Interview #1

M Today is March 6, I’m Michelle Tu. I’m with my cousin Carina Ng. Tell me about yourself – no actually just talk about the school you go to.

C I go to Laguardia high school – in Manhattan  and – (oh god I’m awful at interviews)

M Do you see like – oh yeah, you were going to say your major ?

C no. I mean I’m an art major, there.

M Yeah so do you any graffiti in your school ?

C I mean I guess you would count, like, marker drawings on the bathroom yeah I see that.

M have you done graffiti yourself? Any sneaky vandalism?

C No, no. I don’t have a sharpie on me ever.

M So what do you think of graffiti itself?

C I think it’s a cool artwork. Clearly, a lot of graffiti artists use a lot of time to hone their skills, so I think it’s legit.

M do you think the act of vandalism and the art they’re portraying give it an even greater purpose?

C I think that like, if that’s what the artist intends. To be honest, I don’t agree with vandalism – I could see like why people would dislike vandalism because if someone drew on my store and I had to clean it up I’d be pissed off, but as an art form it’s pretty cool.

M Do you know Banksy?

C No, I don’t know any of those

M He does a lot of graffiti art and it’s really expensive and I’m like woah, I never knew graffiti could be so expensive.

C Is it like mural painting?

M No it’s usually like a very powerful message portrayed by really simple graffiti on a wall somewhere.

M So what would define graffiti as?

C I mean, I guess it’s kind of vague, but like I feel like graffiti has a certain style, like the bubbly letters and the lightning – like the arrow stuff – and more like street art and in places hard to reach, which is sort of like the big point of graffiti.

M In your school do you only see in the bathroom stalls?

C I mean would you count drawings on desks?

M Yeah! Because like I used to do that all the time in Laguardia. Don’t tell anyone.

C I saw it on my desk

M Wait really?

C I saw it on my desk sitting there – yeah in Mr. Moore’s class

[conversation goes on pretty interesting tangent]

M So do you see any like strange stuff on your lockers in school?

C Only like when people take sharpies and write on your lockers – like your friends

M Oh yeah! One of the pictures I took – because in our school we have to share lockers, which is kinda really bad. So there was this message that said like “Fix this shit it’s jamming the locker.”

C Oh my god that’s so passive aggressive

M Yeah and what happens if they see each other. “It was you who jammed the locker wasn’t it? Let’s fight.”

C Let’s go.

M Now, the last question, if you could mark, graffiti or vandalize somewhere in the school where would it be?

C I would do it on the staircase, it’s risky because the security has cameras, I saw it by through the window, but like on the eighth floor would be a good chance to do it.

[small tangent]

C Yeah but you know how you can look under by the stairs on the eighth floor?

M Yeah yeah

C There was actually someone who used masking tape to make, I forgot what it said, but they had to do it upside down because you couldn’t reach there since it’s too high. And you’d be able to see it because people keep going in and out and they’d be like “Woooah”.

M Was it like a nice message?

C I think it was pretty pointless. It was something random.

[references the tangent]

M Yeah I thought you’d choose like the bathroom stall or something because that’s a very popular place to do it (what did I even say here I can’t even hear myself??)

C Yeah but like it always gets painted over. That’s why I don’t find the point of people drawing on it.

M Or maybe they do because they wanna rebel.

C I mean yeah, they’re always rebelling in the bathroom. They’re always like “Down with the principal!!”

M Oh my god seriously?

C Something like that.

[conversation gets a little spooky]

M -And that concludes this interview. Goobyee-

Interview #2

M Today’s date is, I don’t even remember what was it again. It’s March six (I want to point out that I was recording interview one and two on the same day). I’m with my friend Alyssa. Tell us about yourself Alyssa.

A I’m a nineteen year old, illustration and psychology major from Queens.

M Hey I’m from queens too!

A Queens is the best.

M You right it is the best. So have you ever vandalized anything?

A The bathroom stalls at our high school.

M Oh yeah I was talking to my cousin about that and she mentioned the bathroom stalls too.

A Yeah I think that’s the extent of my vandalism (forewarning: it’s not)

M What’d you do?

