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Arts May 2016
Didja See Digital Media ’ s Show ?
Student art journals on display at the Digital Media show . Director Patrick Williams believes in the importance of going analog even in a digital world . Journals recorded student progress through the semester . Photo by Hannah Peterson
Hannah Peterson Arts Editor
If you walked through the halls of the VAC in April , chances are you were surprised to find three giant , grey boxes floating in the center of the show room . The unique new display idea showcased character designs from student projects on each plane . Images like a rider traveling through an immense temple , a little girl tumbling and diving into the ocean , and a boy scout with a hair pic hung above viewers who could rotate their art experience .
The spring Digital Media show took some more unexpected turns including 3-D printed student
Don ’ t Fret , it was a Hot Set
Anthony Castagna Lee Trueblood Staff Writers
The cats were swinging , scooping , and swapping at the Jazz Guitar show . Their chops were filled with so much ictus and stank , their playing was so bad ( an as Director of Jazz Studies Dan . St . Marseille would say , “ By bad I mean good ”) that all of the alligators and hepcats were totally jiving .
On May 7th in the Webb Theatre , the Guitar Program put on a stellar jazz performance featuring different bands within the conservatory .
The program started with well-known jazz standards like “ Autumn Leaves ,” by Johnny Mercer , “ Footprints ,” by Wayne Shorter , and “ So What ,” by Miles Davis . As the show progressed tunes became more upbeat , complicated , and even stepped away from
the “ jazz ” sound .
The groups ventured into an array of funk , fusion , and soul grooves like Herbie Hancock ’ s “ Cantaloupe Island ” that blew everyone away .
Seventh grader David Lee ( IMJ ) said , “ It felt great to be able to drum on some of the songs . I liked that it was all guitars compared to what I usually do .”
The guitar program had several changes in the past year , with new teachers , staff , and students . As a result , putting on a show like this must have been a challenge , especially because most of the bands did not even have a chance to play with a bass and drum until two hours before the show started .
One of the new Jazz Guitar teachers , Ryan Navales , said ,“ This year for me has been a little tough , especially since
designs and projected animation that beautifully showed off creative pieces from the both fall and spring semester classes .
Digital Media Director Patrick Williams said , “ We like to try new things for each of our shows . This is the first time we ’ ve made and suspended box walls from the ceiling of the VAC gallery , and may be the last .”
The DM courses on display included Game Design , Concept Design , Drawing and Animation . Projects fell into some sub-division inside these classes such as Character Design and World Build where students put together aspects of personalities and terrain into one big picture .
Senior Ada Zhang described a Character Build piece she created for the show : “ The illustration was made for a story about self-discovery . It ' s a visual representation of the kind of quiet environment I would need in order to be able to focus on myself as opposed to what ' s happening around me .”
DM has had a 3-D printer as an option for sophmores to actually print out their dimentional designs .
“ The students are usually pretty excited when they see a tangible version of something they have modeled in 3-D , it makes it more real somehow ,” said Williams .
The models , all of which were small enough to hold in the palm of your hand , were created with sheets of thin plastic and took days to make each one . Toast on countertops , cats , and crystal patterns are some of the creative models that were set on wooden displays around the VAC .
Sketchbooks are strongly encouraged by DM teachers . A whole wall of the VAC gallery was dedicated to the different books .
Williams said , “ Some of the books on display represent person [ al ] projects , others are from classwork , it ’ s different for each book .”
I had never put on anything like this before .”
Many acts were exquisite , but one that stood out was the rendition of Juan Tizo ’ s “ Caravan ” with senior Will Cuellar , sophomore Noah Myers , senior Kian Sadjadi , senior Eric Van Thyne , and junior Dylan Williams .
A common jazz standard “ Caravan ” has been performed by artists time after time such as Duke Ellington , Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers , and Wes Montgomery . Even though they drew from the classic renditions , the students played it in their own way , playing off of each other . All of these made for a very interesting performance that was unique , yet traditional at the same time .
This guitar show represented what jazz music is , and how much knowledge the beginning students have gained .
Digital works were displayed as well . Monitors in the back of the room played slideshows of short student animations , and student works were projected onto a large wall of the VAC .
All of the teachers and students are constantly working together to expand ideas and create new one .
“ Digital Media has always had a very supportive , very open atmosphere to it . Our teachers are very much our friends as well as people we can respect for their knowledge and artistic talents ,” Zhang said .
Junior Mason Genova added , “[ Digital Media is ] almost like an extended family . [ It ] has extended my artistic style by having me realize that not all great art is realistic ; everyone has their own style and excells at however they draw .”
If you didn ’ t stop by the show this semester , be sure to come next time and see the amazing artwork that Digital Media students created .
The new displays were beautifully done and a pleasant surprise ; next year is bound to have new array of gallery arrangements .
Though , as Willams said , “ There are always new ideas to try with exhibition design and artwork install , but at the end of the day , showcasing the incredible talents and efforts of DM students is what is most important .”
Floating 3D cubes were suspended from the cieling of the VAC and displayed original student artwork .
Photo by Hannah Peterson
Fight wONg ! cont .
fun things that happen at OCSA-- especially since it would ’ ve been my sixth year . But I ’ m just interested in seeing what college life has to offer , because you don ’ t really know the college experience until you actually experience it .”
Wong ’ s peers at OCSA will surely miss her presence .
“ Shelby has been one of my closest friends since I came to OCSA my freshman year . She has been a constant inspiration and overall a loving friend that I will miss dearly . Don ’ t forget to visit us next year , Shelbs !” said Junior Susan Le ( IM ).
To make up the high school credits , Wong will “ probably take a GED test in October to get an honorary high school diploma .”
While at USC , she will be majoring in Classical Piano in the Thornton School of Music because she has a passion for instrumental music and hopes to maintain it throughout college .
“ I ’ ve always considered piano my solo instrument and violin as my orchestral instrument , and since I was auditioning as a soloist , I chose piano .”
To continue her practice in violin , Wong is going to “ join the orchestra that [ USC ] has for non-music majors .”
While on campus , Wong plans to expand her horizons through actively participating in on-campus activities such as Circle K , a college continuation of Key Club .
Wong believes that taking advantage of opportunities will benefit her later in life . “ If I ’ m applying for a job or some internship , I ’ ll be able to distinguish myself by saying I skipped senior year of high school to go to college early .”