Say NOMORE to G.U.N.S

Title: G.U.N.S.

Author: Dijonai English

Materials:  black cold metal, warm sliver copper for the bullet paper, and ink.

Height: 550M

Gun laws are the cause of many violent crimes in America, the best way to resolve the problem is to change the laws so that owning an illegal firearm will imprison and sentence for the first time offenders who are caught.

I choose this topic because, guns has become such a huge issue in the the U.S. People are killed from guns every day, month and year. I want people to acknowledge the fact that people are murdered by this weapon and knowing the government doesn’t have any control over it. They had made up so many things for people who have guns to turn it in, but people weren’t giving in. They even told them they can come in with their guns “Unknown”. I believe that guns should have never been invented because it cause so many issues in our lives. I say this because on the Daily News I watched the News woman state that,  an ancient woman who was walking down the street was shot and and killed by a gun because she was caught in a random shootout. This pisses me off because that woman could be someone's daughter, mom, and/or sister. Image how they feel hearing that from a stranger on the phone in the middle of the night telling them their daughter has been killed from a random shooting. Image their pain, suffering, depression, stress, and anxiety, these things can kill a person. I worry so much because I have a huge family that goes out lot everyday to work and to goto school and I definitely don’t want to hear any bad new so I pray every morning to god for him to protect us.  

Did you know? "More than 30,000 people are killed by firearms each year in this country and more than 30 people are shot and murdered each day,1/2 of them are between the ages of 18 and 35. 1/3 of them are under the age of 20.Homicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-24 year-olds and the primary cause of death among African Americans of that age group (http://heedinggodscall.org/con tent/pfctoolkit-10). I want people to acknowledge what guns are doing to our society and how it effect the youth population. Every time I look at the News  a teenager is shot and killed by a gun because of a gang related member. This is a problem because guns are the root too all of our fear and life death.

I decided to make a sculpture of a giant gun in the middle of time square and this giant gun will be shooting out colored paper in the shape of a bullet. These colored bullet paper will be able to open for people to read a fact, opinions,and quotes about guns. I want to make my sculpture so huge because I want to obtain the News and public eye so they can broadcast my sculpture to other people who aren’t able to view my giant gun. I put it in Time Square because people all over coming from different places to here to visit and tour this area, so I’m able to have different genders,race, and ages viewing my sculpture. I want my audience to be versatile because everyone is affected by gun violence because it could be a family member of theirs and people love their families, so it would be such a heartbreaker to hear that their loved one have been shoot.

In conclusion, I believe people should try to figure out ways to solve the gun problems, but we should start with our communities first. We should give out flyers with facts about guns and give them information on how we are able to get a little start with guns in our community. We can also state that yes some people need their guns for protection, but there are other ways to protect yourself. This quote I seen in my neighborhood states, “We must start with I, before we can get to you, them, they, and we” This quote to me meant that “I” must show that I want a change in the world, but “I” must start with myself and than to others.

Creative Project #2

          For my topic I decided to choose Latino Discrimination since it affects many Latinos throughout the U.S. By this I mean anything from being labeled, shamed, and/or underestimated, and all of this would be not including the problems immigrants face but still linking to the raising immigration status and laws because of discrimination and labeling.

