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Activity

Make an Identity Accordion-Zine

Create a zine that resembles a series of panels revealing different facets of your identity, similar to how First Impressions (1981) prompts us to think about the many sides of Filipino American artist Carlos Villa (1936–2013).

View Gallery
10 Photos

Click through the gallery to see the Carlos Villa artworks that inspired this activity, as well as the steps for folding the accordion-zine.

1
10
Step 1 for folding the zine.
Step 2
Step 2 cont.
Step 2 continued: Make sure the "My Fingerprint Art" is the front cover of your zine.
Step 2 finished
"First Impressions," 1981, by Carlos Villa (American, 1936–2013). Bones, hair, rags, and Stuc-O-Life paint (latex with silica, quartz, sand, and fossil remains) on raw unstretched canvas. Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Museum purchase, 2020.2. Photograph © Asian Art Museum.
"First Impressions," 1981, by Carlos Villa (American, 1936–2013). Bones, hair, rags, and Stuc-O-Life paint (latex with silica, quartz, sand, and fossil remains) on raw unstretched canvas. Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Museum purchase, 2020.2. Photograph © Asian Art Museum.
"My Roots," 1970–1971, by Carlos Villa (American, 1936–2013). Acrylic and feathers on canvas. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from the Neysa McMein Purchase Award, 72.21.
"My Roots," 1970–1971, by Carlos Villa (American, 1936–2013). Acrylic and feathers on canvas. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from the Neysa McMein Purchase Award, 72.21.
"Ritual," 1970–1971, by Carlos Villa (American, 1936–2013). Mixed media on unstretched canvas. Estate of Carlos Villa. Photography © Estate of Carlos Villa. Photograph by Jay Jones
"Ritual," 1970–1971, by Carlos Villa (American, 1936–2013). Mixed media on unstretched canvas. Estate of Carlos Villa. Photography © Estate of Carlos Villa. Photograph by Jay Jones
Maturing, 1979–1980, by Carlos Villa (American, 1936–2013). Acrylic, feathers, mirror fragments, Rhoplex acrylic binder, and blood on unstretched canvas. Crocker Art Museum, gift of the artist, 1980.70. Photograph courtesy of Saint Mary’s College Museum of Art.
Maturing, 1979–1980, by Carlos Villa (American, 1936–2013). Acrylic, feathers, mirror fragments, Rhoplex acrylic binder, and blood on unstretched canvas. Crocker Art Museum, gift of the artist, 1980.70. Photograph courtesy of Saint Mary’s College Museum of Art.
"Artist’s Feet," 1979–1980, by Carlos Villa (American, 1936–2013). Paper pulp and feathers. Lent from a private collection. Photograph by Nora Roth.
"Artist’s Feet," 1979–1980, by Carlos Villa (American, 1936–2013). Paper pulp and feathers. Lent from a private collection. Photograph by Nora Roth.
Step 1 for folding the zine.
Step 1: Fold the template in half lengthwise so that the printed questions are visible on both sides.
Step 1: Fold the template in half lengthwise so that the printed questions are visible on both sides.
Step 2
Step 2: Using the lines separating each page, fold back and forth to create an "accordion," with the "My Fingerprint Art" page as the front cover.
Step 2: Using the lines separating each page, fold back and forth to create an "accordion," with the "My Fingerprint Art" page as the front cover.
Step 2 cont.
Step 2 continued.: Keep folding back and forth to create the accordion zine.
Step 2 continued.: Keep folding back and forth to create the accordion zine.
Step 2 continued: Make sure the "My Fingerprint Art" is the front cover of your zine.
Step 2 finished
You now have a zine you can flip through and fill out!
You now have a zine you can flip through and fill out!

Introduction:

Thinking about who you are and the experiences that have shaped you, use the provided template to create an Identity Accordion-Zine. Your responses to the prompts on each page can be written, drawn, or doodled!

Materials:

  1. Zine template (download PDF from sidebar), folded into an accordion. If you don’t have a printer, fold a blank piece of paper and follow the questions on the template to fill out your zine.
  2. Pen or pencil
  3. Ink pad or paints for making fingerprints 
  4. Color pens or pencils

Procedure:

  1. Fold the zine template in half lengthwise, so that the printed questions are visible on both sides.
  2. Using the lines separating each page, fold back and forth to create an “accordion,” with the “My Fingerprint Art” page as the front cover.
  3. Think about the questions on each page and then write, draw, or doodle your responses.  Feel free to add color to your pages!
  4. Villa included impressions of his face and hands in his art as a way of solidifying his physical presence and identity. Make your own impression by creating a piece of fingerprint art as the cover image for your zine.
     

Questions/Prompts:

First Impressions

What are the first impressions people might have of you? What might people assume about you? How do you feel about those assumptions?

My Roots

Where is your family from? What cultural influences have shaped your life and identity?

Worlds in Collision

When have you felt conflicts between the values of your home culture and the values of the larger environment? How have you responded to these conflicts?

Ritual

What family or cultural traditions do you cherish? How does participating in these traditions or rituals make you feel?

Maturing

What’s a moment in your life where you realized you were growing up? How did you feel in that moment? What did you learn in that moment?

Artist’s Feet

What path do you want to take in the future? What obstacles might be on this path? Who might help you along the way?

Lasting Impression:

Carlos Villa left his imprint on the world with his art and his teachings. What mark do you want to make on the world?

 

Now you have a zine all about who you are and what matters to you! Share your zine with your friends and family or keep it as a private journal to refer to and update as you grow older.  

 

 

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