Graffiti Wall - Samuel Matson

Samuel Matson, former Bellevue College student, is now attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in hopes to bring his art further out into the world. He focuses mainly on architectural and design work, with bits and pieces of drawing and painting on the side. “I’ve been drawing and painting since I can remember,” said Matson. He painted a graffiti wall on September 11, 2008, in honor of the World Trade Center attacks. According to Matson’s art portfolio on the web, he had the opportunity to donate a book of children’s art that was dedicated to kids who lost someone special in the catastrophe. “He has participated in many other projects using art to minister to hurting people, including a project at Ronald McDonald house, and creating art for two cancer patients and their families,” says his portfolio.

Since he was 10, he’s been selling his art through galleries and public art commissions. Matson explained, “Here in Washington, I did a mural on Duvall’s Main Street. And back in Chicago, I designed an art installation for the ceiling of the Leroy Neiman Student Center at the Art Institute of Chicago to be completed [by] fall 2011.” Matson discussed his work that is displayed in the Lightology design gallery in Chicago. “I just was part of a collaboration between my class at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and IBM which culminated in a presentation with IBM and Chicago government officials.”

 His priorities are definitely straight when it comes to art. He would much rather be engaged in creativity then in the books. “In junior high, I used to spend upwards of 100 hours to finish a drawing.” Doodling is a form of art, without even knowing it. Like Matson, we doodle to kill time. Waiting for the clock to strike zero is not as beneficial as creating your own sketch pad on the back of your chemistry homework. “I never really thought about it until I had a teacher that thought I had a knack for it and taught me to turn doodling into art.”

 Matson was interested in learning about art as he grew up. “I like to think I had some natural talent, but I’m fairly certain I wouldn’t have made it far without two really influential teachers, Dianne Brudnicki and Jason Mayden. But I think I should also give some credit to Bob Ross, one of my favorite shows as a kid.”

 Matson gets joy out of designing art, but he also loves teaching others what he knows. “I’ve probably learned the most from trying to teach my art to others. A couple years ago I collaborated with my own mentor, Jason Mayden, Senior Designer for Air Jordan, to open art and design education up to at-risk Native American youth.” To Matson, art should be prevalent in the day-to-day lives of kids around the world.

 www.sammatson.com (Artist Profile)

Gay Pride Seattle SOURCE: http://www.komonews.com

At Seattle’s Gay Pride Parade on Sunday June 26, tens of thousands of people gathered the streets to celebrate what could be an interesting breakthrough to a world full of diversity. KOMO Staff says, “Supporters hope it marks a new chapter in the equal rights movement.”

 Andrea Torres, a first-year Bellevue College student, was a volunteer for the Human Rights Campaign booth at the parade. “I saw people of all ages, gay and straight couples with their children, I think it’s beautiful for all of us to stand together for a cause. This year’s theme was “Be you. Be Proud. Express yourself!”

 People were waving flags and banners, and proudly cheering throughout the crowd raising awareness for the gay community. There were some participants who rode motorcycles in support during this parade, as well. Torres says “[…] I saw angels with rainbow wings on roller skates, dancers of all kinds and people banging on drums. I got to walk around and talk to people from other organizations; many traveled a long way just to be a part of the parade.  My favorite was the recycling queers float. There were people with costumes made entirely out of recycled materials!”

 A rainbow-colored flag was raised at the top of the Space Needle as part of a challenge to raise $50,000 in charity before pride weekend. KOMO news announced that all money raised will go to benefit all local charities.

Torres thinks the parade was quite a success. “I think the pride parade is a step in the right direction in the human rights movement. I hope that soon many other states follow in New York’s footsteps and legalize same-sex marriage.”

Hollywood figures that we all know and love are in definite support of passing a law that legalizes gay marriages.  Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Neil Patrick Harris, Ellen Degeneres, Rosie O’Donnell, and many more tweeted about their appreciation and happiness for what could be the start of something new and inspiring.

Lady Gaga – The revolution is ours to fight for love, justice+equality. Rejoice NY, and propose. We did it!!!

Rosie O’Donnell – happy gays r here again!!!!! #equalitymattersNY

Neil Patrick Harris – It PASSED! Marriage equality in NY!! Yes!! Progress!! Thank you everyone who worked so hard on this!! A historic night!

