Assignment 5c

MoLAA
It is the Museum of Latin American Art. It is located in Long Beach California. The mission of the museum is to educate in Latin contemporary art. It is the only museum in the western U.S. to feature only contemporary Latin American art.


Walter Goldfarb "Dancing with Tigers III"
http://www.ocregister.com/photos/goldfarb-series-art-1947013-lysergic-most/pid1947016

I cam across this piece because I had seen a peice by Goldfarb. He is a Brazilian artist born in 1964. This connects to the humanities because he is part of the Latin American culture. His style is to copy the mind images produced by LSD and what people might have experienced in the 60s.

The artwork contains some type of flower with what seems to be tigers hanging out from the sides. It is made from acrylics on canvas. The artist uses a lot of blending in the background and a lot of pinks and oranges and reds. Throughout his artwork, he uses a lot of plant based and plant motifs as his subjects.

The artwork is a beautiful blend of colors with an interesting design in the middle. The design in the middle is at an angle that it makes it look like it might be popping out of the page. This is what Goldfarb was going for because he wanted to recreate the mind images produced by LSD.

I chose this piece of artwork because earlier on in the semester when watching the YouTube videos of MoLAA, I came across one of his art pieces. It really struck out to me. I wasn't able to find that piece again, but after looking at his other artwork, I came across this and I really liked it. I especially like the elements he used. The tigers and the flower and the black elegant design of the line. This art piece does give a sense of Latin America in that it uses vibrant colors and through the flower in middle, how he chose to oversize it. This piece was in a MoLAA exhibit in 2007.

I would like to know more about the artist. Did he actually use the drug? Because in the exhibit where this piece was shown, the theme was the mind images produced by LSD.

Assignment 5b

I, Rigoberta Menchu

http://www.wmich.edu/dialogues/texts/irigobertamenchu.html
I came across this piece in my research of Rigoberta Menchu. I know she won a Noble Peace Prize and many historical accounts have been written about her. This is the cover for her book published in 1983. This connects to the humanities because she was a very important woman who helped fight for the rights of others especially for the rights of her people.

I liked this book title because it is very colorful. It has a painting of Rigoberta in the front. And it is very much depicted as if it were her diary. The artist uses a lot of lines and squares in order to produce this art piece. It has many elements of an indigenous culture which Rigoberta was a big part of. The way which Rigoberta has the headband and her earrings is what brings this element out.

My interpretation of the artwork is that it is suppose to show the diversity of the indigenous culture. Within the Mayan culture, Rigoberta was able to learn many different dialects and all of the colors show that Rigoberta was close to many of the people she got to meet.

I chose this artwork because it was what got Rigoberta known world wide. I believe she was a very important woman and this book gives an account of some of the things that she got to do. It can also serve as an inspiration to up an coming fighters for human rights. The different colors and shapes also show the connection that Rigoberta made between her community.

I would like to know how people received this book. I would also like to know if it lead more indigenous people to learn to read in order to understand more of both sides of the argument.

Assignment 5a

Independence Period

By the end of the 19th century most of the countries in Latin America had gained independence. The colonizing Europeans included the Spanish and Portugese and to some extent the French. Although there did remain some small colonies after this period. The Latin American Independence Era went from 1807-1825. It started with the United States gainingits independence from Great Britain in 1777. By 1810, Spain had seen its end of it colonial empire. By 1825, Spain only had managed to keep some small islands in the Caribbean.

source:http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/latinamericaindependence/The_History_of_Latin_America_the_Independence_Era_18071825.htm

Rigoberta Menchu
She was born in January 1959 to the Quiche branch of the Mayan culture in Guatemala. As a little girl she helped her family in the farm work area. She was either sent to work at the northern highlands or to the Pacific coast, where it was very common to send children to pick coffee beans.
As a teenager, she used the Catholic Church to bring about social reform. She became a very prominent women's activist. Her family was accused of taking in part of guerilla activities, because one had sprung out in the area where this family lived. Her father was taken to prison and tortured. Upon the release, the family joined the Commitee of Peasant Union (CPU).
Upon her joing the CPU, her father was killed, her mother eventually was killed and her brother was arrested, tortured and killed by the army. This forced Roberta to learn Spanish and many of the different Mayan dialects. She became an activist for the rights of peasants. She organized a demonstartion in the Capital. After this demonstration in 1981, Rigoberta was in hiding and eventually had to flee to Mexico. She has returned but different death threats make her go into exile again.

