Sunday, July 27, 2014

Book Cover Abolitionists

In the third unit of my summer class, "P'art of History," we talked about revolution in Chicago. The third unit that we have been working on is called, "Revolt." In this unit, we learned about how the people of Chicago have revolted in the past. This whole project was actually quite fun, I found minimal amount of difficulty. I decided to focus my project on discrimination as a whole. I chose the main subjects that come to mind when I think of discrimination and inequality.



"Book Cover Abolitionist Visual" (By DR) Jul 28, 2014. 


By DR
Title: Book Covers Abolitionist
Medium: Linocut/ Plaster
Size: 6x6 inches
Date: July, 2014


Discrimination is huge EVERYWHERE. Only thing I could think of in a broad point-of-view.
The oppressed people that I will be discussing are the gays, women, African Americans. The oppressors I will be talking about; Catholics, men/media/government, the people. The oppressed that I will be talking about were stripped of their rights to be expressive, to be discriminated against because they are black, and to be equal.

My poem is read below:
This is the year that wages & salaries are paid by ability and not by gender,
where WNBA players get paid even a third of what NBA players make,
where a salary of 72 thousand is not equal to a salary of 5.15 million,
where playing in the NBA is only a side job,
where one player from the WNBA gets paid more than 100 players from the NBA

This is the year,
a time where the woman comes home from work to a clean house and nice dinner ready to be served,
where the woman is recognized as someone with a goal instead of someone on a pole,
a time where people will see a feminine figure screaming “Yes We Can” at the inauguration.

This is the year that we see gays and Catholics together in harmony because they have simply realized that we are all human,
a time where people aren’t breaking the law just because they fell in love.

This is the year when activist, Bobby Seale of the Chicago 8 who was discriminated against his race, locks up Judge Hoffman (discriminator) for knowing his own rights.

This is the year that black men and women will work hard and not be held back because they can’t afford to go to college,
where the emancipation proclamation is actually realized,
where discrimination is abolished along with slavery.

This is the year that people look past clothing, beauty and style to see education, potential, and uniqueness.

If the Emancipation Proclamation began
with the vision of equal rights amongst blacks and whites
then this is the year;
If the legalization of the civil unions began
with the vision of people in love coming together
then this is the year;
If Women’s Lib began with the vision
that the glass ceiling would be shattered
then this is the year.

So may every person that is discriminated against
be able to live on
and be free.

This is the year that discrimination is abolished.
______________________________________________________________________

My image represents the saying, “don’t judge a book by its cover.” Instead of saying the term, I instead, open the book and say, “you have to open it first.” My poem is based on discrimination so I thought about how people assume women aren't strong enough, or black people aren't smart, or people who don’t have the new Jordans aren't cool. So basically the message that my visual tries to get across is to stop assuming things about people who are “different,” because at the end of the day we are all human. A propaganda poster is a visual that is fighting for something that someone believes in. Some elements of propaganda posters are a clear message, symbol of power, and simple. I used elements of Propaganda Posters by incorporating a clear message in my art piece.

I created this art piece by, sketching my image, then flipping my Image onto Soft Cut Linoleum, then transferring the drawing onto the lino by rubbing, then start carving the lino, then build the clay walls around the carving, then pour plaster onto carving, then paint carvings, lastly I installed the visuals.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Práva Homosexuálů

In the second unit of my summer class, "P'art of History," we talked about rebuilding our Chicago. The second unit that we have been working on is called, "Rebuild." In this unit, we learned about how Chicago has came back from many crisis' in the past. It was really difficult to find an event where Chicago has showed weakness or resilience. I decided to focus my project on Gay Rights. Creating the drawing and carving was even more difficult this time. This project took plenty of time and required very hard research to complete.



"The Práva Homosexuálů Visual" (By DR) Jul 16, 2014. 


By DR
Title: (of your piece) Práva Homosexuálů (Gay Rights)
Medium: (used to create the piece) Linocut/ Clay
Size: (of the piece) 6x6 inches
Date: (Month/Year of completion) July, 2014


The purpose of my art piece is to represent the equality issues in Chicago.

