Daniel Gonzalez

[Previous](#) / [Next image](#) (1 of 1) [](#)Scrimshaw is a board game created for Eddo Stern's Game Design class during the Fall Quarter 2014. Themes were selected at random and got whaling as the theme for my game. Players select a boat and cast a die and go through the board game with their boat. There are cards that aid them either on their Journey or during the Hunt for a whale by inflicting damage to their opponents or advancing them in either the Journey or the Hunt. The board has perils and rewards that players can use to their advantage. When each player reaches the end of the board game, they have the opportunity to hunt a whale using a miniature harpoon to lance plasticine whales of varying value. Each player has as many turn as they have sailors on their boat and each time they miss, they loose a sailor and have to start their journey through the board over again. Each player has three Journey's they may take through the game board before they are finished with the game. The player with the most points acquired from the number of whales they hunt wins and gets to carve their name on an imitation whale tooth with the miniature harpoon leaving a record for the next group that plays. The game board is made using baltic birch that has been carved to simulate the art form which sailors practiced; Scrimshaw. This involved carving bits of baleen or whale teeth which they gave to family, friends or loved ones when they returned from their journey. When the game board is folded up, it creates a scene which plays out in the game, a sailor falling overboard after missing a whale with a harpoon. The game recreates the act of whaling by physically launching a harpoon into the soft plasticine whales, a tricky task since, like whaling, it requires a certain degree of skill. The game cards use whaling terms, sailor superstitions and lore that are helpful and detrimental in their voyage.

