Selections of my work.
Eugene hosted Alexis Nikole Nelson this week, she was welcomed as the keynote speaker for Abundance 2023. After the keynote talk, she led a foraging walk where she pointed out plants I learned to now look out for.
Here I am consolidating some photos from the day, as well as things I took note of on the walk!
Continue reading “Abundance Foraging”
I first learned about the artist Ai Weiwei in a documentary production class I took last term when watching Ai Weiwei Drifting (1). This film painted an introduction to him, sharing details about his experience as an immigrant, and how this phenomenon has shaped what inspires him as an artist. This relates to the themes that artists like Tanya Aguiñiga and Hiwa K share on what inspires them to create art. Ai Weiwei is a refugee who creates art that holds the purpose of amplifying the stories of other refugees. He shares in Ai Weiwei Drifting (1) that his connectedness to and understanding of the refugee condition is what drives him to create art. This film shows behind the scenes of Ai Weiwei creating his own documentary titled Human Flow (2) as well as other art projects, so it is very reflexive.
Continue reading “Ai Weiwei”
Born in 1928 in Havana, Cuba, the place where he lived and died, the artist Tomás Gutiérrez Alea is remembered today as one of the most recognizable Cuban filmmakers of his time. After earning a degree in law at the University of Havana in 1951, Alea moved to Rome and studied film at Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, where he graduated in 1953; this is where many Cuban filmmakers studied before the existence of the Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). Alea was the first Cuban director to be nominated for an Oscar, he was nominated for his film Strawberry and Chocolate (1993). Alea was very widely acclaimed for having written and directed over twenty films commenting on Cuban society, utilizing Third Cinema themes.
Continue reading “The work of Tomàs Gutiérrez Alea”
Based on the book with the same name by Graciliano Ramos, Vidas Secas [Barren Lives] (Nelson Pereira dos Santos, 1963) shows the cyclical story of how one family navigates instability through a great drought. This film shows that the family has a loss of dignity, a trait inherent to one’s subjectivity, we see it diminish as we progress throughout the film.
Continue reading “Vidas Secas, a video essay”
The Produce Drop provides fresh fruits and vegetables to University of Oregon students facing food insecurity
Every Tuesday afternoon, the EMU Amphitheater is transformed into a miniature farmer’s market. Founded in 2019 and run by the Student Sustainability Center Food Justice team, the Produce Drop provides free produce to any student who self-identifies as earning up to twice the Federal Poverty Level (200 percent FPL). Over the years, as the resource has become known to more students, Produce Drop has seen an increase in visitors not met by an increase in supply.
Continue reading “A resource for students facing food insecurity”
Drea Secchi 