Semester 3

The following questions have been part of the underlying themes of this semester's colloquiums and related activities. How has your experience this semester helped you to interpret and address each? Provide an example to support your conclusions for each.

How can art reshape or recontextualize an understanding of our (individual and societal) learned history, biases, and beliefs?

My experience this semester furthered my understanding of how much art can inspire change. Learning about the HITO book project exposed me to the deep connections that art can form between people. Artistic projects like HITO encourage the communication and collaboration of different types of people. Society is so divided right now, and personal art can open us to other people’s experiences. It can help us understand the history that has shaped the way we think and the way they think.

What are the theoretical models and practical strategies for initiating the creative process?

Through the initiation of the Capstone process I have gained more insight on my creative process. By creating a mind map to organize my ideas and reflect on which direction to take my project, I was able to decide on key aspects such as medium and inspiration.

How can we effectively incorporate feedback to revise and refine our ideas with greater depth and clarity?

By reviewing others’ project proposals and receiving feedback on my own, I realized that a fresh set of eyes can more easily point out flaws. How the audience receives your work can be different than your intended effect, so incorporating ideas and addressing questions from others is critically important to portraying your work how you want it to be received. Feedback helped me view my Capstone project ideas from a different perspective; I was then able to identify which aspects needed more explanation and which were too extensive.

2. Provide an example of a news-related item that you encountered outside of the colloquium dealing specifically with art as a mechanism for expressing one’s values, beliefs or lived experience that has captured your attention during the last few months. Indicate how (or whether) your engagement in the Arts program helped you understand it better.

I came across a news article about artists who painted on utility boxes in their city, Hoboken. One of the artists, Anita Milena, found inspiration in the cultural and ethnic diversity of her community. She created this project to express her belief that by encouraging authenticity and inclusivity, we can continue to build strong, open communities where everyone plays an important role. The interactive workshop lead by Alanna Reeves that I participated in helped me understand the importance of sharing our identities. After listening to everyone speak about their personal objects, I found that I was able to relate to many of my peers through our shared experiences, like rejecting half of my culture (the not white half) and then growing and learning to love it. At the same time, I was able to appreciate all of our differences and the diversity within our program. This discussion in particular helped me understand how enriching it can be to share our experiences and how useful art can be as a method to open up that dialogue.

https://www.hobokengirl.com/hoboken-utility-boxes-artists/

3. From your experience so far, what Arts supporting courses, and/or courses you are taking towards your major, show the most interesting, surprising, and revealing intellectual connections to what you have learned or experienced as an Arts Scholar? Cite at least one course and describe the synergies connecting the knowledge you acquired in that course with that acquired in Arts Scholars.

Art and Activism has introduced me to the expansive history of art as a means for social change. We studied the many movements and revolutions that have used art as a method to spread ideas, truth, and knowledge. In Arts Scholars this semester, a focus has been the use of art as a means for communication to promote diversity. While I was learning the extensive history of purposeful art in Art and Activism, Arts Scholars provided me with current, real life examples of it. Some of these were relevant to my community. These two courses worked hand in hand, both promoting the power of art and touching on different aspects of its potential and capability.

4. Discuss how or whether your learning was improved by interacting (in or out of class) with fellow Arts Scholars. Please use particular examples of how being a part of this living-learning community (virtual and otherwise) aided in expanding your learning and conversely, where it fell short.

While this semester presented many new difficulties and barriers to connecting with others, my Arts Scholars experience as a whole has aided my learning. Being a part of a group that is already prone to having similarities to me, in terms of interests and goals in academic success, has made it easier to find people I can intellectually connect with. I found people taking the same courses as me; we helped each other understand material and would talk about related topics and current events. I have not communicated with my fellow Arts Scholars as much this semester; zoom is not necessarily as interactive as a live discussion.

5. Scholars encourages active contribution by students, either in academic settings (e.g., colloquium discussions and projects; field trip activities; etc.) or as part of the larger Scholars community. In what manner have you contributed to the Arts program and community the semester? What opportunities do you wish you were able to leverage to contribute more or in alternative ways?

