ARTRINIDAD

Undergraduate Juried Exhibition 2012

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 06:52:40 -0800

Undergraduate Juried Exhibition 2012

Choice 11’x8.5’ Wood, screws, mount

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 21:20:51 -0800

Choice

11’x8.5’

Wood, screws, mount

A detail of my piece in the UCLA Undergraduate Scholarship...

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 21:05:54 -0800

A detail of my piece in the UCLA Undergraduate Scholarship Exhibition

Open November 17 - December 8

Come see my new work and the work of my super amazing talented...

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 10:03:56 -0700

Come see my new work and the work of my super amazing talented peers!

Show opens Thursday Nov. 7, 2011.

Plagiarism/Collaboration Etchings Two 18”x8”...

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 01:46:00 -0700

Plagiarism/Collaboration

Etchings

Two 18”x8” “Prints”

————

This piece consists of two 18” prints placed next to one another with an 18” gap in the middle. One print was made using the traditional printmaking of etching which took well over 25 hours to produce and the other a simple scanned edited slightly and printed copy of the original that took about 5 minutes.

To give you a general idea of why the etching took so long, here is a general overview of the process:

Prep a zinc plate by rubbing a abrasive compound by hand for 45 minutes
Place the plate on a heating plate and roll on a layer of wax ground
Slowly apply
Meticulously sketch your image into the ground to expose the metal
Place your plate into acid for x amount of time depending on how dark you want your line (the longer you leave it in the acid the more the acid can etch and bite into the exposed area)
Carefully paint more wax ground to cover the lightest areas so they are not etched (eroded by the acid) anymore
Repeat steps 4-5 until all shades are complete.
File down all sides of the plate by hand until you get four perfect 45 degree angles
Cut each piece of colored paper for every section that is colored
Hand ink the plate on a hot plate
Hand rub the plate to remove excess ink
Wash your hands
Coat each piece of colored paper with rice glue and carefully place each color one by one exactly where you want them to print on the plate
Prep a piece of print paper with water
Place the plate down and then align the print paper on top with equal margins on each
Hand crank the press at a consistent speed
Gently lift the paper from the plate
Place paper in a pressurized flat surface to dry flat

Printing the duplicate:

Scan image
Edit in photoshop for color correction
Print
Trim

This piece was about bringing up more questions in the viewers than answers:

If all knowledge is derived from a source where do our “original” ideas come from?
What is originality? Does it exist?
What validates novelty?
What is the value of originality besides the piece of mind of being, having, or creating something that is original?
If the majority of viewers spend less than 30 seconds viewing your piece, and are probably not going to sit with it in order to understand it, is there a purpose to putting in the extra nuanced effort?
Although plagiarism and collaboration are in essence the same; the use of different sources of knowledge to resolve an issue, why do they have completely different connotations in different settings. And why do we structure our educational system so strongly on molding people to be individuals who see helping as plagurizing, when all sucuessful people know they couldn’t have done it alone?

Just a thought. I am an artist because I am passionate and interested in pursuing ideas, even minor thoughts details that are typically overlooked, with great intensity. With this true, boring is hard to find.

A part of UCLA’s permanent collection.

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:55:53 -0700

A part of UCLA’s permanent collection.

Chance Variable Dimensions Expansive foam, string

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 23:48:00 -0700

Chance

Variable Dimensions

Expansive foam, string

Featured in UCLA’s Westwind Spring 2011 Online and Print...

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 02:32:00 -0700

Featured in UCLA’s Westwind Spring 2011 Online and Print Edition

Online link here

Attract/repulsion 10.5’x8’ Wood, about 1000 silk...

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 12:47:01 -0700

Attract/repulsion

10.5’x8’

Wood, about 1000 silk flowers, nails, florescent pull lamp, automated air freshner, carpet

Artist note coming soon.

Recycled Roar (June 2011) 12’x6’ About 2000 Jazz...