          I chose this topic because not only is it something that's trending or constantly present because of politician Trump but also because it is something that is always on my mind and maybe even something that affects me. I take pride of where I am from but for some reason I always notice that i want to make it clear that I was born here in the U.S. This was something that bothered me because it felt as though I was trying to reject where my parents had come from and where I am also a part of. This made me wonder and think how many things i see in the world that made me unconsciously and against my will, believe that being from somewhere else other than America is wrong. And I realized that it was the way America portrays itself compared to other countries. Since all we ever see in the news is how Mexico has a drug dealer, Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and so and so are at war. Or also the fact that Muslims are considered to be terrorists or what not. America uses media to put everyone else down and therefore make America look amazing in comparison. The media is used in many ways that benefit the U.S such as shows that portray Mexicans or certain Latinos as being maids, gardeners or people that serve Americans and nothing more. Most Latinos or Mexicans are labeled as criminals, poorly educated, incapable of doing anything besides house work for Americans. There is obviously nothing wrong with being a house keeper or even a babysitter because it is an honest job, but for some reason this is seen as a poor low level job even though I believe no job is too small. Labeling goes as far as physical labeling such as Latinos being dark skinned and short, that can only speak Spanish or other Latino women as having voluptuous bodies, with accents, that we all like or know how to dance etc. when in fact Latinos can be as diverse as America with all of its different mix of cultures. This can be backed up by a fact taken from 11 Facts about Discrimination and Poverty in the Latino Community which states that, "according to a Pew research poll Latino people are the 2nd most discriminated against ethnic group after African-Americans”.

          I took these reasons and added them to my work of art using pen, paper and color pencil to create a simple yet concrete image of what America seems to be doing or attempting to do to Latin America. Which is mixing in together all of Latin America and labeling it as a bunch of stereotypes, that may if anything apply to only a smaller percentage of people within the whole Latin America group. Comments such as Trump's are what create this feeling of wanting to rid America of Latinos or immigrants or people considered to be outsiders, when in fact we all belong here. And what really is an American? At this point we are all a mix of something whether it be religion, race, or dare I say sexuality preferences.

        And as we progress into the future it is evident that social media is one of the many things that have started to take over, and therefore I would like my idea and drawing to be what helps stop the spread of Latino stereotyping and labeling. This way perhaps all of these same thoughts throughout the internet may join and cause a big change, and I hope people not only see how diminishing and oppressing this can be to someone that is thought to be only a certain way without having the opportunities to show that their being isn't based solely on their ethnicity or the actions of minorities.

Student loan debt

          My topic is about The inevitable Student Loans. We all go through it one way or another its like i said inevitable. I picked the topic because we as students think about so much about our futures and what we are investing our debt into. We all will have debt unless we get a scholarship and that's if your lucky. We as students don't even go to college anymore to learn and experience the world better. Its all about how we are going to pay for in the end.  Its so sad that you can easily search up online and see the daily struggles of a college graduate yet the world keeps moving o as if debt isnt a issue. This kind of dept is not our own faults, this debt was not caused by money greed, gambling, and spending. This debt comes from the necessity to learn. The average college graduate will not be able to save enough for retirement till they are 75. As if a human being is so functional at that age. "According to a study by researchers at the University of Missouri, employers were just as likely to hire graduates of expensive for-profit institutions as those with similar credentials from community colleges — or those who skipped college altogether."
        In this world of the Great America the pricier and more flashy named school the better, people trash community college referring them as cheap and not good enough. Which is not true this is a stepping stone, something you can use to reach for higher grounds. Not everyone has money for flashy named schools. So therefore the students are obligated by society to go to these big named universities that have a hefty price to their education. I despise the notion of the society that we live in forces us the incoming generation into dept.
        A good idea that i have for an artwork is to place a stone boulder with chains attached to a statue of a  average human height graduate with the cap and gown in a crowded street downtown. The statue will represent those trying to move on in a fast paced world that we live in yet they are being held back by student loan debt. The people themselves are apart of the message, they pass by with their lives only worrying about the next thing that needs to be done. 

        The statue will be in any populated place, there can be multiple places. A train station, a college campus, a busy city street. There are no restrictions to it, students walk the streets everywhere not just in college campuses. The statue will be made of steel , its message is to whoever stands long enough to really look and understand its message. A college student who has $20,000 in student loans and is late on their rent with only $4 in their pocket for the rest of the day can see that someone out there sees their struggle.

