http://akennard.wix.com/americancomposers

When I came into this program, eighty percent of my artistic knowledge was focused through the very narrow lens that applied mainly to classical music. I had never heard terms like art world or remix discussed  in the ways that we explored them in this class. Not only that, but I admittedly had no real interest in exploring other avenues of art , aside from a fairly surface level appreciation of those art forms I was not expressly familiar with. This class took all of those ill conceived ideas and shattered them. That narrow lens I observed art through widened, and I began appreciating things and questioning their purposes and aesthetics. I wondered at the social and political issues that went into creating art. I began questioning who had power; the consumer or the artist? What are the ways that we actively or inactively find ourselves engaging and participating with art? I even began to question the seemingly basic, fundamental thing that I thought I should be able to answer; what IS art?  This class took everything  I thought I knew about art (which apparently was not much)  and completely reinvented it. Not only did this class redefine what participation in the arts can actually encapsulate, it totally broadened my horizons. I found myself actively engaging in art worlds that I was unfamiliar with. I was no longer afraid to experience something I did not know, but found myself seeking those opportunities out. This class inspired me to start asking the right questions, but more importantly it taught me that there is not just one right answer.

AK Graphic Standards