Semester Reflections

Semester 2

During this semester, there were many things I learned and gathered from the art scholars program. One way I can see art reshaping/recontextualizing our understanding of our learned history is through the use of art itself. A gen-ed course I took spoke a lot about Greek/Roman art, and by using the art (as limited as it was) we were able to learn about norms and/or facts of that time.  

A practice I was able to learn this semester in initiating my creative process, is the practice of consistent brainstorming. While it may have never been directly stated in class, the notion of brainstorming with others, and then going to meet with TAs to help finalize that. Doing that helped me figure out a lot of my ideas for my capstone.

We can effectively incorporate feedback to revise/refine our ideas by not only critiquing the feedback we receive but also by getting others to look over what we have. Essentially, it gives another view of what direction to go. An example of this was the mandatory meeting I had with Heather concerning my capstone. She took my idea, and critiqued it further, giving me strategies to develop my capstone even further.

The arts program has helped me immensely when it comes to understanding art outside of the class. One form of art I've been especially involved with as of recently is music. Music has always been a big part of my life, and I truly see it as another aspect of art (depending on who's making it). The playlisting workshop in class helped me to see music in a new light. Understanding how it mentally affects me allows me every day to see how the music I listen to is affecting my mind. (Which is also why my capstone is music-related).

The classes that I've been taking have revealed many connections. A class I took last semester (ARTT150) which covered art theory spoke on many different types of art. He would also have the class vote on how we felt about those different art eras. Before that class, if I hadn't taken the art scholars course I probably wouldn't have been so open to understanding new types of art. 

I feel that my learning was improved by interacting with my classmates in art scholars because through others you get to understand other perspectives, which then lets you understand even more of what's already being taught. I'm the type of learner who needs to grasp what I'm learning, and the art scholar's environment helps with that.

This semester thanks to the field trips that are required, I was able to see a very emotional documentary that tugged at my heartstrings. I was very grateful to have been able to go on the field trip and feel that my contribution was to the people who made the indie film.

I do feel that being in the art scholars challenged what I normally thought about certain aspects of society. Whether it was cracking down on a problem I could tackle for my capstone or something I just wanted to get others' opinions on. An example is when we had to speak to others about certain issues (when we put sticky notes on the wall).