Marroquin 1

Jennifer Marroquin
Professor Griffith
English 113B-11:00 AM MW
17 May 2016
The Walls of Colors
We face a faster paced lifestyle that we tend to forget to pay attention to the littlest things
in life. When many people give their attention to the past or the future they often create stories
either to regret or worry. Often, individuals are distracted by irrelevant things in the surrounding
environment they find themselves in. The simplest acts are often missed because we are too busy
to pay attention to anything going around us, especially if it seems like it does not directly impact
us. People need to start paying attention to things not seen before rather than focusing on the
familiar. Grasping messages when you looking in the place one find themselves and closely
paying attention to the littlest things that cause a difference for even a second. To strengthen the
connection between people and the places they share, the community should pay attention to the
physical, cultural, social identities that define the arts and design center. The Arts and Design
Center at CSUN prepares artists and designers to share their creativity with the world.
The art and design center on CSUN is the place that should be much admired on campus.
This place has been influential not only to the students but overall has a strong message to any
individual on campus on. The art and design center offers a liberal arts education in art and
design. The university lets students be exposed to various art making opportunities that fit their
best interests and talents. many are not aware that CSUN department of art was lost when the art
building was destroyed in an earthquake in 1944. Individuals should take a closer look in their

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surroundings and the great meaning it has to some. The old and new can join together to create
something bigger and better.
The new and existing art and design center studios look to be built more modernly to give
it a more colorful and attractive look. Two concrete block buildings were designed to be placed
as the form of a curved T. The geometric shaped blocked buildings and its colorful bright
colors gave it a more alive feeling. The bright colors gave its surroundings a positive energy. The
art and design center is different from the other buildings on campus due to being setup
differently. This space was combined with the new facility with the existing parts. The courtyards
were created through the placements of the blocks, with each teaching course near it. The
courtyards were very interesting based on my observation. Each courtyard formed an
arrangement of outdoor rooms which the work of every studio spread out of to. The outdoor
setting felt as if the community can have interactions with the students, professors, galleries, and
events that occur.
The Heavenly Hands is the first piece of art any person can spot while walking towards
the Arts and Design Center at CSUN. The Heavenly Hands sculptures are made of porcelain
by American/Romanian sculptor Patrick Mateescu. The sculpture itself gives a message on how
different and memorable a certain place can be without any big letters showing the name of the
place. On the other hand, the other departments on the CSUN campus where it is difficult to find
a certain building because they all might have the same color, structure, or lettering. With
traditional art it goes more into depth more into the picture itself by paying close attention to it.
The art and design center is a community where students have their artworks displayed to show
their viewers what they can do and contribute to the table.

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Not to mention it is interesting the challenges, interpretations, materials, colors, structure,

lecture an artist and or designers go through to show us their talent and preference. How
Computers Change the Way We Think by Sherry Turkle is an example how displayed artworks
are overlooked by technology by simply researching up information instead of our own
observation. The tools we use to think change the ways in which we think. The invention of
written language brought about a radical shift in how we process, organize, store, and transmit
representation of the world (Turkle 339). Computers can easily block the imagine, thoughts, and
ideas running through the brain trying to show a bit of interest just to rely on information put
onto the web is a lack of communication to the world and our surroundings. In a blink of an eye
not only artworks can easily fade away but any place that has a special meaning and connection
to people can be turned away.
According to Adolescents Use of Media for Self-Socialization by Jeffrey Jensen
Arnett explains how the media has become our new way to communicate especially for
adolescents. We do not see the bigger picture and do not pay close attention to anything, it is just
overlooked by a handheld device. The media is simply handed us over messages and information
from everywhere you can imagine instead of looking closely at things and taking the time to
observe. One of the most important developmental challenges of adolescence, from the
perspective of the most developmental psychologists, is identity formation, the cultivation of a
conception of ones values, abilities, and hopes for the future (Arnett 522). Magazines,
newspapers, books, journal articles etc., are fading away being overlooked by the use of media
that often blocks the opinions of individuals showing their interest in anything.
Furthermore, to understand the importance of the arts and design center at CSUN, one
must understand the artist behind everything. Each artist or designer have different inspirations

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to creating their piece of artwork. Their inspirations may come from observing the world around
them. These individuals will mount to anything to find the pieces to put together something
imaginable. Also, wanting to share this perspective with their viewers to open their mind and see
the natural world in a new way, notice details that were not there. To be reminded that nature is
both powerful and fragile. In fact, inspiration can come from anything. The art and design center
displays artworks that were constructed differently with a different message to tell. Artists and
designers are the types of people who can really connect with their own work, that have an
emotional attachment to because they are the only ones who can clarify what they had to go
through putting together a beautiful piece. Art is supposing to be deep (emotions, experiences),
history behind it, because it can relate to earlier works. One of the main reasons most artist and
designer do their thing is because they want to do it. No one asked famous artists such as Van
Gogh, Picasso, or da Vinci to paint all their life, art is just wonderful, but also what those people
who so it find bewildering. Art has become influential to world power due to the communication
and connection artists/designers have with their community within each other.
In CSUN, every student is given the opportunity to find themselves as an individual and
the arts education has a place in society, the arts and its culture/background over the years has
become more downgraded. For example, in the article The Place of Arts in our Society by
Henry Fogel has supported the fact that art organizations have been decaying from society as if it
does not have much to offer anymore. Children are taking an interest to make something and
transforming it into art but how when the federal government does not seem to take an interest.
State, city, and county funding has also dropped significantly in recent yearsand theres our
education system, which for the past 25 or 30 years in city after city has been reducing or
eliminating music and the arts, in order to concentrate on testable, quantifiable results like math

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and science score (Fogel). The government and school systems should support and be able to
afford to continue these creative courses if not, how will the children grow up to acknowledge
any art form if it is not or take the time to closely pay attention to any place or thing that does
make a matter.
Physical characteristics of a specific place in this case, the art and design center on
campus has a significant contribution to the community with art, history, and the feeling toward
the place. People develop a sense of place through experience and knowledge of a particular
place. The art, design, film, photography, computer classes grasp memories of personal and
cultural experiences over time that make the arts and design center special. Places not only leave
on the skin but mind as well. Favorite objects, the color of the rooms and walls, songs that
inspire work, special projects, special skills a student or individual develop to enjoy their area
which can help define the place and anchor someone in it. The meaning of a place such as the
arts and design center for anyone who has found themselves are caught up in the environment of
a particular place. Its culture, history, natural environment despite its geography. Imagining a
world without any type of art, design, no creative advertisement, the world would be very dull
and boring. Over the past decade, schools are decreasing these activities just to be seen as less
important to society. When students are able to express their creativity in a particular place for
example, classrooms, it helps them become more well- rounded and outgoing in their everyday
lives not to mention, it can greatly boost their mood by becoming a stress reliever. The arts,
design, and communication center on CSUN should be more acknowledge its positive impact its
doing to students.

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Works cited

Turkle, Sherry How Computers Change the Way We Think The Chronicle of Higher
Education. May 21, 2004.
Arnett, Jeffrey Jensen Adolescents Uses of Media for Self-Socialization Journal of Youth and
Adolescence, Vol.24, No. 5 1994
Fogel, Henry The Place of Arts in our Society April 11, 2008