A Honestly, I don’t know. I think I was angry at someone and I wrote “they suck” in the locker room.

M That’s the most like, soft vandalism.

A Oh! The penis wall (at this point the whole idea of a formal interview has been cast away) was right next to my locker so I added to that.

[interesting small tangent about the penis wall]

M So how’d you define graffiti?

A I guess writing or drawing on a public space that is not yours.

[small tangent about fake graffiti]

M So what do you think of it as an art form?

A I think that it works well as an art form in some spaces, but then we have artists who make it white-collared – the ones who are like “ooo, let’s bring graffiti to the MoMA or the Met. That kinda thing –

M Oh, I’ve never seen that stuff

A -like Banksy

M Oh I’ve seen Banksy’s stuff though

A Yeah his art is so much. But graffiti street art is like “oh no those people should be arrested” but Banksy should be awarded. So it’s like that dichotomy of like who’s worthy?

M I think it’s like the message behind Banksy stuff? (Now that I think about it, street art can also be like this though)

A I think it’s just because white people love Banksy (I’m sorry if anyone gets uncomfortable here). Oh we don’t know who Banksy is, but they love him.

[small conspiracy tangent of Banksy and 5pointz]

M Have you seen graffiti in our school? Or like any types of vandalism?

A I don’t think so, maybe I’m not paying enough attention.

M Right by my classroom for this project, there’s like graffiti all over the lockers on the floor.

A Oh I forgot about the lockers.

M Yeah it’s always on the lockers.

[tangent of her not only vandalizing bathroom stalls, see I told you she did more and also somehow about Boston]

M So what kind of stuff did you see on the lockers?

A Mainly stickers. My locker is way up in the middle of nowhere where they’re all broken and no one goes there. It’s mainly like seven-year-old stickers partially rubbed off.

M That’s so cool I wish I had gone there to record it.

A No they look like trash.

M Oh okay shit. Because some of the stickers I saw had a date on it and it was like one from 2011 and 2008 (pretty sure I got the dates entirely wrong here).

A Some people advertise or like self-promote. They have a sticker of their company or name on it and they just stick it places and it’s like “ooo, is this vandalism or self-promotion?” – probably both.

M Yeah it is – wait a minute – and they don’t have to pay either. There’s like this one locker that just has their Instagram on it.

A Oh yeah I’ve seen that!

M Yeah it’s like right by our (old) studio.

A Or people just put like their handles “follow me” and it’s just like their Instagram. Self-promotion is the main type of vandalism in our school.

M Yeah wait I think we’ve figured it out, just self-promotion and it’s just like some graffiti artist trying to make it big on the lockers.

A You’d think there’d be more graffiti seeing that it’s an art school.

M I know in like the laser printing building they have like this graffiti room.

A Maybe it’s too encouraged. It’s so encouraged that people don’t wanna vandalize.

M “Well I’m not really vandalizing anymore soo-”

A “-So it’s no fun.” They have to rebel by not vandalizing.

[me reaching enlightenment]

M And now the last question, if you mark, graffiti or vandalize anything in the school where would it be?

A Hmm… It’s really juvenile, but I’d go to the main, like the elevator to the Keri (?) hall dorms and put a giant penis on it. (And on that day I learned of my friend obsession with drawing penises).

M WHAT, I think the penis wall actually got to you.

[tangent on the penis wall]

A -that’s what I’d want. I wanna bring the penis wall here, but I’d want it to be the Keri dorms elevator because I’m angry. They live so close I’m bitter.

M Oh yeah that too.

A That’s why I’m bitter. [sassily smacks lips]. They live like ten steps away from the building – I live like an hour away.

M Same.

A Bitter teen.

M So thank you for being here –

A You’re welcome.

M -for this interview. That is all.

Interview #3 (forewarning that the interview cuts into text-to-speech because it was late night and both of us couldn’t talk)

M Alright it’s almost – alright it’s not almost it’s 12:02 and I’m with my friend sandy. Introduce yourself.

S Hi, I’m Sandy Zhou and I go to the School of Visual Arts.

M Okay so, have you ever vandalized before.

S I have never vandalized before.

M Like graffiti or?