I have contributed to the community this semester by participating in colloquium discussions (mainly through the breakout rooms) and fieldtrip activities. I shared my opinion and perspective on the films we watched; our zoom discussion at the end of the fieldtrip propelled our discussion board. I enjoyed sharing something of my own creation in the Group project/ presentation in the first semester and the Arts Fest in the second semester. I would like more opportunities similar to these, as this semester promoted more verbal contributions rather than physical or artistic ones.

6. Discuss whether being in Scholars brought you into contact with people or concepts that challenged your previous beliefs or opinions. What is the value of exploring perspectives that are different from, or challenge, your own? Please provide an example.

Scholars has brought me into contact with people and ideas that challenged my previous views and beliefs. One in particular that stands out, was Ivelisse Diaz, who spoke about the rich history and significance of Bomba within our society today as we fight towards racial equality. I hadn’t before thought that ancient tradition or music was truly relevant for movements today, but I now realize it can be even stronger than visual art when bringing people together and has power over generations and generations. Opening your mind to different perspectives is such a critical aspect of growing your knowledge. It allows you to gain a holistic view of situations, makes you question the validity of your own beliefs, helps you gain understanding and empathy for others, and most importantly teaches you something new.

Reflections: Image

Semester 4

I believe my Capstone project demonstrates my growth in presenting my ideas through written and artistic forms. Through this project I created a timeline consisting of collages along-side written descriptions of my research and the background. This practice helped me connect my ideas in different forms to allow audiences to understand fully my project and artistic process. I believe designing the layout of the exhibition website also allowed me to develop my curation skills.

My perception of art has widened much since the start of this program. Before I had considered most forms of creative expression art, but now that has expanded further. The last field trip I attended, where I learned about Vogue dancing taught me about the art of drag and performance. While I may have considered this art, it definitely would not have come to the forefront of my mind before, and I would have just considered it as a fun act. But after learning more about the culture behind it, the expansive community, and the dedication to the craft that these performers have, I realize this, and many more practices should be considered the forefront of art. Viewing my fellow scholars’ capstone project has also widened my perception of art. Crochet, for example, I had previously considered as an activity or simply a method to make fabric. But after seeing how through these project people were able to create stuffed animals and other creative creatures, I realize there is much more skill and artistic process behind this craft. The way in which you orient your craft and its purpose can define it as art or not.

My capstone project drew upon what I have learned within this scholars program. In my Art Therapy workshops one of the crafts we practiced was collaging, which helped me develop these skills for my capstone project. By practicing creating a composition, my eye was more trained as to what I should be looking for. One of my supporting courses, the Impact of Music on Life, allowed me to practice writing about art, its impact, and its history. Within my timeline, this practice helped me develop the paragraph descriptions to accurately portray my knowledge and the relation between my collages and the background research.

Participating in Arts Scholars has deepened my existing artistic talents and expanded my interests. I have developed my visual art skills through my capstone project and workshops where I have painted, drawn, and collaged through these past two years and gained practice. Pentathlon assignments have allowed me to explore many different forms and expressions of art. By attending exhibitions and watching dance performances I grown a greater appreciation and understanding for all of the various forms of art. Viewing my fellow scholars’ work has also deepened my understand of artistic interests. Freshman year when we developed an exhibit within a group, I saw how we all interpreted our theme in different ways and created such different yet intertwined pieces. I listened to music compositions, admired installations, and interpreted poems of my fellow classmates; this granted me a better understanding of the value of different artistic disciplines. This experience collaborating with artists from different perspectives, with various abilities allowed all of us to create a themed exhibit much stronger and diverse than we could have created on our own.

I believe my Scholars experience will inform my future in many ways. Learning how to exhibit my work in an effective way will certainly help me in my academic career and further. As a marketing major interested in design and the creative aspect specifically, I will have to present my work in interesting, involved ways; Arts Scholars has helped me grow curation skills. My processes have developed as well; learning different attention techniques like Pomodoro will continue to help me accomplish tasks in an efficient manner throughout my career. I also believe all the communication and feedback I have received and given through the Scholars program will encourage me to work more collaboratively within teams. It has taught me to appreciate others work and to understand various perspectives. I acknowledge the value of others’ opinions and realize how combined efforts can achieve great success.

Reflections: Image