Semester 1

Arts TRYathlon #1: NextNOW

Event Logistics  (9/8/23, NextNowFest (The Clarice), Maryland Night Live)

#music, #theater, #presentation, #comedy, #acting

Maryland Night Live is UMD’s version of Saturday Night Live, delivering a mix of cringe-worthy humor, underrated music, and provocative social-commentary. I think this is as close as I will get to attending a live-performance of SNL. The production’s primary objective is to entertain. In the audience, you can sit back and join the collective reactions the performers evoke from the audience (laughs and groans alike). 

In Arts Scholars, my small group discussed highbrow vs lowbrow art, which led to a debate over professionalism. Based on my notions of art, I believe MNL would fall towards the lowbrow end of the spectrum given its appeal to younger audiences and its unflinching immaturity throughout each skit. However, the MNL team tried their best to offer a somewhat accurate mirror of our hopes, dreams, and struggles in 2023. In my ARTT 150 (art-theory) class, we learned that an antiquated, but widely accepted, definition of art is something that contains beauty and imitation*. MNL combines the two with vibrant performances and thought-provoking skits and standups. Sometimes there was beauty without imitation (like the musical performances) and imitation without beauty (such as all-too-personal stand-up routines). 

The best moments from the show were a combination of creativity and good execution. My favorite act of the night was a pre-recorded critique of the Purple-Line construction, filmed like a horror-movie trailer. It really spoke to the widespread mystery and confusion surrounding its construction. Most importantly, it evoked the most laughs from the audience. Similarly, I enjoyed a stand-up routine about the omnipresence (and creepiness) of Jim Henson and his Muppets across campus. Overall, MNL’s populist, lowbrow entertainment-style allows the production team to make deep observations about current-events in a series of easily digestible skits while showcasing the acting, stand-up, and musical talents of UMD students.

*Williams, R. (2004), Art Theory: An Historical Introduction, New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell.

Arts TRYathlon #2: Choose Your Own Adventure

Event Logistics  (10/14/23, Bel Air Lounge, Craft and Chat: Color on the Quad)

#visualart #painting #acrylic

I really enjoy how relaxing the Craft and Chat activities are. For the coloring activity, I pulled up a picture of a landscape on my phone and tried to imitate it as best as I could with acrylic. In my ARTT 150 (art-theory) class, I read about how some cultures equate art with spiritual enlightenment. I definitely see art as a form of meditation. It’s one of few activities where I enter a flow state that distorts my perception of time. I know the purpose of meditation is to observe one’s thoughts objectively without being affected. I experience this while creating art since my mind will stay occupied creating something; but, I’ll allow other thoughts to flow in and out of my head. It’s a much more fun form of meditation than simply sitting with my eyes closed in silence. It’s also far less intimidating for me.

I thought it was interesting what other people decided to paint. Many, like me, pulled up an image on their phone, but some painted something more abstract. Without any prompts, people’s personalities begin to shine through. Someone next to me drew a more illustrative, imaginative scene, while some else drew spiral shapes. For me, I tried to paint a landscape of mountains as accurately as possible, which I feel reveals the perfectionist in me.

Arts TRYathlon #3: Arts Scholars Event

Event Logistics  (10/29/23, Bel Air Lounge, Nature Watercolors)

#visualart  #watercolor

For my third TryAthlon, I went to the watercolor Craft and Chat. Using watercolor felt way more complicated than using regular paint. The assembly involved so many more materials. It’s also a lot less controllable than using acrylic. I found myself having to add more water and then dry up excess water with a paper towel. I had to work a lot differently since I couldn’t do an underpainting the way I can with acrylic paint. I noticed a lot of other people would only stick to a few colors, maybe out of fear they would easily bleed into each other. I still found the experience to be extremely relaxing even though it was very crowded in the lounge. Once you get in the zone, time moves a lot faster. I’d like to know more about when watercolor would be the best medium to use because, from my experience, it seems far less effective. It made me think about my art history class where we learned about the switch from tempura/frescoes to oil paint during the Renaissance. I wonder how old watercolor is and if artists as old as the Renaissance may have used it. Overall, watercolor isn’t my favorite medium; but, I’m glad I tried it.