Photographer, UCLA professor to feature immersive exhibition in Los Angeles

This post was updated March 11 at 11:43 a.m.

Photographer Mona Kuhn said her art has always existed on untouchable white walls. This September, she wants guests to take a physical step inside of it.

Her 5,000-square-foot exhibition, titled “Mona Kuhn: Experimental,” debuted in October at The Fruit gallery in North Carolina. Kuhn, an adjunct photography professor at UCLA, will attend an artist talk at The Polygon Gallery in Vancouver in April before bringing her installation to an unknown location in Los Angeles in September. Kuhn said her immersive installation surrounds guests with sounds, images and projections that allow them to interact with her artwork, rather than simply observing it passively. Her photography, featured in the installation, utilizes a desert landscape and light to symbolically portray human self-discovery in a natural environment, she said.

“I think what I would like (visitors) to get out of this (installation) is a sense of empowering themselves to get to know themselves,” Kuhn said.

“Mona Kuhn: Experimental” is an extension of Kuhn’s photographic series titled “She Disappeared into Complete Silence.” The series, shot just outside of Joshua Tree National Park, features a nude female subject encased by a modern glass structure. In her photos, Kuhn said she was able to capture reflections of the desert on the outer surface of the glass while simultaneously photographing the subject standing behind it. The glass structure surrounding her subject represents how individuals grapple with their own mental limitations within intimate, private spaces, she said.

Rodrigo Valenzuela, an assistant photography professor at UCLA, said Kuhn’s experimentation with reflections and light either reveals the interior of a subject or enshrouds them in shadow. By controlling the effects of light, Kuhn gives the appearance that her subjects are disappearing into the landscape, Valenzuela said.

“You are always looking at two things,” Valenzuela said. “(Kuhn) forces you to see something that is not what you thought was the protagonist of the image.”

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After completing the series, Kuhn transformed her photography into a traveling gallery and then into an experimental publication. Finally, she developed the month-long multimedia installation at The Fruit gallery. The mixed media installation features two primary rooms in which visitors are encouraged to interact with the artwork. Upon entering, guests are confronted with a 12-foot image of a vast, desert sky printed on triangular vinyl. Kuhn said the wide base of the triangle grounds the image here on Earth while the uppermost peak points to the unknown.

After stepping through a slit in the vinyl, guests are surrounded by their own distorted reflections in walls of rumpled mylar, a reflective polyester film. While observers are often reluctant to touch pieces of art, Kuhn said she encourages them to squeeze their bodies through hanging strips of mylar in order to enter the second space. By moving past their own reflections, Kuhn said guests are able to metaphorically surpass the physical self and move into deeper contemplations of the mind.

“It was really important for me to have this little bit of pushing (visitors) into this out-of-body experience,” Kuhn said.

Kuhn said she intentionally deviates from traditional gallery designs, which often feature untouchable artwork hung on white walls. Instead, in the second room, she presents her photos as monochromatic vinyls backlit by video projections of the same colors. The images hang unframed in the middle of the room so visitors can move behind them while illuminated by the same monochromatic projections. Kuhn said the room design alludes to a uniformity that exists in the unconsciousness of every individual beneath their physical personas.

“We’re all pretty much the same when it comes to a certain unifying unconscious. There’s no shape – there’s no form.” Kuhn said. “It’s just a certain energy.”

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Accompanying the projected elements and the large-scale photography, Kuhn and composer Boris Salchow also designed sounds that would permeate the audience’s perception of their environment. Sounds of harsh winds surround visitors within the first room as they confront their own dismembered reflections, Salchow said. As guests move into the second space, they are then greeted by the sound of recorded string instruments.

In addition to the tranquility of the strings, Salchow’s augmented recordings of a fly attempting to escape a drinking glass infuse the room with a tone of suspense, Kuhn said. Salchow said wind often alludes to change, and Kuhn recognized an element of the human drive for survival in the fly’s struggle. The fragility of the fly’s wings beating against the glass reiterates the struggle of her photographed subject, Kuhn said. Both Salchow and Kuhn, however, felt that visitors should determine for themselves the meaning behind the sounds and images.

In addition to experimenting with photography and multimedia installations, Kuhn teaches UCLA students how to compile their own photographic collections into portfolios. Her focus with her UCLA students, much like her focus within her artwork, is to pull the deeper messages out from behind the photographs, she said.

 

“I’m not really interested in photography,” Kuhn said. “I’m interested in what it is that you have to express that happens to be with the medium of photography.”

