Month: December 2013

LEARNING OBJECTIVES, followed by end of term REFLECTIONS

1)   I hope to gain a solid understanding of why and when community arts emerged, in what ways it has been sustained throughout major social changes.

I believe I’ve gained a basic historical knowledge of the emergence and transformations of the community arts field.

2)   I’m not sure this will be a topic in this class, but I am interested in international community arts, especially Central or South American community arts. I would like to compare how arts structures in the United States differ from those abroad and see what I might learn from those differences. This might be a topic in which I supplement some of my own research, beginning in this class and continuing, perhaps, throughout future community arts concentration courses.

I wasn’t able to do much research regarding community arts outside of the United States, although I almost chose to research international disability arts for my final paper. This is absolutely an area I want to learn more about, hopefully in the next couple terms. I’m interested in Lydel’s fair trade research and I look forward to learning from her.

3)   I would like to consider the ways in which “culture” influences art making and how differences in value systems and social structures influence the importance of art to the individual and a community.

This is a huge learning goal to give an answer too, as art is and has always been an expression of experience, of culture, of religion, of rebellion, of passion, fear, regret or of hope (and on and on).  I could never suggest that a certain type of art is created because of a certain cultural tradition, as there is a long history and always transforming intricate network of ideas and experiences related to culture and value. Community arts, I feel, is more about giving people the space, materials and confidence to express whatever they need to express, and learn about meaning through the process. I feel that it’s not so much about asking why but creating a how. It’s about providing access to art for everybody, as it (should be) a fundamental right to express yourself to another.  

4) I want to learn everything I can from my 8 peers in this course, as I’m already inspired by the skills and experience they bring to the table. I want to practice listening and communicating with those who I can speak with comfortably, so that I am better prepared for future interviews and group environments.

Well, the 8 of us quickly became 6, but the 5 peers I had the opportunity to listen to are profoundly inspiring individuals. I am humbled and empowered that these women will go forth to lead community arts organizations in the future, and I cannot wait to be among them! I feel that my communication skills have improved and I’m much more likely to add my thoughts to a conversation, even if they aren’t fully formed. Such a small class environment has been so helpful in allowing me these opportunities to share and listen with more confidence, patience and humility.

5) I hope to be introduced to a variety of resources (both in print and online) in community arts theory, development and practice which may help me start my own research and stay updated on the quickly growing and changing field of study.

I have a binder full of resources I’m sure to reference from time to time and many more I found while navigating for sources for my papers.  My increased community arts vocabulary has made it immensely easier to do research and start narrowing down what fields within community arts I’m most interested in.

6) I look forward to studying cases in which marginalized populations have benefited from community arts programs, and the difficulties an arts manager faces when trying to implement such an organization.

This was actually a very big topic this term, including (at risk, although I dislike that term) youth, youth and adults with disabilities, adults who have endured physical or mental trauma, marginalized people due to race, age, gender, geography, etc. I have thoroughly appreciated all I have gained from this course in this ares as I feel it has been well covered.

I really enjoyed Grady Hillman’s article about teaching in various community settings. I hope to find more articles like that one, which suggest not only good strategies for arts outreach and education, but also those strategies that don’t work so well. I want to hear more about failures in community arts work, especially those dealing with marginalized populations and youth. 

 

Research Paper: Community Arts Praxis Fall 2013

1) I hope to learn ways in which an arts organization can communicate effectively to target consumers/participants through online and transmedia communication and/or through printed materials.

I believe I’ve met this goal, as the Graphic Standards package I’ve made could be used for my imaginary arts organization either online or through printed materials, and seeing so many examples between what my peers have made and what past AAD-ers have made, I feel like I have a much better understanding. 

2) I hope to learn ways in which it may still be best to communicate through printed materials to certain audiences, or use a combination of printed and digital materials.

Printed materials do still have purpose– sometimes small flyers/ads that a person can find and physically take with them can feel just precious enough to entice them to find out more. Also, having a physical reminder of something in your home that you see multiple times a day may be less annoying than getting through email and more effective in making you attend/participate. Still, it all depends on the needs (both real and perceived) of the target audience in what marketing platform to utilize most. 

3) I hope to build on what basic skills I have with Adobe Creative Suite and gain basic proficiency in Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, but with a focus on Illustrator as a tool for clean, bold drawing. I look forward to experimenting with original drawings and the way they may be converted into vector images in Illustrator through technologies I haven’t yet worked with.

I have gained some more skills in Illustrator and inDesign. I am somewhat more comfortable constructing clean, bold compositions. I haven’t gotten the chance to experiment with creating original drawings and convert them into Illustrator files, but I am fairly confident I could figure it out at this point. I have enjoyed playing around with a Wacom design tablet recently. It allows me to combine my love for drawing and love for image manipulation. I look forward to learning more bout these programs next term. 

