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november 30, 2015 dispatchda.com lavozdeanza.com

Covering De Anza’s visual arts and culture

34

2polaroid photos on display in san jose

imaginarium: san francisco

girl in a comic book store

ONE SHOT: Portraits of people and places captured on polaroids by photographer Polaroid Jay

Staff writer Kady Le shares her personal experience as a girl working in the comic book retail world

Photography students exhibit artwork produced in De Anza’s photo classes at Rayko Photo Center, SFDispatch

As of 2012, the United States ranks 35th out of 64 countries in math

and 27th in science, according to the Program for International Student Assessment.

While the results aren’t devastating, many educators believe that America’s education has become stagnant in relation to an exponentially growing technological, global economy.

Tom Torlakson, state superintendent of public instruction, responded to this by creating a task force to get California schools to focus on STEM classes in grades K-12.

This, however has left art and design classes secondary in the education system, while many educators and students believe that art should be at the center of a STEM education, such as STEAM, a student-

led organization that originated at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Wilfred Castaño, who teaches photography at De Anza, also said he believes art is essential in an education.

“I think academically we separate math over here, English over there, design over here, and art over here but I

With so much focus on STEM studies, are students losing their steam?

Award-winning poet Matt Sedillo leads poetry workshop,recites poems on personal and political issues

Adrian Discipulo STAFF WRITER

Innovation is a buzzword commonly heard in California, a state which prides itself in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, but so much attention to a STEM education has pushed creative arts to the side.

think they all come together,” said Castaño. “When you look at all the great artists in the past, [such as] Leonardo Da Vinci, they were all scientists, so I think it’s all one.”

Castaño said that art and expressing creativity is something that is universal in all people and that it’s something that needs to be worked into a

general education. “It’s part of the human soul,

brain, mind complex and definitely if there’s space for science and math there has to be room for art,” he said.

Art presents an innovative function in the context of STEM classes as well, according to Marco Marquez, who teaches

graphic design.“The creative process can

have a more formal method, and I think that that method can be something that is used as a life skill set, a problem solving skill set that is transferrable to any career

De Anza students gathered inside conference room A to attend a poetry workshop hosted by Matt Sedillo, 33. Matt is a two time national slam poet, grand slam champ of LA and author of “For What I Might

do Tomorrow.”Matt said he has been

performing slam poetry for almost seven years.

“I’ve been doing it for about 6 years, professionally for about 3 years now,” Sedillo said. “What got me started was going to an event and I saw some dudes doing political poetry and I thought I can do that, I can do exactly that and fill it with political content.”

Garr LoganSTAFF WRITER

He performed several slam poems about upbringing, poverty and the current political elections. Most of his pieces are political in nature with some personal ones sprinkled in.

For many students, it was their first time experiencing slam poetry.

“Honestly, it makes me look at poetry in a different view,” Curtis Schussler, 26, math major said. “I’m a math major and English has been one of my worst subjects, it definitely feels empowering seeing him talk so passionately.”

After the performance, students were treated to a workshop by Sedillo. Students were guided through a four step prompt and then invited to share their poems.

“I have a couple different workshops, but the one I

did today, the personal and political, it definitely goes with the plan,” Sedillo said. “I’ve done this workshop at colleges all across the country and I never change it. It could be anywhere and the prompt will still be the same.”

The workshop inspired students and for some it was their first attempt at writing, like Adan Perez, 24, social work & ethnic studies major.

“The workshop was dope,” Perez said. “I actually did spoken word in high school so this prompt was a refresher.”

The prompt consisted of writing about experiences growing up and plans for the future. Many students were hesitant on sharing what they wrote until people started volunteering.

>see “steam” on page 2

>see “poetry slam” on page 3

Above: Steve Collen (left), machining major, gets advice on his black and white film photography print from photo 1 professor Wilfred Castaño in the photography lab on Monday, Nov. 23.

adrian discipulo | Dispatch Staff

Dispatch

Happening

First Thursday Open Mic

Sing, dance, rap or sit back and enjoy a showcase of student talent in the Euphrat Museum, hosted by 4 Elements Hip Hop.

