Holly Myers
Arts Scholar
Pentathlon Semester 1
As a component of College Park Arts Scholars, I attended five art events during my first semester. These events helped me explore campus and learn more about all the art opportunities I had access to.
Lia Halloran's The Same Sky Overarches Us All
Tucked into a gallery behind the stairs of the ASY building, The Same Sky Overarches Us All hides. A series of pieces by artist Lia Halloran, the blue windows, created with ink or cyanotype, carry the stories of early women astronomers and their discoveries. Each piece, even those that mirror another, are unique and yet all connected. I aspire to achieve the level of creativity, the connection to my art style and inspiration that Halloran has to hers. Though I wasn’t expecting to attend the reception (Sept 4, 2019 5-7PM) I feel that this has inspired me, perhaps even influenced my art goals.
visualart
Viewing of It: Chapter Two
On my first weekend home, the weekend of August 7th, I took the time to go and see It: Chapter Two. My dad and I went to the 5:35PM showing at the Regal theater in Westview since my mom was Certainly Not going. Having already seen the first movie and recently begun watching more horror films, I felt I was able to appreciate the visuals, colors, and other aspects of the film. Movies like It provide me with inspiration, and sometimes motivation for the style or subject of an art piece or concept, helpful for a prospective art major.
film
Family Friday Event: Jim Henson, More Than Muppets
I attended a presentation by Brian Jay Jones, author of a biography on Jim Henson as part of the Friday Family Weekend activities. Hearing about Jim Henson’s experience, his successes and his failures, made me feel more comfortable with my own failures knowing that someone so successful also had failures. I was also able to learn far more than I had known about Jim Henson and his colleagues. For me, Henson’s ability to combine his interests into a perfect career inspires me because I also have multiple interests that I would love to be able to combine into a career.
presentation
Harlem 100 at The Clarice
On Thursday night at 8:00PM, I attended a musical performance by Mwenso and the Shakes. They shared the history of Harlem music and Harlem musicians through instrumental music, singing, and tap dance. The way they interacted, their friendly banter between and during songs, and seamlessly incorporated the guest artists really stuck with me. I aspire to have friendships like this group when I graduate and find a career. Maybe I will even be able to build that kind of friendship within Arts Scholars, among the people who share my interest in art.
music
The National Gallery
On Saturday, November 23rd I took the Metro into DC to visit the National Gallery of Art. While there, I did some real quick sketches of works that I liked (in my itty bitty sketchbook), and oddly enough, had a lot of fun identifying artists I had learned about in art history. It is inspiring to see how so many different artists, from all over the world can be seen as important, even as their styles and media and messages vary greatly. For someone hoping to take on a Studio Art major, all these famous artists serve as motivation for me to continue pursuing art in my own life.
visualart
Pentathlon Semester 2
As an experiential component of College Park Arts Scholars, I attended a selection of five art events during my second semester. These events ranged in art mediums and each sparked dialogue among my peers.
Concert in Close Quarters ft. Leyla McCalla
On Wednesday, January 29th, I was able to attend a Concert in Close Quarters featuring Leyla McCalla. While in that small room, she shared stories of her heritage and sang songs both about her heritage and the identity associated with it. Especially because of the small environment, the emotion present in McCalla’s performance was evident, and her storytelling very effective. Her dedication to her art and the connection to her identity made me want to find that same connection to my own art. While I have skill, I have not yet found that connection to my own art, but with the inspiration from her stories, I think I’ll be able to find it.
artsscholars, presentation/music
Across the Pane: The Art of Djuna Barnes
On Wednesday, February 12th, I stopped by the gallery in the Art-Sociology building on my way to class. The current show is Across the Pane, featuring the art of Djuna Barnes. A lot of the works featured are block prints, made by carving the desired image into a block (wood, linoleum, whatever works) then covering it in ink and laying it over a sheet of paper. I had become interested in this style of art, but haven’t had any really creative ideas. Seeing another print artist’s work has actually given me some of my own ideas, and I look forward to making them into prints.
visualart
Parasite: a showing by SEE in Hoff Theater
On Thursday the 27th at 8:00, well technically 7:00 because the theater filled up so fast, I went and saw the movie Parasite in Hoff Theater. Parasite is a highly rated foreign film that won several awards (4 Oscars!) as well as being praised highly in critic and viewer reviews. For me, the film was fascinating in its examination of societal hierarchies and the cyclical nature of wealth as well as its psychological horror elements. The brutal hopelessness of the ending was especially poignant, not even offering an ambiguous end, rather, cutting back to reality just before the credits roll. With its excellent storytelling, the film is inspiring to me, as someone who occasionally writes and wishes to write a compelling narrative at the level of the one seen in Parasite.
film
The National Gallery Sculpture Garden
On Saturday, I visited the National Gallery of Art in DC and also walked through the neighboring sculpture garden (also part of the National Gallery). This was for another assignment, for the class Intro to Art Theory, so I was actually required to take selfies, my first pentathlon selfies. Anyways, although I had been to the National Gallery before, this was my first time in the sculpture garden. Considering how the majority of the works in the Gallery are older and in traditional mediums, mainly oil paint, it’s refreshing to see the variety of works in a variety of mediums on show in the garden. Even though I am not usually a sculpture artist, the inspiration and stories behind each very different piece was interesting to see. Especially the difference in interpretation of a sculpture called Spider, which seems alien and intimidating, but is described on the Gallery’s website as a protective figure, delicate and maternal.
Pentathlon Semester 3
As an experiential component of College Park Arts Scholars, I attended a selection of five art events during my third semester. These events ranged in art mediums and each sparked dialogue among my peers.
