Visual Arts Workshop Assignment

"Textured Ground"
For this piece we decided to take pictures of "things that you walk on."  Our group was sent out with no parameters other than to take three pictures at any angle under this bracket.  Despite the often photographed natural beauty of Vancouver, what we have here are a selection of nine rather monotonous representations of surfaces that could have been taken from any number of places across the globe.  The works are arranged from 'most natural' at the top left corner, to 'most un-natural' at the bottom right (although this is open to interpretation).  Mirroring that of Vancouver imagery where the natural beauty of the mountains is often pictured with that of the man-made downtown core, in these works too we have the natural (represented by grass and rock) and the man-made (represented by carpet and synthetic rubber floor).  What all these surfaces have in common is that rarely does the human skin come into direct contact with them; for the most part everything that we walk on does not force a sensation on the body, only indirectly via footwear."

Untitled (graffiti)
We chose a theme revolving around graffiti. The sheds located behind Ross have an array of artistic expression. While taking shots of the graffiti we began to notice a common theme portrayed in the graffiti. Themes of frustration, loneliness and solitude - evoked through emotional poetry, frantic spraypainting, and the ticking watch- were developed in the graffiti. For this project, we enjoyed taking pieces of the graffiti artists' expressions and arranging them into a piece of our own, combining the emotions of many individuals into a single piece of art work.

The Book of Knowledge
 We chose to focus our picture series on the various architectural aspects of the UBC Library.  The three pictures at the bottom of the series show structures made of concrete.  This represents a strong architectural base for the building which also portrays a strong base for education.  As we move up in the series, the centre pictures depict the access way into the library, where students can advance their studies.  The pictures at the top of the series are mainly structures made of glass.  The glass allows students to see the world of possibilities that are available outside; the sun is able to illuminate a pathway to our futures.

People on Campus

Nelson est un étudiant de droit ici à UBC. Il a précédemment étudié à l’université de la Saskatchewan, mais admet préférer la température plus douce de Vancouver et considère UBC comme étant supérieure. Il aime particulièrement sa faculté et le mode de vie qui vient avec. Sur le campus, il recommande le jardin de roses pour étudier, Mahony’s pour la bière et le Pit Pub pour faire la fête. Ayant déjà fait une immersion française, Nelson est fluent dans la langue de Molière.

Jean-Paul est un pigeon très particulier. Originaire de Surrey, Ontario, il migre à Vancouver tous les étés pour profiter du climat côtier. Jean-Paul passe la plupart de son temps dans le Student Union Building (voir photo), et les seuls mots de français qu’il connait sont “pâté chinois”.

Wing is a janitor at the University of British Columbia SUB Building. Every lunch we see him in the cafeteria with a smile on his face and we were really excited to interview him. He was born in Hong Kong and has been working at UBC since 1981. He tells us that he really loves the city of Vancouver and the people are incredibly nice! When asked him what he can say in French, he replied “Merci beaucoup!”

Jess, Kristie et Jackie sont originaires de Vancouver et étudient en Biochimie et en Chimie à UBC. Ces amis de longue date apprécient le campus pour ses espaces verts. Cependant, malgré le fait qu’ils étudient à UBC, ils ne connaissent pas trop le campus. Donc, quand ont leur a demandé quelle était le meilleur endroit pour relaxer, la réponse fut de longs regards perplexes de la part des trois acolytes. Toutefois, après les avoir incité à répondre, le Pit Pub, la bibliothèque et le Jardin des Roses furent nommés. Finalement, quand nous avons demandé s’ils savaient quelques mots en français, une phrase sortit de la bouche des trois étudiants : “Comment ca va?”.

Jeff, Jamie, Terry and Ivan are currently studying at UBC. We met them in front of the Irving library and they were very happy to be interviewed. They are all majoring in different areas, Jeff in Nutrition, Terry in International Relations, Ivan in Genetics and Jamie is undecided. The reasons that made them choose to study at UBC are the reputation of the university worldwide, the remarkable campus and the friendly people that they meet daily. They were adorable when we asked them to speak French. Ivan knows the word “fromage’’, Terry exclaimed “Bonjour ‘while Jeff said the infamous greeting: ‘’Comment ça va?’. We were very proud of Jamie when we learned that she was fluent in French. She has already been to Montréal and is in love with the city.

Tom Bittner is an Art Studies professor at University of British Columbia. He has been with this university for four years and his wife is also a professor at this school. He is originally from California and believes that Vancouver is very similar to his hometown. He has had previous experience teaching at other universities. However, he finds that he has so far enjoyed his experience with UBC because of its beautiful campus, wide space, connections between faculties, etc. When we asked him what he could say in French, he replied with “Bonjour,” “Comment allez-vous?, “ and “Fromage!”

Hot Food Campus Spots!

The Boulevard
Très populaire auprès des étudiants de UBC, The Boulevard est un café ne servant que des produits équitables, écologiques et locaux, à un prix raisonnable. Bien loin du très commercial Starbucks, vous verrez au Boulevard tout le processus de fabrication du café, et ce, dans une machine rappelant un wagon de train. En plus, ça sent le café bien frais ! L’ambiance y est manifestement agréable: la musique est bonne et l’atmosphère est propice aux études. De plus, il y a de nombreuses places assises et confortables, autant à l’intérieur qu’à l’extérieur. Bien que le service ait été relativement long – le mocha glacé prend du temps à faire, mais est particulièrement savoureux – il demeure que le Boulevard est probablement le café le plus intéressant sur le campus de UBC.

La terasse du Boulevard

Well Tea

Well Tea is a close and cozy place that is conveniently located next to McDonalds in the UBC Village. With a large menu and many choices, you can’t go wrong. The Bubble Slush with lychee jelly comes to about $5 and comes in a large cup. The food also comes in large portions and is very tasty. There is minimal seating downstairs, but the additional seating upstairs is comfy and cozy. Because this is a smaller place, the service takes a bit longer, and they also don’t take VISA. However, overall it is still a great place, and will satisfy your Bubble Tea craving!

Pan-Fried Udon Noodles with Chicken

Henna

Copyright: Rachel D

La Première et Deuxième Semaine!

Photos: Steve Piché