source: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1992/tum-bio.html

I chose this topic because I had no idea who this woman was. She was very influential in the fight for inigenous rights as well as women rights. It is amazing how she came from a small town and knew how to prepare in order to fight for the rights of her people. She has been recognized by several international awards for her work.

Assignment 4c

CULTURE:
It is a system of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people. That knowledge may include behavior, beliefs, values, and symbols accepted by the group of people without paying much attention to these ideas daily, but rather just subconsciously doing them. Culture has become tradition that is transmitted from generation to generation. Within a culture, there will be many subcultures. These are people that generally follow the main groups culture tradition, but also have a variation. An example may be a town's culture within the country's culture. The theory of culture states that ideas, meanings, beliefs and values determine human nature. And that behavior is acquired through social learning.
This project fits into the definition of culture because Latin America has seen a shift in many cultures. The native people had their culture. There were all types of cultures that existed. These cultures probably influenced each other and borrowed ideas of doing things and their beliefs. When the conquest era began, there was a major introduction of a totally different culture. Hernan Cortes, a conquest Spaniard, introduced many new concepts. One of the biggest is religion. They tried to get everyone in Latin America to accept Christianity. This was a big culture shift. Culture influences art, poetry and every aspect of perspective. Latin America is a big culture unified by language and beliefs/religion and this is due to the conquest. Yet each country has its unique culture.
source: http://www.tamu.edu/classes/cosc/choudhury/culture.html

Review: http://ceceliciouz.blogspot.com/
From CeCe's 3a assignment I learned a little bit more about the Mayans. The Mayans were people of art. They developed very advanced techniques in architecture, art, math and science. El Castillo is a pyramid in where twice a year at the spring and autumn equinox a shadow is casted to form a serpent. This was an advancement in architecture because they built this great city with only the resource of a well. And it was a mathematical advancement because they got all the dimensions of the pyramid to have that effect. They developed a 365 calendar and could predict eclipses through an observatory. They also had a hieroglyphic writing system.
Freire can be applied to this topic by saying that the Mayan civilization was deeply educated in the topics mentioned above. They all had to be on the same page about architecture and math in order to built all those amazing buildings. Even though I do not know how the Mayans organized their people or what political system they ran, Freire philosophy has to do with education of fairness of the law. The Mayans were a very organized group of people.

Review: http://leecbugsmama.blogspot.com/
From Vero's 4a assignment I learned about how the population in Latin America was severely affected. During Spanish conquest, 1492-1810, population was very low due to conquest or disease. I also learned about the Spanish missionary Junipero Serra. He became a monk at age 16. At age 36 her traveled from Spain to Veracruz, Mexico. He was part of the Franciscan Missions to the New World. His main mission vocation was in Mexico City for Our Lady of Guadalupe. By age 70, he had traveled 24000 miles. He did this despite suffering from many illnesses.
Freire can be applied because missionaries walk about through educating people. Or rather, spreading a new belief. But this is how Freire also went about, after his exile, he went around educating farm workers to read. This relates to the region because it is mostly Catholic beliefs. And this is due to the many missionaries that walked about and were sent to serve in the New World.

Assignment 4b

Assignment 4b

El sueño de la Malinche

(”The Dream of Malinche”)

Antonio Ruíz (1939), Mexico

I came across this piece because I researched about the life of Malinche. She seemed to be a very powerful women and was a major influence in how the conquest of Americas became about, especially those places conquered by Cortes. She is a big part of history. I came about this piece because I know that many artists have portrayed Malinche and I wanted to look into some of those art pieces. This piece contains a lot of imagery and hidden symbolism.

