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10 March 7, 2012The Eyeopener ARTS TOP 10

If you’re in an arts program,

chances are you’ve 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 didn’t mean

to be condescending. They prob-

ably didn’t mean to imply that

you’re 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. They’re probably

wondering why a degree in fashion

is worthwhile.

And if you’re in an arts program,

you’ve probably struggled to an-

swer these questions. Justifying a

degree in your life’s 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 aren’t wasting your time.

Sure, let’s not kid ourselves —

you probably aren’t going to make

millions. You probably aren’t go-

ing to drive a Ferrari to work at a

sleek downtown oce.

But you aren’t in it for the mon-

ey, are you?

You also probably won’t have

a mid-life crisis at 30. You won’t

wake up in the morning wonder-

ing what you’re doing with your

life. You won’t lose sleep worrying

about the choices you made — the

things you gave up.

The fact of the maer is that arts

majors haven’t made the decision

to waste their university careers.

They’ve chosen to do something

dierent with them.

An arts major isn’t going to

school to make a career that soci-

ety considers appropriate, and they

aren’t studying to get rich.

The truth is, if you’re taking an

arts degree, you’re doing what you

really want with your life.

In ve years, your friends will

probably be making a lot more

money than you. And you’ll prob-

ably be happier.

Now, I’m not going to get up on

a soapbox and preach at you. If

you’re a business major, or study-

ing to become a lawyer, there’s

nothing wrong with that.

But let me ask you something

you probably haven’t thought

about since you were twelve years

old.

Is that really what you want to do

with your life?

This week, we’re 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.

It’s probably worth noting that

this list is in no particular order, it’s

 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, we’ve 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 they’re going to get

there.

Let’s celebrate our artists, instead

of marginalizing their talents.

Next time someone asks you

what you’re doing with your life,

don’t be ashamed. Hold your head

high and say, “I’m an artist.”

Concentrate on the awesome

work you’re 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 design“Art is who I am,” says Yusun

Kang, a third-year fashion design

student. “It’s been something that

I’ve been doing for such a long time

that it’s become a part of me. I don’t

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.

Kang’s 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

aren’t 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 don’t think I’ve felt it yet.”

— SuSana Gómez Báez 

Second-year interior designAt Ryerson’s 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 show’s student

 booth.

Enter Katherine Egenberger,

Erika van der Pas, Sarah Prest,

Michelle McEachern, Sandra Ste-

phens, Pooja Ramaswamy and

their professor, Jana Macalik, this

year’s 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 they’d 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 I’ve been do-

ing so far has had a kinetic element

to it,” she says. “I’m 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.

“I’ve come to realize that you

can’t really depend on technology,”

she says.

“There are denitely certain set-

 backs where something won’t 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 she’s 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 Ryerson’s 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.

Adler’s lm, White Dwarf, which

will premier at META (the New

Media program’s end-of-year

show) follows the lifespan of a star,

and combines both 2D and 3D ani-mation.

“It stems from a love of astrono-

my,” Adler says. “It’s about a star,

it’s a character, and [it follows] its

ups and downs and its ultimate de-

mise.”

Adler has been heavily involved

with art since his childhood, but

says it was lmmaking that eventu-

ally sparked his love for animation.

“I started making lms and then

I decided to combine lmmaking

and the visual arts,” he says.

“Instead of shooting something

through a lens, I [decided to] create

video with my two hands. And it

all started from there.”

What really acted as a catalyst

for his current work, though, Adler

says, was a lm he created in his

rst year at Ryerson called Take

Flight. Though experimental, it ig-

nited his passion for the craft.

“It was my rst experience creat-ing this mock-3D world,” he says.

Following graduation, Adler has

plans to aend Vancouver Film

School for a post-grad animation

program. From there, he hopes to

work animating feature lms.

Adler says he loves the process of

giving inanimate objects personali-

ties in his work.

“You’re taking this abstract idea

and you’re breathing life into a vi-

sual piece,” he says.

“It’s prey powerful.”

— sean wetselaar

Fourth-year new media

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13March 7, 2012 The EyeopenerARTS TOP 10

Film student Stephen Dunn has

not slept enough this week.

The reason? He’s been working

on his fourth-year thesis lm Life

Doesn’t Frighten Me. And although

he says the road leading to its pro-

duction has been full of personal

and professional challenges, Dunn

has never stopped working at hiscraft.

Dunn started his career as a child

actor, but quickly moved towards

production. He says he was very

lucky to progress noticeably during

each year of his university career.

