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10 March 7, 2012The Eyeopener ARTS TOP 10

If youre in an arts program,

chances are youve had someone

ask you the dreaded question so

what are you going to do with that?

To be fair, whoever asked you

that question probably didnt mean

to be condescending. They prob-

ably didnt mean to imply that

youre going nowhere with your

life.

They were probably just legiti-

mately curious about what sort of

career paths you have in your fu-

ture. They were probably wonder-

ing about what someone who ma-

jored in New Media goes on to do

with their lives. Theyre probably

wondering why a degree in fashion

is worthwhile.

And if youre in an arts program,

youve probably struggled to an-

swer these questions. Justifying a

degree in your lifes greatest pas-

sion can seem a lot harder than it

should be.

So, this goes out to every arts ma-

jor that has ever felt even a shred

of doubt. To every actor, photog-

rapher and graphic artist who has

worried about those dark years af-

ter university.

You arent wasting your time.

Sure, lets not kid ourselves

you probably arent going to make

millions. You probably arent go-

ing to drive a Ferrari to work at a

sleek downtown oce.

But you arent in it for the mon-

ey, are you?

You also probably wont have

a mid-life crisis at 30. You wont

wake up in the morning wonder-

ing what youre doing with your

life. You wont lose sleep worrying

about the choices you made the

things you gave up.

The fact of the maer is that arts

majors havent made the decision

to waste their university careers.

Theyve chosen to do something

dierent with them.

An arts major isnt going to

school to make a career that soci-

ety considers appropriate, and they

arent studying to get rich.

The truth is, if youre taking an

arts degree, youre doing what you

really want with your life.

In ve years, your friends will

probably be making a lot more

money than you. And youll prob-

ably be happier.

Now, Im not going to get up on

a soapbox and preach at you. If

youre a business major, or study-

ing to become a lawyer, theres

nothing wrong with that.

But let me ask you something

you probably havent thought

about since you were twelve years

old.

Is that really what you want to do

with your life?

This week, were taking a look at

ten Ryerson students that are doing

what they love, and loving what

they do. We put out an open call

for nominations to the campus, and

this is the result.

Its probably worth noting that

this list is in no particular order, its

just a chance to showcase some of

the amazing talent on campus.

The people in this issue are do-

ing some amazing things, both on

campus and throughout the greater

Toronto community.

From interior design students

ghting homelessness and poverty

with a gorgeous design, to a pho-

tographer making a splash in com-

mercial photography, weve got an

enormous variety of artists.

So, instead of asking an artist

what they plan to do with their

lives, maybe we should try ask-

ing them how theyre going to get

there.

Lets celebrate our artists, instead

of marginalizing their talents.

Next time someone asks you

what youre doing with your life,

dont be ashamed. Hold your head

high and say, Im an artist.

Concentrate on the awesome

work youre doing. Stop xating

on the future.

Because the future, my friends, is

bright.

Sean wetSelaar

artS & life

editor

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15March 7, 2012 The EyeopenerARTS TOP 10

Third-year fashion designArt is who I am, says Yusun

Kang, a third-year fashion design

student. Its been something that

Ive been doing for such a long time

that its become a part of me. I dont

think I would be able to live with-

out it.

Kang, 20, started drawing when

she was a lile girl. But she started

taking the craft seriously when she

was in middle school. During par-

ent-teacher interviews in Grade 8,

her English teacher mentioned thatKang was talented and could make

something big out of her abilities.

Kangs parents then enrolled

her in several painting classes and

she eventually aended Etobicoke

School of the Arts, a specialized

high school.

Her switch from the ne arts into

the fashion world was as much of a

surprise to her as it was to everyone

else.

Coming to Ryerson was quite

spontaneous, Kang says. She had

applied to OCAD for illustration

and even received an early accep-

tance.

But two months before applica-

tions were due, I applied for fash-

ion at Ryerson.When she started, the experi-

ence was terrifying. When I came

to Ryerson, I had no idea how to

sew.

Last year, Kang was able to dis-

play her work a beige dress with

pink and red rues in the Wan-

derlust Fashion Show.

She says that her style is avant-

garde. I like designing things that

arent really wearable.

Kang hopes to graduate as both

a graphic artist and a fashion de-

signer, because her rst love is still

illustration.

But, the competitive nature of her

program leaves her anxious about

going out into the real world and

makes her doubt whether she madethe right choice with fashion.

Kang says she is waiting for the

moment in which she will nally

feel condent.

I dont think Ive felt it yet.

SuSana Gmez Bez

Second-year interior designAt Ryersons school of interior

design, every year a group of six

second-year students volunteer to

work on a special project for the an-

nual interior design shows student

booth.

Enter Katherine Egenberger,

Erika van der Pas, Sarah Prest,

Michelle McEachern, Sandra Ste-

phens, Pooja Ramaswamy and

their professor, Jana Macalik, this

years team.

The project should be something

that the students come up with and

that they themselves identify as a

problem, says Macalik. A prob-

lem theyd like to solve.

The problems brought to the

table this year were homelessness

and using wasted space, and oth-

ers. The result: lum.in.drop.

Lum.in.drops are bright pods

designed to hang from the side of

buildings and store supplies for

those in need.

I think very early on we knew

we wanted to address a social is-

sue, says Prest. Using wasted

urban space, hoisting [the lum.

in.drop] up, and using it for a social

issue were main components.

The project involved about six

weeks of constant work, and went

on to win best student booth at the

Interior Design Show.

Although lum.in.drop is current-

ly only a prototype, and the team

lacks the resources to create them

on a larger scale, Macalik says the

project was meant to be starting

point.

I think the idea was to start a di-

alogue more than thinking of lum.

in.drop as the ultimate goal, she

says.

It was to potentially start a dia-

logue with how you use those un-

used spaces as potential avenues or

beacons for help.

Sean wetSelaar

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14 March 7, 2012The Eyeopener ARTS TOP 10

Fourth-year new media

For fourth-year new media stu-

dent Xhensila Zemblaku, her work

is all about movement.

Zemblaku creates kinetic sculp-

tures an art form that has be-

come her specialty since she began

studying at Ryerson University.

Everything that Ive been do-

ing so far has had a kinetic element

to it, she says. Im interested in

learning about how things move in

a mechanical and analog manner

with the help of technology to aid it

in a somewhat minimal way.

Zemblaku has used her interest

in kinetics to make pieces like a hu-

man hand that uses a mechanicalstructure with a motor to make mo-

tions, and a robotic jellysh.

When someone waves their hand

in front of or gets close to her jel-

lysh sculpture, its tentacles move.

But geing sculptures to move,

even in the subtlest ways, can be

frustrating says Zemblaku.

Ive come to realize that you

cant really depend on technology,

she says.

There are denitely certain set-

backs where something wont work

for no reason and then it will ve

minutes later.

Despite the diculties of mov-

ing pieces, Zemblaku is currently

working on a kinetic sculpture that

she says is the most time-consum-

ing sculpture shes ever made.

She began working on the series

in October and has spent about 20

to 30 hours a week creating it since.The series will get its debut at the

end of March at Ryersons annual

META exhibit, which showcases

fourth-year new media students

work.

tara deschamps

While some lmmakers make

movies about hitmen, vampires

and love triangles, fourth-year new

media student Josh Adler worked

with stars. Literally.

A