S No

M Really?

S Mhm

M Wow you’re such a good student. I’d would draw on my desk all the time.

S I’d be the one erasing the drawings.

M So what is graffiti defined as to you?

S Just arts/doodles within public view usually breaking a rule.

M What kind of vandalism or graffiti do you see on a daily basis in school and around that community?

S There isn’t much graffiti or vandalism around the school since it is usually a permissioned wall and artists paint on it.

M (If I could talk more and instead of being sneaky) Wow that’s really cool, I don’t know if our school does that, but they should totally do that more.

S What do you think of it as an art form, like in museums and as a high end art? Graffiti works are also from talented artists but, they are usually painted in areas that are not allowed which makes it undesired by most. (She mostly was neutral with graffiti being a high end art, and I should have asked her what she thought about graffiti being super expensive then)

M Do you think graffiti done in an art school makes it more meaningful?

S If (my) school were to provide classes for graffiti, it would make it more known to people that it is another form of art to express ourselves and for the term to not be just known as vandalization on public areas.

M And if you could vandalize, mark, graffiti anywhere in your school where would it be?

S It would be on a hallway where everyone walks through everyday and they can pass by the art and observe it.

M Damn, I dunno, I thought you’d actually vandalize. What a good student. Thank you for this tts (text to speech) interview.

S You very welcome.

M Any last words before I end the interview?

S I love Michelle Tu.

M Ok ok ok-

==========================
For my second interview with my friend Alyssa, I opened the interview with the question “Have you ever vandalized before?” and I should have known, her being the rebel and “emo kid” she is, that she would have immediately started talking about silly shenanigans from high school. Although we were probably supposed to keep the interviews formal, all my interviews except the restricted third one with my friend Sandy done at 12 in the morning (but that’s besides the point because I’m sure if we could talk it would have also gone onto strange tangents maybe – most likely). It’s hard to stay neutral when conversing with a friend because you might find yourself naturally agreeing with them and when seeing potential and value behind their points – to be able to stay neutral means to take an observing and calculating stance as a researcher, but a good interviewer would dig more into the interviewees’ perspective, which might mean, metaphorically or not, nodding along or playing devil’s advocate in order to find out more. However, the joy of interviewing multiple people is that you find out different perspectives with the (well almost) same questions. It’s almost like a science experiment with its constants and independent and dependent variables. Because the interview with my friend Alyssa went downhill so fast (or maybe not, maybe it was actually uphill), we went on some really fun tangents that I didn’t really transcribe, but they were mostly about a comparison of our high school, Laguardia, and Parsons and the real highlight of the interview, the conspiracy of Banksy having some furtive connections with extremely powerful and wealthy patrons in the high-end art society, which I’m sure (kind of sure) that this was case, since it’s pretty much how many artists started like Jackson Pollock. After discovering about the reasons for his rise in the art world, it made effortless to see it happening to other artists especially if they had a quirk or idiocracy, such as Banksy’s rebellious and anonymous nature as a graffiti artist. So I think it’d interesting to research the origins of graffiti to becoming, not fully, but considered also as an art form, to the level of being displayed in museums.

 

Michelle Tu

February 22, 2018

Pre-Field Trip Assignment

There was a time in the past around the late 1700s through the early 1800s where guns were a necessity and it was a given right for any American to bear arms. However, things have changed drastically from that time to now the modern age of technology and other advancements. The potential danger of guns disrupts the peace of America. Especially because of the abrupt shootings that occur around the country in schools or in locations with mass crowds of people. Although there have been laws implemented to increase the security and authenticity of selling and buying guns in the US, such as the Gun Control Act 1968, pushed by President Lyndon B. Johnson after the assassination of President John Kennedy, that restricted the purchase of guns to those under the age of 21, the mentally ill and prohibited felons. It also banned imported guns, but those that were manufactured from out of the country had to be labeled with a serial number. This shows how lax our laws on gun control are despite the additions of more restrictions over time, which have little to no effect on the mass shootings that happen frequently in the US. How many shootings will be enough for the Congress to push for real gun control? This is why in the past years, along with the increase in shootings, there also have been many protests against the use of guns. There has been much activity amongst our generation to raise more awareness for the cause, which is ridiculous to say because how more awareness do those with authority need? I’ve seen many students speak out on these matters in front of large audiences because they were either indirectly or directly affected by shootings and I applaud them for doing so. For believing in the change that happens with the joined hands of others.

