Sarah Liu
Arts Scholar
Pentathalon Semester 1 Freshman Year
As a student who is part of Arts Scholars, I participated in different events to explore different forms of art. Below are some of my experiences.
A Postcard I will Never Send.
Sept. 20, 2020, Art Therapy #VisualArts
This is a postcard I will never send for two reasons. The first one is that I think it looks slightly threatening, which was not the intent. The second is because I'm afraid of how the recipients might respond. Theoretically this is for two people with two different messages. This postcard is meant to express the longing of one person (represented by the larger bird) and the release of feelings for another (represented by the smaller bird). Currently, both of these things are out of reach, but maybe one day if I follow the bridge, I'll get there. This was the first time I've ever attempted to express emotions through visual means, which is something I hope to understand better as I study.
Dot Landscape
Oct. 5, 2020 Dots #VisualArts
I was inspired to create this dot piece as a form of meditation. After having a stressful day, unwinding with music while working on just dots was incredibly relaxing. I've seen many different works of dot paintings, and often times I ended up disregarding the amount of skill that dot art takes. However, once I started painting I realized that because continuous lines were eliminated, I had to rely on color solidarity. Furthermore, my reliance on colors was not something I was used to, which was an eye-opening experience. I think that this experience would help me with exploring how colors express emotion as most of my work is in gray-scale.
Expression of Feelings
Oct. 25, 2020 Art Therapy #Visual Arts
After having a rough week of midterms, I decided to listen to some music and draw an expression of how I feel; calm, tired but at peace with myself. What started out as a simple, quick sketch became a rendered pencil drawing as I inserted my emotions into my piece. With this piece I thought about how I could convey how I felt through my piece. I chose pencil because I wanted to do a grayscale drawing, and it is also a very forgiving, yet neat medium. The grayscale and expression representing my exhaustion, once I finished, I let my emotions go and continued on my way.
Get Out
Nov. 15, 2020 Movie #Film
Watching Get Out was an experience I did not ever think that I would have. Partially because. I dislike horror movies, but when my friend asked me to watch it with her, I accepted. I feel like this movie is relevant to our society today, especially during 2020. An issue that Get Out addresses is how some members used black people and their bodies to profit. I feel like this movie does a really good job at conveying the different messages that the director wanted to express, and overall I really enjoyed this movie.
Scavenger Hunt
November 22, 2020 Art Scholars Event # Presentation
For this Pentathlon event, we were sent on a scavenger hunt to find objects that most resemble the objects that were shown on screen. Something I learned from this event was the essence of creativity. It wasn't possible for me to find exact replicas of the items in my own home, so I had to come up with creative explanations for how different objects represented the things shown to me. This allowed me to think outside of the box and think of multiple usages for different items. This really helped me think about how to convey different feelings or themes through objects.
Image Credits:
Get Out: https://www.vulture.com/2017/02/movie-review-jordan-peele-get-out.html
Pentathalon Semester 2 Freshman Year
Follow along this semester as I document my arts experiences this semester.
A Whisker Away
Feb. 7, 2021 Movie #Film
arlier this week, I watched my first Japanese movie, A Whisker Away was released in June 2020. I've always admired the art style and complexity of animated films and was searching for a good reason to watch the movie. The movie is a feel good film about a young girl named Miyo trying to navigate her life with her parents being divorced and her father moving on. She deals with relentless bullying from her classmates who don't understand her eccentric behaviors and Miyo feels the constant need to be strong for other people so that she doesn't cause them to worry for her. Though not everyone can relate to her home situation or being bullied since the 5th grade, we can all find a piece of ourselves (past or present) in this young girl as she journeys through different realms to get her crush, Hinode, to like her and to finally be open with who she is.
Originally titled "Wanting to Cry, I Pretend to Be a Cat" (this is the literal translation), it was also released on Netflix in Japanese with English subtitles. Due to the pandemic there were no theatrical releases. While watching this, I felt a sense of wonder pass through me as Miyo first transformed into a cat to deal with the stress and monotony of life. There are many Japanese animated movies that are about romance and the day to day lives of teenagers with a touch of whimsy, but the underlying messages vary. In A Whisker Away, the viewers follow Miyo as she questions her life's purpose and the meaning of a companion. Over the film she reflects on the meaning of love and what being vulnerable while loving someone means. The underlying theme of chasing your dreams and being yourself is ever present and is a lesson that both Miyo and Hinode learn by the end of the movie and their hopeful future leaves the viewers with a warm fuzzy feeling in their heart, as well as a can do attitude.