This artwork is a painting of La Malinche. She is lying in a bright bed while the background contrast with it by being a darker color. The artist did this because he wanted to emphasize her. The wall behind her is starting to chipp and crack. The folds on Malinche's sheets form a mountain with a small village on it. At the top of the mountain there is a larger house. The artist uses a lot of intricate colors and many shades of contrasting yellow and blue.

I choose this piece of art because it seems to represent the position that Malinche was in. She lived a comfortable life with the luxuries of the Spaniards, yet she was not free. She was trapped, which meant she could not follow her dreams. In her biography it explained that she was next in line to rule, but since her mother didn't want her to, she gave her away and passed her off as dead. The atcual figure is painted to represent a very strong women. The body of Malinche is painted to be very big. Malinche however, did live to be what she was destined. She did help govern a village, but became considered a traitor by many people. And I think that the mountain on her bed is what she most dreamed about and that was to govern her village.

I would like to know more about the history of this painting. Where is it displayed and did it stir up any controversy when it came out publicaly? I know that this painting is diplayed at the International Exhibition of Surrealism in the Mexican Art Gallery in Mexico City.

website: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://blogmeridian2.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/ruiz-el-sueno-de-la-malinche.jpg&imgrefurl=http://blogmeridian2.wordpress.com/images/&usg=__G5d52jS58-Tm9bbmc7ok8j6FDK4=&h=449&w=611&sz=93&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=xvjlqmAGguHAtM:&tbnh=100&tbnw=136&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmalinche%2Bart%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

Assignment 4a

The colonial conquest of the America's began with Christopher Colombus in 1492 and expanded through three centuries.

La Malinche was the translator between the Spaniards and the natives. She quickly learned Spanish and already knew many different Mayan and Aztec dialects. She learned native dialects because as a little girl, she had an incident where her mother passed her as dead, but really her mother gave her to a traveling group. La Malinche ended up in the Yucatan peninsula.

La Malinche gave birth to essentially the first "Mexican." That is a mix between Spaniard and native. She was very close to Cortes and very faithful. She was a big influence in getting the natives what they wanted.

Many people regard her as a traitor, but that is up to interpretation. She was always with Cortes and the Spaniards and was accustomed to some of their luxuries. But she played a big role in the conversion to Christianity and stopped many natives from being slaughtered by the Spanish.

http://www.mexconnect.com/en/articles/224-la-malinche-harlot-or-heroine
YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQU4CXqrbDs&feature=related

I chose to research La Malinche because in high school I read the book from my Spanish class. I really liked it and even though some parts are fiction, it was very interesting to read.

One interesting fact that I learned was that La Malinche forgave her mother even though she had given her away.

Another interesting fact was that La Malinche knew very many languages and dialects. She was basically the voice of the people.

Another interesting fact was that while Colombus conquest, he came to the Americas four times during his lifetime.

Assignment 3c

Matthew McDonald's blog
http://mattymcd11.blogspot.com/2008/06/assignment-1b.html

Freire was key in the growth of literacy rate among the working class in Brazil. His theories helped over 300 sugarcane workers to read. This brought them out of oppression because they were able to vote and bring about a change. During Freire's exile he was able to put into practice his theories to neighboring countries. He also gained a new perspective from living in different countries.

Stephanie's blog
http://stephaniekg.blogspot.com/2008/06/blog-1b.html

Freire referred to slang as valid. He believed it was an important aspect of communication and key to that region. However, he also believed that proper language and grammar was very important. He worked with the teachers of the region to make learning proper grammar rules more meaningful to the people instead of having red correction marks all over the papers.

Freire's ideas apply to the content of this class because we are learning about different philosophies and style of teaching. In this class we are learning about the culture of Latin American countries and how the people are growing. This is important because we are working side by side to make the world a better place for generations to come, even though they differ in ethnicity. Also his ideas linked the Latin American culture and brought it together. It got more people to learn to read and become educated.