Alumna hits home with three softball companies, mentors female athletes

Jen Schroeder flies about 250,000 miles every year to train young female athletes.

Since graduating in 2009, the UCLA alumna and former NCAA softball player founded three companies across the United States. Jen Schro Incorporated, the Softball Performance Workshop and The Packaged Deal all work to positively develop young female students’ skills in softball and in life. Schroeder said she strives to empower young female athletes as a softball instructor, teaching them leadership and responsibility through sports.

“I think coaching isn’t necessarily about teaching somebody how to field a ground ball or throw a runner out. I think coaching somebody is about being their mentor,” Schroeder said. “I always say that I am a life coach disguised as a softball coach.”

Schroeder has been a metaphorical coach to three younger sisters from an early age, demonstrating hard work and leadership to them, she said. In her final year on campus, Schroeder started giving 30-minute softball lessons to two students at a corner space in Huntington Beach. But when word spread of her coaching, two students grew to 100 within the span of two months, leading her to start her companies, she said. The first, Jen Schro Incorporated, provides lessons in catching, organizes speaking events and plans to launch a line of catcher’s gear in August. Meanwhile the Softball Performance Workshop is an Anaheim facility that trains hundreds of softball students each week, Schroeder said.

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One high school student, Kinzie Hansen, said Schroeder believed in her from the first time she walked into the Softball Performance Workshop. During a softball lesson, Hansen said they had to list out all their goals and what it would take to accomplish each one. Schroeder later met with Hansen in her office to formulate a plan on how to achieve her goals and encouraged her to make bigger ones.

“(Schroeder) always helps me realize the competence that I have within myself so it totally changed my perspective on life – as in, just work hard and give it all you have every single day,” Hansen said. “No matter what it is give 100 percent on the field, but give 100 percent in life in general.”

During group softball training, Schroder also has her staffers prepare the students to go into the work force. For example, even if a student’s parents are funding the lesson, she must schedule her own lesson and carry out the financial transaction herself when she checks out at the front desk. Schroeder said this teaches students how to be more responsible and transition into adulthood.

“We don’t just teach them how to throw a ball – we teach them how to look someone in the eyes, how to shake somebody’s hand. We teach them life skills,” Schroeder said. “Softball is merely the conduit that allows us to impact humans’ lives.”

Schroeder’s third company – The Packaged Deal – is a softball clinic that travels throughout the United States. Schroeder and her three co-founders conceived various intensive sessions that work on improving attendees’ performance in each position on the field, as well as their mindset and leadership skills.

Morgan Stuart, a co-founder of The Packaged Deal, said the name comes from their goal to combine life skills training with specific instruction for each position. The Packaged Deal website features “I am” phrases, followed by words such as “ready,” “powerful” and “creating a legacy.” Stuart said the founders strive to make the girls believe these statements about themselves through mastery of softball skills, resilience, leadership and communication.

“It’s not just skills and drills, it’s empowerment, it’s building confidence,” Stuart said. “It’s providing tools to build the whole player and not just one that’s a certain mechanic.”

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Every summer, Schroeder also holds a catching retreat, which she staffs with 20 current collegiate softball players. Schroeder said it shows young athletes that the staff were also once little girls at a The Packaged Deal clinic, which helps the students believe they can also one day become collegiate athletes.

“I think girls getting to see a female leading, a female speaking, a female negotiating deals with Nike and ESPN … helps the younger generation know that they too can do that and be that,” Schroeder said.

Schroeder said it is important to her to hire only female coaches for The Packaged Deal so the girls can see an example of who they can strive to be when they grow up. Softball has primarily been coached by males, none of whom have actually played NCAA softball, she said. Schroeder said her own first female coach, Sue Enquist at UCLA, was her role model during her collegiate softball career.

Enquist said The Packaged Deal’s message of being anything you set your mind to allows femininity and athleticism to intertwine. Because female athletes are stereotyped as being less feminine, Enquist said The Packaged Deal works to change this culture by encouraging feminine and athletic qualities to coexist. As a result, the Packaged Deal tells female athletes that their natural personality, paired with a strong work ethic and attitude, is more than enough.

Schroeder said her mission to empower her students will always be the motivation in her work. She said her favorite part of coaching remains the moment when her students achieve a goal they previously thought they were incapable of accomplishing.

“Ultimately our core values really remain the same so if we can hone those in at a young age, then we’re setting a girl up for a lot of success when she’s older,” Schroeder said.

