The theme of my collage is childhood. Though I came to America when I was 11 years old, I still have fresh memories of my childhood in China. What I remember the most was the old culture of China that helped to shape the person I am today, especially my elementary school. Separated from my parents, I lived in the city alone for the four years before I came to America.

In my collage, I chose to include the old Chinese reading textbook used for elementary school students. Though the textbooks today have become more standardized, the textbooks I used were artistic and more descriptive of the learning topics. The old textbooks also served as communist propaganda because most of the topics in them were memoirs of soldiers who sacrificed their life during the Chinese revolution. The old textbooks also included a fabricated role model “Lei Fun” who was used to promote philanthropy. I also had a multi-functional pencil box that had a pencil sharpener, erase, mini calculator, and ruler. I remembered that I purchased one of those on the collage for one yuan.

Pledging to be loyal to the party and reciting the little handbook, I was among many of my classmates who were granted the right to wear the red neck scarf. The red scarf symbolized the first time I was labeled as a communist. I hated the red neck scarf because I would always lose it. I bought a hundred of them over the course of three years in elementary school. We also had a bureaucracy in school, where everyone was in the same class until graduation. For every month, a group of ten students were required to present a theme on the blackboard, placed in the back of the classroom. I was assigned to write all the Chinese characters on the blackboard, though later on I was criticized for my rusty penmanship. Though I was timid in class, I would be punished by my teachers and told to write a sentence 100 times after school.

In leisure time, I would play marbles with my classmates. While the students today are more occupied with their electronic devices, my classmates and I never were more involved in physical activities such as badminton. The cotton candy in the collage was worth approximately 5o fen  It was inexpensive and the seller never needed extra customers because it was popular around school.

All these memories from elementary school in China are permanent reminders to me that I lived a life which many people today in America have never experienced.

Vincent's collage

When I envisioned the two words “Cultural Encounters,” what came to mind was the metaphor often used to describe America – the melting pot of all cultures. What better way to represent a country than its flag? I took a more direct method in going about replicating this melting pot; I wove together the American flag using tidbits of other cultures throughout the world, resulting in a flag, while unique in its design, is very much the flag that I grew up to love, that is, the United States of America.

Originally, I was going to attempt the flag replication using different ethnic foods, but I abandoned that idea because I thought basing the spirit of America solely on food would not have been the best representation. Instead, I opted to use a variety of different cultural components: national flags, common everyday clothing, and cultural foods, anything that identified with a specific culture. In addition, I wanted to throw in some element of the Olympics as a reference to the global unity of cultures, hence the Olympics logo in the bottom right. There is also a poem written by Karen Lynn Vidra which I decided to throw in the mix because the last line particularly jumped out at me: “the world, as one, will win.”

I asked for some feedback from my peers, and none seemed to recognize my collage as the American flag. I associate this to the fact that my “stripes” are not all horizontal. The seven vertical “stripes” was an idea I ultimately used because having them go horizontally would’ve made them appear very much distorted. Furthermore, the large space in the bottom right is the final thirteenth “stripe,” an idea that none of my peers recognized.

I tried to stay true to America’s red, white and blue, in that I used components that were color specific to the original flag – red for red, white for white, blue for blue. While the collage might first appear as a rainbow-turned flag, each piece of culture will eventually show off its distinctions. However, it is those exact distinctions that help draw us together. It’s like making soup, we have all these different ingredients that contribute to an overall taste, and if we miss one ingredient, we don’t have the same soup; if we miss one culture, we don’t have the same America.

{slight technical difficulty. just turn your computers 90 degrees}

I like to make pretty things
Involving sharp teeth and butterfly wings
There is a scene of a lovely girl
Blowing balloons around the world
From the picture fantasy sings

I titled my collage “The Cage” because I feel that there are two different parts to me. This duality is demonstrated by my mixed use of media and dimensions. I choose first off to put a set of red lips the same proportions as mine. I feel that they are literally the feature that stands out the most in mean and I betray most of my emotions by twisting and scrunching them up by turns. I choose a woodcarving I made to symbolize my ability to create something beautiful out of a simple block of wood using my hands and a chisel. It serves as a pedestal of sorts for my lips as my creativity holds up my sensitivity. 