medium_whitewhaleCARGO_o.jpg

small_whitewhaleCARGO_o.jpg

thumbnail_whitewhaleCARGO_o.jpg

whitewhaleCARGO_o.jpg

medium_gameplayCARGO_o.jpg

small_gameplayCARGO_o.jpg

thumbnail_gameplayCARGO_o.jpg

gameplayCARGO_o.jpg

medium_Harpoon2CARGO_o.jpg

small_Harpoon2CARGO_o.jpg

thumbnail_Harpoon2CARGO_o.jpg

Harpoon2CARGO_o.jpg

medium_Harpoon3CARGO_o.jpg

small_Harpoon3CARGO_o.jpg

thumbnail_Harpoon3CARGO_o.jpg

Harpoon3CARGO_o.jpg

medium_boardCARGO_o.jpg

small_boardCARGO_o.jpg

thumbnail_boardCARGO_o.jpg

boardCARGO_o.jpg

medium_SailorsCARGO_o.jpg

small_SailorsCARGO_o.jpg

thumbnail_SailorsCARGO_o.jpg

SailorsCARGO_o.jpg

medium_SailorWhaleCARGO_o.jpg

small_SailorWhaleCARGO_o.jpg

thumbnail_SailorWhaleCARGO_o.jpg

SailorWhaleCARGO_o.jpg

Scrimshaw

[Previous](#) / [Next image](#) (1 of 1) [{image 11}](#) This piece was made for Form class. The assignment was to create a cabinet of curiosity to house a collection of hybrid objects that were created using the software Maya. They were then made into cardboard models using Pepakura and then skinned with different materials. The collection of objects were inspired by Cargo Cults that exists in the South Pacific. Rather than copying ritual objects, I created these hybrid objects through a series of exercises in class to create narrative and association to each object and create new meaning. The term cargo cult is used to describe the religious movements of New Guinea and Melanesia which resulted after the encounter between tribal societies and Western civilization. In this context, “cargo" refers to Western manufactured goods, which, from the perspective of the indigenous people, seem to be constructed, ordered, and delivered via various magical processes. The believers of cargo cults sometimes maintain that these articles have been created by divine spirits and are intended for them, but that Westerners have unfairly gained control of these objects. In other instances, such as the John Frumm movement on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu, cult members actively worship the Americans who first brought the cargo. In both cases, many of the beliefs and practices particular to these cults focus on the ritualistic performance of “white behaviors,” with the assumption that they will cause the gods or ancestors to at last recognize their own and send them cargo. In this way, a characteristic feature of cargo cults is the belief that spiritual agents will, at some future time, bless the believers with material which will then bring a time of harmony and prosperity where the indigenous people will appropriate westerners “power” and material goods —a standpoint that gives them a profoundly millenarian flavor. The most prolific period of cargo cult activity occurred during the Second World War and many years after it. The increased practice can be tied to two main causes: first, the Pacific campaign airdropped vast amounts of equipment; second, the deployment of American and Japanese troops. These contact experiences led to drastic changes in the lifestyles of the islanders, many of whom had never seen either foreigners or manufactured goods. Over the course of the war, the islanders often came to rely on mass-produced clothing, medicine, food, and weapons, which arrived to equip soldiers but was often given to native islanders who acted as their guides and hosts. At the same time, errant pallets of supplies became treasure troves for scavengers. This newfound source of material prosperity came to an abrupt end in 1945, when the end of the war allowed the soldiers to return home, the airbases to close down, and the “cargo” to cease being shipped. In the years following the war, the Oceanian islanders, through an amalgamation of traditional and innovative religious practices, sought to develop new religio-cultural systems that would account for the realities of their post-contact lives. As the arrival of Western commodities was one of these formative events, many cultic beliefs arose to explore the significance of “cargo.” Thus, in an attempt to encourage the delivery of cargo, many groups of islanders ritualistically imitated the practices of foreign soldiers, sailors and airmen. For instance, some islanders cleared valuable arable land in order to construct makeshift airstrips, built elaborate wooden control towers, airplanes and carved headphones from wood. Devotees then manned these religious structures, while others directed the non-existent air traffic with signal fires. Intriguingly, these ritualized attempts to mimic Western lifestyles and behaviors were often integrated into existing religious contexts. Further, they often developed a somewhat millenarian flavor, preaching of a peaceful future age when economic disparities would be addressed and the “white men” would be