Talk with Mohammed Saeed Harib, Creator of Freej

E- On Monday we got a talk from Freej creator, Mohammed Saeed Harib. He gave us a brief overview of his childhood and his career and how he overcame obstacles to get to where he is now. He faced adversity due to being Muslim in America after 9/11, and pretty much had no choice but to leave the country before even finishing his degree. Despite all of this he has come to be one of the most successful animators worldwide. His story was totally inspiring.

S- Mohammed Saeed Harib said,"Do something different" and "Make your own steps to move ahead."
The way he presents culture is powerful. He uses cartoon with sense of humor and imagination as a tool to share the culture with people.
He went beyond the screen and created "Freej Folklore," which integrates both theater and Freej cartoon. The human physical moves and the body language that the performance create with the cartoon was very beautiful. All the elements, such as sound, dance, and cartoon come together and share the story with people on live.
This idea of all elements coming together and creating one explicit work of art made me to realize that the works our group is creating is clearly related.

M- It was good listening to him speak. I thought i knew a lot about this person, but it turns out i knew so little. His story is interesting and inspiring...

Freej Cartoon Trailer


Freej Folklore Clip


Mohammed Saeed Harib
Freej
Freej Folklore

Starting the Final Project and Visit to the DXB-LAB

Yesterday we met in our project groups to discuss a final project- both the concept and the vehicle. Our group had been thinking about the word swap and its connotations. Our thoughts went towards cards- trading cards, playing cards, flash cards, etc. because they are swapped between people or groups of people, and because they can be flipped over to reveal 2 different sides. We felt that this aesthetic would compliment our mission statement and group name. We decided that last night we would think individually about what we wanted to do more specifically- what kind of cards, what kind of materials, how many, the content of the cards, etc.

After a group critique session we took a trip to DXB-LAB, a very prestigious Dubai based architecture firm that has worked on some of the most famous buildings in the city.
Here are some photos from the presentation.

Through this visit we learned that even an architectural project requires the hands and eyes of many people from many disciplines and many places. Each project at the firm passes through the hands of each architect in the firm as well as many outsourced contractors, model makers, and suppliers internationally. This relates to our project in that they are sharing their own skills and swapping ideas, much like we are doing in our group. We realize now that this kind of global collaboration has become a major part of the design industry.

Photo Entry for Week One

In the first week we started going on cultural trips as a large group. We visited the Jumeirah Mosque, the Sharjah Museums of Art and Architecture, and the Shelter, an art gallery/cafe where we worked with artist Ebon Heath on his newest typographical sculpture instillation. These are some pictures from those trips.

"Jumeirah Mosque"

"Sharjah Museums of Art and Architecture"

"@ Shelter"

On day 3,we met Ebon Heath(Brooklyn Artist) and Mona Ibrahim (a Dubai- based Jewelery designer) to assist them with their collaborative installation for stereo.type exhibition that was going to be held @ 50°c , Souq Albahar. The installation was basically a typographic hanging sculpture of laser-cut papers that created sentences from different languages when put together. Ebon briefed us a bit about his work at first and told us about his vision ,which was "Listening with your eyes" versus "listening with your ears" a concept that he repeatedly used in his work.

These experiences gave us inspiration to start talking about and creating our artwork and the concepts behind it. By sharing these experiences we have been able to find common ground. It was a great starting point to begin swapping our own opinions and thoughts because we felt much more comfortable around each other.

As a homework assignment, we were told to extract patterns from our own pictures or sketches and create a digital file from which to screenprint. We used Emily's pattern- an ornate trim from the walls of the mosque and printed them onto wooden panels that we had painted on a previous studio day. We documented our first screenprinting experience.

From here we have started to explore other methods of printmaking as well as think about our concept and our vehicle. Recently we have started to talk about the idea of smaller wood panels as interactive trading or playing cards on which we will print a logo on one side, illustrations, and textual examples of culture on the opposite side. We hope to have a clearer concept soon.

Success

1. How does your culture define success?
E, S, and K- In general success is defined by financial stability, respect from peers, to be loved by those close to us, and being hardworking. In our own native countries which are more developed (America, the Emirates, and South Korea), a good education is held in high esteem because it often leads to a career and a good financial future. However, in lesser developed countries, success is defined more by your ability to raise a family.

M- For a woman to be successful in a society like mine ,she is expected to be a good mother and wife. She is expected to fulfill her job description as a Nurturer and be of good spiritual guidance to her children and husband. She is expected to raise them based on the tenants of Islam. The more important job , however, for any human being from an Islamic perspective is being faithful to god; because to be a "Muslim", by definition, means to be submissive to god.