Euphrat Museum of ArtDec. 3, 5:00-8:00 p.m., free

Chromatic First thursday: william bottini

View works by artist, designer and photographer William Bottini, with an exhibition of photographs, or more appropriately; “timescapes.”

Chromatic Coffee, 5237 Ste-vens Creek Blvd, CupertinoDec. 3, 6:00-10:00 p.m.

De anza pottery sale

Get Christmas gift shopping out of the way while supporting ceramics at the same time. Profits from donated work and student sales fund scholarships for the California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramics.

Hinson Center CafeteriaDec. 1-2, 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Seeing Things Gallery30 N Third St., San JoseDec. 5, 7:00-10:00 p.m.Join Seeing Things Gallery for their annual blanket drive and art auction.

blanket drive & art auction

Anno Domini366 S 1st St., San JoseRuns through Dec. 12View an exhibition of painter Dale Marshall’s work, consisting of a 30-foot self portrait. Open Tuesday-Friday 12-7 p.m., Saturday 12- 5 p.m.

orbital - cut up & rewired

First Fridayart walk

Take a stroll down First street. to check out local art at galleries and bars while live music and performances bring the night to life in the South First Area from Reed St. at the South First Friday Art Walk.

South 1st street, San JoseDec.4, 7-11 p.m., free

path, to any medium, to any subject matter,” Marquez said.

Marquez referenced “design thinking,” a phrase coined by designers in the ‘70s and was spearheaded by Tim Brown, the CEO of Ideo, a Palo Alto-based design agency.

Design thinking is the application of the general design process and methodology to anything you do, which can be applied to other fields of study as well.

“You could use design thinking and the process of design to buy a car, you could use design thinking to manage your educational experience, you can use design thinking in any aspect of your life,” Marquez said.

Marquez said that education should have a component that “taps into the soul and taps into a different way of processing information” to make education more fun and inviting, rather than approaching students from a rigid black-and-white standpoint.

He said he believes that the spirit of STEM classes is similar to the idea of immersing children into a rigid

and structured environment.“There should be the ability

to work with different materials and express oneself in as many different ways as possible, with the goal to make education in general more fun,” Marquez said. “I don’t think you can paint academic success on a general population with a broad brush. You can’t expect everyone to learn the same way, and I think STEM is very limiting, because you’re focusing on very specific subject matter.”

Steve Collen, manufactur ing major, also said that creativity and innovative problem solving are important r e g a r d l e s s of what you are studying. Collen was vice president of Cisco Systems for 17 years and was in charge of product d e v e l o p m e n t and product

marketing. “One of the most prized

assets of the people we employed was creativity,” Collen said. “There are many ways to express creativity but I think that art is one of the prime ways. If you can bring that into [a] science or engineering or manufacturing background,

“ONE SHOT”: works by Polaroid Jay on display at CURATE GOOD, San JoseYousif KassabSTAFF WRITER

November 30, 20152

A small street in San Jose’s Japantown was abustle as people dropped by to see photographic works by photographer Jay Aguilar at the opening of CURATE GOOD on Friday, Nov. 6.

Aguilar, who goes by Polaroid Jay, presented his work with an unusual medium; the walls of the gallery were covered exclusively with polaroid portraits.

Some of the shots that caught the eye were pictures of recognizable faces such as singer FKA Twigs, rappers Blu and Lil B, and

>from “steam,” page 1

-Marco Marquez, graphic design professor

“There should be the ability to work with different materials and express oneself in as many different ways as possible, with the goal to make education in general more fun.”

photos courtesy of jay aguilar

adult film star Asa Akira. You could also find many personal portraits alongside them, such as pictures of cosplayers at Fanime in downtown San Jose and a whole set of photos of Corgis.