Ellen Degeneres – I’m thrilled about the news from NY. Marriage equality! Every day we get a little closer. What an amazing feeling.

Katy Perry – NEW YORK! I ♥ U! You’re OFFICIALLY the coolest place on the planet! #PRIDE #EQUALITYFORALL! #CELEBRATE!

Seattle had even more of a reason to celebrate this past weekend. First it was New York, and next it might just be Washington. The Seattle Mayor, Mike McGinn, is in support of legalizing gay marriages. He showed up to the parade wearing an “I [Heart] NY” shirt, gathered a large crowd at Westlake Park and spoke out to his community. “Washington State will be next! Washington State will be next!” He shouted.

Rebecca Black SOURCE: http://www.komonews.com

Gotta get down on Friday. Who knew a 13-year-old could become famous overnight, reaching more viewers than artists like Justin Bieber and being number 39 on iTunes top 100. But Rebecca Black was famous for all the wrong reasons.

“As we previously reported, Black’s people have threatened legal action against Ark — claiming the company that produced and wrote the song is wrongfully exploiting her image and her song because Ark does not own the rights to either,” says a reporter for TMZ.

Black’s mother paid $4,000 to have her record the single “Friday” with Ark Music, since her daughter never stopped talking about how singing was her passion. Unlike the majority of the population, Black felt like she fit right into the lifestyle of being a famous artist. However, after the music video for her song “Friday” went viral, most viewers dubbed it the “worst song ever”. Yet Black’s infamous video gained more than 167 million views before being forcefully deleted.

During an interview with Andrea Kenny on Good Morning America, Black expressed her emotions about some of the comments she read after seeing the video on YouTube. Kenny asked, “What is the meanest thing you’ve read that maybe hurt you the most?”

Black replied, “I hope you cut yourself and I hope you get an eating disorder so you’ll look pretty and I hope you cut and die.” Those difficult times led Black to go above and beyond with making sure the video was never seen or heard of ever again.

Tess McMillan has been attending Bellevue College since 2009, with a two year state-funded scholarship to study art. She is very passionate about ceramics and photography. “I like to shoot in total darkness and to experiment with different light sources to build complex images.” She has created the gallery exhibit posters many students see around campus and she is also the student gallery staff in charge of communications.

She became involved with art after attending Bellevue College, and now she has a better interpretation of what it means to be an artist. When she was younger, she thought she had to be born as an artist to become one. Before she started studying art two years ago, she did not view the world the way she does now. McMillan hopes to use her art in some way in her future, but she is still trying to figure out exactly what she will do with it.

1. Who are you influenced by? What is your inspiration?

Impressionists influence me a lot in the type of art I am doing. Van Gogh is a Dutch painter and I was influenced a lot by his work. My inspiration is my surroundings. When I was younger, I believed that you were born as an artist and it wasn’t until I started studying art here that I realized art is a process and you learn from what is around you. I use my dog and my garden most often as subjects for my photography.

2. Out of all the art you have done, which is your favorite? Why?

My favorite art is anything I have done working with someone else. I helped Susan Gjolmesli, Head of the Disability Resource Center, learn how to shoot a camera. Since Gjolmesli is blind, it was exciting for me to teach her since she couldn’t see the pictures she was taking.

3. How many years have you been involved in art?

It wasn’t until I came to Bellevue College that I really became passionate about art. I have been doing ceramics for 1 ½ years and photography for 2 years. This isn’t including the number of art classes I have taken outside of school.

4. Have you received any recognition for your work?

I was blessed with getting a two year scholarship to study art here at Bellevue College. I have not yet received awards or recognition for my work, but I helped Gjolmesli win awards for her work of art. We submitted three pieces to Lighthouse for the Blind and she won third place.

5. What does your art mean to you?

My photography is about personal expression. I use my own environment and the things I really know intimately, such as my garden and my dog. I have taken tons of art classes, and the way I express myself now is different. Artists are capable of telling things that happen in the environment that we don’t see.

Natalie Portman SOURCE: http://www.oppositeviews.com

Fat will never be the new skinny, at least in Hollywood. Celebrities all around the world are engaging themselves in starvation to fit a role in a movie, or walk the red carpet in the tightest dress possible. They are nearly killing themselves trying to fit in a size 0 when the average person wears anywhere between a size 11 and 14. The people we are idolizing are setting a bad example for the entire world.

