Miss 163

GRAFITERA

2009-02-21T16:08:00.000-08:00

"ME" from the perspective of my two students.

videos from last semester

2009-02-17T17:46:00.000-08:00

These are last semesters videos. The theme for these set of videos was "Kids your age who go and don't go to school"

hopeless romantic

2009-02-02T21:39:00.001-08:00

drawings from cajamarca and trujillo

2009-01-08T06:01:00.000-08:00

grafitera test

2008-12-30T19:12:00.000-08:00

A great change is at hand...

2008-11-06T09:34:00.000-08:00

I do believe a great change is hand and I am very happy to say that Barack Obama is my president. It was my first time voting and I feel great about it.

Before November 4th I was proud to be an American but now theres no second of embarrassment to be apart of the Unites States ;)

Truth be told

2008-11-01T08:45:00.000-07:00

LINGUISTICS

LA PARED LEGAL

2008-10-31T09:14:00.000-07:00

GRAFFITI!!! EVOLVE

2008-10-30T12:43:00.001-07:00

I must say, with the mix of La Pared Legal project and my personal project at the Colegio I have been blessed with the opportunity to really emirs myself in the Peruvian culture. This experience has taught me that even though I think it is silly sometimes I have to realize that I am a role model. You are responsible not only for your personal image but for the image that people think you represent. I say think, because you can reinvent what people think you are or expect from you.

I have been painting a lot lately and it might seem like that is the only thing I am doing but looks are deceiving.....the videos are coming soon!

I quick paint on Saturday...NE CRU papa!

Mural for a Halloween party in the Center of Lima. I painted with Fog and Coral. Shout out to Fog for the tips ;)

Detail of Miss Frankenstein

Canta and the Bronx

2008-10-05T17:24:00.000-07:00

So this weekend I went to a wonderful little pueblo called Canta. It was Corey, Matrin, and I who went and I learned from Martin that there is a French saying in regards to how tough your town is and it goes like this "Well I am from (Whatever nieghborhood in France) but its not the Bronx".
So in homage to this sayin I am posting pictures of Canta and the Bronx.

DMJC

2008-09-23T16:40:00.000-07:00

DMJC at Graff War 08

GRAFF WAR EN EL CALLAO

2008-09-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

Hey all! Graff War 2008 was great! It was held in the Municipilidad del Callao. Its apart of CALLAO JOVEN, which is project to support young people in Callao. It was simply amazing; graff artist of all ages, break dancers, and a shit load of hip hop! :p

Never Enough was the bomb! DMJC was there (The best of Lima!), and many others! Here are some photos of Saturday and Sunday .

Shooting the Never Enough Video

2008-09-09T17:34:00.000-07:00

Here is a facebook link of all the pictures of our shoot.

We shot for 4 hours on Sunday and 2 hours on Tuesday. The video is a commercial for their clothing line. The video should be up soon! and the videos for Imagen Estudiantil are coming soooon!

Panchacamac

2008-09-09T07:10:00.000-07:00

Ruins a little outside of Lima. It was very much needed!

8 hours on a Sunday

2008-09-01T13:23:00.000-07:00

Me and some students did a legal wall. It is for their T-shirt company "Never Enough"

UPDATE!

2008-08-28T14:45:00.000-07:00

These are some of the first year video students :)

A LOT has been happening. So, I have completed my first month at Colegio America.
I have two groups...One is a video class for Juniors and the second group is called "Imagen Estudiantil", which is more closly linked to my proposed project. Here is the link to the Colegio America website and there you can click on the video under "Imagen Estudiantil". It is just a promotional to get students involved with the project. http://www.america.edu.pe/gen/

The first meeting for "Imagen Estudiantil" will be on Monday, September the 1st. There I will describe the aim of the project and hopefully get them committed to experimenting with video!

With the juniors we have written one page scripts based on the difference of people their age who go to school and don't go to school. We started shooting this week. I will post the videos, when they are done. It is more of an exercise that will warm them up for a bigger project. I am happy I started them off with these short scripts because they are learing how to plan better, act, how to take direction, and give direction.

With this group, because they are more advance in video making, I want to make a ten minute narrative short film with them. Long story short....the concept is JUSTIFICATION and how that can bleed into feeling "right" when morally you know you are wrong. I am writing the narrative but they will fill in the dialogue, shoot it, and act in it. I will divide the juniors into five groups and give them each a scene. The point being that it has to look as if one person created the film, when in reality a group of students created it.

The Juniors are truly wonderful and very funny! They are all so charming and different. I love it!

Proposal

2008-08-18T21:53:00.001-07:00

Filmmaking is a subjective art. The person behind the camera holds the power to assert his or her point of view. Although it takes a large number of people to make a movie, the audience experiences a seamless narrative that hides this collaborative effort. I am interested in breaking down this subjective model. I intend to shoot a documentary with multiple points of view that makes the audience aware of the collaborative nature of filmmaking, which I think, inherently creates a dialogue between different languages or groups because it is about the moving image as a means of communication in order to bring the audience an experience.

