Semester Reflections

Semester 3

1. The following questions have been part of the underlying themes of this semester's colloquiums and related activities.  How has your experience this semester helped you to interpret and address each?  Provide an example to support your conclusions for each.

How can art reshape or recontextualize an understanding of our (individual and societal) learned history, biases, and beliefs? 

Art provides new perspectives, but also (and often, more importantly to me), new versions of perspectives I’ve already seen. I don’t think a lot of the ideas we had for our capstones were new, per se, but art isn’t about making something new, it’s about adding something to the world and seeing what else like that is already out there, connecting it all together. 

What are the theoretical models and practical strategies for initiating the creative process? 

With any project, you need a clear idea of what your final product will be. In this class, we got the Capstone Proposal questionnaire, which helped me figure out what pieces of my idea fit where within the Scholar’s format. This was helpful, even before I really started working on it, because as soon as I saw it, I knew my project would work, and I found it much easier to look into visual design elements (research– fabrics, patterns, reference images, etc). I work best when I can see how my plan can succeed. 

How can we effectively incorporate feedback to revise and refine our ideas with greater depth and clarity? 

A lot of it isn’t cutting things out of your original plan, it’s adding or moving things around. Taking suggestions can be tricky, but they often force you to make valuable changes to your idea. While my Capstone project stayed more or less the same throughout the semester, one of the most important changes made to it was the suggestion that I provide a list of the materials/tutorials/methods I used. While I’m still figuring out how to present that information, I do think it’s very important to my message in the piece, and I really like the idea.

2. Provide an example of a news-related item that you encountered outside of the colloquium dealing specifically with art as a mechanism for expressing one’s values, beliefs or lived experience that has captured your attention during the last few months. Indicate how (or whether) your engagement in the Arts program helped you understand it better.

The piece that immediately leapt to mind was Banksy's mural in September, titled Royal Courts of Justice, London. It's often associated with the crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters, but the piece itself was a more general critique of British courts and legal mistreatment of protesters. As we spent time discussing what makes art meaningful and effective, and how to use our personal strengths in making art, I found myself appreciating this particular mural. This is hardly Banksy’s first political piece, but putting up on the side of the court itself meant it was, of course, going to be removed– and when it was, the scrubbed stain left behind was its own, equally powerful piece. It’s a masterful use of his artistic presence and location to make a striking political criticism.

3. From your experience so far, what Arts supporting courses, and/or courses you are taking towards your major, show the most interesting, surprising, and revealing intellectual connections to what you have learned or experienced as an Arts Scholar? Cite at least one course and describe the synergies connecting the knowledge you acquired in that course with that acquired in Arts Scholars.

My theater Intro to Design course (THET 116) continues to be the most similar class to me. They have similar methods for tackling new artforms, and a lot of the methods I picked up from 116, I ended up applying to colloquium in some way. I also think that both courses helped show me that the artistic process often feels the same across different mediums, even if it isn’t the same sort of work– there’s a shape to pulling the project together, and that never changes, no matter how much art I make.

4. Discuss how or whether your learning was improved by interacting (in or out of class) with fellow Arts Scholars. Please use particular examples of how being a part of this living-learning community aided in expanding your learning and conversely, where it fell short.

I enjoyed spending time with people I either currently live with or had lived nearby to in the past, but I often found it difficult to spend time with other Scholars outside of class this semester, as the accessible housing my dorm group got was on the complete opposite end of campus. I enjoy getting to live with people that I have some sort of connection to, it makes it much easier for me to make friends, and I did find myself missing that a bit when I moved out. 

5. Scholars encourages active contribution by students, either in academic settings (e.g., colloquium discussions and projects; field trip activities; etc.) or as part of the larger Scholars community. In what manner have you contributed to the Arts program and community this semester?  What opportunities do you wish you were able to leverage to contribute more or in alternative ways? 

I really enjoyed getting to go to CCQA (Cambridge Community Queers & Allies) meetings! It’s a fairly small club, but it’s nice to see people from other Scholars programs, and this really was my best opportunity to spend time with them. In addition, I feel like I contributed a fair amount to class discussions– I genuinely like conversing with classmates, and this semester was interesting, because we were all working on very different projects and ideas. I wish I had been able to come to more events held in Bel Air, I sometimes felt like that was the biggest difference between now and when I was living there– being able to go to non-mandatory Scholars things just to see my friends. 

6. Discuss whether being in Scholars brought you into contact with people or concepts that challenged your previous beliefs or opinions. What is the value of exploring perspectives that are different from, or challenge, your own?  Please provide an example.

I don’t think anything we did this semester outright challenged my beliefs. I found a lot of things added or slightly deepened my understanding of certain things, but my opinions on art are so flexible that I rarely meet someone/something that I outright disagree with. However, I think it’s really valuable to explore different perspectives, because there really is only so much one person can do on their own. You’re never going to experience everything, but luckily, there are loads of artists who can share their experiences, and it’s surprisingly effective if you let it be. One of my roommates is an architecture major, and the way that they look at buildings is so different from how I’ve ever looked at them, in a really fascinating way. I always thought buildings were interesting, but they can pick out the little details that make this particular building unique, or common, or a little finicky to compensate for a hill, which makes it so much more interesting.