Other pictures ranged from shots of Bay Area landmarks and architecture to random little details of the city like a coin operated telescope.

Aguilar started shooting seriously in 2009. In addition to growing up with it, he said he chose polaroid as his medium as a way to set his art apart. It’s certainly apparent, as many of his photos exhibit techniques commonly found in traditional photography like long exposures and experimental work with kaleidoscopes.

Most of the pictures at the show were arranged in sets by large frames with the prints placed side by side. Photos were grouped by the day they were shot, presenting a clean and uniform feel.

The show was catered by West Wing Chicken parked out front, with live music at the show provided by DJ Chatos1013.

Those interested in checking out Polaroid Jay’s work can find him on tumblr at polaroidjay.tumblr.com and on his Instagram @ThePolaroidJay, and Curate Good is located at 392 E Taylor street.

Polaroid Jay will also be exhibiting his work at Cukui at 229 Jackson St., San Jose on March 10, 2017.

Above: Portraits of Chaz Bundick (right), better known as Toro Y Moi, and Jennifer Lee (left), better known as Tokimonsta, taken by Jay Aguilar.

photos courtesy of jay aguilar

L. Quad Room L4121250 Stevens Creek Blvd.

Cupertino, CA 95014

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Thanks to our staff and contributors for

this issue

E: dispatch.da@gmail.comT: (408) 921-5750

BUSINESS STAFF

Cecilia DeckFaculty Adviser

deckcecilia@fhda.edu

Adrian DiscipuloEditor in chief

about us

Dispatch is a project of La Voz News, the voice of the college, and is an alternative art-newspaper dedicated to covering and reporting De Anza’s creative culture and artists.

In reporting on individual artists, collaborative work, and events through longer, in-depth articles and colurful photostories and illustrations, we strive to develop and maintain a platform to exhibit the news, perspectives and opinions of De Anza’s artists, and stimulate a community amongst them.

Dispatch is funded by La Voz News and the DASB Associated Student Body and is printed by the San Francisco Newspaper Printing Comnapy. All rights reserved, no part of Dispatch may be reproduced without permission.

Kady LeErfan MoradiGarr Logan

Andrew KailaJasmin Remram

Les BarrowsDominic NohaiJay SerranoJay Aguilar

Yousif KassabMarco Marquez

Imran NajamRam ReyesWhitney JoyCreo Noveno

Brianna Solano

Dispatch

“At first I was uninterested, but after hearing people speak, I was heavily inspired that I wanted to share what I wrote,” Schussler said. “It summed up a good amount of my life.”

Upon volunteering, more students shared their stories and opened up about their fears and hopes and were met with applause.

“I don’t really feel sad, but I talked about my parents’ divorce and how it affected me,” Schussler said. “I wanted to show that I could live my own life instead of other people. I was happy but as I started talking about growing up, I started shaking and I had to compose myself because that is when my life started spiraling downwards.”

Students in the audience said they connected to the poems that were shared.

“Listening to everyone talk, it made me feel very connected to everyone’s experiences,” said Christian Sanchez, 18, art major. “Their emotions became my emotions and I’m glad we were given this opportunity to hear this.”

Common themes included exploring struggles throughout their youth, parentage, future goals and feelings about themselves.

“Growing up in east side San Jose and before coming here I grew up in Mexico,” Adan Perez said. “I talked about my experience living in the two countries; police brutality, racism, gangs and making it this far.”

Sedillo said he was moved after hearing several students’ pieces and explained why he keeps the prompt the same no matter the workshop.

“[This prompt is] meant to be simple, and stories that

you hear from people. Even if they come from some kind of higher end of the socio-economic bracket, they still have these stories of intense pain that is in life,” Sedillo said. “Someone compared private school to pressure cookers. That was so powerful. We also heard stories of painful familial trauma that a lot of us can relate too.”

After the workshop, many students said they felt empowered and interested in slam poetry.