driven from their lands. These millenarian expectations were also fueled through the syncretic adoption of Christian theology. These millenarian expectations sometimes led to ultimately self-destructive behaviors, such as the destruction of food or lodgings, in the expectation that the returning ancestors would provide replacements. Cargo cults were not simply responses to Western material possessions. Instead, they emerged as a conscious appraisal of the world following the unavoidable comparisons between the difficult lives of natives and the affluence of Western interlopers. It was to this end that many cargoist movements attempted to incorporate Western rituals, tropes, and religious symbols, while simultaneously execrating their source. Over the last sixty years, many of these cults have vanished. Yet, the John Frumm cult is still active on the island of Tanna, Vanuatu. Further, the arresting image of the "cargo cult" in action has brought the term into the popular lexicon as an idiom describing any group of people who imitate the superficial exterior of a process or system without having any understanding of the underlying substance. John Frumm is a religious figure, portrayed in the guise of an American World War II serviceman, who is associated with cargo cults on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu. He is believed by his adherents to offer wealth and prosperity (“cargo”) to those who follow him. In visual depictions, his race is indeterminate: he is sometimes portrayed as black, others as white. It is not known whether the religion arose spontaneously or was deliberately created, nor is it clear whether an individual named “John Frum” existed in the first place. Indeed, the name is sometimes considered a corruption of the phrase “John from (America),” which the natives could have heard from US GIs during World War II. The exact origins of the John Frum movement are unknown, though both scholars and indigenous worshipers have forwarded theories. For instance, many people living around Sulphur Bay on Tanna revere a god named Karaperamun who is associated with the extinct volcano Mount Tukosmeru. Some scholars, such as Peter Worsley, suggest that the attributes of this god influenced the development of the John Frum movement. Others credit a native islander named Manehivi who is thought to have began the cult by appearing among people and making promises of houses, clothes, food, and transport, all the while appearing in the guise of John Frum. Regardless of the origin of the cult, the millenarian promise was often the same: the dawn of a new age, in which all white people, including missionaries, would leave the islands, and the universal access of all native Melanesians to the material wealth which white people enjoyed. Today, many historians and anthropologists argue that the term “cargo cult” is a misnomer that describes too wide a variety of phenomena to be of any functional utility. Other theorists believe that the very notion of a “cargo cult” implies an explicit projection of Western prejudices upon supposedly “primitive” people: “European colonialists once upon a time conjured up and talked about cargo cult as a device by which both to excuse and to justify their domination of the colonized. This conspiracy thesis draws upon Edward Said's (1978) notion of ‘Orientalism.’ The cargo cult does not exist per se; rather it appears in the dirty mirror of the European self — a cultic other as a reflection of the imperial self. The standard motifs of cargo-cult writing, too, can be read as European bad conscience. Stock reports that cultists claim that Europeans have hijacked ancestral cargo, for example \[…\], reflect a repressed guilty European understanding of real colonial economic inequalities.” Even the term “cargo cult” itself was invented as a way of attacking and critiquing its participants. Its first recorded usage, in a 1945 editorial by Norris Bird, seeks to explore the dangers of anti-colonial “flare-ups” among New Guinean natives: “Mr. Bird's employment of cargo cult is low usage. The term's origins are, at the least, mean and tactical. In this discourse, cargo cult pairs strategically with the question "but would you let one marry your sister/daughter?" Breakouts of cargo cults and miscegenation are both direly predicted if comfortable structures of colonial inequality are permitted to decay.” Intriguingly, many modern anthropologists suggest that this fascination has as much to do with Western predilections as with the actual beliefs of the islanders in question. For instance, Ton Otto argues that “cargo” beliefs provoke us to think about our separation of economy (cargo) and religion (cult) as distinct cultural domains, such that interpreting “cargo cults \[concerns\] also our image of ourselves.”

