Pentathalon Semester 3
As an experiential component of College Park Arts Scholars, I attended a selection of five art events during my first semester. These events ranged in art mediums and each sparked dialogue among my peers.
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Art and Interpretation: Who Decides What Art Means?
On September 14, 2020, I watched a TED Talk describing the standpoints of who and how a piece of art is interpreted. I learned that people think that an artwork can be thought of only by what the artist intended as well as however the viewer decides. Personally, I have always believed that art is what the viewer makes of it and the artist gives new meaning to whomever views it, so it was interesting to me that people thought otherwise. Moving forward in Arts Scholars, I will be thinking of how other people may interpret my art, aside from what I thought it stood for, and will also question artists in the class what they intended for audience with their art.
#presentation
Employee of the Month Film
Even though this romance comedy seems light-hearted on the surface, I took away some major mottos to think on and I think apply to the person who I should be in the workforce in the future. In this movie, the main character, Zach, tries to win over his coworker, by working really hard, which is what he should have done in the first place. In trying his best, he learns to put the most effort he can without doing it for the recognition of others and learns that you have to do things for your own self gratification. In art/art scholars, we can't simply please our audience to do good work, but believe the work we do is of our own drive and inspiration is good without needing validation of others. In the future, I want to do work that I am proud of and not depending on peers' appraise.
#film
Online Art Exhibition: True to Nature
On September 22nd, I looked at the "True to Nature: Open-Air Painting in Europe, 1780–1870" visual art exhibit from the National Gallery of Art. I thought this exhibit was especially interesting because growing up I would only paint landscapes like the ones found in the exhibit because I too wanted to show people the hidden beauty behind nature. I also find this exhibit intriguing because I am an architecture major and find looking at old buildings/ruins inspirational and gives me ideas of what I can create in the future. This exhibit taught me something that I have learned in Arts Scholars... to look at the beauty behind every piece or art because everything is beautiful in its own way.
#visualart
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Dance Exhibition: Bull Fight
I watched this dance through UMD's dance streaming service on November 12, 2020. I thought that this video was really intriguing because it was a one woman modern dance interpretation of the embodiment of both a matador and bull during a bull fight. By switching between both clips of an actual bull fight and her dance it makes the audience get a sense of what scene from a fight she is interpreting in her dancing. Based off my own reasoning, she even utilized colors projected onto her during her dancing, such as red to exhibit her mid fight and white light to show the fall of the bull which I thought was interesting. I thought that this was a good video to watch because it makes the audience think so critically what she is trying to dance, which Arts Scholars wants us to often do--understand interpretations and make
our own.
#dance
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Archiculture
For this Arts Scholars event I attended on December 11th, we watched a documentary on zoom about the critical thinking out into the projects of architecture students. From this event run by Heather, I learned a lot about what a career in architecture entails and what the life is as an architecture student. This event made me think more about what I see in my future and it made me more open minded to different opportunities that may come my way in the architecture field in the future. The event really grabbed my attention initially because I am an architecture student myself, and am currently determining whether I want to go into the field professionally or more into the construction field; so, I thought that this presentation would help me learn more about the architecture field. In the video we watched it felt so weird to be able to relate to almost every aspect in being an architecture student being a young sophomore, but it really made me feel like I was part of a community of people who go through the same things as me and think like me.
#presentation #visualart #fim
Pentathalon Semester 4
As an experiential component of College Park Arts Scholars, I attended a selection of five art events during my first semester. These events ranged in art mediums and each sparked dialogue among my peers.
Clouds: An Inspirational True Story
January 1, 2025
On February 4, 2021, I watched a Clouds on Disney Plus. This film was about a teenager amid his senior year finding his cancer was fatal and incurable. In the movie the main character Zach when diagnosed and left with six months to live he did not want to waste the rest of his life mopping around about was to come or not, but focused on living everyday out to its fullest. I aspire to live out everyday like its my last as Zach did, although he faced some relapses. It just showed me that people are not perfect and need to face those downfalls to truly see the good and happiness. He wrote a college essay despite knowing he would never attend about not needing to know you are dying to start living. I have never gotten this idea out of my head since seeing this film because it showed me that life does not need to be so dull even with Covid-19, but I can seek my own happiness and dictate how full I live my life despite being trapped inside. I have been trying to figure out and ask myself ways to create quality in my life because of this film. Arts Scholars has taught me to always seek happiness and express myself in many ways and that is what I need to seek in my future. Living everyday unapologetically and making the most of everything whether it be my Capstone or how I carry myself with my peers. This movie makes me question if I would die right now, would I be happy with the life I lived. I want that answer to always be yes, so I will do what I have to for that to be the case.