The problem I am addressing is inequality regarding gay rights.

Word has spread that god doesn't believe in homosexual people. The bible says that god put us all on this Earth to reproduce and the only way to do so, is to be involved with someone of the opposite sex. This has lead to political and environmental chaos between gay people and religious people. This has also lead to people all around the world using the term, "gay" and "fag" loosely. I don't really know what the fight is for, god loves all his children.

Based on my Chicago experiences, there are still people here that are completely against gay people, aside from this setback, same-sex marriage was recognized by the U.S. state of Illinois by means of a law signed on November 20, 2013 by Governor Pat Quinn that took effect on June 1, 2014. Despite any resilience Chicago has shown for gay rights, till this day, the government still looks at gay people as second-class citizens. Life isn't only discriminatory but, it can also be expensive for gay people.

All the protests finally got to the government of Illinois. The idea of inequality was supposed be abolished on December 6, 1865, when slavery was outlawed. Is that not true? In doing the signing of same-sex marriage, it allowed the real freedom of our people. When people say "gay rights," it enrages me, because I think they mean "human rights." To say someone can't marry the one they love, they might as well outlaw opposite sex marriage too. Same thing right?

Chicago had their first homosexual rights organization in 1924 and now we have a same-sex marriage law enforced that was finalized by June 1st of 2014. 



Many people have recognized the significance of this subject, such as famous rappers, "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis"



My art piece represents baby mortality. The idea of humans being put on this Earth to reproduce. I drew a picture of a baby with skull eyes to represent the population depletion of infants. The idea I had for this visual was to show what religious people see as result for people being gay. It means if people are gay then they can't reproduce which means extinction of some kind.

There is a style of art called Art Deco and it is used often to describe art in patterns using clean, straight lines. I think the pattern of the skull eyes and the pattern of the face serve as Art Deco because of the clean lines making straight patterns along the face represented as facial features.

Before anything I had to create the circle which represented the face of the baby, the hardest part. Along the face, came the ears and the hair. Then when I was finished, there was a lot more left. I had to create the mouth and eyes. The mouth was quite difficult trying to center it and make it look decent.The eyes were one of the more impossible tasks. For the eyes, instead of eyeballs, I replaced them with skulls which was hard because I still had to carve the rather, small skulls inside the eyes. After I got through with the more difficult work, I just started adding texture the face and made it stand out more. My results are showed at the top of this blog post. 

Sunday, July 6, 2014

The Claim of Sanity

In the first unit of my summer class, "P'art of History," we discussed the history of Chicago and who laid claim to our Chicago. The first unit that we have been working on is called, "Reclaim." In this unit, we learned about the history of Chicago. I put a lot of thought into my piece and I believe I have a wonderful message that I'm trying to get across. Creating the drawing and carving was not easy. In order to create my piece, I had to exit my comfort zone of drawing and create clean, straight lines while focusing on the drawing itself.

"The Claim of Sanity Visual" (By TC) Jul 2, 2014. 



By DR
Title: The Claim of Sanity
Medium/Material: Linocut (Soft cut Linoleum, Carving Tools)
Size: 6x6 inches
Date: July, 2014


“The Claim of Sanity” 

Want to know who claims my Chicago?
The CPD
The Gangs
But not even the government
Because the government isn’t full of ruthless people,
if Chicago was claimed by the government,
there would be no homicide.
People wouldn’t complain about how their children starving
or not getting the right education
The people we call our “protectors” and “leaders”
are sitting on stacks of money so high,
they can see the hope we are so desperate to catch out of the sky
got old men on Stony Island sellin’ bean pies.
But yet we embrace Chicago like we satisfied
We live off, under 10% of the money that others make but we’re satisfied
well I'm not.
it’s funny how we all have conditions to live under
how we can work in hotels that we can’t afford
how most people say Chicago is “sane” but I’ve never seen these people in my neighborhood.
three of my cousins just got murdered in my neck of the woods,
where were you?
Already in 2014, 108 people have been murdered
How much time will go by,
until we tell another brave soul goodbye.
Insanity claims Chicago,
Meanwhile, Chicago claims sanity and that’s nothing but an illusion.


