Marinda: COMING UP ON KVIE ARTS SHOWCASE... WE CELEBRATE ART FROM AROUND THE WORLD AND RIGHT HERE AT HOME.

AN EXPANDED LOOK AT CULTURE AND BEAUTY Monica: Because sometimes art is powerful when it communicates a message.

It's not a bright cherrie you know just a pretty picture.

There'’s a purpose for all of it.

Marinda: JAPANESE ANIMATION Carla: You can see that development process, how they go from the raw images and ideas into the more technical details and drawings.

And then the final product.

Marinda: AN INTERNATIONAL ART EXHIBITION WITH A MISSION Sarah: We want young kids, as well as adults to understand that their words matter, and their interactions with others matter.

Marinda: PAINTINGS FULL OF ENERGY Loy: Feng Shui is for me, it's the way of life.

People think that it's like magic, it's not.

You know, like oh I positioned this you know, fish tank here and I should be getting more money, but it's really not.

It's really it's just a way of living.

Marinda: CREATING A MURAL FULL OF MEANING Gary: The wall starts talking to me about, "“Yeah, this is all right, this is not all right.

"” "“Well what are you gonna do with this?

"” "“What are you gonna do with that?

"” And I'm saying, "“Well, I'm not sure, but I hear you.

"” Marinda: IT'’S ALL UP NEXT ON KVIE ARTS SHOWCASE... ♪♪ Marinda: THROUGH HER ART SACRAMENTO ARTIST DR MONICA CROOKS CREATES AN EXPANDED AND PERSONAL LOOK AT CULTURE AND BEAUTY Marinda: There is an unmistakable connection between art and its impact on society.

Including how we interact with, gain a better understanding of, generate conversations through art.

It can all lead to gaining greater influence from and empathy for others.

Monica: Because sometimes art is powerful when it communicates a message it's not a bright cherrie you know just a pretty picture.

There's a purpose for all of it... and up to this point in time, this is just what I've done.

Marinda: Many perceptions of beauty are guided by the prevailing culture.

Through her artistry and dentistry.

Dr Monica Crooks creates, expands, preserves and redefines the norms of how we view culture and beauty through art.

Monica: I paint things that are uplifting and beautiful and bold and colorful and bright and free and hopefully things that would bring joy to the person viewing them...

I think that if I were to distill what I do down, what I paint is beauty period.

That's what I try to depict in everything that I paint.

So am I preserving anything?

Yes, beauty.

And they happen to be beautiful black faces right now.

Marinda: Dr Monica Crooks'’s art, shows an undeniable look at beauty in its many forms, while also discovering her own reflection of beauty within her work.

Monica: I liked doing faces and I used to do faces of women.

And my dad said to me, he says, "Why are you always drawing white faces?"

He said that.

"Why do you always draw white people?

"...I don't know.

I didn't know at the time, um, I think now in retrospect, it's because it was a time in history where magazines did not, I use magazines for my subject matter and magazines did not depict pictures of black anybody...

I was trying to think of what?

What is unifying about us as African-Americans, it's not really skin color because we run the gamut from snow white to, Ebony black.

Um, but probably the thing that is most unifying is hair texture.

We all have different hair, so no two African-Americans have the same type of hair either.

That's another thing, you know, but some people have the ability to sculpt their hair and I mean, cut it into shapes.

I mean, Grace Jones was famous for that... you know these big angular shapes that she could create and the hair just it's like weightless.

It just stands on end and you can do things with it.

Which is amazing.

So the other reason that I wanted to do that show is some of us, And I'm going to say myself included didn't grow up proud of our hair.

You know, when I grew up, I wanted the hair my little friends could roll out of bed, shake, just go.

And my hair wasn't like that because my hair had a mind of its own and how it was going to look that day very much dependent upon the weather.

I want people to see black and beauty as synonymous, just like any other races.

Okay, no one is better or worse than the other.

There are beautiful and less beautiful in every genre of everything in the world.

Okay.

But I embrace the opportunity to paint beautiful black faces... Marinda: Beauty can be defined as a combination of qualities of shape, color, and form.

To senses, intellect and even an attractiveness of feminine and masculine traits.

Within every piece Dr Crooks creates she captures the many expressions and representations of beauty that can sometimes be overlooked.

Monica: ...I think it, it's beautiful to call attention to it and it's beautiful to be able to say that beauty doesn't have one definition.

Marinda: Doctor Crooks says Art helps us to define who we are or perhaps what we hope to represent as human beings.

