ELLEN FENG
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.
.png)
MXMTOON VIRTUAL CONCERT
September 11, 2020 - mxmtoon performance associated with the NextNow Fest, #music
Due to everything being online, UMD was able to get one of my favorite artists to play at the NextNow Festival. It was interesting to experience an online concert. Even though it was nice to listen to mxmtoon sing, at a real concert I would be much more engaged and hyped up. Watching her from my room did make it feel more personal but also less exciting. After performing, two moderators also asked questions to mxmtoon, such as how she writes songs, how she chose her stage name, and what it was like to go from posting songs on the internet for just herself to becoming an internet personality. Figuring out how to share your art and have it seen by people is one thing that many artists struggle with. With a little bit of luck, talent, and some good promotion of her work, mxmtoon was able to create a living with her music. I don’t have the same goal as her, but because she is the same age as me, I really admire how much she has succeeded already.
PUMPKIN PAINTING
October 3, painting pumpkins while babysitting, #visualarts
This Saturday, I was babysitting for my old piano teacher and also thought it would be fun to do a cute craft like pumpkin painting for the Halloween season. I hadn’t painted pumpkins in a long time, and I was reminded how hard it is to paint on a circular object. It didn’t help that I also wasn’t able to use my own materials, but I had fun trying to improvise as well as introduce someone to painting! While this piece of art wasn’t super challenging or interesting, I think it’s a good example to remind ourselves that art is also something that’s simply fun to do. Not all art has to have a message or a greater meaning. When I have a painting block, I usually step away from it for a while but maybe instead I should draw/paint something silly and unrelated to my main project. This way I can show myself that art is still fun and not just work. A lot of time in ArtsScholars we spend talking about the greater meaning of art, which is important, however it’s still nice to take a step back.
SCARY MOVIE
October 22, 2020 - It Comes at Night, #film
Continuing with a Halloween theme, for my pentathlon event this submission, I decided to watch a scary movie. It Comes at Night is an indie film created in 2017 that describes a world ravaged by a lethal virus. People are isolated with little connection to the outside world, and everyone attempts to wear masks, gloves, etc. to protect themselves. I wasn’t in love with this film, but I also thought it was done pretty well. The characters’ reactions are realistic and I prefer a horror movie with more realistic problems (like a massive virus) rather than supernatural villains. This movie, however, was a little too timely considering what the world is like today. If COVID-19 were a lot more deadly, like the virus proposed in the movie, would people be as ruthless as they were shown in this film? Would we even be able to contain a virus like that? Based on the policies that are currently in place in America, I have a lot of doubt about the survival of our country if a more deadly virus were to come about. While this movie doesn’t appear to be outwardly connected to history, this does bring up a good question of how people behaved in past pandemics and why? What can we do to change or keep certain behaviors?
MONSTERS INC
November 12, 2020 - film
Surprisingly, I have never seen Monsters, Inc. Or I have no recollection of doing so. Like many other Pixar movies, this one of course is well made. However, it was a lot more sad than I anticipated. I think this movie does a good job exploring what a parent-child relationship looks like. As an older person watching this movie, it's a lot easier for me to empathize with the parental actions and worrying about a literal child going missing than get lost in the funny characters. I know that most people enjoy Disney movies, however I think they must be rather difficult to make in comparison with some other children's movies because of the amount of layers most Disney movies have. Obviously, this company spends a lot of money to make good films, but I am usually just blown away with the amount of thought they put into things to also make people of all ages enjoy their movies.
_edited.jpg)
CHILL WITH A QUILL
November 17, 2020 - #literature, scholars event
During this event, we were given two options to write about. We could write about one of the poems presented to us, or write a letter to our future self. I found this pretty relaxing. I used to write daily in a journal in early high school, but have stopped now. I forgot how therapeutic it is to simply write reflections about my day or life. This goes to show how art can be used as a form of therapy. Daily or weekly writing in journals is also a good form of recording history, let it be various news events that impact the world on a greater scale, or even the history of your own life. Without the use of memoirs, historians would not have access to as many primary sources (which are already limited in some time frames). I plan to open my letter in 5 years, and it'll be interesting to see how my life has changed.
PENTATHON SEMESTER 2
LONGWOOD GARDENS
January 31, 2021 - #visualart
I went to Longwood Gardens for my first pentathlon event this semester. Not only was it a great way to do something different during the pandemic (because it’s outside), it’s also a great learning experience about different types of plants and the history of the area. I had been there once before, many years ago during the summer, but the winter is such a big difference. I really enjoyed learning about the founder of Longwood Gardens, Pierre du Pont, who was a businessman namely known for being part of the duPont Methanol company. He began constructing the gardens in 1907 initially as a way to retreat from industrializations and save a specific type of tree from extinction. Over the next 30 years, he expanded the garden to include over 900 acres of land. Asides from the history nerd in me, I had great interest in plant care as well. I worked in a flower shop over the summer and I came to understand quite well how fickle plants can be, and I was amazed at how well these flowers bloomed even in winter. It makes me wonder for those that come to work at Longwood Gardens, do they come more for the artistic aspect, such as arranging flowers and setting up the area for the public? Or perhaps they lean towards the scientific aspect of things, such as studying plant structure and growth. This space definitely hits at the aspect of combining the arts with other branches of study, like history and science, like we discussed in our first semester of Art Scholars. What makes this place unique is that it has many different aspects of beauty. One can look at the physical beauty of the plants and patterns people put them in, or at the scientific beauty of having so much life be centered in one place. Somehow the caretakers are able to keep all of these plants thriving. Overall, it was a great experience and if you get the chance to visit, I would recommend doing so!
