KELLY KIM
Arts Scholar
SEMESTER 1
My first semester at UMD as a part of the Arts Scholars program was an amazing way to transition into college life, especially with the struggles that came with the COVID-19 pandemic.
It gave me opportunities to connect with people with similar interests and actually hold conversations with them, which is something that I would have had trouble with if I were only taking traditional university courses. Also, as the CPSA 100 class had mostly discussions and projects rather than tests and lectures, I was able to rediscover my passion for art because I did not feel overwhelmed with work. For example, I used to love math—especially high school calculus—but the workload and teaching style of my linear algebra professor has led me to lose my drive for it. This has happened to me in the past with art, as I felt overworked with drawing projects, but the nonchalant and engaging structure of the arts scholars class has allowed me to embrace my true passion once again without it feeling like a chore.
A course that I feel has—surprisingly—connected to the arts is my CMSC131 course, which is Introductions to Object-Oriented Programming I (computer science). I am interested in graphic design and software engineering as a future career, and this class as well as its following classes can help me to get there. What I believe is most similar between the arts and computer science is that coding requires thinking outside of the box and creativity, as one project can have thousands of different methods to get the same result. I love how math and computer logic can be connected to my artistic passions.
Throughout the semester, we had quite a few guest speakers which I did not expect. It was interesting to see people with a lot of experience with different artistic strengths, and I learned a lot from all of the perspectives. It allowed me to think about my future self and in what ways art would be in my life in 20 years. Also, having all of these events online certainly took away from some of the experience as I would probably have felt more connected if we met in person, but I think they were still organized in a way that was effective to my learning.
Before I entered college, I imagined myself in my dorm with friends and getting to meet many new people with my newfound freedom. I stayed home this semester, so I did not get to experience much of that. However, I am also grateful because my time at home allowed me to transition more comfortably from a high school to college mindset, especially with the drastic difference in workload and structure. I believe that when I can go back on campus, I will be able to settle in easily now that I was able to make mistakes and learn from them in a safe place with my family to support me.
I felt that UMD’s response to the COVID-19 crisis fit my expectations, as I could see how hard my professors worked to adjust to remote learning. It was a learning experience for everyone, and I think they did their best to accommodate the difficult situation.
The most impactful experience in Arts Scholars was during the field trip I attended, with Studio A. I learned about zines, which are small, usually self-published, expressive mediums that cater to a specific audience. As a part of several small communities, I feel that zines are more personal than large publications like magazines or literary journals. The time I spent with my peers and the two hosts, Emil and M, was extremely comfortable and relaxing. It taught and reminded me that art is accepting and open-minded; it is not definitive and strict, which is a thought that I fall into sometimes with my own work when I feel discouraged. I can use this experience in the future to remind myself what art can be, rather than what art is supposed to be.
SEMESTER 2
This semester, I was able to develop a relationship with my TLPL professor. This was a class where the focus was on unlearning traditional ideas about students, student behavior, and teaching styles. To reflect these notions, she was extremely accommodating to problems that arose with the pandemic, as well as understanding that my other classes were overwhelming. It was often challenging to actually reach out to my professor and ask questions or request things. However, it is much better to email to ask for clarification than to stay confused and uninformed. These challenges will always exist, and incoming students usually don’t like to reach out to their professors for help, but they are often incredibly supportive and happy to help.
I chose to join the Sewing Revamping Workshop, where I met other Art Scholars with similar interests—in clothing design and embroidery—as me. During the workshop sessions, we got to connect with one another because of these hobbies. We were able to share our ideas about ways that we could redecorate clothing (that we already own) into new statement pieces. It was times like these where I felt like I was not alone, simply attending classes virtually in my room. I felt like I was a part of the community that began from many shared experiences of the pandemic. It was difficult to reach out to others, but it was worth it to create these new friendships. I believe that next year’s freshmen can connect with their peers by doing the same; it can be frightening to meet new people, but it is definitely worth it to add to the university experience.
