WK 11- Artist Conversation- Caryn Aasness

Artist: Caryn Aasness

Exhibition: TO CALL IT CUTE IS TO MISUNDERSTAND

Media: Fabric

Gallery: Dr. Maxine Merlino Gallery

Website:  N/A

Instagram:  @levelyellowproblemchild

This week at the Merlino Gallery, I experienced Caryn Aasness exhibition entitled “TO CALL IT CUTE IS TO MISUNDERSTAND.” Ms. Aasness is an undergrad senior, working toward her BFA in Fibers. Her exhibition is all about the fabric she put a lot of hard work into making. After graduation, she hopes to work with designing wallpapers and textiles.

Ms. Aasness entire exhibition is composed of numerous quilt-like pieces that have a hidden message. The hidden message can be found in the grid paper found next to each quilt and on the actual art piece. In order to find the hidden message on the art piece, you need to read the colored columns vertically rather than horizontally because each quilt has different colored threads and each color represents a different letter that creates a column. The main piece of the artwork is the only piece that contains a message that can be read without decoding and the message contains the title of the artwork. Lastly, the colors on each quilt are very vibrant and they have a very fall vibe to them.

According to Ms. Aasness, she uses the art pieces she creates as her platform to question/challenge the societal structures in America. Through her art, she encourages the audience to look at her art differently and to look for the hidden messages. She wants her audience to know that her art is more than just “cute”, she wants us to find what really matters in her art pieces which are the hidden messages. The idea of showing her thoughts on societal structures in America by weaving them into the fabric and creating patterns and combinations to figure out the message redesigns social norms.

At first, Ms. Aasness art piece didn’t impress me that much because I thought it was just her showing off a fall collection of scarfs or fabric that she created. I mean don’t get me wrong, creating a scarf or anything from scratch is quite impressive but I don’t find that much value in it. However, after reading the artist statement, I found out that I was very wrong. These “scarfs” that I thought she made are actually more like quilts and literally hide messages within them. I loved how the messages weren’t read in your standard left to right but actually read from top to bottom. Ms. Aasness’s work is very impressive and I loved how it the encourages the audience to engage/connect more to her artwork.

WK 10- Artist Conversation-Tony Nguyen

Artist: Tony Nguyen

Exhibition: Neoteny

Media: Metal

Gallery: Dr. Maxine Merlino Gallery

Website: eltigresite.wordpress.com

Instagram: elll_tigre

Down at the CSULB’s Merlino Gallery, I had to pleasure of meeting Tony Nguyen. Mr. Nguyen is finishing up his last semester as an undergraduate student of the BFA in the Metal program.  He mentioned that his Vietnamese culture inspires his work and enjoys incorporating his culture into his artwork. Also, he said that he decided to name his exhibition “Neoteny” after he had a conversation with a famous metalsmith/jeweler. Each piece in his exhibition took about 4-6 weeks to complete, procrastination included.

When I first saw “Neoteny,” I noticed the beautiful metal toy dispenser machine, it brought me back to my childhood when I used to beg my parents to give you quarters so that I can get those cheap plastic jewelry/toy from those machines. Speaking of jewelry/toy, there was a ton of those in this exhibition. Mr. Nguyen had 15 pieces displayed that included a necklace, crown, figurines, and toy dispenser that were all made out of metal. At first glance, I thought that the only thing in common that all these pieces had is that they are all made out of metal but the more I heard Mr. Nguyen explain what his piece are about I realized that that is not everything they have in common. They were all related because they have to do with his childhood memories.

Mr. Nguyen explained that he got the name “Neoteny” from a well-known metalsmith/jeweler and that like him at first and mostly all of us in the room didn’t know what it meant. After he was told the definition which is “when an organism or individual maintains juvenile behaviors into adulthood,” he knew immediately that was going to be his title because it describes him and his work perfectly. Through his artwork, he wants to bring a smile on our faces by creating a sense of nostalgia for our childhood/youth. He feels like many of us have forgotten what it was like to be a child and hopes that by sharing what kept him occupied during his childhood would remind us what we were like at that age. He also said that he enjoyed making this piece because it was like he was reliving his childhood in his adult life.

I found this exhibition unique and very nostalgic. I enjoyed how every piece he created had a story behind it and that I can also relate to some of his stories. I particularly liked the metal toy dispenser one and felt like I can relate to that one the most because who didn’t like wasting quarters on cheaply made things while they were young? It felt like I had just won a million bucks whenever I would get the “prettiest” jewelry/toy from the toy dispenser. I thought it was very cool that he recreated his favorite childhood memories and decided to showcase them for us to see.

WK 9-Artist Conversation- Dalia Bañuelos and Daniel-Bonilla Vera

Artist: Dalia Bañuelos and Daniel Bonilla-Vera

Exhibition: Infraction

Media: Photography, graphics, installation

Gallery: CSULB School of Art, Dr. Maxine Merlino Gallery 

Website: dbvphotography.com

Instagram: @daliaeffect & @dbvqp

 This week, I had the pleasure to see “Infraction” created by Dalia Bañuelos and Daniel Bonilla-Vera. However, I only had the chance to speak to Mr. Bonilla-Vera. From our talk, I learned that he is from Central Valley and moved closer to Long Beach so that he can attend CSULB. He is an undergraduate senior who is majoring in studio art and wants to pursue a career in photography. Both him and Ms. Bañuelos were rejected from the BFA program. Unfortunately, Ms. Bañuelos was rejected both times she applied and Mr. Bonilla-Vera found out later on Wednesday if he made it. Hopefully, he did.

When I first stepped into the Merlino Gallery and looked at “Infraction” I immediately thought it had a creepy vibe and I actually got scared when I noticed the crouched up body connected to a bunch of yarn. I actually had left this exhibition and went to observe other artwork but then I had a change of heart and decided to go back and actually see what was displayed in this exhibition. When I went back, I noticed things that I definitely didn’t notice the first time, like how all the yarn was intertwined with different photos and that most of the photos were black and white. I also, noticed that there were two bodies, one lying down facing the corner of the wall and one in the center crouched up.  There was also a trash can by the entrance of the gallery and all the images connected by the yarn lead to that trash can.

According to Mr. Bonilla-Vera, they took their rejection into the BFA program really hard and that motivated them to create “Infraction.” The trash can that I mentioned above actually had a deeper meaning. The reason they lead all their displayed images to the trash can is because they felt the art they produce “belongs” in the trash can. Their rejection made them feel that the art they make is not worthy. However, they made this exhibition so that they can express their feelings and to show that they are proud of their work despite being rejected into the BFA program.

Honestly, I said it before but I’m going to say it again, my initial reaction was being creeped out and scared but once I got over the shock I actually really liked it. I was actually impressed that all the photos were by one long and continuous strand of yarn. Their photography was actually impressive and at first, I thought it was fake because I’ve never seen something like that. But after speaking to him, I was baffled that they took all the pictures and was convinced that they had real talent. And that made me wonder why they got rejected and what it takes to get into the BFA program. I feel like they shouldn’t have gotten rejected if whatever they applied with was anything near their exhibition.