Assignment 3b

Mayan Temple: Chichen Itza
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyvw6G9Max0

I came across this piece while researching assignment 3a. This relates to my studies of the humanities because I am very interested in the Mayan culture. I have actually been to this pyramid and have climbed the steps all the way to the top. This city is really fascinating in its architecture.
The temple Chichen Itza is made of stone. It was built after foreign influence from central Mexico in the Mayan culture. it is built in a very precise and mathematical way. It shows the Mayan's skill and understanding in mathematics and astronomy. Twice a year, a shadow that represents a serpent is casted along the side. As the day progresses, the shadow seems to wriggle into the ground to meet up with the head of a serpent made of stone.
The temple was referred to El Castillo by the Spaniards. The temple is 79 feet high and has 365 steps, which represent the days of the year.
This artwork is about mystery. It is a fascinating structure that we know very little about.
I decided to chose this art because I feel a strong relationship to it. Having visited, makes me wonder how the culture was and why the people decided to abandon the city. It is also amazing how they figured out the exact dimensions in order for the shadow to cast twice a year. If it was a centimeter longer or shorter, it would not produce the same effect.
I would like to know about the plans of this temple. How it was designed and how it was actually built.

Assignment 2b Art Answers

http://leecbugsmama.blogspot.com/
1.What was the first original use of the property before MoLAA?
The original use of the property before MoLAA housed the Balboa Amusement Producing Company, a very popular silent film studio at the time.
2.What district can the MoLAA found in?
MoLAA is found in the developing East Village District of Long Beach, California.

http://angiepell-assignment1a.blogspot.com/
3. What were Dr. Robert Gumbiner's "three careers"?
Dr. Gumbiner's three careers were physician, founder and manager of a large HMO, and a philanthropist, collector and patron of the arts.

http://nonapo.blogspot.com/
4.What was your favorite piece of artwork? By whom?
My favorite piece of artwork is The Fall of the King III by Walter Goldfarb

http://mvcrowder.blogspot.com/
5.Who is the founder of the Museum of Latin American Art?
The founder of MoLAA was Dr. Robert Gumbiner.

Assignment 2b

1. What does MoLAA stand for? Museum of Latin American Art
   
2. Explain what you see on the above video clips (be specific)? In the above video clips I saw lots of art from the museum. Each piece had the artist's name and the name of the piece. One of my favorite piece of art from the first video clip was from Walter Goldfarb of Brazil. In the second video clip, I saw an interview of the workers and a small tour of the museum. In this clip the workers invite the viewer to visit the museum and they explain all of the learning activities the viewer can do. They try to break the stereotype of museums being boring. They explain how they focus on a different country and get the people to experience authentic music, food and art from that country.
   
3. What did you learn from the video clips (3 facts)? The museum was founded in 1996. The museum is located in Long Beach, California. The mission of the museum is to educate in Latin contemporary art.
   
4. Create 3 questions for your classmates based on the clips or websites (tell them which specific link to visit to find the answer)?
1. Since how far back does the museum have art from? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLMMe4yeOD4&feature=related)
2. What kinds of workshops does the museum offer? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLMMe4yeOD4&feature=related)
3. What is the main exhibit called and what is the name of the artist? Where is he from? (http://molaa.com/)
   
5. List any 3 things you learned from the MoLAA website (be specific; give concrete answers for which your classmates can follow-up in upcoming assignments)? 1. In 2006, the museum expanded to host an outdoor sculpture display. This area is sometimes rented for parties during the summer and may be closed for viewing. It is located in the north side of the museum. 2. Dr. Robert Gumbiner founded the museum in 1996. He died of prostate cancer. 3. It is the only museum in the western U.S. to feature only contemporary Latin American art.
   