2 FOR 1 PENTATHLON EVENT - DRAW TOGETHER LEADERSHIP
February 28, 2021 - #artsscholars, #visualarts
For this event, I helped some other peer mentors and Arts Advisory Board members host a large 2 for 1 pentathlon event. Sidney Strong and I hosted the breakout room “draw together”, where we shared a white board screen with all participants and we gave them a fun prompt, like draw animals that don’t have legs, with legs or vice versa. Participants could get inspiration from other people drawing and have a fun, relaxing time drawing. Running the first session was a lot more stressful than the second, but Sidney and I were able to have more discussion because there were less people. In the first session, there were only about 7 people, so everyone was able to draw and then talk about what they liked about the drawings or what they thought was funny. However, I ran into a lot of technical issues because I didn’t realize how intense running zoom was, while sharing sound, and having several tabs open on my computer. Meanwhile, I felt overwhelmed trying to communicate smoothly with all of the participants. In the second session, I knew what to expect with my computer lagging, so I managed to lessen the stress in this aspect. The second session had a lot more people attending (about 16 or so), so we didn’t get time at the end to discuss everyone’s images.
Leading an event on zoom is rather difficult. Since the pandemic started, I’ve felt bad for the teachers that have to face blank screens and no response, but actually being in that position is a lot harder. People don’t want to engage as much over zoom, which is totally understandable, but also a little frustrating. I think if this event were to take an in person format, it would be really fun too and a good way to talk to new people. However, it is easier to host an event with another person than alone. Because Sidney and I already know each other and are friends, it was easier to get others to engage.
.png)
STAR WARS MOVIE NIGHT
April 11, 2021 - #film
Despite Star Wars’s immense popularity, I have never seen this movie (quite a shocker I know)! I didn’t grow up with a great interest in Star Wars, as I always thought it was simply a movie about pew pew guns. Overall, the movie was fun and the storyline is interesting but it definitely does not surpass the Harry Potter series for me, or most other big movie franchises. I discussed the movie later with my boyfriend, and realized that part of the reason why I didn’t feel particularly interested in the series was because there weren’t many characters I could relate to, especially young girls. While Princess Leia is cool and strong, she doesn’t have many lines in the movie or a super in depth character. To use Harry Potter as a comparison again, I loved Hermione because she was the smart, strong, female lead and I wanted to be her. Perhaps the difference in character development is due to situational factors, like Harry Potter simply being made more recent, but nevertheless Star Wars is still super popular today. I would like to know the intentions for Princess Leia’s character, and then how it compares to newer Star Wars characters like Rey and Padme. This idea of representation ties into my Arts Capstone project. I am making my own, original POC cartoon characters. It is extremely important for minority groups to be seen on television, as it affirms their place in society and can break down stereotypes. I didn’t grow up watching Star Wars, but there are plenty of people who did, and a portion of the fandom does have a lot of toxic masculinity. A lot of people complained when Rey took on the mantle of becoming the next ‘leader’ of the Jedi, and for what real reason? Perhaps if Leia had a stronger role in the initial movies, things would be different (I would also like to note that I am not a Star Wars enthusiast, and this is based on speculation and my brief interactions with the community online).
If I have learned anything from this class, it is that most decisions in the creative process are deliberate and have meaning. I think Leia’s character was sacrificed for a couple reasons. A big one being a focus on visual effects, as I believe this was a groundbreaking movie in terms of CGI and whatnot. Secondly, the writers decided to make the story about Luke (despite Leia also being Darth Vader’s child) and write Leia as a secondary character. The perception of women the media wants to portray is different from the 70s, and I think if this movie were to be made in 2021, Leia would be a lot different.
CAN ART AMEND HISTORY TED TALK by Titus Kaphar
April 25, 2021 - #presentation
For my 5th pentathlon event, I watched a TED Talk of Titus Kaphar discussing how we can reframe art to tell different stories, specifically ones that showcase black figures and artists. Kaphar is an artist that attempts to recreate or modify older pieces of art to show the black people should be in the painting. I thought the conversation was very interesting and should be talked about more in the art community. One of the phrases that really stuck with me was “There’s more written about dogs in art history than this other (black) character here.” He goes on to describe how he can find the specific manufacturer of a piece of lace in the painting, but cannot even find the name of the black boy in the painting. Being a minority, I can relate to not being able to find people who look like me, or even many painters like me, within an art gallery. We also don’t discuss many minority painters in general art history classes due to “lack of time”. It’s frustrating and it leads to this assumption that only good, relevant art is reserved for white people. Kaphar argues that by changing our focus on the painting, maybe by eliminating certain characters, or changing a few colors, we can sort of rewrite art to include a more accurate history, one that includes everyone.
This video is a perfect combination of how my major, history, interacts with arts scholars. As we have discussed throughout this year, everything an artist does is intentional. Thus, when researching the history of a painting, it is important to ask about the people not pushed to the front, or the people who are omitted. This type of thinking should be applied to many of the classic paintings and artists that are viewed as this ‘epitome’ of art. This video also supported my opinion that large art galleries should make an effort to produce larger exhibitions showcasing minority works, and more recent works. I think while art itself is always changing, what is showcased can be resistant to change. It’s great that Titus Kaphar is using his creativity and critical thinking to reframe art and art history in a different way.
.jpg)