By Andrew Ayala
Four young and talented artists displayed, performed and expressed their messages through their art in a enticing fashion at the Art and Short Film Showcase on Saturday.
The event included an art walk, poetry, short films and an artist Q&A.
At the entrance of the event, beautifully drawn pencil sketches were displayed to the left and meaningful poetry with flowers below them ran along the right side.
There was a total of four pencil sketches all drawn by Guillermo Haro.
They included an image of his younger nephew, Tupac with a meaningful message that can be read inside his bandana, his deceased grandpa and an interesting side-fusion of Kanye West and Donald Trump.
All of the drawings were well done and proved to have a deeper meaning other than something nice to look at.
Viewers were able to see the time and dedication taken to perfect these pieces of art. As they are looked at them for a while, a hidden message can be grasped.
The pencil sketch of his nephew looked like a photo-copied image because of how realistic and detailed it was.
The sketch of Tupac had the perfect balance between pencil and marker, which made the facial features and shading stand out.
All aspects were exact to a real image of the late rap artist.
From the scruff of his facial hair to the clarity of his nose piercing, the sketch was so intricate it made eventgoers look more than once and almost completely matched the original image.
The quote in the bandana shows the emotion expressed on Tupac’s face and adds to it.
“ My biggest inspiration is my family. Always looking through someone else’s perspective is important. I draw my emotions and put it in my art,” said Haro.
This is why he included a pencil sketch of his grandfather, despite never meeting him.
This sketch had more going on than the rest of his work, because every part had a different meaning to it.
The original portrait he drew four years ago could be seen on the bottom right and the newest additions were around in the center.
He redrew his grandfather in the center with his face split in half. One side was flesh and the other was a skeleton signifying his death.
There were railroad tracks in the back to symbolize where his grandfather worked.
The balloon deflating with the child’s hand holding the end signified that “Even happiness fades away.” This seemed to be the pencil sketch that had more than a few messages to grasp.
The fusion of West and Trump was drawn due to the latest actions between the two.
Haro looked up to West as an artist, but said he disappointed him recently, which caused him to put their faces side by side in a caricature style sketch.
Although related to recent events, this drawing signifies Haro’s past, present and future.
He has been West’s fan since he was younger and he has many family members in Mexico, which is one of Trump’s immigration targets.
“Never give up and always keep dreaming. Don’t let anyone tell you what you can and cannot do. Afterall, everything takes time and dedication,” said Haro.
The poetry that was recited and along the windows of the hall was written by Timothy Williams and Jonathan Vermillion.
Both poets recited poems with themes of sadness, happiness and love.
This was their first time reciting in front of a live audience and did well.
Vermillon recited a total of three poems, two of which were titled “Happy” and “Inside Me.”
Each seemed to be dealing with love in someway.
It was delightful to hear someone talk about the stages of emotion and to elaborate on how much it matters to human beings.
“This is an opportunity to show art and how you influence others. Showcases allow you to put yourself out there and make connections,” Vermillon said.
Williams also recited a total of three poems which were titled “Carnival,” “Inevitable” and “Yellow.”
These poems dealt with love as well, but dove deeper into the everyday struggles most viewers can relate to.
His poems seemed to be tales of pain and truth.
“Everybody has a message and they are all perceived differently,” Williams said.
The metaphors and similes were painted perfectly. With their words, listeners could get an image of what they were saying in their heads.
The titles correlated to the poems and gave insight to what the poem was going to be about.
Usually things that deal with love are cheesy and romantic, but these poems showed sides of love that most don’t like to express to one another.
Listeners were able to gain a better understanding on how this emotion affects everybody and how important it truly is.
The short films that were included were titled “Coin Laundry” by Timothy Williams and “Stand Up” by Cristan Caridad.
Both were well thought-out films which included messages and plots that viewers were able to relate to.
“Coin Laundry” seemed to be a comedic short where it explains how some women don’t understand common courtesy and mistake kindness with flirting.
“Stand Up” had a dramatic message of standing up for what is right regardless of the situation. Both were filmed wonderfully and included each directors preferences in camera shots and angles.
“I like shooting with tight focus and close-up because it makes the story understandable and relatable,” Cristian Caridad said.
Viewers were able to see just how tough it was to complete the films and were also able to grasp the messages that were in them.
“Today’s youth needs to express themselves. This showcase is a way to send a message and impact someone’s life positively,” Caridad said.