#film
TED Talk: How to see more and care less: The art of Georgia O'Keeffe
February 25, 2021
During this video I learned how Georgia became such a well known artist and her development of her art and mind through time. I learned that sometimes in art you have to learn to look at things abstractly and not take art and life so literally. Georgia was lucky enough to have an institute and teacher to teach her how to think differently and more out of the box with her art which I often struggle with in my architecture classes. After watching this video I want to see life and things more in her eyes by looking at things more closely than from far away so we get a different perspective that is not so literal to the actual object itself. In Arts Scholars we have been taught to think out of the box and step out of our comfort zone to develop this kind of different more abstract thinking that has helped me in my classes and in life. In my architecture classes we cannot look at buildings so literally and have to create abstract ideas that can be developed into more abstract models and face this constant cycle of abstracting. This all centers around what Georgia had to learn in her life for her art and it is what I have to do in my classes in architecture drawing and drafting. I think that moving forward I know that abstract thinking takes time and practice to develop and requires learning to achieve. If I want to be able to think abstract I need to start getting out of my comfort zone and letting my mind run free.
#presentation
(image screenshotted from video)
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Online Art Exhibition: "Degas at the Opéra"
March 20, 2021
For this Pentatholon I looked at the "Degas at the Opéra" visual art exhibit from the National Gallery of Art that was on physical display from July 20 – October 12, 2020. I learned the significance in being observant and capturing the present with this exhibit. This whole exhibition by Edgar Degas is a collection of 16 different visuals using oil, ink, pastels, charcoal, and one sculpture that center around performing arts including both dancers and musicians preparing and performing at the opera. Degas's paintings look into the practices and performances and portray movements and positions that most might not imagine at first thought of a painting of a dancer, but it rather catches their humanity and backstory by showing the figures lying down or practicing a move when to make an effort to perfect it which I find comforting in his art. I think in Arts Scholars we are taught about this process and more recently in my Capstone I have learned that nothing needs to be perfect looking, but a piece can look like a work in progress and that it is done when we say it is done. In my major of architecture I have learned to accept this ideal this year too because there is no right answer in designing and it follows the same idea of finishing my project when I think it is done. I think that this art exhibit has made me come to some realizations that we don't always just need to see the shiny final product but the best product is capturing the moments in creating between the start and end.
#visualart
Color Me, Stress Free
April 9, 2021
This event was an Arts Scholars Capstone zoom on April 9, 2021 in which we colored a mandala and, in my case, because I did not have a printer, I colored a coloring book to reduce stress. This event was very straightforward and simple yet made me think critically. We were given 40 minutes to color while listening to music and doing our drawings by ourselves, which allowed me the time to give myself space to think about things and do things that I would not normally have time to do with my busy schedule. I am a visual artist and felt like I have lost touch with dedicating time to doing art since starting college. With this time that I had allotted for myself by attending this event I felt free and allowed to do a task that may seem childish and a waste of time at first glance but made me dwell on what I have missed in doing art, which was decompressing. When I draw, I lose bad realities and worry from my life and put in a box, that I get back to after art. I have not had time to do that recently, so I realized I have been in a constant cycle of tasks and rush and have not allowed myself to slow down. I have not been a person to attend many zoom events because I feel it as awkward or unconventional, but after going to this event, I found myself more aware of my actions and full of self-purpose. I feel like I have been disconnecting a part of my creativity and attention to just relax through time, but today I think that I have come to see that I have been, and I want to try to be that person again.
#visualart #ArtsScholars
Philippine Culture Night: “Kahit Saan”
April 10, 2021
For this theatre event I attended an original play for the Filipino Cultural Association on Twitch. This original play was related to the times of suffering of a teenage girl and distance from her friends during the pandemic in isolation. I did not realize the topic of the play until I started watching it, but it hit home to me because I could relate to the feeling of neglect from friends and build up of grudges that the main character had with her friends. It made me see that it is important to know the other side of the person we are friends with because we know how we feel and may be suffering, but not how others are which was depicted in the play. It made me see things from a birds eye view to see all points of view to be able to empathize and understand what other people are going through rather than making something about myself. The play also helped me to realize that I'm not the only one dealing with feeling isolated from friends and feeling lonely, which gave me more of a sense of community and people who understand me. It made me wonder how some people feel this same way as me when others make it seem like they cannot relate to this feeling of isolation at all.
#theatre
