Semester 3 Reflection

The fall 2024 semester challenged me to apply what I had learned during my freshman year: Creativity, confidence, expression, and exploration. I feel very proud and appreciative of what the Arts program has taught me, and I am savoring my last few opportunities to engage with this class. 

Art is integral in shaping our perspectives. It can convey messages in nuanced ways and have different emotional impacts on people. In our second-year Colloquium class, we have learned about how art tackles world issues, and have that as the central theme for our Capstone project. An example of art in reshaping learned history and beliefs is a student capstone workshop, where they focus on gentrification, using art to teach others about architecture’s role in perpetuating social and economic disparities. Before this person’s workshop idea came to fruition, they had to initiate the creative process. This semester’s goals in developing our final project involved brainstorming and finding connections between rapidly produced ideas to stimulate our creativity. We also touched on constructive feedback that involved respectful communication and thoughtful questions. Giving and receiving feedback brings different perspectives on our work which helps us better understand what can be improved, as artists may have strong personal opinions on their projects. We can consider all relevant comments and challenge personal biases. This connects to our very last class of the semester, where we reviewed multiple student’s capstones. The feedback from various students will help me consider what aspects of my project need refinement. 

Outside of colloquium, I traveled to Philadelphia to visit my sister. On that trip, we walked around an art festival consisting of diverse artists sharing and selling their work. Perusing through the stalls, I felt as if I caught a glimpse of every person’s life. People’s cultures, struggles, and experiences were displayed in so many different mediums. I remember a piece of a hyper-realistic little girl in a park, and I wonder what that child meant to the artist. The Arts program has brought me insight into analyzing and finding art everywhere around me. I see art in crowds, nature, and activities.

As a Mechanical Engineering major, my discipline-specific classes aren’t directly related to art, but I have found some connections to concepts I’ve learned in Art Scholars. For example, my women's studies class touched on analyzing media that pushes a social idea. We saw several graphics, ads, and magazine covers that had deeper meanings than just selling a product. Just like our themes of how art conveys social, historical, and personal stories, some images we discussed in class also connected to those topics.

Reflecting on my experience interacting with other Art Scholars, I find that I lacked the connection people had through close contact with one another. As a commuter, the only opportunities to surround myself with those in this program were weekly classes and art activities. In spite of this, my TA group helped me feel a bit more comfortable with my social connections. My group and its familiarity helped me engage more with the class content and overall enjoy my experience. Another thing that contributed to my connection to Art scholars was my Peer Mentor position. I tried to get my mentees excited about Art Scholars classes, field trips, and other activities. I wish that I had received more engagement because I thought everyone could have bonded and learned something through trying new things.

There were many instances where in class, we were asked to reflect on something and share our opinions. One colloquium activity involved a piece of art and discussion prompts. I was surprised by how different my group’s perspectives were on the art’s meaning. I disagreed with many of the students' responses. Art Scholars has challenged my beliefs and opinions, especially regarding the steps to create art and how to approach the capstone project. Sometimes my ideas feel concrete to me, so hearing feedback that conflicts with my current goals feels wrong and unnecessary. Opening up to differing perspectives can be uncomfortable but ultimately informative. Not everything has to be agreed with, but being close-minded limits one's path.

I have enjoyed this semester especially because of my perspective on the time I have left in Art Scholars. I hope to make the most out of spring and display a piece I am proud of at Arts Fest.