Harry Potter Marathon at My Living Room
With the pandemic and all that fun stuff, I've been staying in my apartment a lot, and this week me and my roommates decided to do a Harry Potter marathon. It's interesting rewatching such a classic series, at least for my generation, especially now that I know about the biases and views of Rowling. It's almost like the way I learned how to review scholarly articles; taking into account the merits of the work while still acknowledging the issues caused by author bias (in Rowling's case, racism and homophobia).
film
Hayley Levitt's TED Talk; Who Decides What Art Means?
While scrolling through the Pentathlon Instrustions and Resources page on Saturday October 3rd, I noticed the suggestion to watch a TED Talk relating to or about art. The first one I saw caught my attention, Who Decides What Art Means? by Hayley Levitt. While the talk provides several perspectives, it does not choose one as the correct perspective on what art means. This is helpful for me to understand especially as I begin developing my capstone project because I will be displaying my project for an audience of my peers. I want to make sure the meaning gets interpreted correctly and clearly even among people who might have different responses to the question posed in the TED Talk.
presentation
Arts Advisory Board's Halloween Origami Night
On October 13th from 7:30-8:30 I attended an online event hosted by the Arts Advisory Board. Members of the board guided me and the other attendees through the steps to create an origami bat and an origami pumpkin. I made a slightly different version of the bat, because I already had some experience with origami and felt comfortable doing a slightly harder version. This kind of event is good for me because it allows me to practice art skills that I don't use on a regular basis.
visual art, arts scholars
Scholars Vote
I attended the Scholars Vote event on Friday, October 23 at 7:00 PM after reading about it in the email sent out by Harold. I had already voted but it was still interesting to hear the views of my peers regarding their feelings about the election and their opinions on the candidates. It was particularly validating to see that many others agreed with how I had voted and were planning to vote for the same candidate. I've found that I've been far more engaged in current politics because I have the power to influence them with my contribution, and I'm definitely more educated regarding this election than previous elections even if previous elections were just as divisive.
presentation
Pentathlon Semester 4
As an experiential component of College Park Arts Scholars, I attended a selection of five art events during my fourth semester. These events ranged in art mediums and each sparked dialogue among my peers.
Swan Lake, Russian State Ballet
Over the years I've read and watched several iterations of the classic Swan Lake, and am quite fond of the story and the music. While taking a break from all the homework and stress of the first two weeks of class, on Saturday, February 6th around 1:00 I got out my tablet and drew while watching the Swan Lake ballet. Interestingly, the original production was a failure, in stark contrast to its widespread popularity today. It reminds me of how many artists went unrecognized during their lifetimes only to become wildly popular after their death, sometimes many years after their death. And besides the music and the story, something that I saw as I watched was the use of lighting parallel to the music as another method to convey mood and emotion without a sound from the dancers. It really encourages me to explore lighting and other elements I don't usually think of as I create my own art, which, like the dancers, communicates a story or theme without words. The drawing I was working on as I watched show this well, as I chose to shade the figure as though a strong golden light shone on her.
dance
AAB and Peer Mentors 2-for-1 Event; Skribbl.io/Draw Together
On Sunday, February 28th from 5:30-6:30, I participated in an event hosted by the AAB and the Arts Scholars Peer Mentors. Of the four breakout rooms, I participated in the skribbl.io and the draw together rooms. Of the four options, they appealed to me the most, especially since it might have been embarassing to break out in a Tik Tok dance in front of my roommate. I wasn't able to participate on the whiteboard during the draw together activity because it wouldn't load, but I instead followed along with the prompts on a pair of sticky notes. This event really made me miss being in person and attending events with fellow Arts Scholars because the camaraderie is such a big element of Scholars. All the personal interactions that you might not be able to experience in a normal class. I've really developed my social skills over the past two years, and I've gained the confidence to attend social events that I never had in high school, thanks in part to Pentathlon and Scholars. I'm glad I got the chance to experience it in person, and even the online events have helped grow my social confidence.
presentation, visual arts, scholars
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Color Me, Stress Free
I attended an event on April 9th, at 7 PM, hosted by Nicole Panebianco that showcased her capstone project. Her project serves as an exploration of the future career she plans to pursue, by arranging an art therapy session for fellow students. It was a chance to relax and reflect after a week of work and school stresses. Considering how I also want to use my capstone project as an exploration of my skills with the potential application to a future career it helps to see how others are applying their capstones. Although I plan for my main source of income to be a career in animal science, I am still planning to pursue art as a secondary job or at least, as a hobby. And with my capstone plans changing to exclude several pieces I had originally planned works in my favor in this way, by providing me with projects I can work on in my free time and potentially market to an audience.
presentation
Getting Creative with Memes with Vicky
On Saturday April 17th, from 5-6 PM, I hung out with a fellow Arts Scholar sophomore, Vicky in an event that is part of her capstone project. This was the second event hosted by Vicky to collect memes and opinions on memes from different peer groups as a sort of interactive survey format. It really helps when in a situation like the one created by the current circumstances we can interact with peers, or in this case, friends, because of the disconnect caused by the virtual setting. I have also been experiencing difficulties with time constraints and motivation when it comes to my own project, so hearing the same concerns from others helps me to feel more comfortable with even the limited progress I've made. Like me, Vicky has had to cut down on her original plans due to various reasons. I personally have had difficulties with time management, and prioritizing my capstone over assignments from other courses. But I've come to accept and appreciate the progress and growth I've made through these difficulties, and in spite of them.