I choose to include a packet of “sazon goya”, chamomile tea and a basil leaf as a tribute to my Hispanic heritage and personality, both spicy and calm. I have a blue triangle on the bottom to represent the stability that I hope to attain. I have a band of iron to symbolize my strength and my straight back. This hold up the “Calm” Tea in a paradox of sorts. The virgin Mary is included because I am in the process of trying to connect and relate to religion. A print of a set of eyes from Sweeney Todd is right above my lips because so much emotion can be revealed from the eyes. They are the portal to the soul. I included a plastic surgical glove to thrust its fingers out from the cage bars symbolizing my desire to attain some measure of freedom. The bars aren’t very strong in fact they are made of a very luxurious chenille and lace. They hold back but hold everything together. 

Finally the background is a combination of only three colors, platho blue, alazarin crimson and goldenrod acrylic paint. It is my reference to my most recent, and I believe final, artistic love, painting. By mixing these three closely primary colors and components so many permutations of color and shape were made. This is my maturity and my mutability.

Sorry, but the burned version wasn't registering in the scanner

A supposedly wise man had once said, “What makes any endeavor worthy of pursuit is not that it will uphold our original prejudices but that it will enlighten us.” I often limited that ideology to science, which I considered to be the only field where such drastically different results could be yielded.  After having done this project, however, I believe that one’s worldly prejudices can be just as easily changed with genuinely insightful thinking.
When I first started working on this collage project, I intended to address the social gaps that have forever plagued our economy and are now becoming more and more pronounced.  The phenomenon is rather simple:  whenever the economy does extremely poorly, the poor and semi-rich are driven to the ground while the elite, or the richer of the rich, are driven further into the skies.  As I was working on somehow adapting my collage to represent this theme, I came across a picture of a businessman looking absolutely horrified.  In his eyes, I saw the same insecurity for the future that people often associate with poverty.  It is no surprise that such expressions are now commonplace, seeing as how the bloody marauding and pillaging that now occurs at Wall Street leaves no one unscathed.  What was surprising was that I started to see further similarities.  When I saw an athlete in celebration, there were people next to him celebrating just as much.  When I saw poor people trying to recollect pieces of their lives in the midst of destruction, they had that same fear and anger on their faces that the businessman did.  When I saw a model, I realized that she was nothing were it not for the people who would try to emulate her look.  When I saw a cartoon mocking the loss of a sports team, I realized that such losses could mean an end to their career, which leaves them worth just as much as those people struggling to survive.  While the relationship may change from time to time, what’s certain is that neither side’s concerns are less real or terrifying than the others.
To complement this symbolic kinship, I eliminated all color from the picture and kept one standard color scheme throughout the collage.  I then created a schism using that very color scheme so as to make obvious just how self inflicted these differences are.  I also kept the copy slightly off-center, so that the white background can keep the white to black levels fairly even.  Finally, to give this a timeless feel, I used fire to burn the edges of the paper and dipped it in tea to give it an old feel.
What’s most depressing is that, despite such similarity, neither side particularly likes the other:  the rich see the poor as what they don’t want to be and the poor see the rich as what they should be.  If we were only content with our place in the world, there would be no reform, but no contempt either.

There is a circle of American pictures and items placed around the center of my heart. Around the circle of American items, I have another circle of Chinese items. I purposely positioned my collage this way because I feel that I am closer to American culture than to Chinese culture. The shape of my entire collage is of a circle because of the shape of the symbolic ying-yang to represent peace and the unity of both cultures incorporated into my identity.

Although I was born here, the presence and habits of my family remind me of my roots – of where I come from. My family is very traditional and possesses qualities of the stereotypical Asian family. Every weekend, my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents gather and wait in crowded and bustling dim sum restaurants to hopefully grab a table big enough to seat everyone, hence the pictures of dim sum, tea, food, and chopsticks. Meanwhile, every Sunday, my family and I make it a habit to eat an American dinner like pizza. Clothes also differ between the cultures. Although as a child I have been forced to wear the traditional bright red clothing, I have only agreed to it once. However, I do admire the beautifully detailed dresses and elaborate ch’ang-p’ao’s that women wore in ancient China. We celebrate holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving, holidays that my parents have come to adopt, and Chinese New Year, a holiday I always look forward to.

