Semester 3

Arts TRYathlon #1: NextNOW

Event Logistics (9/5/24, The Clarice, Maryland Night Live)

#music, #theater, #video, #comedy #performance

Maryland Night Live elicits many reactions from the audience. Aside from humor, I felt many instances of cringe and even disgust. While it may have been the jokes that fell flat, maybe the skits were a sobering reminder that we live in such a divided, overstimulating world. Their purpose is to take the worst elements of the present-day and spoon feed them back to us as the butt of a joke. Reminds me of my ARTT150 class where we learned how current art movements are increasingly meta and satirical. I really didn't laugh that but I also wasn't in the mood for a dose of insincerity. Caught in the middle of the skits was a musical guest trio who delivered a series of slow, heartfelt songs on a guitar. They even incorporated some unconventional instruments, like a didgeridoo as well. When I watch regular Saturday Night Live, the musical artists often put me to sleep; but, this time, I guess I enjoyed it more because it felt fresh and the emotions were genuine. In colloquium, as I draft my plan for a capstone, I'll have to consider how art is going to depict our world, especially the controversial issues that occur in it. How much do we evoke genuine fear and anxiety? How much do we belittle it with humor?

Arts TRYathlon #2: Choose Your Own Adventure

Event Logistics (10/11/24, Zoom event, Career Chat: Arts, Humanities and AI)

#presentation

For my second TRYathlon, I went to Career Chat: Arts, Humanities and AI which was on Zoom. The presenter, Jack Chen, talked a lot about his predictions for AI and how it will impact careers in the arts and humanities. His main argument was that AI's increased capabilities will not necessarily replace activities and jobs performed by humans. There was a really interesting example about how AI has already surpassed humans in playing chess, but those super-bots are now used as a tool to analyze humans while they're playing. He says art is used to connect to other people, hence AI could never authentically replace it. However, he predicts there will be cheaper, mass produced art as a result of AI. I really liked his advice that we don't know where AI is going, so you might as well do something you love and excel at it; and someday in the future AI may have to learn from you. For me, I have a lot of misconceptions about how AI will replace certain careers. I've learned little to nothing about it through Arts Scholars or my Studio Art courses. It was a relief to hear that one of the worse things to do is switch majors just because it seems more profitable. I will continue to stay updated on new AI trends using some resources he provided. Now, I'm actually more welcome to using AI as a tool for various tasks.

Arts TRYathlon #3: Arts Scholars Event

Event Logistics (date, venue/organization, title of event)

(A tag indicating the category of art this event represents. Tags include: #visualart, #music, #theater, #dance, #film, #literature, and #presentation. You can add more than one tag to your event if it blends artistic mediums or disciplines.)

Draft a 200-300 word reflection analyzing your experience. Reflections should be detailed, yet concise - use examples to support your statements, and make each sentence count! The goal of this reflection is to build your critical thinking skills by making connections to what you have learned in Arts Scholars colloquium, your major, and/or an Arts Scholars supporting course. In your reflection, aim to apply, analyze, or evaluate (see Bloom's taxonomy below). In other words, define apply the concepts you have learned in Arts Scholars colloquium, your major, or an Arts Scholars supporting course to explain the impact and significance of the event you attended. We recommend you draft your reflection first in a word processing document saved to your computer or google drive.

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