2 for 1 Pentathlon Event
Feb. 28, 2021 Art Scholars Event #Presentation #Music #ArtScholars
Today I attended the two for one art scholars event. During the event I attended two separate events, a game of scribbl.io and a game about guess other people's favorite hype songs. The first event, playing scribble.io was a fun event to attend, but it also forced me to think outside the box. Throughout the game we had to watch the person drawing to guess what they were drawing the fastest. The time limit was thirty seconds and forced the drawer to think about the most notable aspect of the object they had to draw, then translate that onto the screen. As the viewer, participants had to use their imagination to make an educated guess about what the drawer was trying to depict. For example, when it was my turn to draw, I got the word "chicken". I'm not entirely sure what a chicken looks like, but I do remember that some chickens are white and they've got little red bits on their heads. I drew a duck with a red bit sticking on its forehead under it's beak. Was it accurate? No. But the way I narrowed its traits down helped to get the point across.
The second event was us listening to music as we guessed who's favorite hype music was. I felt like I was introduced to many different genres of music as I listened. There were certain types of music that I never heard of, and the classic hype songs that I used to dance to alone in my room out of bordem. This experience helped to introduce the different genres that everyone listens to. I usually stick to a few genres of metal, pop, alt and rock, but this event introduced me to different genres such as Japanese pop music and what seems to be folk music, I'm not entirely sure. After this event, I started to realize that there are so many ideas of what is considered "hype" music. I find music with heavy bass, drums, loud singing, and fast paced to be hype, but it never crossed my mind that music with a soothing undertone without words could also be something another person found hype.
Favorites Grid
Apr. 11, 2021 #Visual Art
I took inspiration from the art project Favorite Grid. The point of this project was to draw a grid on your paper and then sketch your favorite things in those grids. I felt like that wasn't specific enough so I gave myself a theme. I'm already very interested in portraiture and people, so I chose a bunch of my favorite characters from a TV series. There isn't much of a challenge when you're redrawing the same position for a face six times. I wanted to play with different eye shapes and different face shapes because those are some of the most noticeable parts of a face to me. Some characters have rounded eyes, and some have more elongated eyes, though I don't think that the eye shapes are as different as I could.
My favorite character is center one on the right. His name is Mistsa. I think that his face proportions are alright, and his hat makes him stand out from everyone else. These drawings are very stylized and the colors are blocky, and I think that there are some pro's and cons with this style. The take away from this art project was how to use my blacks and whites, as well as how important texture and shading is. Textures add another element to the drawing that make it feel more interesting, especially with how little shading there is in these drawings. Shading is also really important because it makes the images pop off the page and creates more interest. After doing this project, I will use what I learned to hopefully create more interesting and intense images and integrate texture better.
Living Life As Art
April 25, 2021 TED Talk #Presentation
Earlier today I watched Daniel Lismore's "My life as a work of art" TED Talk. In it he discusses his work as a living piece of art. Lismore collects different antique pieces or items that catch his interest and creates avant garde fashion looks from them. He combines everything from beer bottle caps to antique rarities into one fashion statement. Lismore talks about how his upbringing and introspection lead him to live the life he currently lives. He details some of his achievements like his looks being put in museums around the world and some of his most painful moments, like being called worst dressed. Towards the end of the TED Talk, Lismore explains how living as art made him realize how important living as his authentic self was. He then questions the audience and asks how many versions of them were there, and how true to themselves were they being.
After watching this presentation, I thought about how personal art can be for some people. Art is a means of expression, and sure, some people do use art as entertainment. But some people's lives revolve around creating art and expressing themselves through art. I am someone who draws constantly, and I create art for my own entertainment or for the entertainment of my friends. I started thinking about how personal I could make my work. There are many versions of myself that have many stories to tell. I am a multifaceted person, and though I am young, I too can tell stories that are based on my life. There are many different purposes for art, I just so happen to want to tell stories through my work to make people smile. This TED Talk helped stir up some questions that I never considered.
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Pentathalon Semester 1 Sophomore Year
Follow along this semester as I document my arts experiences this semester.
