Artistic Expression - Artist Statements

​

Alex: I made my poem by recording myself. I first wrote the poem at my house over the weekend. Then the next time we  had class, I recorded myself reading my poem. After I my recording I started to play around with the program called sound trap. Sound trap is a program like garage band, it lets you add music and effects to anything. So, I put my poem in and then started to add effects. I added some piano keys under my poem to give the audience something else to listen to. Then after my poem was done, I added a short drummer beat to finish it off. I made this poem for a class assignment. The assignment was called the I am Poem. In my class, we were given a rubric and instructions almost like Malibs to fill in our poem. I made the poem with many descriptive moments and adjectives about my past. I made this to tell my life story. This poem matters because it tells a story. This poem matters to me because it is a work of art I created about my life. There are many meaningful things in my poem like my religion and family. This poem should matter to the world because everyone should be able to tell and share their story fairly. There is to many things going on in the world and if everyone listened to each other then we could make change. When the audience listens to my poem, they should listen to the movements I describe and the tone I use. The tone I use when describing these moments will tell you a lot about how I was feeling and what I was thinking during that time.

​

Madeline: I made this peace using sound trap. I’ve never used it before so it was something new. I took the basic sounds and made them into a peace. I took the drum sound and played around with it. I was founding learning as I went and was going on the base of my poem. I was taking my poem and creating a track around it.  I want people when listening to my peace to listen for the tone of voice. I say that because I used a certain tone of voice to represent how I was feeling. I was at peace when making my poem. I was writing about what makes me, me. I made this with the entent of not really knowing what I was doing but trying something foreign to me. It matter to me because it’s who I am no matter how chaotic and confusing. I had fun working with my peers to make it better and to get into it. I made it because it was an assignment but I had fun listening to what other people made and working to mak mine better. I want people to listen for what exactly I say because I am very spesicfic in my wording and people can connect

​

Will: The first thing that I did when I started this project was by recording my voice. This gave me a solid start to the track and gave me an understanding about for what I had to do. Then after competing that I started to work on the sounds. I wanted a chill vibe, but I also did not want the piece to get boring. After the poem and audio was set, I liked it. But needed some more sounds. That is when I decided to add some more tracks to the end and added the car crash sound effect. Everything I did had a purpose. I wanted the chill vibe, because I didn't want anything too crazy, but I didn't want it coming off as sad. To me this means a lot, because it shows my life in a different way. Before this project, I would have never expected to make a track, or poem of my life. Then putting both the poem, and the audio together, made something special. Everything I did was new to me. I had never had any experience with things like this, and never experienced what it was like to make a song. Writing the poem first, and then turning it into a song was a lot more helpful. Without that base of a poem, I would not have got the full song complete. In the song, you should listen for the little things. The little lineups between phrases, and a couple sound effects mixed in. Also listen at the end, where I used different sounds. I did this to try and closeout the poem in a calm yet forceful manner.

​

Bryant: I wrote the poem at first and set a tone of the poem. The tone of this poem was sad and a bit depressed. Therefore, when I was doing the sound track, I searched for some slow and soft loops. I loved piano and guitar so I added them in, in the first place. Later on, I added some drums to enrich the rhythm of the music. After that, I record my voice separately because it was a lot easier to edit. Next, after my mum listened to my work, she suggested to add in some bass, because she loved bass. In the end, the track was finished. I made it because it's a way for me to remind of my past. I also think it is interesting to add a sound track to my voice. In addition, it matters to me because it was my first time to create music on website. Although I used others’ loops, it is meaningful to me. I hope the audience can pay more attention on the music instead of the poem, because I have a terrible voice (well, in my opinion). I hope the audience can pay focus on how I combine various loops together harmoniously.

Jessica: I first recorded my poem with audio into soundtrap, then started playing and messing around with the sound a little, I tried creating my own piano sound loop but it didn’t work out the way that I wanted. Afterward, I found out the website provides us with different kinds of loops already made, so I picked out a couple of loops and tried to see if it matches my poem or not. The reason why I picked those three loops and made the piece was because I think my poem should go with some nice, calm loops, not like heavy metal music, and those three matched mine perfectly. The reason why I think this poem project matters to me, is because throughout this poem it really showed and reflected on my life, it is important to remember where you are “from” and appreciate it. I want my audience to listen for detail (specific words that represent and show where I am “from”) in my poem.