The Rundown: March 6

Football
Sam Connon, assistant Sports editor

Two Bruins got one step closer to the NFL last weekend.

Tight end Caleb Wilson and offensive tackle Andre James competed in the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. James did drills Friday and Wilson was on display Saturday.

Wilson ran a 4.56 40-yard dash, which ranked second among tight ends, behind only Iowa’s Noah Fant. Wilson was the “example” player for each of the drills, with NFL coaches turning to him to demonstrate each stage of the gauntlet.

Wilson – who led NCAA tight ends in yards and receptions last season – measured in at 6-feet-4.25 inches, but his 29-inch vertical leap ranked 17th among the 18 tight ends at the combine.

James measured at the same height as his teammate, but weighed in 59 pounds heavier at 299 – ranking 55th of 57 offensive lineman in Indianapolis. The left tackle also recorded the same vertical leap as Wilson, but that mark was good enough to tie James for 14th out of the 39 offensive lineman who did the drill.

Wilson is projected to go somewhere in the first three rounds, while James is expected to go in the back half.

Women’s basketball
Joy Hong, assistant Sports editor

A trio of Bruins earned all-conference honors this week.

The Pac-12 announced its 2018-2019 All-Conference Teams on Tuesday morning after No. 25 UCLA women’s basketball (19-11,12-6 Pac-12), along with the rest of the conference, wrapped up conference play last weekend.

Sophomore forward Michaela Onyenwere received a spot on the 15-member all-conference team for the first time. Onyenwere – who averaged 18.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game during the regular season – was part of the all-freshman team last season.

Onyenwere averaged 20.4 points per game during Pac-12 play and has logged 11 double-doubles on the season.

Senior guard Kennedy Burke earned all-defensive team honors in addition to honorable mention for the all-conference team. Burke averaged 14.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game during the regular season and logged double figures in 16 of the 18 Pac-12 contests.

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(Daanish Bhatti/Daily Bruin)

Burke currently sits on UCLA’s all-time scoring list at 18th and ranks sixth in the conference in field goal percentage.

Redshirt freshman guard Lindsey Corsaro earned a spot on the all-freshman team after sitting out the majority of her first two seasons at UCLA. Corsaro averaged 7.2 points and 4.4 rebounds during the regular season as a starter and registered double-figure performances in five games.

UCLA will travel to Las Vegas for the Pac-12 tournament and will face the winner of Arizona State and Colorado on Friday morning.

Men’s volleyball
Gabriel McCarthy, assistant Sports editor

The Bruins had two players receive national recognition this week.

No. 5 UCLA men’s volleyball junior outside hitter Austin Matautia and freshman outside hitter/libero Cole Pender both received weekly awards. Matautia was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Offensive Player of the Week and Pender was named in the Off the Block national position players of the week.

Matautia posted a career-high 22 kills and 11 digs in the five-set match against No. 6 Pepperdine, including nine and six kills in the third and fifth sets, respectively. The Bruins were behind 2-0 in sets before coming back and clinching the match in the fifth set.

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(Alice Naland/Daily Bruin)

Matautia has logged 34 total kills across his past two appearances for the Bruins and hit for .378, including a .486 hitting percentage against Pepperdine. The junior is now third in total kills this season with 150, behind redshirt junior Brandon Rattray and junior middle blocker Daenan Gyimah.

Pender led UCLA with a career-high 12 digs against the Waves, playing in all five sets for the Bruins and recording one assist. Pender’s previous season high for digs was nine against Lindenwood and Stanford.

UCLA will face Ohio State and Penn State this weekend at the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge hosted by USC.

Football grows in confidence going into second year under Chip Kelly

The Bruins are back on the gridiron.

UCLA football held its first of 14 spring practice sessions Tuesday morning, and sophomore cornerback Darnay Holmes said the team is fired up to be back on the field following a long offseason.

“I would say it was the toughest offseason because we toned it up a notch,” Holmes said. “We (weren’t) too happy about our record last year, so this year, every time we hit that field we have that in the back of our minds. So we just make sure we ain’t cheating ourselves and not cheating our team.”

The Bruins finished 3-9 despite an 0-5 start to coach Chip Kelly’s first season in Westwood, but the year was one defined by missed opportunities and costly mistakes.

While UCLA spent the entirety of the season getting used to Kelly’s up-tempo system, the team’s inability to grasp the full playbook came back to bite it on Saturdays when miscommunication and bad penalties wreaked havoc.