We know that not all celebrities can look that perfect all the time, but we are told to believe so. Natalie Portman, who starred in Black Swan as the mental prima ballerina, nearly had to starve herself to play the role as Nina. It even went beyond starvation.  “Portman trained for over a year for the role, losing extreme weight, cracking a rib and pushing her body to the limit. In fact, at one point, she even thought the role would kill her” says Jordan Zakarin of the Huffington Post. Portman is an inspiration to her fans, but her job is not to inspire people to be skinny and die trying, but to inspire people to be who they are.

The royal princess of England, Kate Middleton, was under so much pressure she could not help but force herself not to eat. It was considered Middleton’s six month “starvation diet”. “To look like Kate Middleton on her wedding day you need to starve yourself for six months before your wedding” said a writer for NewsFlavor. Not to mention, her dead mother-in-law, Princess Diana, was also known for being bulimic at her time of royalty. With cameras flashing from every angle and paparazzi stalking every move, no wonder these princesses felt pressured to lose weight. If 750 million people were watching my wedding, I would feel like the need to be as skinny as possible too.

Dating back to 2004, Mary-Kate Olsen reached headlines of gossip magazines across the nation for her anorexia issues. She was America’s cutest baby on the hit television show, Full House, and was famous for her Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movie series. However, according to writer Michelle Tauber, many worshipped Olsen as a source of “thinspiration”. Kids who looked up to her only saw the image she was trying to show her fans. “They finally reached the point where they had to act. They didn’t want to find her dead on the floor from not eating” says Tauber. Olsen got to the point of anorexia that it was not pretty and attractive, but to the point where she looked sick.

In the 21^st century, society is trained to believe it is pretty to be skinny and ugly to be fat. We see the issue of weight primarily in famous individuals who are highly respected. They try to set the best example, even if it nearly kills them. What they do not understand is that people want to see their talent, not every bone in their body.

Lady Gaga SOURCE: http://www.concertposter.org

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, born March 28^th, 1986, is also known as the singer and songwriter, Lady Gaga. She has been surprising her fans with back to back singles and an upcoming album. Her hit single, Born This Way, was released on February 11^th, and made Itunes history. In a matter of the five hours the song went public; it pulled itself all the way to the top of the charts. Two months later, Judas was released on April 19th. The song has a religious aspect, but grants viewers with the ability to put more thought into what they are actually listening to.

“It’s no surprise, I’m sure, to many of you, that Judas is a man of the biblical senses, so expect to see some symbolism in this video [...] You have to look into what is haunting you and you need to look into forgiving yourself in order to move on. And it’s really fun to dance to and sounds like it could be a pop priest record.”

Even with her crazy wigs and hand-made outfits, she speaks from the heart. She wrote The Edge of Glory that was released May 9^th, after her grandfather passed away in September.  “The song is about your last moment on earth, the moment of truth, the moment before you leave earth,” she said. This is what will ultimately be different about this next album. Gaga’s third album, Born This Way, is scheduled to be released May 23^rd, 2011. “So much deeper than a wig or lipstick or an outfit, or a [expletive] meat dress…’Born This Way’ is about what keeps us up at night and what makes us afraid” says Gaga.

However, not everyone is crazy about this unusual pop star. Rocker Ozzy Osbourne recently said, “I do think Lady Gaga should take a break for a little while. She’s getting to be too much, and she doesn’t watch the exposure of her clothes. She’s just too overexposed. I like her, but I’m getting a bit sick of her.” Conversely, Gaga is made to draw attention and without her peculiar and overwhelming sense of style, there would be no Lady Gaga. What this world needed was someone who was brave enough to go over the top with creativity. She is the only star who could pull off wearing a 20 lb wig and a dress made of flesh. There is no artist as eccentric and controversial as Lady Gaga, and it is what keeps her fans coming back for more.

Lady Gaga came from a normal family in New York City. She was a typical little girl singing and dancing on tables and twirling around in her father’s arms. But dreaming as a young girl turned her into one of America’s biggest pop sensations. From releasing her first song Just Dance in 2008, she has greatly influenced the world in a way no one has before. She truly is the one who brought the fame.