Monica: it is an expression of who we are as a people.

Human beings.

I mean, an expression of our existence on this earth and it's representation of that experience, the human spirit is not limited.

People are always surprised.

Oh, you can do this.

Is there anything you can't do?

No, there's nothing I can't do.

If I put my mind and my Passion behind it.

And this is true for everybody.

I happened thankfully to have been raised by parents who instilled that in me from the time I can remember, you can do anything.

If anyone else can do it in this world, you can do it too.

I mean, there's nothing really pastel about my work.

It's bright, colorful, strong.

It's it's layers and layers of color on top of color.

It's uninhibited.

It's free.

It's unafraid because I mean, with paint, if you don't like it, just paint over it.

It's no big deal.

It's Fearless... it's accidental discoveries in life and embracing them.

And then.

Seeing how far you can run with it.

I, you know, I don't happen to believe in reincarnation.

I think we got one time on this planet, you know, one shot and then I want to graduate on to bigger and better things.

And I want to squeeze everything I can out of this existence.

So maybe my art is a reflection of that... Marinda: LOCATED AT THE MORIKAMI MUSEUM AND JAPAN GARDENS IN DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA.

THE EXHIBITION "“ANIME ARCHITECTURE"” PRESENTS JAPANESE ANIMATION BEFORE THE DIGITAL ERA.

♪♪ I'm Carla Stansifer.

I'm the curator of Japanese Art at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens.

This is "“Anime Architecture.

"” This exhibit features four films that came out between 1988 and 2004.

These films are all anime, which is the Japanese animation process and they are all sci-fi and they all also encapsulate a realistic style.

So that's what each of the films have in common.

And you know anime is a multibillion dollar business today.

The original curator of the exhibition, Stefan Riekeles from Berlin, he started this project back in 2008 and he was fortunate enough to go into studios, meet with the animators and look at some of their work and he was really interested in the process of anime making.

It's amazing, you have hundreds of artists working together to create one film.

And he talks about how a lot of the artists were hesitant to put their art in frames and on the wall, they didn't see it as art.

They saw it as just a small part of this whole production.

♪♪ The curator went with the backgrounds and not just the characters.

For example, in the Japanese anime process, the voiceovers come last, you know, in a Disney production they come first.

But in Japan it's the opposite.

They have a much greater emphasis on the environment and movement.

"“Ghost in the Shell"” came out in 1995 and it's based on a very popular manga series.

We really can't underestimate the importance of this film.

The people who created "“The Matrix"” say flat out that this film inspired them.

The entire film is about artificial intelligence in the future.

But how this artificial intelligence, interacts with the technology, with the machinery and, and really they're talking about what it means to be human.

For this film, we featured some of the hand drawings by Takeuchi Atsushi, and then we have the paintings of Ogura Hiromasa, which actually appear in the film.

So you can see that development process, how they go from the raw images and ideas into the more technical details and drawings.

And then the final product and the feel and the emotion that comes out.

It's almost as if the background and the environment is its own character in the film.

They really want to emphasize that.

We do have some photography as well.

And location photography was very important.

Remember these artists were going for realism and the director Oshii Mamoru not only worked on anime, but he also worked on live action.

And he thought, well, why don't we do that for anime?

Around 1997, the anime industry moved to entirely digital productions from concept design through to the final piece was all digital and it was this great wave, this great change that took over the studios, especially throughout Tokyo.

And today there are only five studios left who can do hand-drawn backgrounds.

♪♪ ♪♪ Marinda: EMBRACING OUR DIFFERENCES IS A NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATION IN SARASOTA, FLORIDA, THAT EDUCATES AND INSPIRES.

FOR OVER 15 YEARS, THEY HAVE PRESENTED AN OUTDOOR INTERNATIONAL ART EXHIBITION THAT CELEBRATES INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY.

♪♪ ♪♪ Sarah: This is our 17th year at Embracing Our Differences.

Embracing Our Differences is an arts and education organization focused on promoting the importance of diversity, inclusion, kindness, and respect.

Larissa: Favorite picture in this whole exhibit.

Okay, come back here and sit down.

Sarah: We try to start at the youngest age possible, teaching these important messages of kindness and respect.

And we want the kids to come back year after year so they continue to understand these messages in different ways through different pieces of artwork.

And that's why these high school docents work with the younger kids, and really ask them questions.

They're not there to tell them about the art piece, they're there to see what the kids see, and what they think about this art piece.