large_Transmitter6_o.jpg

medium_Transmitter6_o.jpg

small_Transmitter6_o.jpg

thumbnail_Transmitter6_o.jpg

Transmitter6_o.jpg

large_Transmitter2_2x.jpg

medium_Transmitter2_2x.jpg

small_Transmitter2_2x.jpg

thumbnail_Transmitter2_2x.jpg

Transmitter2_2x.jpg

large_Transmitter7_o.jpg

medium_Transmitter7_o.jpg

small_Transmitter7_o.jpg

thumbnail_Transmitter7_o.jpg

Transmitter7_o.jpg

large_Transmitter3_2x.jpg

medium_Transmitter3_2x.jpg

small_Transmitter3_2x.jpg

thumbnail_Transmitter3_2x.jpg

Transmitter3_2x.jpg

large_Transmitter5_2x.jpg

medium_Transmitter5_2x.jpg

small_Transmitter5_2x.jpg

thumbnail_Transmitter5_2x.jpg

Transmitter5_2x.jpg

large_Transmitter4_2x.jpg

medium_Transmitter4_2x.jpg

small_Transmitter4_2x.jpg

thumbnail_Transmitter4_2x.jpg

Transmitter4_2x.jpg

large_Transmitter1_2x.jpg

medium_Transmitter1_2x.jpg

small_Transmitter1_2x.jpg

thumbnail_Transmitter1_2x.jpg

Transmitter1_2x.jpg

large_Transmitter8_o.jpg

medium_Transmitter8_o.jpg

small_Transmitter8_o.jpg

thumbnail_Transmitter8_o.jpg

Transmitter8_o.jpg

large_Transmitter10.jpg

medium_Transmitter10.jpg

small_Transmitter10.jpg

thumbnail_Transmitter10.jpg

Transmitter10.jpg

large_Transmitter9_o.jpg

medium_Transmitter9_o.jpg

small_Transmitter9_o.jpg

thumbnail_Transmitter9_o.jpg

Transmitter9_o.jpg

Venatu Tanna Army Cargo Transmitter

Self Help Graphics & Art is a non-profit arts organization that I have been volunteering for almost 10 years. They are credited with bringing Día de los muertos to Los Angeles in 1973 and every year they have been charging an artist with the task to create a commemorative print. Like any organization, they have gone through trials and tribulations in the past years but they have secured a new space in Boyle Heights, the neighborhood I grew up in. 2013 marks the SHG's 40th anniversary and I wanted to create a piece that not only reflects traditional aspects of Day of the Dead, but also takes it's internationally recognized printmaking program into a new direction by incorporating a new processes into its creation. Day of the dead is a ritual celebration that is steeped in tradition that is a mix of Catholic beliefs and Aztec/Mexica cosmovision. Day of the dead is a true reflection of what the make up of the modern Mexican and Chicano today is, a mix of traditions, histories and ritual that are constantly being translated and recontextualized within a social framework that is not always friendly or receptive to them. I took this into account when I created this piece. . The central image of the skeleton, is housed within a living tree, represents the duality that is being expressed during Day of the Dead, that life and death are inextricably present in each other. The tree also forms an axis mundi in which each direction expresses a different phase in SHG's history. On the left, are images of the Virgen of Guadalupe and palm trees that dominated the landscape of the location. The Virgen de Guadalupe was a statue that was in the lot of the old location and has been adopted as a symbol of the organization. To the right is the new landscape in which SHG inhabits, east of Downtown LA with City Hall connected by the First Street Bridge which is a block away from their location. Hidden in the roots are icons of past artists who have come through SHG and left their mark. Sister Karen Boccalero, a Franciscan nun who founded the organization in 1972, is represented by the Sacred Heart which symbolizes the founder's love and passion she had for the arts. The needle-man alludes to the group ASCO which used Day of the Dead as a platform to speak about politics in the Eastside and the leading causes death amongst youth at the time, gang violence and drug abuse. The lowrider is artists Gilbert Magu Lujan, one of the founding members of Los Four, a group of artists that created the visual lexicon of Chicano Art. The last icon, is the pre-columbian deity, Tlaloc, as symbol of the pre-columbian past that is always present within Chicano and Mexican culture. The birds holding up the scrolls, are all from the logo created by artist Leo Limon who also worked with SHG in its early formative years. The shape of the piece is a papel picado pattern, paper banners that are traditionally used at parties in Latin America. The tradition partially extends from the ritual offering that is used for the dead in Aztec/Mexica rituals for the dead