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 12:24:29 -0700

Recycled Roar (June 2011)

12’x6’

About 2000 Jazz Reggae Fliers, 5000 staples, plaster, chicken wire, wood

Collaboration with Armando Cortes

Commissioned and made for UCLA’s Jazz Reggae Fest 2011

A week just isn’t enough

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:16:00 -0700

A week just isn’t enough

Progress: Change Over Time 9.5 ft x 8 ft x 4 ft Wood, Screws The...

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 12:49:00 -0800

Progress: Change Over Time

9.5 ft x 8 ft x 4 ft

Wood, Screws

The mystery of art has always been so alluring to me. The utter ambiguity of form. The feats and failures of interpretation and communication of concept between artist and viewer. The way that art seems to create worlds of both separation and equality…

These are a few things that inspire me to keep making work, to keep exploring ideas, to simplify, to reduce, and evaluate my perception and intentions of art. I admit, sometimes I question it all and have days where I just want to stop and am on the brink of losing hope due to being misunderstood. Choosing a passion and a career that is so subjective and so easily misunderstood is a heavy choice.

Misunderstanding is a complex thing. You can either fight it and demand that someone sees “your work”, “your way”, force ideas into someone’s head or just let it go and let the work take the viewer where they want to go; accept that everyone examines the world through different eyes preconditioned through a life full of different experiences. I guess as artists and even on a more basic level, as people, what we all struggle for others to be aware and respect our views. After that happens you have a choice to drop the burden of convincing people to see it your way, and once released art defines freedom and immeasurable possibility and imagination once again.

I made this work with the idea that simplicity is key. That we are beings of gradual change, and through that gradual and consistent change, unmistakeable and significant changes arise. In other words that the smallest and most basic alterations (in this case addition and subtraction) really do create undeniable progress and change. I thought about the most basic way I could present this and came up with this piece. Each piece of wood is altered simply by the addition or subtraction of wood in three inch increments. These changes in length in turn create differing weights, projectiles, and curves, giving this piece its overall form.

The fact that the material I chose initially gave the impression of solidity and structure, but in truth was delicate, fluid, flexible and easily manipulated is important. (If you walked past it fast enough or accidentally touched it, it would move.) I feel that these qualities are in direct correlation with identity; that people ironically tend to think of their identities as rigid, solid, and unbending but in truth are essentially fluid, plastic, and always susceptible to change.

This work was first exhibited in UCLA’s Undergraduate Scholarship Award Exhibition and now is being featured in UCLA’s Chancellor, Gene Block’s Residence.

I will be showing four new pieces tomorrow at the Undergraduate...

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 19:12:26 -0800

I will be showing four new pieces tomorrow at the Undergraduate Scholarship Award Exhibition in the Wight Gallery. :)

November 18–December 9, 2010 Opening Reception: Thursday, November 18, 5–8 PM

An exhibition by undergraduate recipients of 2010-11 UCLA Department of Art and School of the Arts and Architecture scholarship awards.

A Thank You Letter for You.. Too.

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 21:48:00 -0700

Person: “What’s your major?”

Me: “Oh, I’m an Art Major.”

Person: “Oh wow, that’s cool!”

*end conversation*

This is how the “major” conversation typically goes with me and my peers especially. Sometimes people tell me straight up it’s impractical asking “So why are you wasting your time? What are you going to do with that degree anyway?”, while others state that thats “cool” and ask if I can draw or not, sometimes even asking me to draw something for them. Whatever your response is, it’s fine. I guess the point of this entry is to clear up what it means to be an art major, for me personally and why I chose to do it, why it is practical, and why I have never once regretted my decision.

People generalize art majors as great drawers, painters, sculptors, etc.. but to tell you the truth, we generally are far from that. We are great thinkers, with the ability to synthesize everything that we interact with, fabricate something new, and have have courage to stand behind a piece of work and take responsibility of it being our own.