I was asked, "How Do You Visualize Your Chicago?" My answer was kind of long. 

I started thinking about something that is widely regarded as representation of my “beautiful” city. The first thing that came to mind was the skyline. Then I began to think about who really has the power in the Chi. The first thing to pop up in my mind was violence; The CPD and the Gangs. I’m starting to think the police kill more than the gangs do. So I tried to complete a six point star in the middle of the skyline to represent the police and I thought a gun inside the star would be just the right touch.

I honestly believe people are the same. Remorseless, Ruthless, Nonchalant, and Stupid. I think that just as people were trying to be greedy back then and just because they could, they would kill for reputation and land, it’s the same exact thing now. In 1763, “The French and Indian War,” was regarded as a time where the British took loads of land from the French, simply because they had the power to.

My art piece is the Chicago Skyline, representing how people think of Chicago as the best city and “beautiful,” but look past the fact that Chicago is ruled by death and violence. I will use the carving I created in the picture above to make a plaster sculpture.

I showed many Neoclassical qualities such as the badge in the middle of the drawing, meaning a supposedly “heroic” figure. Also there seems to be clean lines and it is pretty simple.

Sunday, June 1, 2014

TGIGMF (Thank God It's Genetically Modified Food) - Pro GMO

The unit in the Food class, revolves around the genetic evolution of our food. This unit goes deep within the genetic makeup of organisms. This action project, we were asked to take on the position of either pro GMO or anti GMO, talking about the pros and cons of genetically modifying our foods. I chose to be pro GMO because, how could we be against GMOs when 75% of our foods are GM, getting rid of GMOs may mean sacrificing some of our favorite foods. How do you think apples taste different? Are we really prepared for this HUGE change in our lifestyle? I spent countless amounts of hours researching my case. I had a fun time preparing arguments and debating with my classmates on the topic.



What did you have for lunch today? I bet you had something that was modified to your liking. You’re anti GMO but you eat it everyday? About 75% of our foods are GM. To say you're against it, isn't so smart. Seems to be a bit of contradiction on your side. You have to be reasonable. Salmon, Tomatoes, Potatoes, Corn; all amongst the top 10 most modified foods. I see people eat fries everyday, everybody on the anti GMO side has ate a potato before! I wouldn't be surprised if they had them today. Also tomatoes! Who doesn't like pasta! It’s plenty of peoples favorite food. So what you're trying to do is, take away some of our favorite foods because they're changed to taste better and last longer? That sounds so smart! Lets all go get some pizza and wedges! A woman on the opposing side named AMK’s favorite food is pasta and that goes to show she’s not ready to give up our tomatoes.

To say you are against GMOs, would probably mean you shouldn't eat them because even if its said to not be GM, its modified anyway. GMOs go back to the descendants of our foods, like bananas and broccoli! I believe GMOs are good and safe because Genetically Modifying organisms are completely natural and they can be beneficial to humans.

Using biotechnology, we can create a lot more food with less money, less employment, and saving million of lives in the process. Also since our technology is improving, we now have ways to add nutrition and valuable vitamins to our meals through biotechnology.

GM foods are everywhere in the supermarket and have good nutritional value. Scientists are working to increase the nutritional value of foods. In Canada, scientists have genetically engineered salmon to make it grow faster and larger. This means more protein. Genetic Engineering is changing an organism’s DNA. Furthermore, our everyday foods are starting to lack nutrients so we have come up with substitutes. One substitute for rice is called “Golden Rice.” This rice may be able to save over 1 million lives because it provides Vitamin A. 

GM crops can depend on themselves for protection! This means that if we modify our plants to repel their unfriendly pest and bugs themselves. We can use less pesticides which means less money and less pollution. An example of one of these GM plants would be the Monsanto soybeans. "We'll soon be able to produce more crops with less pesticide, less fuel, less fertilizer, fewer trips over the field. We'll produce much more with much less.” Said by Dr. Ray Bressan, professor of horticulture. Pesticides and insecticides are substances that find their way through the soil of the plant and leech the groundwater which then releases into streams, polluting our water and impacting our bodies and environment horribly.  