medium_33g.SHG40DODposter.jpg

small_33g.SHG40DODposter.jpg

thumbnail_33g.SHG40DODposter.jpg

33g.SHG40DODposter.jpg

small_40thAnniversaryPrint.jpg

thumbnail_40thAnniversaryPrint.jpg

40thAnniversaryPrint.jpg

Self Help Graphics 40th Anniv. Day of the Dead Print

Engraved in Memory is a public art project commission for Metro Los Angeles for the new Expo Line light rail. Through a series of eight of linoleum cut prints that were then translated to hand cut porcelain panels, I connect the seemingly ordinary and unassuming intersection of La Cienega and Jefferson Boulevard in Los Angeles into the larger scope of California history by reclaiming and rediscovering past events that occurred locally that shaped the neighborhood into what it looks like today and defined the City of Los Angeles. This project is the story of how a space becomes place and a direct response to the claim that many people who visit Los Angeles from elsewhere make; that we have no history. When visitors walk through the station platform, the panels are arranged in chronological order so that they are either walking forward or going back in time. The elevated platform provides a stunning view of the surrounding area and sets the stage for the story that is being told through the panels. \*\*NOTE: I have the original linoleum cuts, digital print outs of the images and a sample of the material available for display in the show. [Previous](#) / [Next image](#) (1 of 1) [{image12}{image 13}](#) Each image began as a relief print carved out of linoleum and then printed using a printing press. The imagery that was selected for each of the panels is informed by exhaustive research into events that occurred locally. The resulting research was inspiring and surprising in the way that the history unfolded. I was able to connect the space where the station was to reside to significant events in the city's history. Next, the image was taken and turned into a high resolution scan that was taken by the talented ceramicists at Mosaika in Montreal, Quebec where it was made into porcelain panels using a technique developed by their workshop that had been used only once before. They take slabs of fresh porcelain clay and spray a layer of black pigment and then transfer the design directly onto it. While the clay is still fresh, they take tools and carve out the pieces. As they remove the material, the white porcelain underneath is exposed and it creates a low relief sculpture. The end result is very similar to the material from which the linoleum relief print was originially made. [Previous](#) / [Next image](#) (1 of 1) [](#)The series begins with a panel dedicated to Los Angeles' first people, the Tongva. It depicts life in a Tongva settlement. Apart from activity related to sustenance, depicted on the edges of the panel, I focus on more mundane activity. The city of Los Angeles was founded and built over the Tongva village of Yang'na. They settled during the summer months near the ocean and collected and dried shellfish and fish for the winter months. During winter they would move inland away from the ocean to harvest acorns. There were numerous settlements throughout the Los Angeles basin, enough in fact, to create a haze from cooking fires. This haze was noted by Cabrillo in his diary as he viewed the Los Angeles basin from a looking glass on his ship in 1542 and became the first description of smog in the basin. The next panel is a depiction of the Portolá Expedition of 1769, the first Spanish overland expedition through California. The panel depicts a column of soldiers led by a standard bearer which would lead the expedition as they enforce colonial Spain's claim to the territory of Alta California. Following the standard bearer is Gaspar de Portolá in a helmet accompanied by soldados de cuera carrying lances. The expedition's diarist, Father Juan Crespi, depicted riding a mule in the middle, makes a description of the land that was to be the site where the city of Los Angeles would later be founded in his diary. Almost hidden in the horses are the "volunteer" porters, who were men from local indigenous villages that were coerced to carry the expeditions supplies on foot. The path that the expediton took is an old trail that was used by the Tongva that is today the 10 freeway. The Californio period is depicted in the following panel. La Cienega Boulevard was named after the rancho that existed in that area, Rancho Las Cienegas, translated from Spanish Las Cienegas means swamps or springs. The Californios are the original vaqueros of the West predating the popular Texas cowboy by almost a whole century. They created a culture that was neither Mexican nor Spanish and but was rooted in both pastoral traditions. They owned huge expanses of land and became wealthy by raising cattle for the hide trade. The site of the station is surrounded by the boundaries of four different rancherias; Paso de la tijera, Rincon de los bueyes, Ballona, and Las cienegas. The landscape lent itself for the semiannual rodeo in which they would gather cattle for branding or to collect the hides. The owner of Rancho Las Cienegas was Francisco Avila, one of the wealthiest men in California at the time. His adobe home is now the oldest existing residence in Los Angeles and is found at Olvera Street. Next is the early film industry in Southern California. Ballona Creek was the site of many Western "Cowboy and Injun" movies, in particular Tom Mix movies. As people from the eastern part of the United States moved West, their imaginations were captivated by the idea of the "buckaroo" and the wild Indian. This was reflected in the popularity of early black and white Westerns, most of which were produced by the early film studios in Culver City. In 1932, Los Angeles hosted athletes from around the world as they participated in the Olympic Summer games. An innovation that originated during these Olupmpics was the concept of the Olympic Village, a series of bungalows that were built to house the athletes while they stayed in Los Angeles. The Olympic Village would be hastily built in what is today Kenneth Hahn park. The buildings would be dismantled as quickly as they were built. I was able to only find two photographs, one of the main enterance and another a postcard of the village itself. The only surviving bungalow housed the Mexican athletes that competed in the games. Today, it houses a small shop in Olvera Street and if you look by the entrance there is a tile plaque that gives this fact. The two athletes depicted in the panel are Gustavo Huet Bobadilla who won silver in the 50 meter rifle prone competition and the other is Francisco Cabañas Prado who won the silver medal in highly contested decision in mens flyweight boxing. Los Angeles for some time used to rely on a system of reservoirs for its potable water. After the Baldwin Hills Reservoir disaster of 1963, the city began to change that. A crack developed on the side of the dam very quickly began to deteriorate the retaining wall. Since the deterioration was gradual, KTLA managed to send a news helicopter with a camera to capture the scene. It became the first live televised disaster in the history of television and the destruction of homes changed the neighborhood. The dam released 250 million gallons of water that destroyed over 250 homes and killed five people. The site of the dam still exists in Kenneth Hahn Park. The next panel is a tryptch and it offers a vision of different facets of what the surrounding neighborhood is like. From right to left, there is the Village Green condominium complex, which was an ambitious project when it was built in the "garden style" in 1942 and continues to be a unique housing alternative. Next to that is Kenneth Hahn Park complete with oil pumps that line the south side of La Cienega Boulevard and the new gallery row on Washington Boulevard. Over time, these too will become images that will become part of the areas history as the neighborhood changes and goes through its own evolution. The last panel is a panoramic overview of the area with landmark buildings. Cutting through the middle is Ballona Creek and to the left are the Baldwin Hills and a part of the Village Green housing complex.