1/29 2:50 pm After leaving Parsons’ building

Feeling alright today, 2 classes one after another is tiring especially on a Monday why did I do this to myself again, but I’m glad to be going home afterward at a time that isn’t like seven. Todays pretty cloudy and gloomy, but in New York, gloomy really isn’t a thing unless you mean busy, bustling swarms of people and in somehow all black. There were a lotta people at the entrance of course definitely not smoking at the doors, yep. On this path, everyone’s just goin’ their own way – especially because of the stations right around the corner and straight ahead. I remember walking around in this area and there was this person walking down with their eyes focused on their phone and this guy pops out of nowhere – probably waiting for this poor victim (?), and has a conversation with them. It was interesting because usually everyones just so busy in their bubble doing their own stuff. I really admire the people who try to livin’ up the city.

 

1/30 2:50 pm By Blick Arts Supplies Store

Thank god it rained last night and not today so thank god (otherwise I would’ve been pretty upset only because I just don’t like the rain cos it makes the city seem even yuckier), just had my games 101 class so that was fun. It’s pretty cold and windy today as usual and I just got out of class uhh the building by Blick (I’ve done a lot of laser cutting stuff there it’s fun I kinda like it here cos there’s fewer people and it’s a peaceful walk to my station – that’s at union square. So yeah not much people hanging around here, but there’s pizza here around the corner – and some ramen place and this Thai place my friend took me to for my birthday – shout out to Joyce. So yeah that area is mostly just foodstuffs, people around there are just inside eating pizza or chilling outside the store sometimes with the plate of pizza.

 

 

1/31 11:40 am Main Building 65 av.

Since I can’t walk the same path, I’m just gonna walk to the other station at 14th street that means like one stop extra on the train. It’s pretty sunny, but its still cold uhh I’m feeling alright [laughs] I don’t think there’s ever a day where I’m feeling fully hyper, but yanno it’s those good lil moments in life that make your day – that being said I wish I can hang out with my friends soon. Going home on this path is pretty long – actually for like half of the first semester I was walking all the way from the station I’m goin’ to right now thinking the distance was shorter – I mean I guess? All you have to do it walk down, but it’s a whole block. My favorite place in this area is the biscuits and bath – fun looking at people who just pass by overloading in happiness, also there’s this chipotle place at the corner. Oh yeah, and my friends’ dorm is right ahead. There’s like 3 people packed in one room, so it’s a good thing two of them are besties.

 

 

2/1 11:40 am By Union Square/ Coffee Shop

Seminar is so boring oh god I don’t know how I’m going to survive, I literally slept every 3 minutes and woke up stayed awake for 2 minutes and slept again – the cycle of life repeats. Well to be fair, I also slept for only 2 hours that day [laughs], because I was working on video editing on After Effects till like five am. I like the area here, I mean, not only because it’s right by my station, but I had a lotta good memories at the market in Union Square. And if I walk around Union Square, there’s my favorite Petco and Barnes n’ Noble. In this area, it’s people going in two directions, towards the station or towards the market and out. It’s fun watching all kinds of people looking at the whole assortment of stuff, hell, even I’m entertained in doing so. On a side note, I almost got run down by pigeons. They all just flew out from the bushes to eat something off the ground – it was pretty scary, I even ducked a little trying to run off.

 

2/2 2:50 pm By Union Square/ Coffee Shop

Its cloudy and cold which really sucks, I hope it’ll be sunny and warm soon so I don’t have to wear my jacket. Feeling really tired today because I stayed up again doing my seminar homework (the reading just took me a long time because I was trying to comprehend this guy’s pretentious words). But surprisingly, I wasn’t even tired really and my friend my questioning how I was even alive when I got home. Since I’m supposed to go on different paths anyway I decided to avoid the pigeon area an circle around Union Square. The market was up and there were a lotta people there checking out the stuff (I also wanted to see but I wanted to walk a different route this time). Someone was smoking and sped up and tried to walk ahead of him.