Scientists have proven that genetically modifying organisms is completely natural. Organisms like plants and animals genetically modify themselves all the time, like cabbage for example. According to geneticists, evolution already started the GM process. It been going on for millennia. Genetic modification goes as far back as the descendants of our everyday vegetables. Breeding of plants is done daily by humans, and biotechnology is no different. Biotechnology is the genetic manipulation of microorganisms to create useful substances.

Since most foods are already GM. You are going against your favorite foods and things you eat daily. Your favorite foods are modified to taste good and last longer. The opposing side may say that they're "bad" but yet eat them daily and are perfectly fine. Are you ok, because I'm fine? Anybody can say something is organic but does it really mean it’s organic? 

Are you convinced yet? It seems to me that there’s NO real downside to GMOs.

Conclusion:
 In conclusion, TGIGMF (Thank God It’s Genetically Modified Food) . Thank You All, VOTE PRO GMO!

Agricultural Masterpiece

In the last unit of Food for Thought, our humanities course, we were assigned to team up in four groups to demonstrate the understanding of our four units in pictures. The main points of the whole drawing are agricultural history, and to envision a sustainable future of food production. Each group had to have 3 topic points to demonstrate in the drawing. My group was assigned the first unit which was Life. This unit talked about the beginning of agriculture and ancient civilization and how different foods were found and domesticated. For inspiration the whole class looked at a very interesting piece of artwork done by "The Beehive Collective," called the "True Cost of Coal." The major challenge of this drawing was to connect all the units together through different styles of artwork. The other challenge was thinking about the future of food, with all the experiments that scientists do with food, is there really a bright looking food production ahead of us?

NVA(2014). Food For Thought

This drawing is based on the first unit, called “Life.” The main focus of this unit is how and why humans transitioned from hunter-gatherers to agrarian societies, and how different ancient societies domesticated and found food. In my group, we decided to make a road timeline to connect all the units together. For our unit, we drew an assortment of different foods on the road. The reasoning for this is to symbolize how people grew crops to survive. There were no chemicals or fertilizers, so societies grew organic gardens. In 10,000 B.C.E, people were hunter-gatherers, which means they hunted animals and fish support their diet.

We drew trees and plants on one side of the road to represent life and peaceful times. We used keywords to guide our drawing. We used organic, domestication, and life. On the other side of the road we drew trees and plants to represent life. We also drew hunter-gatherers to show them hunting for food, and how they lived a natural lifestyle. We showed the society by water and we showed the people farming and hunting.

The beginning of agriculture is where the word “life” comes from. We wanted to show in our drawing, how our ancestors settled where they did and how they domesticated their foods. The importance of this unit is vast and it all comes together since this is the first of four units. Unit 2 revolves around monoculture, death, and colonization. Unit 3 revolves around this world’s food industry and the way that our food is made and treated today. Unit 4 revolves around the modification of the food industry and how life has transitioned through all 3 units, and imagines what the future of food might look like.

GS(2014). Food For Thought

Monday, May 26, 2014

The Delicious Dilemna


This unit is about how mechanics and technology play their roles in processing our food. Throughout this unit, we also discussed how mass producing corporations get their profits. In this assignment, we were asked to pick any dish and write a review on the dish when it came from the restaurant and then we were supposed to make it at home and compare the two. It was amazing to me how similar the two dishes were, it makes me realize that I can make my favorite dishes at home and know what's in my foods because I made it! After this unit, I like to analyze foods a lot. To know what these industries are doing with our food is astonishing. I definitely am more careful with the foods I put into my body, now.