Silent Disc-glo
Sept. 19, 2021 NextNow Fest #Music
I arrived at the Silent Disc-Glo with a few friends and immediately noticed how excited the atmosphere was. There were lots of people dancing around in circles and flashing lights with smoke coming from the stage. We were each given a pair of headphones which had two channels, that played different music for us to dance to. Before arriving, I thought that this would be a silent event because everyone would be doing their own thing. I was surprised by how cohesive everything seemed despite everyone listening to their own music. The DJs mostly played pop music, though I heard some K-pop and Latin music which added some variety.
I learned that the ambiance of music can help create a cohesive experience and that the environment where events are located play a large role in how the viewer experiences the art. After attending this event I was left wondering how I can influence the mood and interest in my viewer when they look at my art and where I could place my art to create interest. Throughout Art Scholars we are being exposed to different mediums and how they interact with each other. For this experience I was exposed to how important visual effects and lighting are to affecting music. As a Psychology major, I'm very curious about people and their individual responses to different experiences. I am curious as to how the lighting affected people's overall enjoyment of the event, as I noticed many people appeared to come out of it satisfied and pleased. While this event hasn't changed what I consider art, it has made me reconsider how intertwined music and visual arts can be, as well as performance arts to a certain extent. I think it takes a certain amount of creativity to come up with something as wacky as a silent dance party because usually half the fun of dance parties is listening to the same music and grooving out. Yet, despite listening to different music, there was still a large sense of community between the dancers during the Silent Disc-glo.
Coraline
Oct. 4, 2021 Movie #Film
Coraline is by far a cult classic. I have heard everyone and their mom rave over how detailed Coraline was. This movie is cemented as a somewhat spooky children's animation and a defining moment in most people's childhoods. I had never seen Coraline, but was intrigued after a few friends started to watch. The tale follows a young girl named Coraline as she moves into a new home with her mother and father. Her parents do not interact with her very much and Coraline starts acting out because she does not have friends and is bored and wants attention. After a few nights she finds a new world with a family that she wishes that she had; a supportive Other Mother and a playful Other Father. However, she discovers the web of lies that the Other Mother has been weaving to steal her soul and plays a dangerous game to save herself, her parents and the previous children that were captured by the Other Mother.
Something that I feel like I gained from watching this movie is an introduction to how to tell a cohesive story. Throughout Coraline it does not feel like a moment was wasted. What questions are you pondering after attending this event? Some of the questions that I have are mainly pertain to how the creators endured through shooting every single frame of Coraline. As someone who is currently studying color and mood, Coraline exemplifies the usage of color saturation to create different atmospheres and emotions in the viewer. I have always had a respect for animation, but I never really looked into 3D animations. It's interesting to see the integration of new technology. While I don't think watching Coraline is a specifically unique experience, it was certainly an interesting experience. I have not watched that much children's scary movies before and I found the aura of the movie playfully intense.
Comedy Show
Oct. 29, 2021 #Presentation
On October 28th, a few friends and I went to a comedy show hosted by the University of Maryland. Headlined by Jimmy O Yang, our two hour experience was one full of laughs and interestingly enough, self reflection. This was my first experience with a comedy show, unless the Laugh Factory's instagram stories count for anything. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect but I was curious about the way that each comedian would interpret comedy. Humor is such a unique trait, it must be difficult to find a subject to unite an entire room of people. As the show got started, I realized that modern controversial and pop culture were a good way to connect to the audience. As the night went on, I noticed a very apparent theme in Yang's humor. As a Chinese immigrant, Yang often offered critiques and comments about Asian American culture.
After attending this event I was impressed with how Yang was able to offer criticism about American and Asian American culture while making people laugh. It made me wonder how much preparation went into creating this show and how much of it was simply ad libbed. In Arts Scholars we examine the messages behind art and how those artists present those ideas, specifically ideas that commentate about social justice. Yang's craft, comedy, intertwines a commentary about American culture and humor in an intricate yet inoffensive way. His skit embodies what we look at in Art Scholars. I never considered including humor into my style of art. The way I learned about conveying any message was very serious. Every stroke had to have a deeper, symbolic and serious meaning. Including humor when discussing deeper messages is a better way to introduce audiences to a new or different view point, yet I had never considered it before. Something unique about this experience was how much I related to it. Not only did I find it humorous, but I was also left thinking about the different aspects of my culture and traditions. I began to wonder what part of traditions were hurting progress and whether culture was stagnant.
