James Luna

 James Luna is a Mexican American performance artist and multimedia installation artist. He was born in Orange, California and raised in Orange County. After graduating high school, Luna attended UCI, where he earned his fine arts degree. In 1975, Luna moved to La Jolia Indian Reservation and has lived there ever since. James Luna initially began his career as a painter, to later turn unto a performance and installation artist. He was inspired to turn to this type of art after struggling with his identity. Luna's art has often been described as contemplative and controversial because he chooses to personalize his message and provide a voice for his under represented culture. Luna states thathis work is not meant to be political, saying it is not his job to teach people how to behave and act, instead his intention is to "break" taboos by bringing up his own, along with the many struggles his culture has had to face.

James Luna is his performance "The Artifact Piece"

End of the Frail. The "ill-fated indian" 

"Luna has found a comfortable place to create in the space where contemporary art and its concerns with parody, ritual and autobiography intersect with the traditional attitudes of Indian culture."

                                   Petroglyphs in Motion 


James LUna has gained wide acclaim for his deconstruction of stereotypes and notions of "Indian" identity. He has performed and exhibited in some of the most prestigious museums in the United States, including the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. 

A representation of Luna's pride in the Indian Culture

"Theater is not what I am, though there are any number of similarities. Installation is very broad and that's one of its strengths. I approach it as I approach a painting. I don't think about acting. I am not a trained actor. But that's not to say that I don't script or monologue. I do, but it comes out of the art."- James Luna

LACMA

LACMA was absolutely amazing.. And HUGE. Ariah and I headed to this museum at about noon and arrived at one. We decided to go somewhat early since we knew it was huge and we were skeptical about being able to check out all the galleries in just a few hours. This museum is very differing from the Norton Art Museum because it is only about 15 times bigger and more interesting, in my opinion at least. Glenn was definitely not kidding when he said it would be way bigger hahaha.  

So I chose "Anger" as one of my favorites because I think we can all relate to this. This is actually oil on canvas created by Hans-Siebert von Heister in 1920. I believe we can all relate to this because we are all angry in one way or another. Some of us can be angry about budget cuts, about something our significant other did, something our sibling said, etc. What I find funny about this piece of art is right when I looked at it, I knew the name of it was going to be along the lines of "insanity," "anger," "hate," or "upset." I think the color and the red outlining the body gave me that impression.

I also chose Anima Christi as a favorite I can identify myself with because it reminded of me of life itself, something so colorful, dark, without pattern, confusing, bright, and somewhat like a puzzle or a maze.  I don't know what the title means, but this was my interpretation. Hmm perhaps the artist was dealing with some sort of frustration?

I was absolutely amazed by this wall at LACMA. The use of colors really caught my attention as well as the opposing images. On the left side we see two people sharing a special kiss, while in the middle we see two guns. The flower on the right was also very interesting because it was the brightest image out of the whole art piece and the apple was just random. I also thought about the people's faces not being revealed, hmm.. This picture has some sort of symbolism, but I just can't figure it out, which makes it much more intriguing and mysterious.

 Corn Flakes anyone? Haha. I'm actually a cereal lover but I chose this image because it had a a very vintage-y look to it, which reminded me of the 70's. I also felt tiny standing next to huge boxes of corn flakes and thought that was pretty neat itself.

 SPAM. This art piece is very simple, yet very unique. I'm not a fan of Spam at all, but I think the reason this caught my attention was because it's something I see everywhere. Just last week I went to Sam's Club and saw spam for sale and it looked exactly like this art piece. It makes me want to research how this unique little painting came up and why it's used worldwide. I've realized spam has been around for a while.

This "Black and White" photograph by Andy Warhol caught my attention because of the color. I may be over analyzing it, but I thought about how the society perceives the world as black or white only. I'm sure this was probably not was Warhol was trying to convey through this photograph but it was the first thing I thought of once I saw it. This is the kind of photograph I would love to hang on my wall. I'm just a big fan of Warhol's work, I feel that there is so much meaning behind his art.