“I’ve had a lot of milestones,” he

says. “I’ve been really fortunate to

have each year something really

amazing that’s happened that cata-

pulted the next opportunity.”

Dunn’s rst-year lm The Hall 

went to Cannes Film Festival, and

his second-year production Swal-

lowed won a number of awards at

the Toronto International Film Fes-

tival.

He is currently at work on a

number of projects, including two

feature lms.

But he says Life Doesn’t Frighten

 Me , starring well-known Canadian

actor Gordon Pinsent, is more rel-

evant than his past achievements.

“That lm is really close to myheart,” Dunn says. “I’m really

grateful to have made that. It was

a huge challenge — it’s harder and

more elaborate and more ambitious

and, I feel, more complete than any-

thing I’ve ever done. And I’m re-

ally proud of it.”

When it comes to why he loves

lm, Dunn says the answer is easy.

“It’s the collaborative medium of

[the] art that draws me to lm,” he

says.

“It really encompasses every me-

dium of art … and I’m so grateful

that lm exists.”

— SEAN WETSELAAR

 Four t h- year  flm

Fourth-year acting

Harveen Sandhu was nine years

old when she knew what she want-

ed to be when she grew up.

“We were doing a class produc-

tion of the Three Lile Pigs,” Sand-

hu says.

“And the girl who was supposed

to play the wolf, I think she got

injured, or she was sick, and I got

pulled in at the very last second.

And it was my rst time actually

doing anything on a stage.”

Sandhu calls it, one of the most

exciting times of her life, and notesthat it was around this time that she

realized acting was her calling.

“There’s something about per-

forming and being on stage that

made me feel really comfortable,”

she says.

Since then, Sandhu has appeared

in numerous productions both for

the Ryerson Theatre School and in

the larger Toronto community.

Despite her numerous roles,

Sandhu calls her role in The Bundle 

last semester one of the highlights

of her career.

“I was cast as one of the leads

and it was a really big challenge,”

Sandhu says.

“It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t

smooth, but it was an extremely ed-

ucational experience for me. And

that for me stands out as one of the

reasons why I came to the school —

to grow.”

Next year, Sandhu has plans to

look for work both on stage at To-

ronto’s various theatre groups andon camera in lm and television.

While she loves performing, for

Sandhu much of the appeal of act-

ing is her interest in others.

“I have a huge love for people,”

she says. “And for people’s sto-

ries, for where people come from,

for human psychology, for the hu-

man condition and what it is to be

human. And through acting, I can

explore that.”

— Sean WetSelaar 

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12 March 7, 2012The Eyeopener ARTS TOP 10

Third-year production

For Tracy Lam, creating stage

props is biersweet.

Lam often spends hours con-

structing pieces for productions at

the Ryerson Theatre and the Lower

Ossington Theatre that only appear

on stage for minutes.

“A lot of time, you spend hours

and hours working on a prop but it

gets cut from the production,” says

Lam. “That hurts the most but if

they don’t need it, they don’t need

it.”

Last semester, Lam spent 13

hours each day for a week creating

a log for Ryerson’s production ofThe Crucible.

This piece in particular was a

challenge for Lam because the log

not only had to look realistic but

also had to be transportable and

able to hold the weight of two ac-

tors.

To build the log, Lam took a

solid construction tube and built a

wooden structure inside it to sup-

port weight. Then she decorated it

 by wrapping it in cheesecloth and

using clay and paper maché to give

the log its shape.

“Because the tube rolls around, I

had to build a base for it. But hav-

ing a log on a base doesn’t look re-

alistic so we covered the platform

in moss and used lighting to make

the base disappear,” Lam says.

Although the log was only on

stage for ve minutes, Lam says,

“it was the one piece that the entire

theatre school enjoyed looking at.”

The log isn’t Lam’s only piece

that’s earned her compliments.

She’s been praised for piecesshown at Ryerson Theatre School’s

40th anniversary, her set design for

Ryerson shows and her prop de-

sign for the Lower Ossington The-

atre productions like Joseph and The

 Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat .

This month, her props will be

seen on stage at the Lower Ossing-

ton Theatre’s production of Legally

Blonde: The Musical.

— Tara Deschamps 

Second-year production

Many actors and directors may

have said that the stage is their

home, but that is perhaps never tru-

er than in the case of second-year

production student Jasmin Goode.

Since she was 11, Goode has

worked in the industry, starting

with a group called Milton Youth

Theatre Production (MYTP).

“I kind of grew up in the com-

pany,” she says.

Although she acted with MYTP

through her high school career,

Goode didn’t realize how impor-

tant it was to her until her nal

years.

