Artists: Christine Lee and Nicholas Sanchez
Artist Statement:
Christine Lee
The motivation for this piece was the cultural disconnect we feel among our respective ethnicities, which was initially found in our inability to fluently speak or understand our native languages (Spanish and Cantonese). My maternal grandparents majorly inspired my verse of the song. Not understanding my own loved ones when they spoke Cantonese to me was very frustrating. As I got older they would slyly hint that I should settled down with a man of Chinese descent or at least speaks Cantonese. Because of this I’ve questioned my self-worth as a Chinese-American throughout my life, and just how hard I should seek the approval of my grandparents.
The piece is a cover of “Same Love” (2012) by the American hip-hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. We modified the lyrics to personally express our conflicts regarding our cultural identity and expectations from society, family, and peers. I kept the syntax and patterning of my rhymes simple but still carried a strong message. When rapping to the slow but moderate beat, I variegated my speech patterns and paced myself in different ways to find the best sounding final product.
For me, art is a creative outlet to manage my stress, provide visual substance for my mental health, and a way to implore others to accept and grow from their strife. I want to inform others that they are also capable of affirmatively taking control of their life, spirit, and future in regards to whatever challenges they currently face
Nicholas Sanchez
The lyrics to the song were motivated by sometimes feeling that I am not Mexican. My whole life I have had my cultural identity questioned because I do not speak Spanish, and that has been something that I have internalized and am very insecure about. The piece was created by my partner and I both sharing the same struggle of not knowing our culture's language, so we began writing with that theme in mind.
We used the track of Same Love by Macklemore because it had a slow beat that would be easy to compose and sing lyrics too. I tried to make my lyrics with the same rhyme as the original song to make it easier to sing along. To me, being an artist is being true to yourself and your work and being able to express yourself through the arts. I am an artist that wants to discuss things that I wish I had growing up. That is mindset when I did this song, as well as being honest and true to who I am. My core belief in creating art is staying true to me, and everything will fall into place.
We used the track of Same Love by Macklemore because it had a slow beat that would be easy to compose and sing lyrics too. I tried to make my lyrics with the same rhyme as the original song to make it easier to sing along. To me, being an artist is being true to yourself and your work and being able to express yourself through the arts. I am an artist that wants to discuss things that I wish I had growing up. That is mindset when I did this song, as well as being honest and true to who I am. My core belief in creating art is staying true to me, and everything will fall into place.
This project does a really great job reflecting the teachings and theme of this week. The lyrics are very well written and the whole video is executed really well The video does reflect the artist statement as it shows the feelings of both Christine and Nicholas and the purpose is definitely shared between the statement and the video. Finally, the artist statement is well written and concisely shows the intent of the creators!
ReplyDeleteI love the music that you guys picked. It's great that there are actually singing voices in the music video. The music video did a great job in explaining the cultural and racial limbo that mix race individual experience. The artist statement did a great job in explaining the content of the video as well. I can't really think of something that can be improved.
ReplyDeleteI love the music that you guys picked. It's great that there are actually singing voices in the music video. The music video did a great job in explaining the cultural and racial limbo that mix race individual experience. The artist statement did a great job in explaining the content of the video as well. I can't really think of something that can be improved.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how your song fit quite well with the music in the background! Your project did a great job in addressing a few concepts that were mentioned in class last week, such as the topic of identity and acculturation. As for your artist statement, the both of you addressed all points that should be made both thoroughly and thoughtfully.
ReplyDeleteI thought that your exploration of racial issues, deviating from the obvious mixed race issue, was very thought-provoking. Perhaps culture is what defines the racial lines? With that said, the art project supports the theme of the past week and the artists’ statement matches and elaborates on the ideas of the art project. As for improvements, perhaps you can condense the artists’ statement to a general, one point of view statement.
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the whole song video. The song does reflect on what we talked about in class about mixed race problems. The project does match the artist statement about the race and culture conflicts of being a mixed race. I don't think there are any improvements to be made.
ReplyDeleteThank you for having the courage to share to the class your personal experiences as mixed race individuals. The choice of song is on point, and the lyrics are very well written. The artist statement did reflect what the song was about, and it was well written. However, there is no need to separate the statements into two because you both said similar concepts and ideas. Overall, well done and a great job!
ReplyDeleteVideo is superbly well done! Though the project does step away from mixed-raced issues, it still addresses what it means to grow up in a multicultural society where certain forms of 'presentation' are valued over others. As another comment states, it touches on this whole idea of "racial limbo" and the agony of being unsure or questioning of your own identity. Really well done and I don't see any immediate improvements.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! I enjoyed the music and message overall! Regardless of where you identify your background to be you both shared the common ground of your struggle finding the balance between both worlds. Your parents heritage as well as your own upbringing. Great explanation in your artist statement.