Like many, I’ve been brought up with preconceived notions of what artists in general are, what they do and what their purpose is. Honestly before college I always thought artists were creative people, who attempted to make visually appealing things with the utmost technique and precision. To have someone eventually look at a piece and think “Wow, that’s nice! :)” and move on. I went through highschool with the work ethic to create work through patience, careful attention and repetition. The end product seemed to always awe my people around me, but the process was no more than a means to an end rather than a journey. I became a slave to my love; I was working but not progressing, I was creating but I was not learning. I wasn’t interested in what the work told about me, what ideas I wanted to express, what emotions I wanted to evoke, or any ambiguity it raised. I was scared of ambiguity, of people not understanding what I was trying to do.

Being blessed with the the opportunity to be a student here at UCLA, the top public undergrad art program in the nation, I have learned the value of the journey, and the effect that art can have on a individual level. The way art can move you to tears, how it peaks your attention to detail, appreciation for human labor, and the human hand, how it makes you question intentions and so much more. I can go on and on about being an art major, and how it’s affected my life, but I think I said it best here, in a thank you letter I wrote for the donor of the scholarship I received last year.

I invite you to read it, as I do thank you too, my readers, friends and family who have supported me on this journey.

Dear Dr. Xxxx Xxxxxx,

First of all I would like to say thank you. Your generous support continues to enable me to grow both academically and artistically, chase my aspirations and encourages me to keep doing what I love. I feel like the arts is strongly overlooked and I hope that my work and insight adds to the importance and focus on art and it’s significance in today’s academic culture. I can only hope and aspire to one day be able to lend a helping hand to those who are struggling like you have done for me. Thank you again.

My name is Angelia “Angel” R. Trinidad, I am 19 years old. I am currently a 2^ndyear Art student at UCLA. I came to UCLA as a pre-med major, in pursuit of becoming a doctor. After a lot of soul searching I realized that that particular career path was not my personal passion so I decided to follow what I loved and apply as an art major here at UCLA. After applying and being rejected once, I decided that my desire to attain that goal more than I was scared of being rejected again. With that decision I fully applied my energy, time and effort, working 12 hours a day to strengthen my portfolio and managed to get accepted the following quarter. In these past two quarters alone I have had the opportunity to show my work in four exhibitions including one at the Hammer Museum as well as be published in UCLA’s literary magazine, Westwind. I also have a strong web following of my work on my website ARTrinidad.com which I manage and update with all of my current work, awards, exhibits and news.

One of the very first questions I am asked as an art major is “How do you like it?” And usually my response goes something like this:

Although many people see art as the most “impractical” major I feel like it has prepared me to be prompt, firm and courageous in my decisions when faced by the reoccurring feeling of complete uncertainty. Everything project you encounter is undirected and uncensored. You set what you want to portray. You set what you want to leave out. You set what idea you try to get across. You control everything. And although this feeling is amazingly liberating it is also ridiculously intimidating. But when I assess what I want to get out of my college experience there is no better lesson than what I am taught everyday as an art major; to be placed in any situation, find a way to resolve it, and courageously follow through you’re your solution, while simultaneously ignoring the fears and personal limits we as people tend to place around ourselves. Everyday I have the opportunity to not only learn through my successes but my failures as well. I feel there is no better way to learn than to be challenged by this freedom that art offers to me at UCLA. It’s the freedom that inspires me and keeps me ambitious.

Other than art I am a very physically active person. In high school I played volleyball, basketball, and lacrosse and I continue to play volleyball and basketball here at UCLA on intramural teams. I was captain of 9 out of 10 of my highschool teams, and feel like a team environment is where I feel the most at home. This feeling plays a huge role in the goals that I set for myself. All of my career goals stem out of the idea of being able to evoke change is a person. My goals beyond graduating college include continuing to make a strong body of art work and remain inspired to question whatever interests me in an artistic and unconventional way, and in turn allow people to view the world in someone else’s perspective. I also wish to be a personal trainer or a yoga instructor, because I feel teaching in a more direct and personal way is another way to evoke a strong change in someone.

Also I have attached a few photos of my current work and statements for each as well as my scholarship profile. I would love to talk to you if you ever have any questions about me, what I am doing, or would just like to spend some time to talk to me feel free to contact me via e-mail at xxxxxxxx@ucla.edu. Also to keep updated with my current work visit my website at www.ARTrinidad.com.