I love being a docent.

I do a lot with kids ordinarily, and it's just so much fun for me because I love working with kids.

I love talking to them, and then just being able to see the change on their face when I say something that really clicks, that what they're seeing is important and it's making a difference, that is amazing for me.

♪♪ Cliff: I really appreciate Embracing Our Differences because for me, it ties in to what I want to do as an artist and as far as making art that has meaning, and just sending a message and I think, Embracing Our Differences allows people to do that.

The piece I submitted in Embracing Our Differences is a photograph of one of the students at the school.

He's Mexican-American, and that piece just really symbolized people coming from other countries, especially Mexico, in search of better opportunity.

♪♪ In art, my interest has always been painting people, and I like to make it more expressive, kind of abstract, using my many different colors and stuff like that.

But lately, I've been trying to focus more on making art that has meaning and a purpose behind it in hopes to create change.

And that's why I really like Embracing Our Differences 'cause it allows you to do that, and it's helping me with different ideas on how I could do that.

Sarah: I think the draw for artists from around the world to submit to our exhibit is that they're not able to express themselves a lot of times, especially about this topic of diversity and inclusion.

So we give them that outlet, and that way that they are able to really put their emotions out here.

Cliff: In my art class, Antonio is one of the students who is more focused on his artwork during class.

Antonio really gets excited about making art.

And you know, he's one of the students who had opportunity to submit work to Embracing Our Differences because he really took the time and put in the effort to make a piece more complete.

I hope to open people eyes with my artwork.

The reason I picked that topic is because other people and my father are going into war to fight for our freedom, and they don't want to kill other people, and they don't want to die the other people.

I hope people would get it.

Sarah: Our goal with the exhibit, as well as our year-round education program, is for everyone to start treating others with kindness and respect.

So we want young kids, as well as adults to understand that their words matter, and their interactions with others matter.

Larissa: As a docent, it is our job to try and help the little kids make sense of it.

Various kids have different experiences with the artwork, they interact with it differently.

It helps if you have a good docent who's expressive in asking them questions.

You saw the mice?

Sarah: Out of the 16,000 plus submissions, about 9,000 of them were from students in our community in Sarasota and Manatee County schools.

However, the rest of those submissions come from around the world.

And when you go down to the bayfront and see the 50 art pieces and 50 quotations that are on display, about half of them are from places outside of Florida.

So it's really exciting to see the representation.

Cliff: I think an exhibit like Embracing Our Differences is very important, especially in our community where we have a lot of diverse individuals, and we might not know where someone else comes from, you now, what their background is, what they go through.

And this exhibit allows them to see a glimpse of what other people might see.

Antonio: When I draw, it makes me feel good.

It makes me feel relaxed like nothing is around me.

I'm only focusing on that drawing.

Larissa: With Embracing Our Differences, I'd say that my biggest takeaway has been that all of these people from around the world come and try and make a difference in the community.

Sarah: I want people to walk away from the exhibit thinking about how this art can impact their daily lives, and how these messages can change their interactions with others in a more positive way.

Larissa: Okay, I think more people want to do it.

Do you see the wings?

♪♪ Marinda: INSPIRED BY HER LAOTIAN ROOTS, ARTIST LOY CREATES VIBRANT PAINTINGS TRADITIONAL PRACTICE AND PHILOSOPHY.

♪♪ Hi I am Loy Khambay-Correa and this is my studio.

And I paint Feng Shui inspired pieces, sometimes hip-hop inspired pieces.

I teach classes here as well too and it's Painting With Loy.

It's my nickname, yeah, it's a family name.

Actually my real name is Kheuthmy Khambay, which means grow rich gold leaf.

So but Loy was given to me by my grandfather and when I went home there's like 20, 30 other Loy's so when you say Loy, everybody turns around.

Home is Laos.

When people ask me "Where are you from?

", you it's just like "Laos."

"What's that?"

You know?

And then you always have to explain we're outside of Thailand.

♪♪ I was a closet artist, so when I'm a little stressed I would hang out by myself, close the door and just paint.

Or I'll draw.

Well actually my uncle Tai, he actually would draw with me.

And I would watch him and that's how I got into it.

Nobody knew until I got older because I was never, I never thought it's good enough.

♪♪ I would paint and then I, you know hide it.

You know so I hide it in the closet.

Even I had my apartment, like when my friends came over like, "Why do you have all the same pieces of all the same artist?"

You know like, "Who is this artist?"