“In my last couple years there, I

guess I started realizing how much

I enjoyed it,” she says.

“I loved theatre, so I took a year

o … It was that year that I realized

how much I loved theatre and how

much more I wanted to do theatre.”

And so, with that in mind, Goode

started the MYTP Alumni Program,

meant to give the company’s grad-

uates a chance to keep working.

This group eventually became MY

Stage Left, Goode’s own theatre

company.

MY Stage Left is a very new com-

pany, still in the process of prepar-

ing for its rst season, but Goode

says she plans to keep expanding.

“I hope that MY Stage Left will

continue for many years,” she says.

“Even if you’re working in other

 jobs I guess it’s a really nice change

of pace if you need it.”

But Goode doesn’t expect she’ll

ever need that change.

“Each year [shows] oer some-

thing new and dierent that is just

as thrilling as the year before,” she

says.

“I feel like I learn new things, ev-

ery single time. That’s the beauty

of theatre I guess — it’s never the

same.”

— SEAN WETSELAAR

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11March 7, 2012 The EyeopenerARTS TOP 10

Fourth-year photography

Four years ago, Clifton Li was

more than half way through his

software engineering career in Wa-

terloo when he decided to drop out

of the program and study photog-

raphy.

“All my engineering colleagues

are working for Google or Amazon

right now,” Li says.

But Li, 26, is currently a fourth-

year photography student at Ryer-

son.

He found many of his co-op

placements for school boring and

tedious.

“Maybe I’ll like smaller compa-

nies,” Li told himself at the time, as

comfort. “They’re cozier.”Li then went back to school for

the second year. That summer, he

worked at a small software com-

pany, but he still hated it.

He stuck it out until the end of

third year, when he landed a sum-

mer position in Hawaii to design a

game.

There, Li picked up his rst DSLR

camera and he has never been able

to put it down since.

“It was Hawaii,” he said. “You

have to get a camera and take pic-

tures because, well, it’s Hawaii.”

Li had no experience with pho-

tography at the time. The only pic-

tures he had taken before had been

shot with a point-and-shoot.

He made an online photo gallery

and people started complimenting

his skills.

“That’s when I started thinking

that maybe I was good,” Li says.Li then embarked on an exchange

program to Hong Kong, still trying

to nd something to like about his

engineering career. He spent the

exchange working for an advertis-

ing company. Li says he believes he

was put in that company by God to

realize that he loved photography.

He came back to Canada in 2008,

nally deciding he was going to

drop his engineering career, and

took the year o to prepare his

portfolio and apply to universities.

Li entered Ryerson in 2009,

where he immediately shone be-

cause of his hard work and talent.

He has received countless pho-

tography awards including the

2011 Applied Arts Student Award,

and his work was published in Ap-

plied Arts magazine.

Despite the risk, Li says he

doesn’t regret dropping out of en-gineering.

“Photography is really power-

ful,” Li says, nally at home with

his profession.

— SuSana Gómez Báez 

Fourth-year photography

In a tiny room, in a tiny house,

tiny pieces of paper uer through

the air. Next door, doll-sized

couches and furniture ll a scaled

down living room. Across the hall,

a sailboat oats in a waterlogged

kitchen.

This is the miniature world of Ju-

lia Callon’s photography.

Callon takes a unique approach

to photography. Instead of photo-

graphing real environments with

life-size elements, she builds the

environments herself, creating min-

iatures for each seing.

“I was denitely interested in

having control over a particular set-

ting,” she says.

“It was a desire to see things that

you can’t really seek out. I’ve cre-

ated realistic things that are believ-

able but also completely unreal.”

Callon’s miniatures are a combi-

nation of dollhouse furniture and

handmade elements.

“I always start with my idea of

what I want to create and build on

that,” Callon says.

“I usually start with building the

structure. Everything is built out

of foam board, wood, glass, things

like that.”

But, Callon adds, while some

more detail oriented pieces are

prebuilt, it’s not always possible to

nd exactly what she wants, which

is when she creates the items her-

self.

Of those pieces, Callon’s favou-

rite is called The Creative Process #2.

It involved a room full of uering

paper, which she says was especial-

ly challenging to shoot.

“The ability to get the paper to

  blow a certain way and [to have]

the lighting be right and get the

shot I really had pictured in my

mind was really hard to pull o,”

she says. “I was really happy with

how that turned out.”

But despite the challenges associ-

ated with that series, Callon appre-

ciated the end result.

“It was labour of love, for sure,”

she says.

— Sean wetSelaar