March 2007
Monthly Archive
A Critique of the Masked Woman
Posted by isis on 31 Mar 2007 | Tagged as: Anti Pop Art |
“Woman with Bokken” Photo by David Perry 2006
Been thinking a lot about why am I drawing masked women in lingerie and military jackets? Why has this masked woman been with me for so long since I first performed her in 1998? The critique that I had a month ago in my classical realism class keeps playing in my head. Before I explain why it was important, I want to rewind to about six months ago in October at the Alameda Point Antiques and Collectibles Faire.
October 2006 The Alameda Point Antiques and Collectibles Faire
Alameda Point Antiques and Collectibles Faire sits on the east Bay at the former Alameda Point Naval Air Station. It’s Northern California’s largest antiques and collectibles show with over 800 outdoor dealers selling their merchandise on the first Sunday of every month. I went early in the morning in search of nice looking antique furniture for our newly remodeled home. There were all kinds of unique distractions and one of them was at an area where a Korean War vet was selling all kinds of military uniforms and patches. He was a tall elderly man, big square glasses with a piece of his nose missing. I was looking around at the jackets, checking out the medals, the patches, the pins wondering what it all meant. I kept staring at this one jacket and he told me that it was a French Foreign Legion Jacket. He pointed to one medal pinned to the right pocket and explained that the man once wore this jacket served in Rhodesia, Africa. He pointed at a pin with wings and told me that he was also a paratrooper. The red cord wrapped around the shoulder meant he was a captain. I stared at the piece of clothing for a long time. I could tell by the fabric, the stitching, the satin lining and the pleats around the waist, that a lot of effort went into the making of this jacket. He kept encouraging me to try it on, but I was reluctant, as I didn’t feel right about it. Someone else earned all these medals, and we’ll I didn’t want to pretend like it was Halloween. After a while, I did try the jacket on, and it hung snug around my curves. I stared into the mirror at myself, looking at all the medals. As a woman, I have never worn a piece of clothing that was symbolic of my accomplishments. I tried to think of clothing that might have significance, and of course, I thought of a wedding dress. But still, I looked into the mirror and I didn’t feel like myself again. There was conflict inside of me about buying such a meaningful piece of clothing. I decided to wait and focus on the furniture. But an hour later, I found myself staring at the jacket again from afar. The Korean Vet waved at me and the next thing I knew I was leaving the flea market with a jacket and no furniture.
“Woman with Bokken” Charcoal Study Febuary 2007 Isis Rodriguez
piecebypiece or howicametothissite again
Posted by polymer on 29 Mar 2007 | Tagged as: Film & Video, Graffiti |
super told me to join when this site began, time didn’t allow.
Just this week I signed up for netflix and right there on the screen was piece by piece dvd chronicling san francisco’s graffiti movement. I’ve really been wanting to see this so it was the first dvd queued.
netflix arrived today, pbp sits here on my desk, i hope to have it on throughout the weekend, i know there will be much to see. so it sits here and i think “i want to watch the trailer”. google, click, view. i hear Super credited and then see her work blow by, i jumped back and paused on it to see. cooool. i love super. i then decide to google “jocelyn superstar” (look out nicole, i’m a stalker, mwaaahhahaha) anyway, right there was this site, OH YEAH! New Inspirational Movement! the site I had viewed once and lost time to be frequent. well, here I am inspired and raring to go. I hope to visit in here more often and read, be inspired and maybe inspire back.
piece by piece, will view you later… any critiques on it??
Dedication Ceremony For Imprisoned Teens
Posted by isis on 04 Mar 2007 | Tagged as: Prison Art |
“When asked what symbolized freedom, a couple of youth said, “home…just being in our own house, and being able to do what you want.” Joe Saxe commenting on the above public art piece “The House That Joe Built”.
The Ceremony
On Tuesday February 27th, 2pm, I waited in a long line of cars to park at the new Juvenile Justice Center in San Leandro, California. It was the dedication ceremony for the facility where Alameda county board of supervisors, judges,probation officers, kids from the hall, bishops from churches, and artists gathered for the reception and ribbon cutting.
The weather was crappy, drizzly rain on and off and I was running late. By the time I found parking and got to the reception, county administrator Susan S. Muranishi was in the middle of her welcome speech which took place in the lobby in front of Joe Saxe’s public art “The House That Jose Built”. There was a crowd of people, reflecting the diversity of cultures, age, and occupations. After her speech, the Boy Scouts of