Staci Jordan
Arts Scholar
Pentathlon
Semester 2
As an experiential component of College Park Arts Scholars, I attended a selection of five art events during my second semester. These events ranged in art mediums and each sparked dialogue among my peers.
Pentathlon 1: Do schools kill creativity? TED Talk
February 11, 2023 | TED Talk | Do schools kill creativity?
#presentation
For my first pentathlon event this semester, I watched a TED Talk by Sir Ken Robinson in which he discussed how attending school stifles our creativity because of how society views education and the arts. Before I go into my thoughts about Robinson’s points, I want to stress how much I enjoyed his presentation. I’m currently taking a public speaking course and noticed how easy it was for him to engage the audience, especially with the various jokes and short stories he incorporated into his talk. I recommend that you watch it if you have not already.
Moving on, one important point he made in support of his argument was how in schools all over the world, there is a hierarchy of subjects. He mentioned how math and languages are at the top, then the humanities, and then art is at the bottom. From a young age, we are all taught that the arts are not very important or valuable. This idea causes us to let go of our creativity to do well in important subjects so we can grow up and get a job. A second point he makes is that in school, we learn that making mistakes is the worst thing we can do. He then mentions that you cannot be creative or innovative if you are unwilling to make mistakes. By stifling creativity and innovation, we are making it more difficult for ourselves to advance. With fewer people being able to come up with new ideas, more people will be stuck behind and left in the past as a small few continue to advance. For this reason, I agree with him that society needs to adjust its view of the arts and start to see all disciplines as necessary and valuable.
Pentathlon 2: Viewing of the movie, Enough
February 26, 2023 | Netflix | Enough
#film
For my second pentathlon event this semester, I watched the 2002 film, Enough, starring Jennifer Lopez. The movie is about a young woman named Slim who marries a man who turns out to be very abusive. As soon as Slim discovers the man her husband truly is, she decides to fight back. Initially, she struggles to keep herself and her daughter away from him, but in the end, she is able to free herself from him. Although this movie is just over twenty years old, it raises awareness about an issue that is still present today. That issue is domestic violence. One fact I just learned in my criminal justice class is that domestic violence is the most common form of violence many women face. There have been numerous cases when a woman has died as a result of domestic violence. The end of the movie makes a nod to this fact when Jennifer Lopez’s character is speaking to an officer about her husband and he says that she is “one of the lucky ones.” The officer said that to Slim because she made it out alive.
I appreciate the role this movie plays in trying to better society by raising awareness of one of its many issues. Especially since the rate of domestic violence went up during the Covid pandemic and quarantine. We need more media and art like this that sheds light on important issues like domestic violence.
Pentathlon 3: Viewing of the play, The Human Voice
March 12, 2023 | UMD’s streaming service - Theatre in Video | The Human Voice
#theater
For my third pentathlon event, I watched the 1966 play, The Human Voice. It was an interesting experience viewing this play. In the beginning, it took some time to figure out what was happening. The whole performance took place in the main character’s bedroom. She is the only character, besides her dog, that we see throughout the performance. All other characters are brought in through telephone conversations she has with them. The main person she speaks to is Alec, her ex-boyfriend, or something like that.
The woman seems to be very depressed and suicidal because Alec left her. As I watched this performance, I thought about a lecture I heard from one of my Arts scholars supporting courses about how femininity is depicted, specifically in popular music. We discussed how some female artists either reinforce or challenge the gender norms placed on them by society. Some characteristics that women were supposed to have or work toward were being thin, attractive, and young. Also, when it came to romantic relationships, women were viewed as longing to be loved by their men. This play reinforced all of these norms. The main character expressed to Alec that she felt she could not live without him and brought up how she knew about the younger, more attractive woman he left her for. It seemed he had started seeing the other woman toward the end of their relationship. The main character expressed understanding towards Alec for doing this to her since she is no longer as young and beautiful as she was before. It was interesting to see some of the beginnings of where these ideals about femininity came from. Now, more female artists are challenging these norms, but in the 60s, these ideals were still being reinforced.
Pentathlon 4: David C. Driskell Exhibit
April 9, 2023 | Virtual David C. Driskell Exhibit | David C. Driskell at the University House
#visualart
For my fourth event this semester I chose to attend a virtual exhibit of some of David C. Driskell’s work along with some other artists whom he worked with. Common themes throughout Driskell’s pieces were strong African American women and nature, specifically he depicted a lot of trees, flowers, and other greenery. He also would often use many different vibrant colors throughout his abstract art pieces. One recurring thought I had in my mind as I went through this exhibit was how this exhibit connected to our Arts Scholars colloquium discussions about how art can tell you information about an artist, whether it be their background or about events that occurred during their lives when they created a particular piece.
Looking at the works in this exhibit gave me the impression that Driskell saw Black women as strong and powerful. In fact the very first piece in the exhibit was inspired by his mother, which got me curious about what Driskell’s household was like growing up. Maybe he was solely raised by strong women. His pieces pertaining to nature gave the impression that he loved it and probably felt that we should take care of our environment. One final thing that was interesting about the exhibit was how you could see where there was a change that occurred in his life with the two pieces he created with less color. They still depicted nature but they were in a slightly different style than many of his other pieces. Attending this exhibit helped me to view art like puzzle pieces to an artist’s life. Each piece gives you insight into who the artist is.
Pentathlon 5: Origami with AAB
April 21, 2023 | Arts Scholars Advisory Board (AAB) | Origami Oasis
#visualart #ArtsScholars
For my final pentathlon event this semester, I attended an AAB event for the first time. I had a fun experience doing origami with some of my fellow arts scholars. It was a relaxing and peaceful environment. I also appreciated the refreshments. I was first introduced to origami in middle school and was fascinated by it. It is so incredible that people can take paper, a 2-dimensional object, and transform it into 3-dimensional shapes. One thing I find even more amazing about origami is that you can take several pieces of paper to make a larger 3-dimensional object without using any adhesive materials to make the papers stick together. Although origami can behave in that way and look very nice, it takes patience to use it to create a work of art. This is something that I was reminded of after attending AAB’s event. Initially, I struggled with following the instructions for making the designs I wanted, but I persevered. My origami did not look exactly like the pictures but it still closely resembled them. I was proud of what I was able to do. This experience taught me how beginner-friendly origami can be. Anyone can do it, just like any art. Anyone can create it and it does not have to look perfect to be considered art.