The Art Scholars program fostered a sense of community and artistic engagement for me through the workshop. I felt connections to other students forming when we had discussions about the craft during class. We were able to influence each other’s projects, by sharing ideas about what to add to our individual pieces. I enjoyed this experience immensely, and it has led me to understand that art is not just something that a single person creates; it is an experience where an artist shares their work and people can discuss and analyze it. I contributed to the community by doing this with fellow Art Scholars in the workshop. We commented on each other’s work and gave suggestions. I may continue to contribute to this community by perhaps leading a workshop in the future: preferably about something that I am passionate about, like the cross between arts and technology, which was the theme of my final project for the Sewing Revamping Workshop.
My appreciation for art has skyrocketed during my first year in the Arts program. Before this year, I knew that art was around us in our daily lives, but I did not fully recognize it until this year when I listened to guest speakers talking about their experiences. Everything around us that is aesthetically pleasing is the result of an artist’s visions. It is an incredibly important aspect of life and society. I also have redefined art; I believe that it is not simply a piece of work done by a person, but an action. A work becomes art when it is received by others: it is the intimate connection and understanding between the artist and the audience. Future Art Scholars may expand their own definitions of what art means to them by redefining it as I have, based on their experiences, which makes it personal for them.
The Sewing Revamping Workshop was the most beneficial in supporting my work. For our final projects, we took an article of clothing that we already owned and embroidered it to turn it into a new piece. I knew that embroidery was an art form, but I thought of it more as simply decorating my clothes. However, I shared my ideas and work with fellow Art Scholars and got to expand on why I chose to take certain steps in my creative process. I learned a lot from practicing this craft, as well as discussing with people that shared similar interests as me. Incoming Art Scholars can get the most out of their experience in the program by doing what I did, which was making an effort to connect with others about art. It is something that was difficult for me to do, but I am so grateful that I mustered the courage and had a wonderful experience as a first year.
SEMESTER 3
This semester was the first time I have been able to attend in-person college classes, which I was able to learn a lot from and was very excited for. Art can reshape our understanding of our learned history, biases, and beliefs by bringing attention to issues in society that people may not know of without the art. For example, our class recently watched the documentary “La Manplesa,” which was about how the people of Mount Pleasant DC have experienced police brutality. They were able to bring awareness and protest through art forms like music and spoken word. When other people do not know much about what has been going on in that area, the art that the victims have created show them a new perspective on how they experienced the effects of gentrification and police brutality. In a similar context, I can show how I experienced certain things through art, which is what I will be doing in my Capstone project. The theoretical models and practical strategies for initiating the creative process are something that I learned in class, which consists of preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification. These steps allow artists to structure their creative process in a way that allows them to think deeply and explore every aspect of the creative idea. We can effectively incorporate feedback to revise and refine our ideas with greater depth and clarity by taking in the feedback with a more objective lens. This allows the artist to take the criticism and use it to bring out different sides of the art piece.
I took a Women Studies class this semester, where we viewed different articles, videos, and art pieces pertaining to intersectional feminism. During one of our classes, we looked at art by Julio Salgado, a Mexican artist and activist. Through his art, he was able to empower undocumented and queer people from his own experiences and ones from his community. Being in the Arts program helped me to understand it better because of how we learned about how art can reveal issues in society.
That Women Studies class that I took, WGSS250, was the most interesting Arts supporting course that I have learned a lot from. I believe that a lot of the articles and other media that we studied during that class had to do with art in several ways. There were many informative articles, but we also read poetry and looked at art that argued for feminist ideas. The authors and artists displayed how they felt, spread awareness, and brought new perspectives about certain important topics, which is exactly what we learned during colloquium.
I decided to dorm in the Arts Scholars hall this year, which helped me to connect with fellow Arts Scholars students outside of class. We were able to discuss issues that pertained to art and issues of different communities with much more convenience than last year, as this was the first time that I could meet with these people and bond with them in person.