Image Credits: University of Maryland Student Entertainment Events
Art Scholars: Collage and Coffee
November 19, 2021 Collage #Visual Arts #ArtsScholars
This is a collage is of a side profile of a woman who is opening her eyes and looking down. The piece is made out of floral Washi tape with a collage of black underneath it. Initially I was creating this piece because I didn't know what to do and I wanted to play around with the Washi tape. I then realized that I could use the tape to create different tones and shapes. I initially defaulted to a landscape because I saw blue and green Washi tape. However, I thought that I could probably push my creativity a bit more and create something a little more interesting.
The woman is somewhat based off of me. She has a fairly flat nose, smaller lips and a smaller chin. She is made of flower Washi tape and somewhat blends into her surroundings, but if you look at her for long enough you can see her a bit better, which is somewhat how I feel about myself as a person. In a way she is designed to represent myself and how I perceive myself.
This art piece serves as an example for me to follow when wondering what steps to take for my creative process. I also was able to use this as a learning experience to recognize some hurdles I face when creating art. I am very worried about the final product and it makes me nervous to even start creating pieces despite the fact that I am perfectly capable of creating art. This piece made me realize that I just need to start, and that it is better to have a rough idea of what I want to do and get it out instead of obsessing over small details that ultimately will not make or break the art. This was an important lesson to learn as I take on my Capstone project and prepare to come up with ideas for it.
Image Credits:https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/movies/06cora.html
Pentathlon Semester 2 Sophomore Year
Follow along this semester as I document my arts experiences this semester.
Meet the Robinsons
Feb. 06, 2022 Movie #Film
Your reflection should move beyond simply describing the event, to analyzing its impact and significance.
After my friends explained that Meet the Robinsons was an important movie that I just had to see, I sat myself down to watch the movie for myself. Meet the Robinsons is a coming of age story that follows Lewis, an orphan, as he comes to terms with the importance and meaning of family. He initially grapples with issues of abandonment and the trauma of not having parents. He struggles with wanting to belong and the uncertainty of whether or not he will ever have the near unconditional love that a family provides. Towards the end of the movie, Lewis finds out that he will have a loving family and that he does not need to find his birth mother to know a safe and secure home. He is reassured by his future self that things will work out for the better and he will finally have the family he longed for as a child.
Looking at this movie as a piece of art, I find that it is relatable to a somewhat niche group of people and more of a feel good family fun kind of film. However, it still conveys the heart of its message very well despite the craziness of how it presents the future. Like many works of art, this movie struck balance between being entertaining and conveying its message without getting too muddled. As I am a psychology major, I find how life events affect an individual to be very interesting, especially if I have a personal stake in them. I found that while silly, this movie moved me to tears as Lewis' struggles reflect my own in life. As someone who was adopted I understood his initial longing to find his birth mother and his curiosity of what life could be like had he never been given up. This prompted me to wonder about the effects of traumatic events in childhood and how they affect a child's mindset. In terms of challenging what I consider art, usually I would think that movies that fall in the same genre as Meet the Robinsons to be feel good movies, however Meet the Robinsons challenged that. While it is entertaining, the way it approached its central message was unique in a way I had not seen kids movies approach it. The creativity that the director used is most definitely noticeable in this film and it deserves to be called a work of art.
Lyric Record
Feb. 27, 2022 Music #Music #ArtScholars
Last Friday I went to the ArtsScholars event hosted by Saxon where we made records with our favorite song lyrics written on them as well as a design. The lyrics I chose are from a song that I was particularly resonating with at the time. My lyrics were "I'm sorry I haven't been myself. Something's got me down, what it is I cannot tell" from the song "Freakin Out on the Interstate" by Briston Maroney. As I listened to this song I was brought back to nostalgic times that I spent by myself in my room simply existing. This song brought me great comfort when COVID first struck as I felt hopeless and lonely. This song helped me feel less alone with my situation and in a a strange way, it validated my emotions about the situation. I sometimes revisit it when I need to spend time by myself.