4) I look forward to learning more about how typography can make a difference in sneakily selecting potential audiences and how the combination of appropriate layout design and text and image can keep those audiences interested.

Learning about CRAP was the most beneficial tool to keep in mind when designing this term, although I think that much expertise in this area comes from attempts and failed attempts. I think that I have a fairly good eye for composition, but the idea of a focal point in an Illustrator drawing and one in a painting is different and I’m still trying to reconcile that. I hope that I’ll have many more chances to practice these skills. 

5) I plan to put some focus on broadening my technological vocabulary- especially in website design and CS program use. I hope that in leaving this class, I will be better able to understand current conversations about digital culture.

I have definitely broadened my technological vocabulary through lexicon posts, class readings, Eric’s instruction and help from experienced peers. I’m finding it easier to listen to online tutorials by professional designers and be able to follow along. I have a long way to go, but I know that what I’ve gained from this class will allow me to understand some design conversations.

5) I hope to feel more comfortable embracing transmedia platforms in my day-to-day life and take pleasure in updating my ePortfolio and personal website as I learn ways that such platforms can help me more effectively share my skills, experience and future goals with more people.

Reflections:

1) I would like to feel comfortable using the term “transmedia” within and outside of an arts context.

I definitely feel more comfortable using the term “transmedia” and am more aware of the ways in which the use of multiple media sources can help convey a more complete idea. Although the term transmedia still lies in an arts context for me (as most things related to culture, society, etc) fall into some arts realm in my mind, I look forward to ways in which the ideas encompassing transmedia might seep out into the larger public through new technologies such as Google Glass. 

2) I hope to discover ways in which “participatory culture” influences the job of an arts manager, and in parallel, research cultural differences in the ways people engage in the arts.

I have discovered many ways in which participatory culture influences arts programming. Engagement in the arts is dependent on many factors, including but not limited to cultural differences, environmental pressures, social identities and self-confidence (or lack of it). An arts manager must track social trends of participation in arts and culture programming and be inventing new innovative methods to interest possible consumers of an arts product. More than ever, the job of an arts manager is to get information to the larger public and incite curiosity. My generation loves to participate, almost obsessively so, and so this isn’t usually the biggest problem. It’s learning how to best continue opportunities for participation when consumers arrive so that everyone can participate in a way they feel comfortable (and want to come back for more). 

3) As grad school is an opportunity to think about action rather than act and then think, I am determined to give myself the luxury of examining formal art theory and criticism and discussing the praxis of those theories in class and through various media sources.

Well, I thought that grad school is an opportunity to think and then act, but so far, it’s actually been the opposite. I feel as if I’m doing a lot of acting and then thinking, which bodes well for critical reflection but isn’t necessarily the way I prefer to learn. (Real life skills!) I’ve enjoyed the way my rather cynical view of technology in arts education has opened up. The structure of this class has been helpful in not pressuring me to form complete opinions on one art world or another, but has allowed me take in as much as I can like and move forward with new inspiration.

4) I look forward to learning different ways of understanding an “art world” from my peers and the diverse skills and experience they bring to the class and sharing my own ideas.

 This has been one of the most rewarding parts of the AAD program this far for me — learning from my peers. They’re a truly amazing group of individuals with a very wide range of interests, skills and passions and I love to hear them bring new insight to class discussions. I have been delighted to find that there are others who share similar passions as me, as I hadn’t really met anyone before this program who I felt did. I’ve also been humbled to learn about art worlds I didn’t understand or never took the time to understand from those who have spent their lives changing lives. This is one of the things I most look forward to in future terms. It’s only been 10 weeks, but we’re already a little family.

5) I want to locate a non-profit organization which uses transmedia platforms successfully and learn how I might implement such strategies in to my own future organizations.

I have been introduced in this class to many organizations using transmedia platforms successfully and I’m sure there have been a few non-profits in there. However, in this class, my focus was not so much on my personal career goals, but rather to learn as much as I could from my peers and what sources were exposed to me. In that, I think I gained much more than if I had entered with a narrow mind. In fact, I entered this class thinking my mind was fairly open, but I found a few walls I had built and have found ways to get around them. 

6) I hope to be introduced to concepts merging art and folklore, as it is an area I have studied little. I hope to expand my knowledge on the ways anthropology and art merge together.

Anthropology and art– I hope to learn more about this. I am reminded of the day that we discussed in class what art objects had been invented in the past 100 years and what early arts objects preceded them. This evolution of art objects in parallel with cultural developments mirrors many early human theories- to make objects which are essential to the group of people making them in that time and geographical place. Such objects could thus explain the cultural development of early humans as art objects transformed depending on sites and age of those sites.

I would like to learn more about folklore and art worlds, too. Maybe this will fit in my winter break rainy day reading.