​

Kinh: My “I am From” poem is about where I come from and the things that I treasure the most in my life at the moment. These things though small but have a very significant meaning to me. The music used in this piece is called “One Summer Day”, a very peaceful beat. It shows how Hanoi, the city that I am living in, is very peaceful, soft, and chilling. My parents, like most Vietnamese people, love to teach their kids morals and life lessons. Vietnamese people are sometimes described as “typical asian parents” scolding at their kids for no reasons at all. Through this poem, I’ve shown that the thing that people call “typical asian parents” is something that I’ll take with me in every moment in the future. Another thing that was talked about in my poem is the peach blossom of the Tet festivals in Vietnam. They are a type of flowers that kind of separate Vietnam from any other countries. Peach blossoms are not like any other blossoms, they have a soft pink color and only grow in the first months of the Lunar Year. At the ending of my work, I wrote about the hidden pictures of me and my cousins. It’s indeed a weird thing that no other Vietnamese families like, we hide away the pictures and forget about the past, even happy memories. Pictures are something that are rarely hung in my house, my father thinks that it brings bad fortune to the people in it and how it always reminds people of the past.

​

Maggie: When I wrote my poem, I was trying to think about my life so far; people who are or were important to me, places and things that I enjoyed. I used all my past memories to write my poem and tell where I am from, without actually telling where I am from. I made my poem because I wanted to show that were someone is from is not always a particular place, but many places, people, and things. I wanted people to remember their childhoods and the people in them. I think that my poem matters because it can help people figure who they really are and where they are really from. My poem matters to me because it personally reminds me who I am. When people listen to my poem, I want them to listen to the emotion in my words. I want them to hear when I sound sad, happy, or angry. I want them to use the music and try to feel what I feel as they listen.

 

Z: I made this project by filling out the poetry document and making it my own, then adding it too music. I made this project because it was assigned to the class and I was excited to mess around with the music. It matters to me because it is an extension of me, as with all my art. As a listener you should look out for the fading sounds that are hard to notice.

Ted: I made this soundtrap because it was assigned ( jokes), This soundtrap was able to show who I am and what i come from. I was able to talk about my two grandfathers which I do not get the chance to enough. I wanted the audience to really hear my poem. I wanted to show that I am from a backroad town who cherishes my family, more so then most people.

Dom: I made a poem that talked about how I grew up. Also, what raised me to the kid I am today. I made this project by bringing out my feelings and talking about what is important to me. I made this so people who know me can know why I act the way I am. This matters to me because it describes me and how I act. This also matters because it is what I love. The audience should listen for the tone of my voice because that describes emotions. The audience should also listen for adjectives I’m using which tells a lot about the poem.

​

Erin: To make the project, I started out by writing the poem. Writing went better than I thought it would, and the template helped me with the structure and knowing what to say. I then recorded myself narrating the poem on sound trap. Next, I added music under my voice. This was the most difficult part because I wanted the music to match what I was saying, and I did not want it to distract from the actual poem. I ended up using mainly drums because it kept a beat and it wasn’t too distracting. I made it because I wanted to show where I come from, and how my past experiences have shaped me as a person. I wanted to portray how even the smallest moments in my life are significant to me. My poem matters to the world because you can see a glimpse of who I am through it. It matters to me because it reflects who I am and who I came from. This poem allowed me to reflect on the big picture of my life through small details. In the end, I created a portrait that illustrates who I am and what my life is like. You should listen for specific images that dsiplay certain moments in my life, that add up to make me who I am. Through the specific images and moments you can find the details of my life.

​

Leo: I make the poems with some of my important experiences as well as thinking, and I add three sound tracks of music that fit the content in my poem. I think it is interesting to write my thinking and preference into this poems, and show my reading of the poem with the music that fits my poem. It is a better way to express myself. It does matter to me, as the poem comprise my thinking and experience. If it matters to the world, The poem will convey my connection with the world. I expect the audience to listen to the poem and the music and think that this is a beautiful poem.

​

Roy: The process of making this soundtrack was a lot of fun. The first step is to create the poem, then record myself reading the poem out loud. Next step is to play around with the different instruments. Finding a sound that goes along with the poem is very important. Creating resonance between the poem and the audience. The music piece is important because it’s about my true identity. It’s a musical story that tells who I am through many different areas of my life. We should definitely listen to the line of the poem. And besides that, the tone of my voice also plays a big part in the soundtrack. Last of all is the background music. The fast drum beat going alone with some aggressive vilon creates a mood for the listeners.