Semester 4

Arts TRYathlon #1: Choose Your Own Adventure

Event Logistics (2/14/25, STAMP Hoff Theater, La La Land showing)

#music, #dance, #film

For my first TryAthlon of the semester, I went to the Hoff Theater to watch the movie La La Land (I forgot to take a selfie, unfortunately). This is the first time I’ve watched the movie since it originally came out (in 2016!). I remember attempting to rewatch it, but giving up after the first twenty minutes. To finally relive this film in its entirety as a whole different person was something I didn't know I'd enjoy so much. As I get older, if there's one movie genre I've grown to love more and more, it's musicals. They give off this contagious spiritual energy. In a world that continues to impress me with its cynicism, it’s musicals (especially old Hollywood ones) that act as an antidote. Singin' in the Rain is one of my favorites and is guaranteed to make anyone smile. La La Land reconstructs those vibrant Technicolor sets with painterly precision using modern film technology. In my ARTT210 class, one of our assignments was recontextualizing an old work of art in a modern context. La La Land does this with modern-day LA in the style of a classic Hollywood musical. The opening dance number demonstrates this to jaw-dropping effect. Even if you don’t like musicals, the sheer spectacle and the sweeping jazz score brings La La Land to life in the theater. Not to spoil the ending, but it really disappointed me as a first-time viewer. It’s bittersweet and down-to-earth for sure. Upon revisiting that scene, I picked on so many more subtle details that gave me a newfound appreciation for the ending. Ultimately, this is a film about pursuing your dreams; but it doesn’t shy away from the sacrifices we have to make when doing so. As a love letter to Hollywood and a look at the joys (and struggles) of working in the arts, La La Land continues to be a modern-day classic.

Arts TRYathlon #2: Choose Your Own Adventure

Event Logistics (3/6/25, Hoff Theater, Wicked screening)

#visualart, #music, #film

This was my second time watching Wicked after its initial November release. The story/musical aspects of the film won me over, but it's the visual elements that I've needed more time to think about. A lot of the film derives from the already famous Broadway show, so it's the cinematic moments that really stood out to me. I'm taking ARTT320, a painting class, where we have to do exercises with color mixing, value, and saturation. A noticeable complaint about Wicked is its lack of color grading that really takes you out of the movie at times. A lot of great visual artworks need a strong light source and high contrast. Wicked doesn't seem to do anything special with lighting, at least for the majority of the runtime. Thankfully, the performances carry the film, but it doesn't pop on screen as much as it could've. When you're painting, it's common practice to highlight colors that are absent. A light area is accentuated with vibrant yellows and dark areas with blues and greens. These small bits of pure virbancy give life to a painting. In filmmaking, the hues and tints can be digitally altered to be either more or less prominent. With Wicked, there's a lot of even lighting everywhere and the colors all appear washed out which gives the film a flat, manufactured feel. Even if Wicked's production is more on the blockbuster side, it's charm and entertainment value were enough to leave me satisfied.

Arts TRYathlon #3: Arts Scholars Event

Event Logistics (3/1/25, The Clarice, Shostakovich Craft and Chat)

#music, #theater

For my last Tryathlon, I attended the nearly two hour orchestra concert performed by UMD music students. I don't know how to play any instruments, so I'm easily impressed when it comes to live music. The Shostakovich pieces we heard were composed around the time of Stalin in the Soviet Union, in order to conform to Soviet principles. However, many believe the music was secretly a subtle form of protest that appealed to the masses. Since music can feel overwhelmingly abstract, it helped to have some historical context to make meaning out of it. Music I find especially difficult to put into words because you can't see it and it happens so quickly. You feel so many different emotions, some from a single note, that only last for part of a second. It reminded me of my art history class ARTH201, where we spent the whole semester contextualizing different artworks within their respective time periods. It's a good reminder that great art isn't just universal, but also captures the attitudes and emotions of a specific time period. For example, we looked at Impressionism and how it captured the novelty and fleeting nature of rapid industrialization. The value of art only increases with time, since we will look back on them in the future as a way of understanding the past.

Page updated

Report abuse