Assignment 2a Latin America Intro

Interdisciplinary Studies

1. of, relating to, or involving two or more academic disciplines that are usually considered distinct (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/interdisciplinary)
2. involving, or joining two or more disciplines, or branches of learning (http://yourdictionary.com/interdiciplinary)

Latin America

1. those areas of the South and Central America whose official languages are Spanish and Portuguese (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Latin+America)
2. that part of the Western Hemisphere south of the U.S., in Mexico and Central America, the West Indies, and South America where Spanish, Portuguese and French are the official languages (http://yourdictionary.com/latin-america)

Countries in Latin America are:
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Ecuador
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Uruguay
Venezuela
(http://faculty.philau.edu/shainr/LAmapF05.htm)

Countries in the Caribbean are:
Anguila
Antigua and Barbuda
Aruba
The Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Bermuda
Bonaire
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Costa Rica
Cuba
Curacao
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guatemala
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Margarita Island
Martinique
Montserrat
Nevis
Puerto Rico
Saba
Saint Barts
Saint Eustatius
Saint Kitts
Saint Lucia
Saint Martin
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Suriname
Trinidad and Tobago
Turks and Caicos
US Virgin Islands
(http://geography.about.com/library/maps/bircaribbean.html)
(http://www.caribbean-search.com/fastfacts.cfm)

Cool Fact!
The Caribbean is comprised of more than 7000 islands, islets, reefs and cays. This region is known as the West Indies.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean)

I believe that not all of these sources are reputable because we do not know who posted the information and how much research was made. A good way to know if the information is reputable is by checking various sites.

Adam and I are both interested in learning more about Latin American culture.
(http://ludevtec.blogspot.com)
Joeny and I are both working toward obtaining a nursing degree.
(http://joenyg.blogspot.com)

Assignment 1c

I came across Tracie's blog. She was a daughter that is Latina and would like to learn more about the culture. Her daughter is very important to her. She also comes from a big Portugese family.

I learned from Tracie that Paulo Freire originally went to college to become a lawyer, but then realized that he was meant to be an educator. As an educator, he used pictures instead of words to teach the illiterate and native people of Brazil. I also learned that Freire maintained faith in Christianity, but he did not always agree with all its principals such as discrimination and exploitation.

I also came across Martin's blog. He is taking this class to fulfill his GE requirements and currently lives in Rohnert Park.

Martin mentioned that Freire was a humanitarian, that is, supported those socially oppressed. He described that Freire's weapon of choice was education. I really liked this comparison because it describes a united a group of people that fought without violence for their human rights. I also learned that Freire taught to engage in respectful dialogue and that in turn expands our social learning which promotes positive humanity worldwide.

Assignment 1b

Paulo Freire was the founder of pedagogy. This is a theory in which students are empowered to become the best they can be. He believed that by being able to read and write, natives can overcome oppression. Therefore, he helped many natives get an education. The critical pedagogy consists of helping students answer questions and challenge domination. He changed the standard of teaching to higher expectations.

Paulo Freire is a great believer in the "banking method." That is, teachers helping put valuable information into student's empty bank accounts. This also accounts for students and teachers having a close relationship in order to achieve the goals of the student. The relationship should consist of students becoming teachers in order to explain the subject as well as teachers becoming students in order to learn new ways to explain the material.

Paulo Freire was born in Brazil in 1921. He was exiled from Brazil because of his libertarian way of thinking. During his exile he traveled to different parts of the world, including the United States and Chile. During this time is when he work and thoughts became known internationally. He was able to return to Brazil in 1980 and helped transform Brazil into more of a libertarian-thinking country.

http://freire.education.mcgill.ca?Paulo_Freire_Bio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6bMBWvoPp8&feature=related
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulo_Freire

Assignment 1a

1. Adriana

2. Why are you taking this class and what do you hope to learn
I am taking this class because it sounded like an interesting topic to study and because I am interested in learning about cultures. Also because it satisfies transfer requirements.

3. How far do you live from SRJC main campus

2.8 mi

4. What do you think of when you think "Latin America and the Caribbean"?

I think of food, music, and language.

5. Have you created a blog or webpage in the past?

No

6. Regarding computers: do you work from a pc, a mac, or both?

I work more with macs.

7. What was your Jan 20, 2009 like, or what do you remember of this day?

I remember feeling really excited and watching Obama's speech on television.