"It's me."

'Cause I would hang them all up and you don't see anything and I would clean it all up because I didn't want anybody to know.

So now I'm not hiding anymore.

It was more work to hide than to not hide.

I heard this architect, his mom passed away.

They never knew she was an artist and she wrote in her journal every day.

I overheard him he said that she's always wanted an art show but didn't fell like she was good enough or that anybody was going to go and I'm like, "No way I can't die and not have this."

and then that was when I came out was 2007.

My first show about 10 years ago I did was a theme.

I love fruit, I love all the exotic fruits.

Each piece represent each fruit.

You know that was that theme for that show.

And then my next year was "The Way of Living", you know, one of those motivational quotes.

You go into like, the corporate office it's like, you know, endurance.

So I was like, what's endurance for me?

So I did the bamboo, you know, it's grows really tall and it's one of the strongest that there you go.

And then my next theme was flowers.

And then my next theme after that was a tribute to my grandmother who passed away and I put the reclining Buddha because she's at peace.

My next year I was like, I was a little wild.

So we did was Loy's Seduction, which is based on the ten type of seducers.

You know the charmer has been pretty popular.

The following year after that was orchids, I love orchids.

The following year, the auras, like the colors.

You know so I went more abstract with that one.

Like for me, if I wear red, red I get real fiery.

And then when I wear yellow it's kind of more calm.

So the different energy.

Feng Shui is for me, it's the way of life.

People think that it's like magic, it's not.

You know, like oh I positioned this you know, fish tank here and I should be getting more money, but it's really not.

It's really it's just a way of living and how you position certain things more simplicity.

And then the art is basically the flow, you know.

It's the energy as you walk in so that's how I put my art into Feng Shui.

♪♪ Marinda: ARTIST GARY WONG WAS ASKED TO CREATE A MURAL IN THE NORFOLK, VIRGINIA RAILROAD DISTRICT.

Gary: I don't feel like I'm just a dog pissing on the wall, I feel like I'm making a piece that I want to have some meaning and some substance, as well as being a large, visual thing.

♪♪ I got a phone call from Asa Jackson.

Asa, and Ken, and Carrie Anne, the Street Museum People.

They just said, "You come do something."

I think they have 10 murals going, and let's see what happens.

♪♪ L .A.

at the time when I was a kid, the streets were line-gridded with electric street cars, and I grew up from jumping on trolleys and trains, going from here to there.

As I got older, in the summers when I was a kid, I would take trains and go up to Oakland, California where I was born.

I'd see the hobos, I'd see the tramps, I'm curious.

I got with the secret symbols and signs that they leave for each other to tell you whether it's cool or not, whether there's a mean dog, a vicious dog, you can bathe here, or a barn's available.

So I have this whole vocabulary since I was kid of that kind of lifestyle, so it's in me.

And then when I saw the railroad tracks in the picture, I said, now that's the wall for me.

My work generally rotates around storytelling, poetry, mantras, any number of things that I may be in the moment of, and it says I gotta do a piece.

This guy, A-No1, Leon Ray Livingston, was deemed the King of the Hobos at one time and they made a movie out of him, he used to run with Jack London.

Well, he's got all these stories about life on the rails.

What I'm gonna do is write A-No1's warning about wanderlust.

His warning is, don't ever jump on a moving train, 'cause if you do, you get hooked and you're doomed to a pitiful existence.

♪♪ I want the text to be able to understand what's going on up there by reading it, even though it might cause a little difficulty.

But nothing, usually I would just obscure it.

My concentration is what the brush is doing and what the medium is doing.

So I remove myself from the source of the, what the words are, and they just become marks at this point to me, I'm not even reading, I'm just writing it down in my style.

I'm totally dyslexic and colorblind, so I don't involve myself with having to pick and choose colors, and I don't involve myself with reading backwards, upside-down 'cause I do that anyways.

So I've taken those qualities that I have naturally that have gotten me in trouble all my school life using it as one of my tools.

I think it's honest.

♪♪ The wall starts talking to me about, "Yeah, this is all right, this is not all right.

"Well what are you gonna do with this?

"What are you gonna do with that?"

And I'm saying, "Well, I'm not sure, but I hear you."

I think after all is said and done, how can you not be satisfied with the activity and the opportunity to express, and share, and learn, and give and take, and communicate from coast to coast?

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Annc: Episodes of KVIE Arts showcase along with other KVIE programs are available to watch online at kvie.org/video.