Semester 1

Arts TRYathlon #1: NextNOW Fest

September 12, 2023, Parren J. Mitchell Art-Sociology building, Dance2

#visualart, #dance, #immersive media

This event was a dance installation that used an interactive polling system to determine the outcome and topic of the next few minutes. As a whole, the performance centered around the relationship of technology and humans, and how it will influence the future. The actual demonstration itself involved a synth-driven soundtrack paired with a man dancing with small light-up robots traveling on tracks intertwined with his body. Every few minutes, a ding would play and a website would allow for the audience to vote on a question, which would determine what the dance and music would change to. This exemplified cohabitation between man and machine reminded me of a current issue in the world today. With the use of artificial intelligence becoming more and more prevalent, and fear over its applications increasing alongside, this exhibit reminded me that we do still have a choice. Technology is not something to be afraid of, it is a tool that can help us create something new. This sense of mental serenity was made all the more prevalent through the use of cool purple and blue lights in the background decorations, color choices I think were made to make the audience see the positive side of technology by putting their minds at ease. I thought that the inclusion of using our smartphones to directly connect with the performance really highlighted the message that was being portrayed. By making the audience’s phones an actual part of the experience, it showed just how integrated technology has become with not just life but also art.

Arts TRYathlon #2: Crafting and Chill - Cabochon Pendant

October 11, 2023, Bel Air Lounge, Crafting and Chill - Cabochon Pendant

#crafting, #community, #crashbandicoot

This event was a community building meetup in the lounge of the Arts Scholars dorm to promote conversation and reaching out of your comfort zone. We collectively made pendant necklaces using images found in old magazines and newspapers. I think attending this event was important because it exposed me to something new that I otherwise never would have any interaction with. Simply put, I would likely never think to try pendant making on my own, but now that I have, I can take this new skill and use it to teach someone else, like the kid I babysit during the summer time. I think another important reason for attending this event is to challenge stigma centered around gendered activities. I feel as if generally society looks at jewelry making as “feminine,” so I hope to challenge this notion through my attendance. I think it needs to be more broadly recognized that anybody can do whatever activities that they want, and that these activities should not be labeled as being for a specific group of people and not others. I like to think that my finished pendant also helps to challenge these ridiculous ideas of gendered activities. Crash Bandicoot is a character from a video game, which is something typically considered to be a “masculine” activity. I hope that my simple and goofy pendant can help to convey some sort of message or reminder that each and every person is entitled to doing what they would like without worry of that particular activities’ societal associations. People who identify with “masculine behavior” should be able to make a necklace if they feel like it, and those who identify with “feminine behavior” should be able to play video games with no judgment.

Arts TRYathlon #3: Arts Scholars Event - Nature Watercolors

October 29, 2023, Bel Air Lounge, Nature Watercolors

#watercolor, #nature, #landscape

This event, like the pendant making previously, was a community building activity in the Bel Air lounge aimed to expose us to mediums we may not have much experience with. Personally, while I have worked with watercolor on occasion, I have never felt particularly confident in my ability to create something with it, so this was an excellent opportunity to just have fun and experiment. I think In this case, I had fun just experimenting with technique and trying to see how I could make the paints interact with one another to achieve various effects. On a broader scope, this sort of care-free attitude I accredit to my intro to engineering course, where the instructor’s advice was to devote time to learning how things work before committing to seeing a project through. I have tried to apply this thinking to other aspects of my life, in this case being having fun with paints I am unfamiliar with. As far as the topic goes, nature is something very important to me, so with that being the theme I believe I was able to generate inspiration easier than if the subject was something I was less passionate about. In the end, I had a good time trying something new while talking with some peers who I would not have gotten the opportunity to speak with otherwise.

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