The Bruins, however, now have a full year of experience under Kelly, and junior center Boss Tagaloa said he thinks the coach has a better understanding of what he envisions for the roster heading into his second season.

“Last year at this time, it was just (Kelly’s) first spring,” Tagaloa said. “He didn’t know what to expect from a lot of players. Having a whole year now with us, I think he’s pretty familiar with what our strong suit is, and what guys he wants to work with.”

Tagaloa, like Kelly, is also entering his second season at a new position.

The junior transitioned from the defensive line to the center spot last spring upon Kelly’s arrival. Tagaloa said while he knew the move would be tough on him, he has no regrets looking back on his decision – especially after redshirt junior running back Joshua Kelley ran for 1,216 yards in nine games with him under center.

“I knew it was going to be different, I knew it was going to be a challenge,” Tagaloa said. “It felt like it was the right move talking to my parents and so far I think it’s worked out pretty well.”

Tagaloa also said he is feeling more confident going into his second year as the team’s starting center, but added he still thinks there is plenty of room for improvement in his game.

“I don’t want to say comfortable, but I just feel like I know a lot more having a whole year under my belt,” Tagaloa said. “Still learning every day, but came out today knowing my place pretty well so I just got to keep building on that, stay in the film room, and keep doing what I do.”

UCLA has another six weeks of spring practice before the team’s annual intrasquad game that marks the end of spring camp. The game is scheduled for 11 a.m. April 20 at Drake Stadium.

Men’s golf places second-to-last in Vegas in worst result of season so far

The Bruins folded in Vegas.

UCLA men’s golf tied for 13th out of 15 teams, finishing with a 23-over 887 at the Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas. The Bruins finished with their worst placement of the season just one week after earning third place, their best team finish, at the Southwestern Invitational in Westlake Village, California.

“This is the toughest golf course we’ve played up to this point this year,” said coach Derek Freeman. “It’s a test on every aspect of your game, from driving to approaching, chipping (and) putting.”

Senior Cole Madey paced the team, shooting a 4-over 220 to tie for 37th. Madey was the lone Bruin to score even par or better in two rounds.

“The course is very firm – it’s much more firm than other courses we’ve played at this year,” Madey said. “We had a few guys, including myself, who weren’t hitting it the way we wanted to this week. On a course that firm and difficult, it’s going to expose that more so than any other place.”

Junior Hidetoshi Yoshihara and sophomore Devon Bling were the other UCLA golfers who cracked the top 50. Yoshihara improved his score by one stroke each round, tying 48th place with a 6-over 222. Bling finished one stroke behind, tying for 50th.

“There’s some aspects I definitely need to work on, especially decision-making on the golf course and course management,” Yoshihara said. “I just put myself in a position where I couldn’t score (this week).”

UCLA shot 17-over in the first round, the worst team score of the day by four strokes. No Bruin broke par Sunday.

“(The course) tests you on how patient, smart and methodical you are,” Freeman said. “We just weren’t ready for it the first day. Because of that, it put us so far behind that we couldn’t play catch-up. We have to do a better job of understanding what is a good shot and what is a bad shot.”

UCLA rebounded with a 1-over 289 in the second round passing Florida and Central Florida, moving up to 13th place Monday.

The Bruins shot 5-over 887 in the final round Tuesday, tying for the third-worst score of the day, to finish tied for second-to-last with the Florida Gators.

“I felt like we had some nice momentum heading into (the tournament),” Freeman said. “It doesn’t set us back, but it teaches us how we need to approach the next three to four weeks of preparation.”

UCLA will resume play at the SeattleU Redhawk Invitational at University Place, Washington, from April 1 to April 2.

Still undefeated, beach volleyball set to take on Pepperdine in Malibu

The Bruins handed the Waves their only loss of the season last week in Hawaii – but they will face them again Wednesday.

No. 1 UCLA beach volleyball (9-0) will face No. 3 Pepperdine (6-1) for the second time this season. This time, the match will take place on the Waves’ home court in Malibu – where Pepperdine is 3-0 this year.

The matchup will mark the Bruins’ fifth match against a top-five team just three weeks into the season.

“Fortunately, we feel very confident in our style of play, which emphasizes speed,” said coach Stein Metzger. “We’re the shortest of the top five teams, but we’re the fastest.”

The Bruins have dropped just three sets all season – all of which have been to top-five teams.

