BREANNA CHIDEBELU
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.
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#PRESENTATION - TED TALK: WHO DECIDES WHAT ART MEANS?
September 20, 2020
As a person who used to complete art criticisms in high school, I was interested in this TED talk by Hayley Levitt. This video gave me a lot of insight on artistic interpretation and who really decides what an artwork means. I learned that interpretation is basically a spectrum. Some think the artist's intention/interpretation is the only interpretation; others think the artist and the viewers' interpretations count. When I analyze colors, one color can mean so many things to me, but my interpretations of that one color could be different for the artist.
PENTATHALON SEMESTER 3
Follow along this semester as I document my arts experiences this semester.
(1) #PRESENTATION - NEXTNOW FEST, ARTECHOUSE: RENEWAL 2121
September 18, 2021
It was fun going to the Clarice and attend NextNow Fest. There were so many exhibits to see that were artistic and implemented technology to create art. One exhibit that interested me was the ARTECHOUSE stand, where they had different glowing stands that were interactive and played sounds.
I learned how these stands were created using different cameras and lights that make notes when my hand is placed below a glass sakura container. This reminded me of how I can explore and combine different fields (technology, art, science) to make one large project, like what Arts Scholars can do in their Capstone.
(2) #FILM - KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE, HAYAO MIYAZAKI,
October 3, 2021
Kiki's Delivery Service is the second Studio Ghibli film I watched (1st is Princess Mononoke). This time, I watched it with the Terrapin Anime Society, a club I recently joined. I enjoyed the story and its characters. I liked that Kiki had the ability to speak to her cat and fly with a broomstick. It was also unique take on witches since they had no other magical powers aside from flying, making potions, and talking to & understanding their familiars. It reminds me of how some fantasy elements can be reinterpreted to emphasize new ideas and themes; that is one of my ideas for my Capstone.
(3) #VISUAL ARTS - FREER GALLERY EXHIBIT "A PERFECT HARMONY" & THE PEACOCK ROOM
October 16, 2021
Prior to my visit to the Freer Gallery at DC, I went to a DC scavenger art with other Arts scholars to find and explore the many museums and artworks around Washington DC. It was great experience and I got to see many works of art I have never seen before.
Obviously, I couldn't visit everything in the scavenger hunt, so I decided to visit one specific artwork, the Peacock Room, on my own time. I have seen Google images of the Room and it was one place I always wanted to see. Luckily, it was at the Freer Gallery in DC.
In the elegant Peacock Room at Freer, I was amazed by the golden peacock paintings and blue-white Chinese ceramics. There was a sign that explained the art and artist, James McNeill Whistler, and his design process into creating the Peacock Room. I learned how Whistler was inspired by Chinese art and incorporated blue-white porcelain as decorations within the Room. I also learned that he was responsible for painting the golden peacocks and the lady with the kimono. It was cool to see how different cultures were worked together to create one larger piece.
(4) #ARTSSCHOLARS - COFFEE & CRAFTS: SPOOKY JEWELRY AND KEYCHAINS
October 30, 2021
I went to Bel Air to attend a Coffee & Crafts hosted by an Arts Scholars TA. I never made jewelry and charms using shrinky-dinks before, so I decided to try it out.
I learned what shrinky-dinks were and how it works using heat to "shrink" the size of the drawing I made. In the photo above, I'm holding a mini image of a charm I made (based on a cartoon I used to watch - Huntik) with shrinky-dink paper which I then attached to a chain to make a necklace.
The jewelry making was a great experience. I met a few other Arts Scholars (freshmen and sophomores) and we talked about our progress in our Capstones projects and podcasts.
(5) #MUSIC - COFFEE & CRAFTS: KARAOKE NIGHT
November 12, 2021
I went to another Coffee & Crafts event at Bel Air Lounge and it was karaoke. During the time, I met other freshmen and sophomore Scholars and their artistic interests. I learned about the history of karaoke and how it originated in Japan during the 1960s. A few Scholars got to sing songs, like the Pitch Perfect Cup song, Monster mash, and some melodies from popular Broadway Musicals. I can't sing, but I sang along in a group as others performed. It was great seeing many songs and musicals I never heard before and I now have some new favorites. This experience reminds me of how I learn more about monuments around the world in my Art History: Monuments & Monumentality class. I get to see monuments I never seen before.
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PENTATHALON SEMESTER 4
Follow along this semester as I document my arts experiences this semester.
(1) #VISUALARTS - ALL NITER TIME WARP: MAKE-YOUR-OWN-PIN
February 4, 2022
At the end of the week, I got the chance to relax and unwind by attending the All Niter event at STAMP. There were so many activities and games to do there and many crafts and prizes you could make and keep. A memorable activity that I did was the make-your-own-pin activity at the TerpZone. It was cool to see how these types of circular pins were made and the different designs people created. There was a variety of stickers and colorful paper that I used to make three of my pins.
Due to Valentine's Day coming up, I made a pin inspired by the Holiday with pink stickers and flowers. I also made two more pins, one with five South American country flags and one with flags of African countries.
(2) #ARTS SCHOLARS & #PRESENTATION (2-FOR-1) - CONCERT IN THE QUAD: ALINA COLLINS MALDONADO
February 10, 2022
I went to my first Concert in the Quad with Alina Collins Maldonado, where I learned about her new theatrical piece, "No Salgas Con El Pelo Mojado". Her piece was about feminism, the relationship between mother and daughter, and latino culture and identity. It was interesting to see how she interviewed many women and applied those conversations to her performance. In the event, I got to learn about Collin's theatre works and discuss the cultural expectations in the perspective of two different generations (mother & daughter, 1st generation vs. 2nd generation immigrants). As a 2nd generation woman, it was nice to talk about the aspects of a person's culture. It made me think of my Nigerian culture.
Near the end, I got the chance to see her play different characters with different experiences, voices, and the Spanish language.
(3) #MUSIC - MID-STRESS DE-STRESS
March 17, 2022
With all the midterms I had to study for this week, I needed some time to unwind. My RA had a chill event in the Bel Air lounge where a small group and I made balloon stress balls while listening to musical artists we've discovered.
We talked about some artists we are currently listening to; I mentioned Florence + the Machine. We also discussed how our week has been going so far and put plans for the Spring Break. It was cool seeing other people's musical taste.
(4) #FILM - TURNING RED
April 9, 2022
My RA hosted a movie night in the Bel Air Lounge, where we watched the film "Turning Red" with other people. This was the chance for me to see this movie for the first time. I've heard good things about this movie, and I enjoyed it. The characters were cool (Mei was funny) and "Turning Red" had symbolic themes and various cultures. A scene that stook out to me was near the end, at the concert where Mei, with her friends and family, stopped Mei's mother Ming Lee (who was in her giant red panda form). I liked the fact the Mei and Ming Lee reconciled. This relationship between mother and daughter reminds of the theme from Alina Maldonado's theatre piece.
(5) #ARTS SCHOLARS (2-FOR-1) - CONCERT IN THE QUAD: ALINA COLLINS MALDONADO
Feb 10, 2022
#Arts Scholars!!!
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