Education in Artmaking

Expressing my unusual mix of ethnicities

We could perceive artmaking as having two primary aspects, message and medium. We usually think of art classes as being focused on the latter, and on technique. The assumption seems to be that artists know what they want to say and just need to learn how to say it effectively. But this isn't necessarily the case. Artists usually also need help finding their voices and visions.

The class that I took in the winter, on color theory, was almost entirely technique. Technique is dry, and does not much nourish the artist's soul. For the spring term, I took a class that was refreshingly focused on artistic expression.

The course description for Lesley Louden's class on Photography, New Media and Social Change at Cabrillo College reads: "Examines the impact of new technologies and photography on culture, and analyzes the global social change achieved by current and historical movements in photography. Investigates how photography in new media influences current perceptions of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity and cultural identity."

I signed up for the class because I wanted to take History of Photography, but that class was being taught in person in faraway Aptos. I thought the assignments would be mostly writing, and the majority were. The class materials delved into many artistic movements in photography from the 19th c. to the present, in both traditional and new media, such as Dadaism and Situationist International. The class introduced me to many photographers, explaining why they created their art and what techniques they used to achieve the impacts that they had. We learned about Carrie Mae Weems' appropriation of photographs of slaves, and about Cindy Sherman's digitally-manipulated selfies. But, while I wrote extensively about art history and technique, this was an art class that required art projects, and I found great joy and creativity in creating them.

My own digitally-manipuated selfie.

However you may feel about ethnic, racial, and gender identity, these self-defining topics are great sources of artistic inspiration. To find your own personal artistic voice, you must explore and express who you are. The projects asked us to examine our ethnic and gender identity in the context of how people like us had been depicted in both traditional and new media, and to create art that presented ourselves on our own terms. 
I examined Albert Chong's Color Still Lifes, wherein he decorated photos of his ancestors with shamanic objects and fresh, brightly-colored flowers. I am lucky enough to have some photos of my great- and great-great-grandparents. I juxtaposed the photos with colorful teacups that my grandmother had collected and jewelry I had received from both sides of my family. The jewelry identifies both my family's culture and its religion. 

My great-grandfather engaging in highly questionable political activity

The limitations on travel that have been imposed by the pandemic have drastically altered my art. While I once thought of myself as a nature photographer, I now have become as much a self-portrait artist as anything else. The joke I make is that, "I used to want to be Ansel Adams, but the pandemic has forced me to try to be Robert Mapplethorpe instead." This new media class introduced me to many inspiring photographers, and helped me to forge an artistic path forward through the bleakness that continues to surround us.