Despite the differences in holidays, clothes, food, and language, I still embrace both American and Chinese values as en entity. Like the ying-yang, both cultures mesh into one to create my identity and overcome my very own cultural encounter.

When I first sat down to put my collage together, I wanted to choose images that represent the way people see me.  Swimming would have been predominant, but beyond that I couldn’t think of anything else to put on it.  After deliberating for a long time, I decided to narrow the focus of my collage to represent things in which I believe.  I figured people see me all the time, but my beliefs are very rarely seen.

The bright orange text that reads, “Change is inevitable.” undoubtedly attracts the viewers attention first.  The strength of the text and its contrast from the background symbolizes very well how strongly I believe in change.  Simply being thrust into a new environment like college, with new people, will cause change in a person.  Even if you can’t feel or see it, the way people act changes you.  The things people say, can change you in the smallest ways.  Even though the Good/Evil meter points to evil, I believe that the person to which it refers can change and make the meter read “Good.”

The next objects that succeed in grabbing the viewer’s attention are probably the numbers 1, 2, 3.  They are deliberately not arranged in a triangle to represent the lack of stability that we face in life.  Everything is uncertain.  Nothing lasts forever.  The numbers 1, 2, and 3 represent the rules by which I live my life: 1. When you make a promise, keep it.  2. Anything at all for the one you love.  3. Don’t ever stop.  These rules, however, are not set in stone and are subject to change.  At any moment, something can happen to change me and I can decide that promises are not important.

The Chinese character is my last name, Wong.  Literally translated, it is the color yellow.  In ancient China, yellow was the imperial color – only the emperor could wear that color.  Now, it’s one of the most common Chinese surnames in the world.  Even the world changes, eventually.

Finally, I placed a series of buildings merging with the top of the forest to represent humanity’s shift from rural villages to urban centers.  The mechanical spider represents humanity’s progress towards a more tech-oriented society.  In the future, I believe that society will be extremely dependent on technology.  Things that we can’t even imagine right now will be possible.  The world will not be the same.  People will not be the same.  Change is inevitable.

I chose his breakthrough moment that came during the Wimbledon tournament of 2001. Roger played Wimbledon legend Pete Sampras and won a 5-set thriller. Second, I chose his triumph at the 2007 Wimbledon tournament. He beat his long-time rival Rafael Nadal to capture his 5^th straight Wimbledon crown to equal the record established by Bjorn Borg. The third moment that I chose was his devastating loss to Novak Djokovic at the 2008 Australian Open. He was suffering from mononucleosis at the time and this put a dent in his aura of invincibility. The final moment that I chose was Roger’s victory at the 2008 U.S. Open. This win was a revival of his career because after a very tough 2008 he was able to capture the last Grand Slam tournament of the year. This victory also put him 1 behind Pete Sampras’ record of 14 Grand Slam tournament victories.

I felt that this collage shows the ups and downs that any champion encounters. It is interesting to see the defining moments of a career and how they affect each other. Roger is arguably the best tennis player to ever pick up a racket and he will go down in history as an all-time great. It is amazing to see all that he has done in his career as well as seeing the ups and downs that every champion has.

This collage really represents me. It contains things that symbolizes my ideals and things that I feel are important. Some of the things that I decided to include were family, food and fashion. Although I do not consider my family to be “stereotypical” or “traditional” we do hold traditional values in very high regard. In addition to this we are very tight knit and we would sacrifice anything for family. Next is food. Food is something that links all of us. It is an important part of my family and I feel that the best way to connect to another culture is through their food. Other things that were important for me to include were a representation of travel, my interest in equestrian sports, and New York. Lastly I would like to mention the words that I included on my collage. “Bold” is meant to represent me. I like to think that I make bold decisions and I try to steer away from being a conformist. I like to be bold with my assertions and with my choices. “Empowered” represents many things for me. First, Baruch is empowering me to a better future. Next, it also represents my family’s attitude towards me. They never pressure me to do anything or be anything that I don’t want to be. I know many stereotypes about Asian parents pressuring their children to be doctors and lawyers, but I never received such pressure which I am grateful for. I think that this has empowered me to make my own decisions. Lastly, “Lady” is a word that represents manners and rules that I think all people, not just ladies, should follow. To be courteous to others. To be respectful of other people’s thoughts and opinions. To be humble and to realize that not everyone will think that you are the most amazing person to grace the earth (no matter what your mother tells you). FInally, always be yourself no matter what people think of you; it is impossible to please everyone and some people are just born miserable so don’t take it personal if they don’t like you.