2. How do you define success?

a) For your life?

E, S, and K- As artists, I think we've realized that success has much to do with doing something that we love. Success is personal happiness, whatever that may entail.
M-To have found happiness is success. It is the soul objective of every human being on this earth, whether through having a work, marriage....etc. As for me it's to find love, acceptance and validation.

b) As an artist?

E, S, and K- Artists are selfless. They are much more concerned with changing the world, and conveying a global message and making a difference. An artist is a success if they have made an impact on the lives and views of others.
M-To make art with meaning and to make a difference.

c) For this class?

E, S, and K- To share thoughts within our groups and to communicate what we learn worldwide. Also to expand our skills.
M- To learn something new and different. To break stereotypes.

The idea of success for a woman differs from the idea of a successful man. On this site we found Eleanor Roosevelt's description of a successful woman.

Jim Donovan, author of the international bestseller,"This is Your Life, Not a Dress Rehearsal," gives an advice how to live a more successful life.

http://www.artbizcoach.com/6habits.pdf

6 Habits of Highly Successful Artists from Artbizcoach.com

Culture

1.How is your culture portrayed?

E- American culture is portrayed as being very advanced and innovative. At the same time though, I think that people view individual Americans as ignorant.

S- South Korea has rich and distinct culture for over 5000 years.
From what I know, our culture is portrayed as unique.
People are very attached to each other and like to know about each others' lives. People care about each others and like to share things. However, there are fairly clear respect system in South Korea culture, which you must respect elders and treat them very well. Even someone is a year older than you, you still respect them.
South Korea has a rich culture in food. Kimchi is a signature food that represents Korea.
South Korean's unique traditional clothes, house, music, and other entertainments show the variety and uniqueness of the culture.

K- My culture is portrayed as a part of a bigger culture which is Arabic/Islamic culture. Other people or the media perceived our culture as old and traditional with women covered in black from head to toe, and men riding camels in the middle of the desert. However, Dubai as an emerging city has been famous for its rapid development and some people now is starting to look at our culture as modern and innovative.

M- The Arab culture is often portrayed as a savage man-dominated patriarchy, where women are oppressed and deprived from their basic rights. As incorrect as this notion is, people are starting to understand that that is not the case. However, that only applies to foreigners who live around here.

2.What sources do you look to determine culture?

E- Sometimes I feel that that only source we have to determine the cultures of foreign countries is just what we see on the news

S- I like using Books, newspaper, Internet, pictures, music, etc
Mostly, I learn cultures from medias such as movies, drama (soap Opera), and TV shows.
I also really like to visit the actual place or country and experience the culture.

K- The most important source for determining a culture is the people, because culture is constructed by its people. Other sources we can look into to determine a culture are literature and art.

M- People are the most important element of any culture. Culture is a by product of human interaction and a result of a growth of any civilization. That being said, people now a days judge on a culture based on what they see or watch in the Media. A huge but irrelevant source of information.

3. What culture aspects do you want to explore?

E- I want to explore traditions. I think it's interesting to see where they originated from and how long they have lasted. When you learn about traditions, you become less inclined to pass judgement.

S- a) The livings,The manner/respect,architecture structure and impact on the economy and the city/ culture, peoples' reaction to other country's culture and how they accept things, peoples' perception on appearance,the level of morality

K- What I want to explore in my own culture is the food, because I rarely eat traditional food. And what I want to explore in US culture is the relationships between people. I want also to experience living there and the feeling of how to live by my own as an adult.

M- I want to explore contemporary western culture. A culture that we know so much about but never experience.

4.What cultural stereotypes do you want to dispel?

E- I want to prove that not all Americans are ignorant and fat! And I think it's imporant that we learn about the Emirati culture so that we can understand the way they live and teach others.

S- I do not think Korean stereotypes exist, specifically. However, I think some people do not have a clear idea about division between the North and South Korea. some people think South Korea is a dangerous place to come because of North Korea.
Korean people are welcoming and caring.
I wish people don't define people by their outlook. I want people to really take time to explore and experience the different cultural aspects, and try to understand difference in culture.

K- There are many cultural stereotypes I want to erase from people's minds, such as that Emirati people are loaded and smoking rich, and how they perceive our religion as terrorism. moreover, when they see an Arab person, they don't care from where he is, but that all Arab people are the same whether they are from UAE or Saudi Arabia or Egypt or even Turkey which is not an Arab country.

M- I want to change the stereotype of Arabs being primitive,uneducated, and violent.