Food Review 1 (Restaurant):

LR, "BBQ Bacon Cheddar Wedges at The Italian Pizza Kitchen" 5/23/14, Chicago

This is my view on the dish from the restaurant: I ate at the Italian Pizza Kitchen on 1433 N. Dayton St. My dish was one of their big money makers: The Chipotle Bacon Cheddar Wedges. They used to be a bit too spicy for my liking. I asked around and some people thought it would be smart to substitute the Chipotle sauce for Barbecue sauce. It was such a brilliant idea that I tried it the next time I went. These wedges with the BBQ sauce are quite soggy, but not too soggy. It feels as if it was drenched in sauce with a layer of different ingredients on top. The dish seems to have an assortment of different ingredients. The bacon gives the dish a wonderful kick of salt and crunchy texture. Since I like bacon a lot, it came to my attention that everything else on the dish stood out more in taste than bacon did. You could feel the bacon in your mouth, but you couldn’t taste it. It gave the wedges a crunch but all you taste is Barbecue sauce and cheese. Now the smell is a whole different story, you can definitely smell the bacon in the dish. It had a Barbecue bacon smell. The barbecue outweighed everything in the smell department but you could still smell the bacon. The two smells combined, making some type of barbecue bacon smell.


The tangy taste from the Barbecue sauce made the dish a bit sweet also. This dish, being more salty than anything, is definitely unhealthy. I’m sure when we think of healthy foods, pigs, cheese, and potatoes don’t come to mind but we do have to keep in mind that good, healthy food is hard to come by nowadays. Aside from my dish being unhealthy, it was quite fresh. As opposed to any dish from McDonalds’ industrial food choices, it looked steaming hot and the holding container was foggy. When you open it up, smoke comes out immediately, unleashing the beautiful aroma of the Barbecue bacon. Imagine crispy wedges with melted cheddar cheese spread across the top of them. Smoke coming off of the well-cooked bacon like it just came off the stove, on top of everything happening, the wedges are also drenched in barbecue sauce.


At the Italian Pizza Kitchen, Home of The Barbecue Bacon Cheddar Wedges, the wedges cost $5.00 +tax. For my homemade version of the wedges, the bacon alone costs more than the dish at the restaurant ($5.99)! The prices speak for themselves; the quality determines the price, which determines the profit. If a restaurant knows that they have low quality ingredients then they can sell their food at a price that will guarantee them a profit. These restaurants are focusing on “quantity over quality.” This means that these people that work for these companies are mass producing food at the expense of nutritional value. Most of us don't take into consideration the quality of our food but just look at the price. A reason why it was better to make my food at home is because I know what I'm putting in my food. I thought the restaurant dish had too much salt, so I bought better quality, low-sodium bacon instead. 


Food Review 2 (Homemade): 

DR, "Homemade Loaded Wedges" 5/26/14, Chicago

The homemade version of my Loaded Wedges were quite tasty. Although I didn’t acquire all the ingredients of the restaurant version, I think I did a pretty good job. They tasted similar. The biggest difference had to be the barbecue sauce; it wasn't the taste, it was the amount! Although Garland Jack's Barbecue Sauce is not very unique, I taste a little bit of a difference in the two barbecue Sauces. The barbecue sauce I used for the homemade dish was sweeter, as opposed to the restaurant’s BBQ sauce which had a stronger taste. One ingredient in my barbecue sauce was Potassium Sorbate which is actually safe to consume and is used to prevent the growth of mold. Maybe the restaurant BBQ sauce is homemade, that could make a huge impact on the comparison of the two. My homemade dish was not organic but pretty fresh. The BBQ sauce was pre-made and processed but the cheddar had a very strong smell. When I picked up one of the fries it started to break apart and fall off the fork. The freshly cut wedges hit your mouth with a very cheesy taste. As barbecue dripped off the wedges, you could smell the fresh potatoes. 


Recommendation/ Preference:
I would prefer the homemade meal over the restaurant meal because of the freshness of the ingredients. When I bite into the very delicate, fresh cut, potato wedges you can taste all the ingredients working together. As opposed to the restaurant meal, you can taste the fresh cheddar and you feel more secure eating food that you make your self.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Experimental Taste Test

In my "Food" course this unit we explored the different ingredients used for baking. We discovered that something called a leavening agent was one of the 5 essential ingredient to baking. Leavening agents are assigned to raise the dough so it looks nice and fluffy. We left out the leavening agents for a holiday named "passover" where the jews didn't have time to use leavening agents for their cooking while they ran from. We cooked one batch of cupcakes with a leavening agent; Baking Soda. We then cooked a batch of cupcakes without a leavening agent. For this assignment, we were asked to substitute the leavening agent for two other ingredients. One group of cupcakes being the controlled group and one being the experimental group. I chose Lemon Juice and Olive Oil to substitute for the missing leavening agent.

