Chloe James May
Arts Scholar
Pentathalon Semester 1
As an experiential component of College Park Arts Scholars, I attended a selection of five art events during my first semester. These events ranged in art mediums and each sparked dialogue among my peers.
Little Fires Everywhere: A film series based on a novel by Celeste Ng
This TV series(found on Hulu) was based of a novel written by Celeste Ng in 2017. There are so many underlying messages about society and the discrimination that takes place within it. The main character expresses these themes to her loved ones and members of her community through her artwork.
This spoke to me because I am never verbal about issues that I possess, I always express them through artwork. This also reminded me of Arts Scholars because during my time in the program I've learned that sometimes art can make a message come across even stronger and really make the voice of the creator heard.
Just like the saying "actions speak louder than words," this series and Arts Scholars have taught me that art can speak louder than words as well.
#film
TED Talk, Frida Kahlo: The woman behind the legend
I chose to watch this TED Talk for my Pentathlon Event because I enjoy Frida Kahlo's work and admire her story. However, as I watched it I realized there is much more to her and her artwork than I had previously thought. Her art is more representative of her culture and her beliefs than her accident and I found it interesting that when learning about her in school I had never learned about that aspect of her life.
This experience connects me to Art Scholars because it reminded me that no matter how much we think we know about art/an artist, there is always more to learn. This can connect to all majors too; the fact that we graduate doesn't mean we know everything about that topic. There is always more to learn about everything, so we can always keep growing.
#presentation
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Halloween Origami Night: October 13th through Arts Scholars
I really enjoyed making origami with other art scholars because it helped me connect to the scholars without being in class with them. Corona has forced everyone to make adjustments and it was nice being able to make art with them again even if it was over zoom. It reminded me how art can be a good bonding experience and how you don’t have to isolate yourself when you create it which is a lesson that Arts Scholars have taught me. This also connects to my major because it emphasizes the importance of teamwork or even just a working community that helps and grows with each other. Origami also works with structural aspects just like my major so figuring out the process behind it was interesting and engaging.
#visualart #Artscholars
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Cendrillon by Massenet: Released April 28th, 2018 streamed on Met Opera on Demand
This opera was a fun experience because I had never watched one before. This one specifically told a version of the story CInderella. I really enjoyed it because even if it was in another language, there was a certain energy it had because of this. I learned from this that you don't have to understand art to appreciate it, your only job is to be an observer and admire it. This connects with my experience as an Art Scholar because even if someone has a different art medium than me or displays art that I have never seen before, I can still appreciate it for what it is. I don’t have to understand the process behind it, I just have to be an observer. This also connects to my major because people have different ways of coming to the same answer. Even if we take two different paths, as long as we all end up in the same place it doesn’t even matter.Â
#music
"Hidden Figures" streamed on Disney Plus on 12/12/2020
I decided to stream this movie because this semester I have been learning a lot about social issues focusing mainly on race and gender. I am an engineering major so I thought this movie was a good connection between everything I've been learning. I already knew people of color and women are highly underrated when it comes to their intelligence, but this film taught me that even when they prove they have the components to be just as successful as men, they are still discredited. This film reminded me of Art Scholars because these women would have not been nearly as noticed or successful if they had not used their voices, which art scholars encourages us to do through artwork. Because I am a women in stem, this film has reminded me not to back down in my career path or major adn to use my voice.
#film
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Pentathlon Semester 2
This is your Text paragraph. It’s a great place to add a description of your business, your site or what you do. Use this space to add information for your users, write about your philosophy or your journey and define your distinguishing qualities. Consider adding an image for extra engagement.
Flower Collages: Made by me on 1/23/21
For the first pentathlon event this semester, I decided to make a series of flower collages. I love making any kind of art, but sometimes I get so invested in my more serious pieces that it stresses me out instead of relaxing me. Art Scholars has reminded me that art is not a stressful task; this is why I chose collaging for some canvases because it is soothing to me and brings me back to my roots.
In addition to Art Scholars, this connects to my major and school in general because I always forget to take a breath. I’m always moving onto the next assignment or going onto the next zoom meeting. I always forget to take a few moments to slow down and enjoy life.
I also chose this because for my capstone piece I plan on using some collaging techniques, so I felt that this was good practice before I worked on the hard copy. My capstone is aimed at figuring out the real status of students’ mental health and if their major affects it. I realized my major was affecting mine and Art Scholars helped balanced me out because it gave me an excuse to work on something I actually wanted to do. This made me realize how stabilizing and grounding art can be and took me back to the whole purpose of my capstone.
