Aloha Sunday: James Tull

May 3 -Aloha Sunday in North Park

Artist: James Tull

Dream Machine

           This art show was small had a total of three artist. Yet the vibe that was in this small 60's feel surf shop was refreshing. The artist, James Tull is a very talented photographer, and my husband. I am inspired by his ability to capture moments that last. They speak volumes and tell stories. In this photo he used film but the fact that I have a connection to it is so much more joyful. James went to a surf spot in San Onofre, called Old Man's, he had never been there before. I told him that it is a great place to long board, and relax in the sunshine. It is a place where I grew up going with my dad. When James came home that day he was more than excited to develop his film. When he received his film back there were images that were stunning. I love this picture because James and I always have wanted a VW bus and this nostalgic photo makes me want to go back in time and live this life. It has contrast, and character, and speaks to me and it relates to my passion, Sol y Mar.

Visting Presentation: Precious Knowledge

April 21st- CSUSM

Artist: Dos Vatos Film

Presenter: Pricila Rodriguez

Precious Knowledge

The video that was presented was shocking and alarming. I thought walking in to class that day was similar due to the fact there was an overwhelming amount of students from other classes in the auditorium. There was a brief introduction and then Pricila Rodriguez unveiled her high school years in a dramatic and heart-wrenching documentary called Precious Knowledge.

            Precious Knowledge was about a high school in the Tucson Unified School District in Arizona. There was a program established to teach students an exciting and relevant history. The program was called Ethnic Studies. This program helped many struggling Mexican American students about their heritage and culture. Students that were in this class began showing up to school and actually for the first time enjoyed learning. The students in this class were not only learning but they were advocating love. This advocacy of love stemmed from them wanting to make the world a better place starting with themselves their families and communities. But because of political reasoning and the Arizona boarders so close to Mexico many started to hear about these students learning about their heritage and thought it was un-American. Superintendent, Tom Horne did everything in his power to shut down this program. The students fought back in a silent non-violent way and they still had no voice. Tom Horne shut the program down and had many followers that were against this school, students and their learning. 

           This video presented in my foreign films class was not foreign, but it showed something that was going on in our world. The fact that as artist we should be politically active in our community is something that is wonderful. It is wonderful because as artist you can impact people and want to make a change. I feel that we all have passions and this film showed that passions exist even to the extent of education. Which is something that we have talked about all semester long.

Visting Filmmaker: Travis Wilkerson

April 18th-CSUSM

Travis Wilkerson

A fast speaking yet incredibly intelligent filmmaker came to our class to present various films from his personal collection and another. We watched segments of a newsreel from his inspiration and friend Santiago Alvarez, to a film that researched the mining town of Wilkerson’s hometown, Butte, Montana. His insight on history, his passion for change inspired and caused a stir within. Travis Wilkerson’s filmmaking style is one that is set out to cause an emotional uproar. That feeling comes with truth being exposed. The term 3^rd Cinema refers to an aesthetic political movement that engages the world to want to make a change. I know that after viewing Santiago Alvarez and Travis Wilkerson’s films I was left in a vulnerable state and many images that sat heavy on my heart. They spoke to me, causing me to want to make change and not be ignorant of the world that is happening around me.

This film was at its very essence 3^rd cinema. The feeling after watching really makes you re-evaluate what you had just seen. It is a film that makes the audience make a decision on the type of change they want to make. It was one that caused me to really think about political situations in the world and especially America. I know that after watching this film I need to truly be more aware of what is going on in my generation because it will be someone else’s history one day. 

This filmmaker used many aspects that I found to be relevant in our class. He used text, and pictures to create his film. There were many new ideas through his film that inspire me to think about how people (the audience) perceives one's work of art. I feel that in class we talked about much of this. Also the fact that he related to the world around him is something that artist should talk about.