The Cupcake Experiment

1. Introduction

We are trying to figure out if a acid-base reaction will help the cupcakes rise like a leavening agent would. Baking powder is a leavening agent. When a leavening agent reacts with heat and liquid, it produces carbon dioxide and causes the dough to rise. For our controlled group, we followed the recipe precisely, adding the exact amount of ingredients, mixing our batter until it is smooth, preheating the oven, and baking our cupcakes for 20 minutes in 350 degrees Fahrenheit. For our experimental group, we substituted the baking powder for lemon juice and olive oil. We decided to choose an acid and base because baking powder contains cream of tartar, an acid, and baking soda, a base. Using that logic, we wanted to create an acid-base reaction and therefore, our group chose lemon juice, which has a pH of 2.2, and olive oil, which has a pH of 8. We put in different amounts of lemon juice and olive oil in each of our 6 cupcake trials to see which cupcake rises the most. The ultimate test to see whether we successfully replicated the effects of baking powder is to measure the height of our cupcakes in our experimental group and compare it to the height of the cupcakes in the controlled group.

2. Research Question

Will an acid-base substitute help cupcakes rise like a leavening agent?


3. Hypothesis
If I substitute baking powder for lemon juice, pH of 2.2, and olive oil, pH of 8, in my cupcake recipe, then my experimental group cupcakes will rise less than my control group cupcakes.

4. Materials:
  • Sugar
  • Butter
  • Eggs
  • Vanilla Extract
  • Flour
  • Milk
  • Baking Powder
  • Lemon Juice
  • Olive Oil

5. Procedure

For Control Group:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Grease and flour a 9×9 inch pan or line a muffin pan with paper liners.
  3. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.
  4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.
  5. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well.
  6. Finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth.
  7. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan.
  8. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven. For cupcakes, bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cake is done when it springs back to the touch.


For Experimental Group:


  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Grease and flour a 9×9 inch pan or line a muffin pan with paper liners.
  3. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.
  4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.
  5. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well.
  6. Finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth.
  7. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan.
  8. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven. For cupcakes, bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cake is done when it springs back to the touch.

6. Data


Cupcakes
Amount of Lemon Juice (tsp)
Amount of Olive Oil (tsp)
Cupcake Height (cm)
1
1/16
1/16
3.5
2
0
1/8
3.5
3
1/8
0
3
4 (Favorite)
3/32
1/32
3
5
1/64
7/64
3.5
6
7/64
1/64
2.7
Controlled Group
--
--
3.75

7. Graph

image (1).png

8. Recipe in Metric


Ingredients
Amount in Cups/Tsp
Amount in mL
Sugar
1/12 cup
20 mL
Butter
1/24 cup
10 mL
Eggs
1/6 egg
--
Vanilla Extract
1/6 tsp
0.82 mL
All-purpose Flour
3/24 cup
30 mL
Milk
1/24 cup
10 mL
Lemon Juice
3/32 tsp
0.46 mL
Olive Oil
1/32 tsp
0.15 mL

9. Conclusion

From this experiment, I learned that an acid-base replacement for Baking Powder, really does rise the pastry! While my trial cupcakes did not rise as high as the ones in the controlled group, one trial cupcake was only 0.75cm shorter than the controlled group cupcakes. This was the 4th cupcake where I put 3/32 teaspoon of lemon juice and 1/32 teaspoon of molasses. I believe that the 4th cupcake was one of the more shorter cupcakes because the batter was more acidic than alkaline. Given that baking powder is slightly more basic, pH of 8.5, my batter would also have had to be slightly more basic to replicate the effects baking powder has on the pastry. Therefore, my 4th trial cupcake proved my hypothesis right because the height difference was less than less than the controlled group’s cupcakes. In conclusion, while the 4th cupcake was the lowest among my experimental group, I decided to submit my this cupcake because it tasted the lemony delicious and quite different. It’s hard on the outside and moist on the inside. This project has led me to experiment with my cooking more.