Overall, I had a great time at LACMA. I really enjoyed how every gallery was so much different from one another and I actually hope to go back to see the whole Tim Burton thing they're finishing up. My favorite building had to be the Japanese art building, but unfortunately I couldn't get any good photographs without the flash (the color looked super dull) and the woman had her eye on me. I would say it was worth the ten dollars and I would gladly pay them again. However, I must say I wasn't a big fan of the lack of information on some art pieces. Besides that, my trip to LACMA was swell! :)

A Little Piece of Collage, Oops, I Mean Me.

Okay soo here is my collage. I'll start off by saying the picture in the center is an airplane and the reason I put it there is because the cost of traveling is what's keeping me from seeing my loved ones as much as I'd like to. The majority of these pictures were actually taken in Mexico City during Winter break of 2010, just a few months back. The rest were taken in California, in Los Angeles to be exact. The image on the top left is me at Venice Beach when I had barely finished my graffiti art piece. I decided to put this picture on the collage because it represents my creativity and I am one always encouraging people to find some sort of outlet to forget about all the negativity they carry on in their daily lives, whether it be by writing, playing an instrument, painting, dancing, cooking, etc. Next to the image of me at Venice is a picture of my grandmother's tombstone. My grandmother played a HUGE role in my life and thanks to her I am the person I am today. She may be gone, but there is not one single day I don't think of her and the great things she taught all of us who were blessed to have such a wonderful woman in our lives. You can also see I have a few pictures of pets on this collage, reason why is because I love pets. In fact, I think I am more compassionate towards pets than people, hahaha. I also have a few pictures of my cousins, the reason why I chose to include them in this collage is because we are all very close to each other and they are my best friends, always there through thick and thin. I feel very fortunate to have this sort of bond with them because I know there are usually tensions between cousins and I'm glad to say it's the complete opposite with mine. I also have a picture of reggae artist Bob Marley because reggae is one of my favorite genres of music to listen to. This music keeps me motivated and I find myself able to relate to most of the lyrics, especially the ones from a song called "Redemption Song." I also chose to include my niece (top right) in this collage because I see a lot of myself in her when I was her age and we have a very close relationship, which I find funny since our family considers us to be "cold" and very "reserved." It may be true, but one thing I know is we are very loving towards each other which I love! Then I have a picture of my aunt and uncle (below picture of my niece) because they are the oldest and wisest aunt and uncle I have. My aunt actually looks identical to my grandma and she has many characteristics my grandmother had, so it doesn't feel like my grandmother is completely gone. :)

Beauty and Realism.

I've learned many things in my 20 years of life, I've had many questions and gotten many answers, but one thing I don't think I'll ever get an answer to is my question in regards to beauty, what is it? Who knows. Many people say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but is that really all there is to it? I don't think so. If that were the case, then that would mean beauty is constantly changing, one day we think something is the most beautiful thing we've ever owned and the next we don't find it as "beautiful" anymore and we eventually stop caring about it. I think beauty is something which provides comfort to the soul. It can be a relationship, a photograph, anything, as long as there is more to it than just a good appearance. In my opinion, good meaning equals beauty. I'll use a good friend of mine as an example. She is physically attractive, but this is not the reason why I say she is beautiful. I say she is beautiful because of our friendship. This girl is beautiful because of the compassion she has for others, the respect she gives to people, how GIVING she is, never expecting to receive anything back. That is what I call true beauty. She can go from being very attractive to being an ordinary girl within a few years, but the internal beauty is there to stay forever and that's what I think truly matters. I think beauty is more abstract than anything. The rest is all superficial and it will not last forever.
Okay, so here's the other question, what is "real?" Well to be quite honest, I don't think the world will ever have a specific definition for beauty or realism, since it varies from individual to individual. However, I do think both of these topics go hand in hand. In my opinion, something real is something pure. You can show me someone who has had over a dozen plastic surgery procedures and I will not describe this as something beautiful or real. Even if the person looks better after the plastic surgery than before, I would much rather have the original than the "newer" version, only because the original was the real thing. I don't think it is possible for something to be beautiful if it isn't real, those are just illusions. In terms of dating, I would rather date a guy with a great personality instead of an A hole with great looks because at the end of the day, personality is what is real and what is real is what's here to stay. It goes back to what I said before, beauty and realism are are a "meaning" and something "original.." Something "unfixed." Ugh I'll stop now, it feels like I'm going around in circles and the last thing I want to do is lose sleep on this hahahaha. I think I've made my point clear though. :)