Week 9 – COVID-19 Edition

Week 9 – COVID-19 Edition

Week 9 – Live Streaming & Nothing Due

Live Stream

I’ll live stream with YouTube Live on Monday and Zoom on Wednesday

I’m happy to talk about art if anyone wants to, but our mission this week will mostly just be to check in with everyone. We can talk about the class going forward and I’m happy to provide any information I’m able to on larger Long Beach State questions or questions about the pandemic and life in the weeks and months ahead.

Nothing Due

As you might know, this was the week we were finally supposed to go to the beach! 😀

  • Original Plan – optional meetup on Wednesday at the Seal Beach Pier
  • Coronavirus I Plan – still do the activity, but no meetup
  • Coronavirus II Plan – no activity this week

Plaster Casting is a pretty fun activity. I know a few of you hate the beach (there’s a home option) but for most students, it’s one of their favorite activities of the semester.

As we’re becoming more and more aware of the need for social distancing/isolation, even sending you to Home Depot for some plaster seems like an unnecessary ask. So let’s just skip this week’s activity. I’ve posted 30,000/30,000 for i9 for everyone on BeachBoard.

Week 10 – Mostly Normal

We have 3 things due in Week 10:

  • Art Activity – Talking to your brain (automatic drawing) – easy, indoor activity
  • Artist Conversation #4 – hopefully a live-streamed conversation with an artist during class time
  • Midterm – convert to essay

Spring Break!

And then, at last, Spring Break! IDK what you all might do for break!? But at least it will be a chance for us to step back, take a breath, even if it’s an isolated/quarantined breath, and regroup.

Do take care of yourself today, during break, and beyond. It seems like the COVID-19 interruption to our lives will not be short. It seems like we will need realistic and safe plans both to avoid the virus and also to deal with all the other ramifications: work income, relationships, disappointment/depression, and more.

Points Update

All points through i7 & Artist Conversation #2 are now up on BeachBoard. i8 & Artist Conversation #3 are not yet graded. I’ve gone ahead and given everyone full credit for what would have been this week’s i9 Activity.

With 545,000 points possible so far, here’s how many points you should have to be on track for each grade level:

  • 490,000 = 90% = on track for final grade of "A" – 76 peeps
  • 436,000 = 80% = on track for final grade of "B" – 16 peeps
  • 381,000 = 70% = on track for final grade of "C" – 5 peeps
  • 327,000 = 60% = on track for final grade of "D" – 10 peeps
  • 326,999 & below = on track for final graqde of "F" – 3 peeps

Current class GPA = 3.47

Leaderboard

With 545,000 points possible so far, here are the Art 110 top 10 for Week 9:

  1. Howard Chen, 627,799
  2. Wendy Ha, 620,700
  3. Kevin Ho, 620,000
  4. Makalo Taddwilliams, 615,879
  5. Yesenia Martinez, 600,975
  6. Kathy Nolasco, 600,554
  7. Arvin Sales, 596,234
  8. Kyra Tan, 595,200
  9. Shivani Patel, 581,945
  10. Jane Kim, 577,275
Coronavirus Icons by https://www.iconfinder.com/becris and https://www.iconfinder.com/photo3idea

Where are you?

Has Long Beach State switching to online instruction in response to the coronavirus altered your living arrangements?

  • Dorms – I know part of the class lives in the dorms. Are you still there? How are things changing there? Have you, or will you, go home instead?
  • Apartments – if you live in an apartment near campus, or wherever, how are things going there?
  • Home – living at home? How’s the family coping? Are your routines changing?

Act of Nature

If you think about it, so many of the small and enormous challenges that we human beings face are human-made:

  • Every war ever
  • Every shooting & bombing ever
  • Every time we’re a little impatient or a little unkind with our fellow riders here on earth
  • Climate Change
  • Poverty & Homelessness
  • Things like The Great Depression of the 1930s and the Financial Crisis of 2008 are more complicated, but they too can have roots in human hubris and greed
  • Wildfires and hurricanes are acts of nature, although our lack of taking responsibility for Climate Change can make them more common and more virulent

Coronavirus is not the result of the acts of humankind. It is an act of nature. It is just one of the risks of being alive.

Be Well

We don’t know how long we will be living under this new normal. It is important to be informed and be careful about not contracting or passing on the virus. How long we might have to live in this new world of social distancing/isolation/quarantine is unknown. It might be longer than we think. Which could mean that beyond the virus itself, there will also be consequences for income, relationships, mood, and mental health. Be sure to reach out to

  • Faculty
  • Staff
  • Academic Advisors
  • CAPS (Counseling & Psychological Services) – (562) 985-4001

As you may know, in 2017 a suicide bomber killed himself and 22 other people after an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, UK. Two weeks later, Grande organized a benefit concert, One Love Manchester. For the final song of the night, Grande sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Comments? Questions? What great art did you see, make, or experience today?

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