thumbnail_DatWork.jpg

DatWork.jpg

small_Mosaika4.jpg

thumbnail_Mosaika4.jpg

Mosaika4.jpg

small_Mosaika1.jpg

thumbnail_Mosaika1.jpg

Mosaika1.jpg

large_Mosaika3_o.jpg

medium_Mosaika3_o.jpg

small_Mosaika3_o.jpg

thumbnail_Mosaika3_o.jpg

Mosaika3_o.jpg

large_475543_10150790731128493_997963117_o_o.jpg

medium_475543_10150790731128493_997963117_o_o.jpg

small_475543_10150790731128493_997963117_o_o.jpg

thumbnail_475543_10150790731128493_997963117_o_o.jpg

475543_10150790731128493_997963117_o_o.jpg

large_Mosaika2_o.jpg

medium_Mosaika2_o.jpg

small_Mosaika2_o.jpg

thumbnail_Mosaika2_o.jpg

Mosaika2_o.jpg

large_1.Tongva.plate_o.jpg

medium_1.Tongva.plate_o.jpg

small_1.Tongva.plate_o.jpg

thumbnail_1.Tongva.plate_o.jpg

1.Tongva.plate_o.jpg

large_413132_10150790738503493_689992743_o_o.jpg

medium_413132_10150790738503493_689992743_o_o.jpg

small_413132_10150790738503493_689992743_o_o.jpg

thumbnail_413132_10150790738503493_689992743_o_o.jpg

413132_10150790738503493_689992743_o_o.jpg

large_2.Portola.plate_o.jpg

medium_2.Portola.plate_o.jpg

small_2.Portola.plate_o.jpg

thumbnail_2.Portola.plate_o.jpg

2.Portola.plate_o.jpg

large_465209_10150790739243493_1684795733_o_o.jpg

medium_465209_10150790739243493_1684795733_o_o.jpg

small_465209_10150790739243493_1684795733_o_o.jpg

thumbnail_465209_10150790739243493_1684795733_o_o.jpg

465209_10150790739243493_1684795733_o_o.jpg

large_3.Californio.plate_o.jpg

medium_3.Californio.plate_o.jpg

small_3.Californio.plate_o.jpg

thumbnail_3.Californio.plate_o.jpg

3.Californio.plate_o.jpg

large_412935_10150790739958493_1222785445_o_o.jpg

medium_412935_10150790739958493_1222785445_o_o.jpg

small_412935_10150790739958493_1222785445_o_o.jpg

thumbnail_412935_10150790739958493_1222785445_o_o.jpg

412935_10150790739958493_1222785445_o_o.jpg

large_474774_10150790737333493_587008559_o_o.jpg

medium_474774_10150790737333493_587008559_o_o.jpg

small_474774_10150790737333493_587008559_o_o.jpg

thumbnail_474774_10150790737333493_587008559_o_o.jpg

474774_10150790737333493_587008559_o_o.jpg

large_4.Filmpanel.plate_o.jpg

medium_4.Filmpanel.plate_o.jpg

small_4.Filmpanel.plate_o.jpg

thumbnail_4.Filmpanel.plate_o.jpg

4.Filmpanel.plate_o.jpg

large_Mosaika5_o.jpg

medium_Mosaika5_o.jpg

small_Mosaika5_o.jpg

thumbnail_Mosaika5_o.jpg

Mosaika5_o.jpg

large_8.Triptych.plate_o.jpg

medium_8.Triptych.plate_o.jpg

small_8.Triptych.plate_o.jpg

thumbnail_8.Triptych.plate_o.jpg

8.Triptych.plate_o.jpg

large_457889_10150790735348493_1977101830_o_o.jpg

medium_457889_10150790735348493_1977101830_o_o.jpg

small_457889_10150790735348493_1977101830_o_o.jpg

thumbnail_457889_10150790735348493_1977101830_o_o.jpg

457889_10150790735348493_1977101830_o_o.jpg

large_7.Panorama.plate_o.jpg

medium_7.Panorama.plate_o.jpg

small_7.Panorama.plate_o.jpg

thumbnail_7.Panorama.plate_o.jpg

7.Panorama.plate_o.jpg

large_6.Baldwindam.plate_o.jpg

medium_6.Baldwindam.plate_o.jpg

small_6.Baldwindam.plate_o.jpg

thumbnail_6.Baldwindam.plate_o.jpg

6.Baldwindam.plate_o.jpg

large_5.Olympic.plate_o.jpg

medium_5.Olympic.plate_o.jpg

small_5.Olympic.plate_o.jpg

thumbnail_5.Olympic.plate_o.jpg

5.Olympic.plate_o.jpg

Engraved in Memory, Expo Line La Cienega Station

Design Media Arts

PeopleDaniel Gonzalez

Work Archive