Tiny Stories

Out on the playground one day, George cried

Jumping off the swing, he thought he could fly.

“This cape should have done better than that!”

Looking down he remembered, “oh yeah, I’m fat.”

Little Jeremy went out to play

All the neighbors were running away.

“What’s the matter?  Am I not a fun guy?”

Then, looking up, saw a meteor in the sky.

One spring morning when Jill woke up

She snuck in the kitchen and stole her mom’s cup.

“Adults drink coffee; I’ll try some today.”

Her mom was Mormon, it was only PowerAde.

Alone on the trail, sunburned Sally did walk,

passed the wolf’s den, where he waited to stalk.

“Some wildlife here, I am sure to find!”

Clutching her gun with a trophy in mind.

On the front pew of Sunbeams Jake sat

All the kids teased, his face painted like a cat.

“This is my territory, don’t mess with me.”

Under his chair dripped a drop of warm pee.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Telling stories is a lot harder than it seems, especially when you can only do so in about 30 words.  As I thought of many others who have accomplished successful short stories of similar length, Shel Silverstein immediately came to mind.  He is a poet that is famous worldwide and his books have been translated into 30 languages and sold 20 million copies.  He gained his popularity from several short, well crafted pieces as well as long ones. 

Poetry seems to be an art of conciseness, of high creativity and passion.  I was a published poet in high school and occasionally write fancy poems to women who catch my eye so I accepted the challenge to write all of my tiny stories in poem.  I wanted these stories to memorable like Shel’s poems and thought of as creative and well crafted, having the same poetic structure each time.  I focused on the theme of humorous, rather unlikely moments kids would find themselves in.  The subject matter is appealing because it is spontaneous and unpredictable, yet it is written in a form that is easy to follow and entertaining for the reader with its rhythm and rhyme.   Like music with lyrics, the more it rhymes, the better others remember it and what good is a story without remembering what you learned during the story.

The images I selected to represent my stories also had a very creative and interesting feel to them.  My hope was to show have a visual representation of the child in each story but then to have a hand draw background to make the photo as a whole to seem uncommon and out of the ordinary because the context of my stories was also on the far-fetched side of reality.  I choose not to have any characters other than the protagonist in the images because they are hard to draw freehand in Photoshop and because I want the viewer to still have an imaginary view of how thy pictures the story to go.  Also, being cute, little, rhyming poems about children, I found the homemade feel to fit very well and to show off the adventurous world as children see it, while as adult we only see what is in real pictures.

Music Mosaic

Click here for music

Artist Statement:

"Wow, preaching the gospel in the heart of the Roman Catholic church is gonna be rough for you!"  This was a common phrase I heard for months as I waited for my departure day to arrive when I would become a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Italy.  I started to believe what was being said to me and my cheeks began to tighten, contemplating the immense challenge that awaited me.  Not everyone believed, or at least didn't want me to be discouraged, that it would be impossible to baptize Italian Catholics though.  My father and my bishop were quick to counsel me that no matter where I would go, people will be searching for the truth.  I took faith in their words and boy were they correct. 

I soon found out that in Italy that not every Catholic was as devout to their beliefs as the world thinks.  We quickly realized in trying to cite the Bible, that most the people we met, had never even read the Bible outside of when then were young and attended hobby classes or day care at the nearby Parocchia.  What was once a large staple and foundation of the Italian culture is now fading.  For thousands of years, lives were lost, cathedrals constructed, frescoes were painted and statues molded as by products of faith in something divine.  I have never before seen so many beautiful buildings, attention to detail, and jaw-droppingly large centerpieces constructed on behalf of faith (no, not even in relief society).  Now, merely incense covered antiques, these masterpieces are just history; a history that many Italians wouldn't rather care about.  