I have contributed to the Arts program and community this semester by attending the activities planned for this class. For example, I attended the DC field trip, where my peers and I explored DC to take pictures of different art pieces. We were able to connect and collaborate in order to complete as much of the scavenger hunt as we possibly could. We decided to split up and work together in groups, and were able to bond and have fun along the way.
Being in Arts Scholars has allowed me to find people that appreciate art in the same way that I do, which is something that I have not been able to experience before. Because of our passion for art, we have been able to discuss and have deep, civil conversations about important topics and different ways in which art can affect people. I learned a lot from my fellow peers and the class, and have expanded my knowledge and perspective on different things. For example, we learned about drum circles during one class. I have not really experienced anything like it, and have only known about what I have seen online. However, I was able to actually learn how to play the African drums and experiment with different rhythms, which was really fun.
Overall, I really enjoyed my first in-person semester as an Arts Scholar and hope to experience more in the future.
SEMESTER 4
Throughout the past two years in the Art Scholars program, I have completed twenty pentathlon events, 4 semester reflections, and one final capstone project to display my hard work and progress. In regards to pentathlon events, I have grown and expanded my knowledge on different forms of art during these years; before coming into the program, I was only really interested in visual and auditory art forms like illustration, painting, and instrumental music. I came to realize that comedy can be considered an art form and is something that I really enjoy, especially as I ended up using many comedy events for my pentathlons. I have progressed from staying in my comfort zone like attending an online concert of a band that I have listened to hours of their music—Chaos Chaos in September of 2020—to attending in-person comedy shows from Maryland Night Live and the all-women-and-nonbinary group, Hysterics. My written assignments about these events have advanced from descriptions of the event and shallow ideas, to deeper thinking and pondering the meanings, interpretations, and intentions of the event.
As a result of my program experiences, my perception of art has been enhanced. One event that influenced me was when I attended the Baltimore field trip to watch the play Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. This genre is not something I typically seek out, so I was more mindful when watching the play. I was able to better appreciate different aspects of the performances, including the lighting design and creativity with costumes. Another way in which my perception of art has been influenced is when we watched La Manplesa during class, where I discovered the vastness to which art can influence a community and how it can bring people together in times of extreme distress.
The Arts Scholars program also influenced my creative process, which showed itself most clearly in my capstone project. In previous years, I did not have a solid understanding of the importance of planning and mindfulness when it comes to art; I usually just doodled and sketched whatever came to mind. After learning about different techniques to bring out deeper thinking with my creative process, my final project was able to blossom in ways that I would not have been able to come up with without taking time to try different methods. Some that were helpful were taking a Schultz hour and sleeping on my ideas.
Regarding my creative skills, being in Arts Scholars has helped me to maintain my artistic hobbies. I tended to get disinterested and drift from art from time to time—especially during the pandemic—which led my skills to dullen. Working on the capstone project helped me to stay on track and continue to practice drawing, as well as encourage me to expand on aspects of drawing that I have been intimidated by in the past, like working on dynamic poses and different perspectives.
I have also been able to collaborate effectively with my peers, being in Art Scholars. For example, during freshman year, I had the opportunity to work in groups for the podcast project. Each of my group members worked on different artistic aspects of the project, including making background music, editing, script writing, and cover art. We all could appreciate each other’s talents that were all important to finish the podcast, even as they were all quite different.
Though my years as an Art Scholar are coming to an end, I will be able to carry the knowledge I acquired for the rest of my college career as well as my life. I have realized the important role that art plays in my life; I have taken my skills and resources for granted in the past, but being in a community of like-minded people and working on art assignments have led me to conclude how important this subject is to me. Even though I am most likely not going into an art-related field, I want to still maintain this hobby that brings me joy and utilize the lessons about the creative process that I have learned in CPSA classes.