Something that I am wondering after participating in the ArtsScholars is the process of writing music. Do artists create the message first before writing the beats and actual lyrics? How does the message of the song influence the way that the song is delivered? Throughout ArtsScholars we studied how different artists create messages through their chosen mediums. We analyzed how each artist analyzes their work from different perspectives to ensure that every aspect of their art supports their message. I have never attempted to write a song with a beat, but as I work I tend to listen to music and the messages that they deliver. As I worked through making my record, I spent my time analyzing these lyrics and the song as a whole. I found myself reflecting on what resonated with me and what didn't and thinking about how I could integrate this into my Capstone. Completing this project helped me realize how subjective art can be and increased my understanding of the creative process behind writing music.
Do Schools Kill Creativity?
March 13, 2022 #Presentation
For this Pentathlon I watched a 20 minute TEDTalk given by Sir Ken Robinson. He discussed creativity and the different ways that school, and to a greater extent society, was snuffing it out. He then mentions that when in school, there is a distinct hierarchy of subjects: literature and sciences/maths, humanities and arts at the very bottom. Robinson took great issue with that and questioned who made this hierarchy of subjects. He concludes that it is the schools who make these hierarchies that they then subject students to follow. After all, society deems the people who excel at maths, sciences and english as the smartest. Robinson then goes on to talk about academic inflation and how a bachelor's degree is not worth nearly the same as it used to. Previously, those with any degree were guaranteed a job, however that is no longer the case. After mentioning a conversation he had with a dancer, he closes and thanks the audience for their attendance.
I found Robinson's talk very interesting as I have wondered these questions that he addresses. The importance of creativity is often lost on many students, especially as schools often do not encourage original thoughts. This is something that I struggle with when working through school. I get frustrated with the fact that I am not able to implement concepts that I have been taught creatively because it was never deemed important enough to teach.
Because of this I wondered how we can restructure our school systems (and change societal values) to reflect the importance of creativity and difference. This is a larger societal issue that will impact many different areas of life including economy. I am a Psychology major and one of the things that I am interested in is neurological differences. I also have a stake in this topic and thus hearing about different learning styles and how they encourage creativity is fairly interesting to me.
Highlighter Therapy
April 3, 2022 #Visual Arts
These past few weeks have been incredibly stressful because of midterms, health issues, and general school work. With my energy stretched so thin, I decided to go back to my roots of visual arts and drawing figures. I went to Pinterest and found an interesting subject model to draw. However, half way through lining my figure, I realized that I did not have any colors I could use. After scavenging for anything that could dispense color, I found a bunch of highlighters to use. I have never used highlighters to shade before, or as an art material ever. However, this worked in my favor. The limited color pallet forced me to think outside the box and assign colors based on how I felt.
While working on this, I learned how to adapt to different situations. One thing that I had to maneuver around is my paper breaking. I was using printer paper and was absorbing too much water. I had to weigh the pros and cons of using different shades. After finishing this, I am starting to wonder what other materials I could use to create art. Furthermore, I played a lot with contrasting color. I want to experiment more with color theory. This pushed me outside of my comfort zone in terms of colors as I can be very heavy handed with darker colors. The highlighter forced me to think outside the box about how to create darker tones. This event may not directly connect to my major of psychology but it does help my mental in taking care of myself. I have a trouble with pushing myself to my limits and knowing when to stop. This helped me relieve a lot of stress and have some fun with art in the way that I want.
Fablehaven
April 17, 2022 #Literature
Something that I've been longing to revisit is a childhood book series called Fablehaven. Fablehaven is a book series about Kendra and Seth Sorenson who visit their grandparents who live on a magical reserve full of mysterious and dangerous creatures. Kendra and Seth, along with the organization The Knights of Dawn, face The Society of the Evening Star; a mysterious organization who want to release demons from the demon prison to let them roam free. Since Spring Break I've read the first three books and just finished the fourth. The fourth book is called Secret of the Dragon Sanctuary where Seth, Kendra and a select few others adventure into a dragon infested sanctuary to recover a magical artifact that acts as a key to the demon prison. While they lose a few people, Kendra and Seth ultimately succeed in grabbing the key and make it out alive.
While it is a children's book, Secret of the Dragon Sanctuary was an entertaining read full of fun twists and plot turns. Something that I think a lot of people forget is the joy of relaxing with a book without analyzing a book. This book is something I like to read to unwind after a long day of doing homework or working out. This book makes me think about the audience for art. The author clearly thought about his audience when writing his book to ensure that they could understand what he was trying to convey. It helped me realize how important it is to consider the audience, which is not something that I've thought about before.