Coins slots line the chapels so one can pay for a candle to light which will bring them blessings.  Gift shops, nestled in the corners of the entrances also quickly show the incredulity and confusion that has come over the years, corrupting what so many ancestors held dear and sacrificed greatly for.  It is sad to see how convenient and faithless, faith has become in mainstream Italy.  Out of tradition, they attend twice a year, on Christmas and Easter, dressed in the fanciest of European fashion, wine bottles in hand for the after-mass parties.  This is the why I have posted the pictures I have posted with the accompanying music.  The song. "With a Purpose" by John Seehan features the typical organ riff one might hear in mass but with more hip hop beats than organ.  In my mind, I saw the organ as a symbol of worship and devotion which was sharply, but tastefully combined with the flashiness of today's music.  I imagine that this is how many Italians view the traditions of there fathers; looking past the seriousness and right to the partying and worldly attractions that is turning into the modern universal symbol of worship and sacrifice. 

Are Our Eyes Watching TV or Our Minds?

Thinking and Writing

            Back in my high school days, I was convinced that I could learn more than my counterparts by watching more TV and movies than by reading books.  It made sense in my mind of how these forms of media could be more edifying, but I always failed to put these feelings into words to defend my so called, naïve, opinion.  Teachers would tell me that media corrupts us or dulls our understanding and vocabulary and cannot be good for the mind.  In part, I agreed, but there was still something inside that said films must be educational and uplifting in some way and not all bad.  Recently, while watching the TV phenomenon, Breaking Bad, I finally conceived my arguments for these teachers: Media that, at first glance, seems unpleasant can be a means of also teaching us great life lessons if we view the works actively and objectively.

            Last week, I engaged in a conversation with co-worker about TV shows that he likes to watch.  He told me that he also likes Breaking Bad (a progressive show about a man with cancer who begins making meth to have money to leave his family when he dies, the man eventually starts recovering from cancer but ends up getting sucked deeper into the meth world, eventually murdering many people and endangering his family in the process). 

“So why do you like such a violent, unpleasant show?” I prodded. 

“I just love seeing how I began cheering for the protagonist and now he has become the antagonist and I still cheer for him.  There is great action, and it is entertaining to see how hardcore this guy has become, swearing and blowing stuff up,” came the justification.  “so what about you, why do you like it, Brandon?”

“Well the action is entertaining but I love it for other reasons mostly.  I love seeing the family devotion that exists in all the characters whether they are in the Mexican drug cartel, have wayward children going to rehab that they refuse to give up on, or realize that you gain nothing to have all the money in the world but lose your family.  I like seeing how one bad choice leads to more bad choices and those choices always affect others.  I guess you can say it is an engaging learning experience for me.” I explained.

            So, why two varying opinions on the same piece of art?  Media that, at first glance, seems unpleasant can be a means of also teaching us great life lessons if we view the works actively and objectively.  The difference in our viewing mentality made all the difference.  My guess is that most Americans like to take my friends approach to TV and film and divert themselves in the aesthetics.  They view TV and films as a means to escape from the everyday and to be entertained by it.  I used to always watch TV and movies with this mindset and have only changed recently because I am a film major and my homework is watching movies so I have to be thinking and analyzing throughout. 

            Viewing TV or film in a more analyzing way helps us be aware of what might have the potential to manipulate us or just show us something we have never seen before.  Every single part of each shot is there for a reason, the dialogue, the props, the clothing, and the lighting; all there to help there be greater power in the story and in the lessons to be learned through the story.  Being objective and searching for good in seemingly unwholesome shows, we can find many nuggets of wisdom we can apply to our lives and learn from.  

Breaking Bad shows us the world of a drug dealer, a murderer, his personal life and his mind.  These are places that no parent would want their kid to go.  But if we were to go there with a prepared, analytic mind, we would see greater lessons like the need for honest communication with a spouse (living a secret life with drug dealers and secret meetings) or that temptations will come at you disguised in sheep’s clothing (starting to distribute illegal drugs to merely help family) or that money isn't happiness (has money now but not relationships with family).

Be wise in what you choose to view but when you do choose to view, choose to be objective and realize that good can come from bad stories.  If we could make this one change in our viewing experiences, and always have an active viewing experience, our knowledge and morals will grow and we will be able to walk into class and tell the teacher that more learning can come from watching TV and movies than reading a book at times.  Life is made up of stories.  Learn as much from them as you can.  What is getting rich from drug sales today can be the choice to spend more time with your child tomorrow.