But freshman Lindsey Sparks said there is an advantage in playing Pepperdine for a second time.

“After getting to watch (the first match), I have a different perspective on the Pepperdine team so I’m excited to move around their defense,” Sparks said. “They play a different defense than us and it’s exciting to go into the match knowing what type of defense they play.”

Junior Savvy Simo and sophomore Mac May on court four were the only UCLA pair to fall to Pepperdine in the first matchup, but seniors Nicole and Megan McNamara dropped their first set to the Waves on court one.

The other three Bruin duos won in straight sets.

Senior Zana Muno and freshman Abby Van Winkle defeated the Waves’ Gigi Hernandez and Jenna Tunnell 21-13, 21-11 on court three to clinch the dual for UCLA.

Muno said she is confident in their partnership – which now boasts an 8-0 record – as long as they focus on their passing.

“If we can just control our side and not get too worried about doing too much – just doing the pass set and the simple things – then we are going to be pretty unstoppable,” Muno said. “It’s just continuing to work on the first two contacts of every play.”

The Bruins have had a two-day turnaround since returning from Tucson, Arizona, where they ran a perfect 3-0 record – but UCLA is just 5-6 against Pepperdine since their first meeting in 2013.

Muno said competing against her teammates in practice is the best preparation for any team.

“I think it’s really awesome that we can compete against each other every day in practice because we’re one of the best teams in the country,” Muno said. “In practice we’re playing against the hardest competition that we face all year.”

The Bruins will have the opportunity to extend their undefeated streak Wednesday at 12 p.m.

Men’s basketball goes into final week of regular season with possible bye in sight

With a good week, UCLA men’s basketball could climb as high as the No. 3 seed for next week’s Pac-12 tournament.

With a bad week, the Bruins are looking at the dreaded four-games-in-four-nights draw starting March 13 in Las Vegas.

But to obtain the path of least resistance toward the conference’s automatic NCAA tournament bid, UCLA (16-13, 9-7 Pac-12) will have to cover more than just the point spreads this week against Utah and Colorado – the Bruins will also have to defend the 3-point line.

“If you go back to day one, we’ve struggled defending the arc, we’ve given up way too many 3sday,” said interim coach Murry Bartow. “We’re playing a lot of zone and our guards have to cover certain parts of the zone and our wings have to cover certain parts of the zone.”

Although the Bruins are outshooting their opponents 35.2 percent to 34.4 percent on 3-pointers, the shot volume is tilted against UCLA by 155 attempts.

The Bruins’ opposition has taken at least 30 shots from behind the arc nine times this season, while Bartow’s team has only surpassed that mark once this season – in Thursday’s overtime win against USC.

Therefore, UCLA has made 48 fewer 3-pointers than its opponents this season, giving up an average margin of 4.97 points per game from beyond the arc.

Zone defenses have a reputation of allowing 3-pointers from offenses that are stuck on the perimeter, but in the Bruins’ case, sophomore guard Jaylen Hands said penetration into their zone leads to open shots for the opposing offenses.

“When the man in the zone gets the ball in the middle, you got to read where he’s going better,” Hands said. “You’ve got to get (to the perimeter) in time. If they’re shooting, you want to get up and contest. If they drive, you want to be on your feet and cut off their driving lanes.”

None of the Bruins’ strategies worked very well the last time against the Buffaloes and the Utes.

Colorado guard Shane Gatling made seven of his nine 3-point attempts for a season-high 28 points, and Utah guard Parker Van Dyke sank five of his 10 shots from long-range – including the game-winning 30-footer at the buzzer.

Another factor that Gatling and Van Dyke had in common was that both players only attempted one shot from inside the arc.

The Bruins took notice.

“We just have to be aware of the shooters, know that we’re struggling a little bit with (giving up) 3s,” Hands said. “(We have to) be more aware of them and chase them off.”

As a team, the Buffaloes are ranked No. 283 in 3-point percentage at 32.4 percent overall, but they shot 54.2 percent against the Bruins last month.

Utah is ranked No. 49 at 37.3 percent but features above-average shooters in Van Dyke at 41.9 percent and guard Sedrick Barefield at 39.5 percent.

At this point of the season, UCLA’s next strategy is just to stick to its zone defense principles.

“There are rules for every position you play and sometimes somebody may slack, sometimes somebody may not do what they’re supposed to as well as they’re supposed to,” said sophomore guard Chris Smith. “It’s just perfecting the defensive positions.”