Thank you again for your support and I will be looking forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Angelia “Angel” Trinidad

Taking a little hiatus from this site until I start classes in...

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:10:00 -0700

Taking a little hiatus from this site until I start classes in the Fall, so be sure to check back in late September. Until then feel free to keep up with my summer adventures here.

Signs. Varied Dimensons: about 25’x7’ total Stained...

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:29:00 -0700

Signs.

Varied Dimensons: about 25’x7’ total

Stained wood, plaster, nails.

Whether we choose to or not we are constantly being bombarded by communicational subtleties during human interaction. The slight shift in gaze, the crooked smile, the uncomfortable laugh; all signs of changes of mood, expectations, and interpretation. This is something that I have been fascinated with that it often distracts me from actual conversation.

I chose to pursue this piece to investigate how a slight shift in hand positioning could completely alter the message it conveyed. How something so universally recognizable and basic could create a language on such a simple level and drag its complex connotations with it. How these connotations induced emotions and elicited only two feelings of intuition; good and bad and how we constantly chose to act on these feelings or reject them. This is true not only in hand gestures, but any other form of communication; verbal, textual, or nonverbal. I have always been fascinated with communication and the different dynamics and nuances of each, especially textual and nonverbal.

When creating each of the hands I decided to use a mixture of easily recognizeable hand gestures, completely fabricated ones, and many that are commonly misinterpreted throughout cultures to emphasize the sheer diversity of not only hand gestures but how their connotations and meanings have the potential to completely shift with each viewer.

I positioned the pieces in a series of straight lines, so that the viewer would be tempted to try and decode the piece and pay attention to each of the different messages/signs each hand had to offer. They are arranged in a way to mimic saccades, the way that human brains take in information.

This piece is not just about the differences caused by positioning but rather the commonalities that all of these things share. To stress this point I chose to leave each hand extremely uniform in material and color; how one human hand has the potential to create and induce so many different meanings, emotions, and connotations but is in essence still a hand. Showcasing the idea that there is always unity within all diversity.

Untitled16”x16”Plexiglass, water, food coloring,...

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:14:00 -0700

Untitled
16”x16”
Plexiglass, water, food coloring, silicone, and my advanced sculpture peers.

My peers and instructors took turns dripping pure food coloring into a large clear cube filled to the brim with water and watched the process that took place.

This piece is about the simple notion that all of us have a commonality between one another. No matter how you decide to perceive that commonality literally through the presence of water, physically through the reflections seen on the walls of the cube, psychologically through the murkiness created by multiple forces and actions, spiritually through our souls dropping into a large volume of water and becoming one with that entity, or any other way is completely up to you. And for that reason I left this piece to be openly ambiguous.

I wanted to take something that everyone experiences on a daily basis - the interaction of water with other fluids/people and emphasize natural beauty that occurs everywhere that we take for granted. It was also important for me to place an object in front of the audience, give them simple instruction and then let what ever took place happen.

This piece was probably one of the most “simple” yet difficult pieces I’ve yet to do.

Thank you Chris Leal for the photos.

#1 - #11Beginning Ceramics Spring 2010Dimensions variable Clay...

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:06:00 -0700

#1 - #11
Beginning Ceramics Spring 2010
Dimensions variable
Clay and glaze
—-
Ceramics this quarter was really experimental, I’ve never really interacted with a material I didn’t know anything about or have conscious control over. It was frustrating at times, but once I got into the mindset of first impressing my will onto the material and then later letting it be and do what ever it “chose” to do in the kiln, like change color, break, and even by chance weld itself onto another persons piece, I let it and embraced the final product.

Favorite photo of the night.

Sat, 15 May 2010 01:35:36 -0700

Favorite photo of the night.

A little sneak of my second project for Advanced Sculpture. More...

Thu, 13 May 2010 02:01:00 -0700

A little sneak of my second project for Advanced Sculpture.

More photos, videos and artist statement to come hopefully by the weekend.