#visual
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Mechanical, Streamed on Vimeo, 2/28/21 @ 3pm Eastern Time
I streamed this play from my phone so unfortunately I could not take a selfie of myself while watching it, but I absolutely loved the performance. The play itself spoke wonders towards people’s way of living and how it can vary no matter the time in history. To be completely honest, I found the process of the play even more fascinating than the play itself. My roommate had a few parts in this play so I got to observe the process of rehearsals and recording for the play. I saw all the work she had to do each day with the green screen and getting the lighting perfect. The adaptations that the directors and actors/actresses had to make in the wake of this hard time I think really shows the way art works. This connects to both Arts scholars and my major in the sense that there are constant bumps in the road as artists and engineers that force us to revise our project and planning and it turns us into problem solvers.
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Through this play, I learned that set design and make-up mean a lot more than just appearances, they add to the story; this play wouldn’t have been the same without the cast’s black and white makeup illusion. A question I have after attending this event is how much art have I missed out on by not investing myself in artistic theater? This event reminds me of the lesson I learned through Art Scholars that your first idea isn’t always your best and we have room to adjust our projects. My perception of art has changed because I realized that every small detail in every art form is planned, just like every color in a painting is planned, so is every aspect of this play.
#theatre
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"Have a Good Trip": STreamed on Netflix on 3/15/21
Have a Good Trip, Adventures in Psychedelics was exactly what it sounds like: a documentary explaining how psychedelic drugs make you feel. Even though it sounds scandalous, it was an informative and educational documentary exploring the wonders that lies behind these adventures, and the directors interviewed all types of artists from actors to musicians to gather experiences and insight from them. Let me note I do not promote the use of illegal substances nor do I plan to take part in them, however this documentary taught me that sometimes to appreciate art you have to open up your third eye. It’s not just about seeing the art of hearing the music, it’s about feeling it. This is a lesson I have also learned from being in Art Scholars, that there is a whole world beyond the art and we just have to look through it to see the meanings behind it.
After watching this series I was left with the question, how many other things was I only appreciating on a surface level? And what could I expand my thinking on besides art? This led me to thinking about my major and I realized looking beyond a project could work in a lot of ways. Whether it’s an art project, musical composition, essay, or stem project, we can always use deeper thinking and look beyond our projects. This experience taught me a lot about the perception of art and life itself. It also showed me that creativity is only limited by us and the limits we put on it. All we have to do is open our minds to different ways of thinking(without the use of drugs) and it could open up so many new doors.
#film
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Art Scholars Poetry Slam 4/6/21 via Zoom
I attended the poetry event that was held over zoom and it was so interesting. I already knew poetry was a diverse art but I did not truly realize how different each poem could be. I learned that even poems that weren’t meant to be spoken could still be rhythmic. I am currently in the poetry workshop for Art Scholars and this even made me wonder if there are more ways I could advance my poetry than I had previously thought. This reminded me of a lesson I learned in Art Scholars; no matter how far along a project is, you can always change/adjust it. This also connects to my major because I forget that there are other techniques or ways to utilize my skill set when working on a project. This changed my perception of the arts by making me realize how hard it could be to use other forms of art. These poets had to paint a picture with only words and no visuals. This experience was unique because it allowed me to hear poems by other artists that were my age and living the same lifestyle as myself. Even though we are all so similar, what everyone produced was so different. This altered my sense of creativity because I realized how creative everyone can be in their own way and using nothing but themselves to filter their art.
#literature #artscholars
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Nike Shoes: Painted on 4/20/21
This week for my pentathlon event I painted a pair of Nike Pro’s using my friend’s leather paint. Using shoes as my canvas taught me that literally anything could be my canvas and I can use it as a way to expand my art and mediums. After completing this project it left me wondering how many artistic opportunities I have missed because I have limited myself to only 2D traditional canvases. Art Scholars has taught me a similar lesson in the sense that I shouldn’t limit myself in my artistic abilities and opportunities. Similarly this connects to my major because not only is there more than one way to solve a problem but there's more ways to express myself even in a highly robotic major. There are always ways to personalize a project and make it unique. This changed my perception of the arts because not only are there so many opportunities this opened up for me in the painting world, but imagine if we expanded it to all types of arts like music and theatre. There are no limits to the ways we can bend and make art unique to us. Ecen a simple project like this taught me that I have not expanded my mind to embrace full creativity even though I’ve been expanding it my entire time in Art Scholars.
#visual
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