could change the look of Harrison and change it into something greater.

Columbia's whole campus location in itself I believe is really fantastic. I almost think every building has something to offer for an outsider who wants to experience how Columbia is. A beautiful location in the Chicago loop covered in stores, restaurants and has a very welcoming atmosphere. However since we have to pick one and If someone new who came wanted to learn what Columbia College Chicago was like, the place I would highly recommend for Art & Design majors is the 9th floor computer lab inside 623 S. Wabash building.

The 9th floor computer lab is one of the most complex floors filled with many things that catch the eye compared to most of the floors inside this building. Opening the door from the stairs or coming off the elevator the room you can tell right off that the room is pretty much full of life. There are current students working at the front desk, very lovely people that will be very kind and will help you if you have any questions. You can ask them anything from needing help on a computer program glitch, needing supplies you didn't have time to bring with you to class and even if you need to find a class room. There are plenty of computers in this huge room where each one you can choose whether you want to use windows or Mac desktop, all the programs you need for your classes are there and ready for you to start working. There are always many students diligently working on their homework.

The computers are in the center of the floor while it is surrounded by two classrooms that share the same floor, no wall separating it. Going through one of the class rooms you get to the cut paper section where students are free to use the free space to cut paper, measure, trace on the light box and work on anything they need to do. Taking care of all the equipment, using it correctly, sharing with other students, making it a fun filled experience.

The environment is very lively and friendly, not once I’ve seen any kind of fighting break out, everyone is respectful for one another and helps each other with giving advice on ones artwork.Once you get used to how everything works you do tend to notice certain cliques with groups of friends like the Illustrators, Graphic Designers and Animation artists, but that’s not to say that’s a bad thing, everyone gets along, you just also notice people get to meet others in the same major early on and connect with them over time having to take many classes with them. They form a very strong bond and they all help one another if one needs assistance. Of course there is a sense of competition but it’s rather a friendly one. Everyone wants to see one another do well.

I actually saw this exhibit being made when coming to our class weeks ago. Seeing two men spraying the huge graffitti on the wall and wondering what kind of subject would that be involved with. After that I honestly never bothered looking back at it until we got assigned to do another blog about a Columbia spot. I was searching about 4 places around campus and when I really couldn't find anything this exhibit finally came around in my mind. Found inside of the 33 E. Congress Columbia Building first floor, which of course is our building we have our class session. Access Excess is the name of this student body of work.

Out of everything that has been shown at this current time, this exhibit I think is the one I would honestly stay away from. I was already not interested in it while it was being set up. Media entertainment and creativity isn't my most interest desire, this gallery has brought me to get interested. I do love going to concerts, however not the ones that have such huge mosh pits and insane fans that people would get hurt at, and this exhibit really seemed at first what that was all about. Now after taking the time to look through the displays and how Columbia Students presented their work, I see it as much more.

Main theme was music but not just that, its what people do to prepare, have to handle, the environment around them, their experiences and they found their own way to express it from their art and decide how to show it to others who aren't familiar with the subject or doesn't understand what is so great and exciting, what is the big deal of it all. This gallery gives you a chance to take a look at the artistic view and provide a better view of musical performances.

The whole exhibit really was a very interesting set up, nothing like I've seen here at Columbia so far. Every wall as a orderly section of going to a concert both for the experience and/or preparing the expected to this occasion. It starts out with preparing; they had a suitcase displayed with objects inside showing what they'd bring to the tour. It instantly felt like a museum exhibit display that I really find pretty amusing. I personally think they would defiantly bring more than what they showed but it gave people a general idea.

Next to it on the wall is a Record shop selling band t-shirts, short shorts, hats, CD's etc. Reminded me one of the few concerts I ever been to when they sell a bunch of merchandise with their ridiculous expensive prices. This display though seemed pretty familiar.

The next parts were artistic designs created by students mostly graphic designers making very unique, hip looking posters for bands, flashy colors that light up, something really visual appealing to the eye. The set up was done nicely as they all lined up side-by-side together creating a collage of great work. Right next to it had a type of sculpture of different kind of records, some designed, some plan, all melted together creating this unique design. I thought of music and how many can mix with another. Some that sound the same can combine and even two completely different songs can somehow when mixed properly can even sound wonderful. The last parts were a huge collection of CD covers that looked like a story of pictures taken at different angles at a concert. The color scheme blended nicely together making the piece flow nicely.

This exhibit really stuck out a lot to me, this hobby is really something a lot of Columbia students take pride in. Its not just a crazy concert/band community like I always thought. It opened my eyes a little bit and realized that this is something that people have great passion for and its very entertaining on top of it. Sweat and tears were probably happening defiantly more than once at concerts. People relate to the music, relate to others and share a common sense of appreciation. This gallery very well proved me wrongs the most and I couldn't enjoy it any more. Access Excess exhibit was created by Ayisha Jaffer, Arts Entertainment and Media Management and was held March 4th-April 23rd and sadly is gone by the time you read this.

Columbia proves itself that students that love what they do get their chance to show case it and express how they want to showing other students. All the exhibits I encountered this semester really presented Columbia College's side in wanting to reach out to the public eye the ability Columbia students have.