As a filmmaker, I am interested in perceptions of different cultures within defined spaces. For this project, I will go to Peru to engage in collaborative filmmaking with children, in a work that asks the question "What is a Peruvian?" I am interested in observing their experiences with the cultures of Lima and facilitating an exploration of their cultural understanding through the creation of a narrative, which allows them to create character, story, and plot. Addressing this question in film will allow me to explore and focus on actions, interactions, and personalities rather than focusing on personal assumptions in relation to the subject, as in the still image. When do the personal assumptions begin to play a part in the way we shape other people in a narrative?

Currently, my video and film work plays with the perception of the self through acting, physical change in costume, and sound, particularly in terms of accents and dialects. For example, the dubbing of a voice that is a stereotypical “black man's” voice on a white man's body allows me to merge, make a relation to, and blur original character types. I create experimental narratives that tell a story in which the viewer is aware of the artifice and there is no suspension of disbelief. Even if this suspension is made apparent, I am interested in the line of acting versus mocking and how that develops a new narrative between the audience and filmmaker. I want to make the audience conscious of multiple points of view in order to place emphasis on the subjectivity of interpretation. Filmmaking can facilitate this through technique.
Presently, I am experimenting with a concept called “graffiti film." It is based on three ideas. The first is the physical manipulation of film, in which I paint, draw or scratch on film. I do these manipulations on clear filmstrips, leaving me free to produce my own image; on a filmstrip with a pre-existing image, I would give more consideration to manipulation. The second is the touring concept, which involves the ability of film to become an extension and experience of the artist. It is called graffiti film because it uses light as an experience of time and permanence. I want it to travel like “tags” on a freight train without the permanent damage of actual spray-painting. The film acts like graffiti without damaging any physical property: hence, it has the potential to be projected on any building, sidewalk, platform, etc.
I am interested in bringing this type of work to Lima because there are a variety of cultures in this dense city. This defined space, because of proximity issues, allows for trends in a culture to easily become stereotypes. I live in New York City and have experienced how space becomes an issue and can become associated with specific social groups. Despite colonization, a significant indigenous population remains in Lima, alongside many other cultures. I am curious to know if these cultures are separate or mixed, in this defined space? Is there a new image of a mixed culture? I want to know if there is a trend of mixing that can be traced in contemporary culture in Lima.
I will start the collaboration of film at the Colegio America Institution, where I have secured an affiliation with Guillermo Yoshikawa. I will work with children on this project because I feel social variables arise when one attempts to define human complexity, complexity ranging from race to gender. Although children can see this difference, I think they have a sense of sincerity when engaging with other people. They are able to observe ones actions and presence without assuming certain presets about the other person. This collaboration will shift in process according to age group. For example, I would expect a seven year old to understand this question in a more physical way. I will invite the children to draw and perform, which allows them to act like people that they have observed. This leads to interplay of personal connection and markers of identity. As I start working with older groups, I want to create a screenplay with them, which will help me observe when trends and complexities of the “self” start to influence choices in character and action. I feel that, although they may not be able to articulate it, children have a sense of how different shots can portray different emotional states.
I hope to work with the children to create narratives which visualize how experience predicts interactions with different cultures. I will be able to use this philosophy in my future narratives and to develop richer, more complex characters and actions. I will show the finished project as a collection of “vignettes." I would like to “tour” it around different cities in Peru and the U.S. I intend the project to always be screened outdoors in very public spaces, so that anyone is able to experience it. I want to reinforce the concept of film as an extension of myself, as an artist, and of the artists who collaborate with me throughout the film making process. Through my experience in Lima I hope to create a meaningful dialogue about nation and identity centered in the medium of the moving image.

Cine Club!

2008-08-18T21:44:00.000-07:00

The project has turned into a collaborated effort called "Imagen Estudantil". It focuses on the students "taking over their image", projecting a more positive outlook. I am in the middle of structuring the program (almost there!) and our first meeting is August 29th!

It is pretty much going to be a mix of technique (what is a shot?, dubbing, etc.) and various exercises that will help them practice their scriptwriting/narrative development skills.

Today we came up with a great idea, which is a "Ciné Club" but instead of just for the students we are thinking of opening to the Callao area. This is a troubled area but hopefully we might be able to treat the residents of Callao to a night at the movies! :)

I am creating a little promotional video for the project. That will come up soon!

DONATION

2008-08-04T19:52:00.000-07:00

I am doing a Mocumentary short film with high school students in Callao, Lima. I need a good camera for the project/ a camera for their department.

Does anyone know of someone who might have a hook up for a donation!?

Thanks guys!
Sharon