“I had writer’s block for the past four years but now I’m inspired and empowered to write again,” Perez said.

Before leaving, Sedillo offered advice to people who are interested in slam poetry.

“It all depends on their goals,” Sedillo said. “For most people I would encourage them to have fun and not take it too seriously… to have a good time. If you do really really good one night, or do good another night, don’t take it to heart, don’t get too emotional. You win some you lose some.”

Students, staff and faculty gathered at the Rayko Photo Cente in San Francisco for the reception of an exhibition of photographic works produced by students in black and white, digital, and expiremental photography classes at De Anza on Thursday, Nov. 4.

The exhibition runs through June 21, 2016. Rayko is located at 428 Third St., and is open Tuesday to Thursday 10 a.m.- 10 p.m., and Friday to Sunday 10 a.m.- 8 p.m.

De Anza students display work at Rayko Photo CenterAdrian DiscipuloSTAFF WRITER

November 30, 2015 3Dispatch

Right: Poet Matt Sedillo

instructs De Anza

students in a workshop.

Students were given

a prompt, then invited

to share their poems.

Right: Psychology

professor LaQuisha

Beckum recites a poem written during

a workshop led by Matt

Sedillo in the Hinson Center

confference rooms on Thursday,

Nov. 19

Above Left Brandon Davis, 23, communications major performs an intepretive dance to one of Sedillo’s poems.Above Right Euphrat Museum director Diana Argabrite shares a peom she wrote during Sedillo’s workshop.

>from“poetry slam,” page 1

Above: Tom Edel views student work displayed at the De Anza gallery reception at RayKo Images, San Francisco on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

Above Left: Attendees discuss student works over refreshments at the De Anza gallery reception. Above Right: Photo lab technician Chia Wen (left), photography proffesor Tressa Pack (center) and photographer Jeff Furman discuss photographic works.

photos by les Barrows | Dispatch Staff

photos by adrian discipulo | Dispatch Staff

Dispatch 4November 30, 2015

Being a girl in a comic book store

Right: Kady Le stands

by some of her favorite

comic books at Legends

Comics and Games, at

Vallco Mall on Thursday,

Nov. 19.

Kady LeSTAFF WRITER

My job at a comic book store intrigues many people because, not

only am I paid to facilitate a sense of comradery within the geek community, I’m told that I defy most conventions of what a comic book store employee is supposed to look like.

Comic book stores get a bad rep for being a real life cesspool of socially inept male geek archetypes. These archetypes range from the pretentious manchild Comic Book Guy-esque collector to the arrogant and angsty pubescent “Friday Night Magic” player. Sometimes these obnoxious stereotypes do resonate in real people. However, the type of crowd you’ll find in a comic book store nowadays extends so much further than typecasts and cliches. The recent surge in high-production superhero films, TV adaptations, and the Internet has made comic books so much more accessible. Yet the general public and comic book industry generalizes comic book fans to embody a monolithic identity that looks like the cisgender, heterosexual white male.

While I’m proud my intersectionality makes me different from the traditional comic book fan, I feel like I’m being categorized whenever it’s brought to my attention at work in the form of stereotypical and sexist comments. Comments from male customers such as, “Do you actually read this stuff?” plague my shift once every other week.

I’ve always dealt with racial

microaggressions such as “Where are you really from?” and once I reached puberty, suitors began asking about my ethnicity, then attempted to pick me up based on my ethnicity.

At work, I coincidently deal with more male customers that have never interacted with a girl with the same passion. In an attempt to compliment me, a customer told me, “It’s so crazy how you’re into comics, board games and pop culture. And you have no accent. You’re so American, it’s mind blowing.”

Well, I was born here, but I’m glad you still find cultural assimilation so fascinating.

My store is located in a mall and separated into two locations, a shop that sells primarily comics and a shop that sells primarily board games and card games. These two shops are across the hall from each other. My side, the comics side, is run entirely by women with the exception of our manager. This goes against the perception that men dominate comic book retail. Before being hired at the store I, I was a customer and subscriber while I was a freshmen at De Anza.