           My collage, titled “The Division of Values,” represents the disparity of values and morals in the eastern and western world. To best illustrate this contrast of ideals, I focused on using images from recent events, including the economic turmoil in the United States, and images from the catastrophe in Mumbai, and workers in India, China, and third world nations. All of my images were taken from two magazines that I subscribe to Cosmopolitan, and BusinessWeek.

           I knew from the start that I wanted to divide my collage in half to illustrate the separation of values, representing the eastern and western world. I chose to attach my images to a green piece of poster board. While green is the most restful color for the human eye, and symbolizes growth, harmony, stability, and endurance, it is also associated with greed, corruption, and envy. I thought this parallel of interpretation fit well with my theme, since green represents infidelity in China, and green which if often associated with greed in the United States, is a form of infidelity.

           Dividing the collage are two words: “risk” and “frugality.” I think that it is interesting how the eastern world has often been criticized for their frugal and “cheap” nature, and how they had always been weary of taking massive and harmful risks. Instead they focused on savings and stability, two values that the western world had mocked, but now is starting to practice. While these two values have divided the east and the west, they simultaneously bridge them together as the western world begins to carry out and observe these values.

           On the bottom left, I included an image of soccer players standing behind each other, with the quote “you have to be a team” written on one of their legs. Below, there are images of Chinese men working together to assemble railroad tracks, part of China’s ongoing broad railway extension project. Next to that image, there is a group of older men eating and sharing their rations together. In the eastern world, there has always been a tremendous emphasis on hard work, teamwork, and personal sacrifice for the benefit of the group. On the top left, I have inserted an image of an Indian man attempting to help a young injured child breath after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Without any supplies and resources, he has placed a tiny mask on the child’s face. On the far left, there is an image of a young boy drinking water from a puddle, and a brutally injured man being carried by his fellow friends. Again, I wanted to illustrate how people of these cultures make the most of what little they have and how they emphasize brotherhood. Lastly, I included an image of a woman holding stacks of money, to contrast the right side of the collage with the image of a malicious wolf with money atop his nose. The woman is actually holding her entire life savings, with the hope of using that money to start her own store. As illuminated in the word “Gone” above her, many of these people have been stripped of all their materialistic possessions, but still maintain a determined and strong willpower.

           On the right side of my collage, I included images that depict the selfishness and desire for personal satisfaction that has been dominant on in the United States. I included the image of the wolf to symbolize the money-hungry and unsatisfied nature of the western world. Furthermore, we seem to live in this bubble, as we are more concentrated on materialistic things, such as the decline in gifts this holiday season, rather than focusing on the harsh conditions people across the world must endure. This is seen in the skull on the left side of the collage made up of pills and tablets, signifying how many malnourished people must rely on vitamins to barely survive. In addition, I have included phrases that personal and individual “wants.” In most of the other images, the figures in them are falling into this abyss, or trying to flee from and avoid reality, by gaining outsmarting others, gaining their share, and running away from problems. As a result, I included a “blame-o-meter,” which perhaps best summarizes the corrupted western values. The fact that this image merely exists, exemplifies how there is a blame game, where no one takes responsibility. Instead there is an ignorant focus on individual and personal satisfaction.

           While these two parts of the world contain divided views on values, recent global events have caused people to merge and unite. Although risk, frugality, teamwork, and sacrifice have often been ignored, it is clear that the western world has realized the significance of these virtues and has started to adapt them.