Creative Project #2

   Land Degradation is all over the word, but I am specifically focusing in NYC Manhattan. Land degradation comes in various forms, like water pollution, extreme dry land, deforestation,polluted soil and more. But the main reason for the cause of land degradation is because of humans; factories, deforestation, overgrazing, abandoned farm land, littering etc all contribute to the destruction of land. This causes major problems for all living organisms. If we do not have proper soil for crops how can we grow our produce? The lack of land due to the expansion of cities also take a tole upon the ecosystem and animal population.
   This project is important to me because I think taking care of the earth and ecosystem  is essential for human life as well as animal life. Instead of relying on factories manufacturing produces for people,we are not benefiting all the nutritional benefits from what we consume. Unnaturally creating food produce, and or using horrible soil to make produce is not right for people to consume. As well as in general the lack of forestation in NYC is troublesome. The absence of nature and real gardens in NYC are a problem. To me with a large garden in NYC you feel as if you can breathe better, as well you are benefiting some wild life whom do the environment great justice.
    The monument that I am proposing is a large garden, but located in an unused outlet in NYC Manhattan. In this outlet will be many flowers,a rocky path way where you can explore the different type of plant life. This monument will be exposing what NYC can look like if we had less buildings, it could be almost a paradise. This is to bring awareness to people that we need to spread nature more rather the concrete.
   This monument will be located in 325 W 33st Manhattan. This is a public monument where everyone can enter and exit, benches will be supplied. Before entering the garden there will be a plaque on the floor describing what this garden stands for. What the garden does stand for is to spread wild life, to advocate the natural life, to also remind people where we came from. We did not come from the Concrete Jungle, but a colorful exotic world, which we should never destroy but bring back. In the Beginning of the garden on each side you are presented with bushes, and when you look up there will be large tress  coming over the lot. As you walk the dirt/stone path it takes you through variations of flower and plant species. Some flowers will be from other countries representing how these countries should do the same. The monument itself is supposed to represent paradise and how delicate earth is. This is supposed to represent how beautiful the earth really is, so why should we ever destroy it?
   I hope once people exit and experience the garden itself, that they have a different out look upon the world and that they would support the cause and make a difference to our ecosystem. I want this monument to impact people in a way that they know the world would be better and safer, if we had more free land, more space, for wild life, our agriculture, and just the general ecosystem to prosper rather then suffer.

Creative Project #2

For this monument I have decided to address the issue of the failures of the criminal justice system in NYC and to a lesser extent around the world. I would like the main focus of this monument be for the city that we live in. In the early 90's due to the overcrowding of the prison on Riker's Island a barge was built to accommodate the growing number of prisoners in NYC. Prisoners at Riker's are often held without charge for days, months and sometimes even years. Still others are imprisoned for petty crimes like hopping subway turnstiles or unpaid fines. The prison is literally overcrowded with people who do not need to be there, most of whom are working class, disenfranchised people of color, people born into poverty who suffer most from being away from their families and their jobs.
I have chosen to shed light on this issue because I feel it is a topic that is often overlooked here in New York City. People view New York as a glamorous city, a wonderful place to visit but tend not to know about the city's dark side. The people who are harassed by the police everyday and fall victim to the broken criminal justice system.
My monument would be an exact replica of the prison barge on Riker's Island, the drab depressing steel structure will be located on the Hudson River, down by Battery Park, an area inhabited by some the most affluent in New York. It will serve as a constant reminder of the frustration, depression and anger that victims of NYC's criminal justice system suffer through every day, before, during and after their stay in prison. It will create awareness for residents and visitors of this city that we do have problems, and maybe one day it will lead to a drastic but necessary change of our criminal justice system.

You Are Creative Whether You Like It Or NOT

Dennis Yu

Art and Society Essay

12/1/15

There are many people who believe they don’t have creativity and isn’t able to change that. Everyone is unique, some may to more creative than others but everyone is creative in their own way. Being creative isn’t just about having a talent in painting or able to think of poems and many people think being creative is just such painting and poems, but it’s so much more. Being creative is adding your ideas on anything, using your imagination to change a feature is being creativity. Everyone makes unique decisions in life that they won’t even realize they are being creative. Most people doubt that they have creativity in them but later on they will find out that they have creativity ideas and the only thing stopping them is themselves.