ReplyDeleteThe artists' examination of defining one's ethnic identity (despite lacking badges such as the ability to speak one's language) is reflected in their work. The song matches the artists' statement well, because the statement elaborates on the racial contexts and the question of defining one's own idea of their ethnic identity and reinforcing the authenticity of their identity though the power of art production. However, the song still needs to connect to the theme of the week, because it does not discuss about the idea or history of mixed race people as race traitors explicitly and beyond the surface level analysis of race and identity politics. The song lacks the theoretical framework of Dr. Valverde's theory of race traitors (which comes with a very specific definition and criteria) and analytical, more complex, and more through synthesis of week one's readings.
ReplyDeleteThe whole song was very genuine and personal and had great social commentary on "blood purity" and stereotyping. It reflects many of the ideas discussed in class. I like the duality of the song and how you each have an artist statement to describe where you are coming from in writing your lyrics, making the artist statement match up perfectly with the song. Excellently done and doesn't need improvement.
ReplyDeleteThe messages in this song are very genuine and powerful. The lyrics are beautifully written are reflect the theme of this week regrading to racial identity and its struggles. The song matches with the artists' statement very well. The artists go beyond and separate the statement into two parts so the audience could easily follow both stories present in the song. However, I wish the artists would keep the statement more concise.
ReplyDeleteI love your music-choice and how you actually sang the lyrics instead of rapping them. I also like how your project ties in really well with your artist statement. Although it would have been better if the two of you combined your artist statements but I also appreciated how the both of you demonstrated the difference in your lyric-writing process. Overall, a job well done!
ReplyDeleteThe project reflects the discussion we had in class, along with well written lyrics. The art project match with the artists statement, and the two stories were well written that they are very easy to relate. Overall it is a very authentic project, and I like it a lot.
ReplyDeleteGood work. I like how y’all picked out concepts of what we learned and discussed in class last week (e.g., badges, race as a social construct, cultural identity, labels, stereotypes, traitor, pure blood, etc.). Great choice of music too! The lyrics were very well written, genuine, original, and creative! Additionally, the art project matches with the artists’ statement. The project reflects the theme and readings of last week within the context of cultural identity and expectations from society. I can't think of any artists' statement that can be improved upon.
ReplyDelete"I am" is a song that attempts to come to terms with losing, not retaining, or learning ones heritage language. The issue of language, though not discussed in the theme of the exhibit, is a widely debated topic with many angles to tackle analytically. That opportunity seemed lost on this project. The video could have been better if lyrics were placed lower in the video since it made the images hard to see. Singing could be improved as well brave attempt to actually sing is noted.
ReplyDeleteThe lyrics to this song was very personal and the experiences can be felt by the audience listening to it. The choice of music was wonderful for the lyrics that you guys have chosen. This week's reading was focused on what experience of being mixed race and you've really pinpointed that there are many struggles, such as finding your identity.
ReplyDeleteChloe
I actually think that using this song actually compliments the emotional and personal appeal. The song, originally, holds a lot of emotions and your group re-articulated the song into another deep topic of race and culture.
ReplyDeleteTHIS WAS SO LEGIT!
ReplyDeleteThis song includes so many badges I feel like so many mixed race folks can identify with. It also complicates American as a race.
THIS WAS SO LEGIT!
ReplyDeleteThis song includes so many badges I feel like so many mixed race folks can identify with. It also complicates American as a race.
Nice chosen music! The lyrics represents each of the artists' personal experience, the concept of race, their struggle for each of their identities. They included the concept of race traitor as well, which was thoroughly discussed during lecture. The authors specifically shared some of their tough experiences, emphasizing that even if a child grows up here in the US, having exposed to the American culture all their lives. However, despite all their 'American' experiences, they are still secluded due to their "boxes".
ReplyDeleteI loved this video! I think the choice of music goes great with the message of the song. I think its the best I've seen yet! I think you all did an excellent job targeting the feelings of disconnect with more than one identity; a topic we surly discussed in class. Your artist statement was also very clear and explained the message you all wanted to get across. Over all excellent work!
ReplyDeleteI think that the music choice and the lyrics fit together very well because of the meaning of the original song along with the emotion of your lyrics. Your lyrics told your personal experiences that you both, along with many others that can relate, struggled and even continue to struggle throughout life. I think the badges in this song was the most significant part because if we say we belong to a certain race, everyone assumes that means we speak the language well or are fully immersed in the culture. Your artist statements were nice and throughout, without being too lengthy, but i think it would've been better to combine the two in a way that represents how you two were able to have a common viewpoint.
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