Katerina Kremer
Arts Scholar
Pentathlon Semester 3
As an experiential component of College Park Arts Scholars, I attended a selection of five art events during my first semester of sophomore year. These events ranged in art mediums and each sparked dialogue among my peers.
Ice Cream U Scream
#ArtScholars #VisualArt
September 3rd, 2021 in Bel Air Hall
I attended the Ice Scream U Scream art scholars event and block party. During the event I was able to spend time with a couple of my peer mentees and the other peer mentors in the program. This experience was fun to hang out with everyone in the art scholars community and get to know each other as we painted, tie dyed, ate ice cream and talked. In addition, the mini canvas that I painted will hopefully be put together in a mural that showcases some of the talent that art scholars has to offer. I was able to help clean up the event a bit and hand out some of the paints to allow the process to run smoothly and so everyone could work on their canvases. Looking at everyone's work showed the diversity of our group and the vast ideas that everyone has. I was amazed, but not shocked at all the talent in the room. Being part of this event emphasized the significance that art has on bringing groups of people closer together. It was a great bonding experience to talk to other students in art scholars as well as the advisors and TAs. We all share the commonality of enjoying art, and were able to put that to practice while making practical things to keep or display.
Image from Wix Image collection
Levar Burton Reads AudioBook
#Literature
October 1st, 2021
I listened to a podcast of a short story called "Kin" by Bruce McCallister but read by LeVar Burton. The subject of the story was dark and heavy but because it is science fiction and based on unrealistic futuristic events, it is easy to see the imagination and not take it all literally. The main character Kim lives in the US and is talking to a scary alien creature about helping him protect his soon to be sister from abortion rules. The main subject of this short story deals with controlling population growth and finding ways to limit the amount of kids in the US.
This was my first time listening to a podcast audiobook and I found it very enjoyable and entertaining. I was able to just sit and listen to the story being read to me. I typically just read books, but I think I will have to incorporate audiobooks and podcasts into my life when I have more time. This can be useful when walking to class or on long car rides and can be a good alternative to watching a show or listening to music.When learning concepts in classes, I might also utilize podcasts to listen to books and learn more.
Mandalas and Podcasts
#ArtScholars #Presentation
Alex, an art scholars TA, held a "Mandalas and Podcasts" event in the Bel Air lounge. There were many options of designs and then we chose one and colored in the mandalas while listening to podcasts. We listened to a Crime Junkies podcast, which I have heard a lot about, but never seem to find the time to sit down and listen to it on my own. It was a great experience to find other ways of focusing while creating art. I typically enjoy watching a show or listening to music, but this was an alternative that combined both ideas- a story being told but nothing to watch and get distracted by. The time flew by because I was focusing on the story, and it was also very interesting to listen to, so i was constantly engaged. This and my last pentathlon have convinced me that I should listen to podcasts more often. In addition, i find crime investigation stories interesting to listen to because they are mysteries that you have to follow along to and pick up on hints and small details to figure out who did it. In addition to getting a work of art at the end, it was refreshing to get to be in a room with other students that enjoy art and I was able to share the event with my peer mentees and had two of them also attend with me. through events like these, I can learn about new creative forms, discover new things that I like and meet friends that are like-minded.
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Completed 10/13/21
Wind Band Halloween Haunt: University Band and Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble
#Music
Although I was unable to visit the Clarice to watch the performance live, I was able to attend the livestream event of the University band's Halloween performance. I thought the performance was fun to watch and enjoyable to get me in the mood for Halloween. I have only seen the Mighty Sound of Maryland perform at football games, but I wonder if there are people that perform in both bands and what the time commitment is like to make their songs sound so put together. I have always been interested in music and used to play the flute in elementary and middle school, so this brought back some good memories of band performances. I was also very impressed with the fluidity of their sound and the different noises they can create by playing certain instruments together. This event connected back to the art scholars class when we learned how to play the drums, because I thought of how interesting the sounds worked together then and how everyone really needed to work together well to execute the piece well. If anyone plays during the intentional rests, it will stand out, so the cohesion of this group is very evident and impressive. The song choices were also very crucial to be interesting, spooky, and entertaining while being complex and challenging. This performance was very captivating and shows off the hard work of the performers well.Â
Completed October 31st at 3pm on the livestream
Screenshot of the event
Hirschhorn Exhibit: Light of Freedom
#VisualArt
I virtually attended the museum gallery for Abigail Deville's Light of Freedom project. Although I was unable to visit in person, seeing the picture of the sculpture and the description and meaning behind it was very powerful and interesting. Sometimes when I visit galleries or see art pieces, I am not able to read all about it because they only include a snippet. By looking at this online, I was able to admire the sculpture and read about the artist and the piece itself. When I saw the statue of the torch, I instantly connected it to the Statue of Liberty's torch that she holds. I found out this was intentional as it was based on a photograph of a hand holding the Statue of Liberty torch. This helped me realize that purposefully hinting at other famous pieces or things can engage the audience more and make the piece memorable. I also thought it was very thought out, and this made me realize how planning projects to every minor detail helps make them more elaborate. This is because she chose the color, angle of the torch and all the other details in it to symbolize specific things that overall question the freedom promised in the United States and the inequality for people to African Americans specifically. I am going to keep all of this in mind when I complete my capstone projects and make each choice a stylistic and intentional choice. Lastly, by looking through some other exhibits, I valued the quickness of the internet and being able to see art that I wouldn't have been able to ever view unless I had the chance to travel to that location.
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Date attended: November 22nd, 2021
Location: Virtual Hirschhorn exhibit from April 2021