This idea about people not believing they are creative is important to me because I was/am one of those people. I always assume I was a simple person and didn’t have any creativity in me, but I was wrong. Even though I didn’t see it at first, Professor Dahlia Elsayed did. The reason I believe that I wasn’t a creative person is because I didn’t have amazing ideas or any artistic talent, but being creativity wasn’t just about that and I realized it later on. This is why this topic is important to me, letting other people who has a similar way of thinking they are creativity if they try. Everyone is creative and even the little things such as deciding what to wear for the day or posting a picture on social media. You don’t realize it but the everyday decisions count as creativity.

To show people that they are creative is simple but difficult, having a big banner with the words “You Are Creative Whether You Like It Or Not” but the difficult part is having them believe what they just read. The words that are written on the banner would be just the outline of the letters. The banner will be hung on the wall of the room arms reach so people are able to add their own creativity ideas on it. Anybody is allowed to add anything they want on it to make the banner more creative and artistic. It would be on a large piece of paper, black outlining of the letters, and color pencils on the side where you can spread  your creativity throughout the paper.

The banner would be hung up on the wall of an art classroom so as soon as you walk in the classroom, you are able to see it. I chose the wall because the first thing everyone does when they walk inside the room is look around. The banner should be the first thing for them too see so that they can think about the quote. This banner will be impactful because there are many people who don’t think they are creativity enough when they actually have great ideas. This banner is for them to be more open about being creative and let them express what they want. It is meant for everyone to see, it should make the audience rethink about themselves. This banner will reach out to people who doubt themselves, make them realize their imagination is much more creative then they think. First they walk into the classroom and see this big banner that says, “You Are Creative Whether You Like It Or Not” and think to themselves about how they feel towards this saying. While they think about being non creative, other people will start talking about the banner and then start a conversation about their imagination. Then those who doubted themselves about their creativity will draw or sign anything on the banner with their unique symbol.

I hope believe will start believing in themselves more about sharing their unique ideas and stop thinking that they aren’t creative. Everyone is creative in their own way and I want them to know that and to show others how creative they can be. I am one of those people who need to believe in myself more and stopping doubting my creativity. So I hope others who have thought to themselves as a non creative person, they changed their mind about themselves after they have seen the quote. They have to focus on their thoughts and express their creative side to show people how they think art is to them. Believing in yourself and show your creativity to the people around you.

        

The topic I have chosen for this project is the sexualization of women in advertisements. I chose this because as a woman living in NYC or America in general, everywhere you look there is an advertisement for something. Buy this peanut butter, buy these underwear, buy this iPad. And within those most of the time there is some sort of underlying sexualization. Like this commercial for Bavaria Beer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMCtpOwBdlY). or the commercial for Carl's Jr. and Hardee's commercial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1krJqn3smbI) or even this commercial for dog food with the women in her underwear and bra (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oitYLuiNEpw). Why is it that the media feels that the way to get the attention of their customers is to have half naked women that have nothing to do with the product? The answer, is that sex sells. We teach our children that it's okay for women to be seen in this way and not as themselves. Let's try to change the perception on our women.

          Putting an end to sexualization of women in the media is important to me because objectifying these woman make it seem that that’s all woman are good for. It allows men and women to see other woman as these pieces of meat. It puts the idea into the heads of people that as a woman you should be sexy and if you aren’t you aren't considered a “real woman”. I chose this because I try to make it my goal to never let a women feel let down due to the way that she dresses or carries herself. Theres no reason to ever make yourself feel uncomfortable showing your body off when all you want to do is wear sweats and Netflix & Chill.