It was the my first time encountering a local comic book store that had female employees. It was also my first time seeing that women

could be passionate and knowledgeable about comics to the same extent as men. There was s o m e t h i n g about the

presence of girls behind the counter that made me feel safe and empowered as a female comic book reader.

Looking back, I know that what I was feeling was validation. It was because meeting female comic book store employees that shared the same gender identity as me made me feel represented as a woman in a community traditionally dominated by men.

Historically, the comic book industry has always catered to cis-hetero-white men. While that fact isn’t meant antagonize them, it makes me wonder. Where were people of color on the pages while white Anglo-saxon heterosexual men dominated the covers during the Golden, Silver, and Bronze Age of comic books? Superman is literally an alien from Krypton, yet he was drawn to look like the idealized form of the industry’s demographic.

Prior to the Silver Age, women were a formidable demographic. There were more female readers than male during that time. The industry catered to them by writing romance comics and depicting career-women and creating early superheroines. This included the creation of beloved Amazonian princess Wonder Woman.

However, as the superhero genre began to grow, other genres shrunk, and female voices became marginalized. Wonder Woman became merely the token female on the Justice League roster. Other superheroines such as Batgirl, Supergirl and Batwoman

were created as female derivatives of e s t a b l i s h e d m a l e superheroes. For decades after that, f e m a l e c h a r a c t e r s w e r e sexualized to appeal to male-d o m i n a t e d readership.

As a consumer that would like to

see the industry appeal to a new generation of readers, I stress the importance of the comic book industry representing women and minorities both on page and off page by hiring female and non-white creators. Recently, the industry has been making strides to diversify their offerings. Last year, Marvel introduced female Thor, Spider-Gwen, Silk, who’s Korean-American and Ms. Marvel, the first Muslim character to have her own series.

However, the consensus of superheroes with their own titles published by the Big Two is still overwhelmingly male and overwhelmingly white.

In June 2015, male creators outnumber female creators about nine-to-one at both DC and Marvel, according to Bleeding Cool. Furthermore, 74.9 percent and 78.2 percent of people that worked in comics were white at DC and Marvel, respectively. Even today, female and minority voices are still marginalized.

As creator of the long-running webcomic “Templar, Arizona,” C. Spike Trotman said during an interview with Wired, “Cis-hetero-white-male isn’t the default mode of human. Experiences influence creativity, and there needs to be more than one set of experiences being reflected on the page.” We need diverse creators to bring diverse experiences and authenticity to the pages of fiction.

My passion for comics began because I found plenty of parallels between comics and my first passion, film.

Comics, like cinema, were

also visual storytelling medium and each page felt like elaborate storyboards. I also saw a lot of parallels in the comics and film industry because females are vastly underrepresented in both.

At first, I never intended to work at a comic book store because I was too intimidated by how male-dominated the comics community was.

However, when I found out the shop I went to get my comics on Wednesdays had an opening, I applied on a whim, not expecting to get hired. Much to my surprise and delight, I was hired. But I expected to just be a cashier.

To those aspiring to work at a comic book store, take note. When you’re a comic book store employee, you’re never just a cashier nor are you ever just someone that takes inventory. I became both those things, but I also became the facilitator for an entire community. This was something I never would have expected on a whim.

My advice to the ladies: if you’re too intimidated to apply for the opening at your local comic book store, don’t be. Don’t feel daunted by the lack of inclusiveness the industry exudes.

Lots of women already work at comic book stores. Lots of conventions are dedicated to geek girls. You can be part of the friendly femme counter staff that will inspire the next generation of geek girl comic book readers. It’s what my store did for me and what I hope to do for others.

FILM PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW KAILA | Dispatch Staff

“Meeting female comic book store employees that shared the same gender identity as me made me feel represented as a woman in a community traditionally dominated by men.”