From the early ages of drying mashed pulp of something to make paper to now, using abundances of trees to make the accessible bundles of paper we have today, paper has definitely come a long way. In addition to the huge focus on recycling and reusing old paper to make new paper. In many developed countries, paper is something taken for granted, even more so in the age of recycling where people are in the mindset that we can still use more paper because it’s being reused. Maybe this isn’t the case though with the advent of technology, there seems to be less reason to use paper. However, there are strong believers of the traditional way of learning, which is writing directly on a piece of paper that’s why there hasn’t been a full push to stop using paper and have everything on tablets or on the internet. That kind of world seems unbelievable now but may come one day. Perhaps it’ll come after much persuasion or when we finally realize chopping down trees isn’t cutting it. Either way, switching to a technology-based society would also be difficult because the mass production of it would also be destructive. Will there be any way to fully stop pollution? It’s something we all strive to fix every day, but even simply having the drive to save our planet isn’t enough which is why we need to plan with everything in consideration.

What’s the function of a cup? We use it to easily fill it up with something to drink at the moment or maybe a few minutes after. Rather than having a function of accessibility, does it also have a function of sophistication? For example, fancy teacup sets that cost almost a hundred fifty dollars. That doesn’t seem like it’d be in an average person’s arsenal. Although I’m mostly talking about ceramic cups that can be used over and over again, there are plastic and styrofoam cups that are used once and thrown out. They may not be intended for the purpose of being used multiple times through, but in some cases, these plastic and styrofoam cups may be all a person has. On the other hand, we have these vacuum flasks that store liquids at its intended temperature for quite awhile. The ceramic mug sitting in your self may seem like a very common household item, but it’s not something we should take for granted. We should be grateful these containers holding our favorite drinks are in existence because, without them, we’d be cupping our hands or leaving the water running from sink to brush our teeth.

In class today, our teacher asked us to describe this stone figure, which I thought of it to be an angel judging from the human-shaped figure from the front and its two long oval shapes attached on its back. We described what we saw and wrote down some questions – at least that’s what we were supposed to do I kind of just word vomited. After the duration of observing, he revealed to us that it was a prototype given by his friend. They were merging cement and rubber pieces (this was what created the glittering effect of the figure) and ideally the product would be able to rebound if thrown on the ground. As we passed this object around, however, this product didn’t feel the waxiness of rubber, so I hesitant in the idea of it bouncing around. The fact that it was a prototype means that his friend experimented with the mixtures or materials of whatever he had to create the idea he had in mind. They might have gone to through several trials to gratify their plans or maybe they’re still going on with their idea. In any case, this shows the importance of experimentation of even the most unlikely things. They may be unimportant to the world and you may be just experimenting out of curiosity, but I believe having the drive to even go through with something especially insignificant actually makes it more significant.

I bought my iPad to the class that day because I thought I’d be able to use it for entertainment at some point (maybe break) and also because instead of bringing my laptop, I’d bring my iPad because it was easier to carry. Tablets are practically a mini laptop anyways so there’s virtually no difference. I could easily access the internet with one press – the same goes for my phone. Technology’s presence is so strong in our daily lives that without it we’d feel a great sense of loss. We wouldn’t have the quick access to knowledge that’s predominant currently or the power to send messages to people around the world in one second. Technology has made our daily lives easier, but it also comes at the cost. This cost may or may not affect everyone, but personally, I find it hard to escape from the web, being wrapped around its threads – as in, I can’t  shut down my laptop. I could spend hours and hours on my laptop doing nothing, but watch videos. My friend shares a similar situation scrolling down her Instagram feed. Still, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages and I don’t view this problem as technology’s fault but more so of mine (in that I can’t resist the desire to search through Youtube for hours without rest). But I know there are some people who have an unhealthy relationship with the web, using it as a platform to be someone else as on the internet, no one knows if you’re a dog. I’d also like to touch upon the waste technology produces especially in the mass production of Apple products. But that’s where innovative designers step in, to make technology more efficient and the future brighter.