What I want to do to show this idea off is make memes and post them on social media and put them on stickers too. The stickers would be posted all over the most visited parts of the city like Times Square, Columbus circle, Downtown Brooklyn, 34th Street, Union Square, etc. They would there be so many stickers that people will be bound to start talking about it and sharing it. Both the stickers and the memes would have one picture of a woman doing something weird with food. Then there will be the word “YUM” somewhere in the picture. I choose the word YUM because I want people to be uncomfortable thinking of women as food.YUM can also stand for You U Movement. Meaning that you should be accepted as you come. No need to be sexual to be a woman.  

           I really hope people will learn to think about how to embrace the woman without making her feel like she has to be half naked to do it. And I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with woman being naked and expressing their sexuality, but there comes a limit when sexuality is used to define “Woman”.

Creative Project #2

Gisela Alfaro


Art Society


         My subject of choice is how young girls in today's society view themselves. Instead of portraying their insecurities I am showing their positivity. Every girl around us always feeling insecure about their body due to what society says “is the perfect body". There is no "perfect body", and what I mean by that is what people around us tell us what is right from wrong. My project is the empowerment of young women. It would never matter how naturally skinny a girl is to how thick they are. Young girls from very young ages and even to the late adolescent view models as "perfection". Who is social media able to tell the rest of the world who or what is perfect? What I say is, is that every individual young woman, no matter what they struggle with their body, they are beautiful. No matter what scars they carry from within. Weight does not matter. I emphasize that girls today should not be insecure of how "skinny", "thick", or "big" they are. I am emphasizing, upon every girl they should always love themselves and know how to take care of themselves. Outside forces should never let any human being go through intense physical changes where people harm themselves to be "acceptable" and or "more attractive". What I present is that within every young woman, there is no shame in how you look, how you feel, naked or not. Every female is perfect and every female is beautiful. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. It is time, I believe to end the subjection upon the "perfect female". Remember to always love yourself, never doubt yourself, and appreciate all that you have of yourself. At the end of the day it is just you, there is never any need of embarrassment. Other girls in need of a positive support should seek out to one another and unite rather than oppose one another.


        This project to me is to reduce the health issues of girls. Due to low self-esteem, and conditions like anorexia, bulimia and many other eating disorders that may cause a long term effects, this is important to me because i once was in that position as well. I had fallen into the trap society brings us. I weighed about 80 lbs and because of that my hormones alternated my immune system did not function properly, later on my ovaries stopped working. Everyday was a fight with myself, but I am most grateful to God that it didn't lead to worse conditions. Now I consider myself pretty healthy and I feel happy with who I am, it wasn't an easy process it involved the will power, therapy sessions and the love from siblings. I wouldn't want any other woman in the world to struggle with such things if it can be avoid why not stop it before time. There are some feminist groups acting upon sexualization of women, but so it has been hard battling with social media and popular fashion lines but my hopes never die that one day we might just change it.


          My materials are simple but powerful a camera Nikon D5200, a model (Christina Canonico) and a simple sign stating "I am beautiful". I would make this into a poster, size of 30" x 40" and put it in front of Elite Model Management located in Elite, 245 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10037, as well as all over social media. Everyone on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and other social media apps will have this photo of a simple girl holding a sign feeling comfortable with herself and her short hair but it doesn't matter weather is short, long, curly or straight. The whole general public as well will see this photo,many printouts will be made. I had chosen these methods because I feel that everyone should be aware what is happening to girls. Eventually a series will be made of all women in different body types.

         How people should respond to this picture,is not to see a girl half naked in front of a camera..No. They should see this as encouragement of what is natural. I encourage the whole female population to even compose their own photos and share it! The female body has no limitation of beauty, and that is what i want the public to see, to notice no matter who the female is; whether skin tone, height of tall, short, or weight of really skinny to very thick, it does not matter. All of the women in this world and young girls are beautiful. As a community we should help each other and support the cause of girls whom have physical disorders. It's always nice to start your morning with a compliment to ourselves and others.

                   it doesn't matter if you have short or long hair feel comfortable in your own skin

You're Beautiful, Just the Way You Are!~