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Back To The Future

For this last Pentathlon, I decided to watch the movie, “Back To The Future.” Though I’d seen the movie when I was younger, I have very different impressions of it now. When I was younger I thought it was exciting and funny and just very entertaining because of the science fiction aspect of it. Now though, some of the thoughts that occurred to me while watching it were much deeper. For one, I realized just how much the movie has influenced proceeding generations of film makers. The idea of time travel, in general, has been explored in countless movies from “Avengers: Endgame,” and “Inception,” to even “The Lego Movie.” It’s interesting to think about how one movie can become a pop culture symbol that lasts for decades. Another thought I had was that special effects and video editing have come a long way since the 80s. There are only a handful of scenes in the movie that use special effects and a lot of the time, the effects used are very simple, whether it’s the glowing lights around the Delorean or the bolt of lightning that hits the tower. Now, special effects and CGI is so advanced to the point where entire characters can be generated. In the seventh “Fast and Furious” movie, for example, Paul Walker was computer generated into some scenes. What I really took away most from the movie, though, was an excitement for what will be done 30 or 40 years from now. Will movies be holographically projected in front of us? Will animation as real as life come to the big screen? I’m not sure what will happen, but I can imagine.

[vijayvanathayan]

The Tree of 40 Fruit

This week, for pentathlon, I watched a Ted Talk by Sam Van Aken, a Syracuse art professor who created the well known “Tree of 40 fruit.” Of course, I was amazed to hear about how he created the tree and the process of how he got to his final product. He had to graft the tree almost branch for branch and that process isn’t one that can by assessed for success overnight. In fact, it takes years to know whether or not the tree is viable and can produce fruit. What really interested me, though, is what he had to say about why he did it. Originally, he said that he did it purely for artistic purposes, but eventually it became more than that. He wanted to educate people about the food that they’ve been eating. So many people don’t even know that humans have been genetically modifying foods for centuries. He spoke about how there were hundreds of varieties of apples before humans genetically selected for a few specific species. Many fruits now are genetically identical to their “ancestors” because they can only reproduce through grafting, rather than seeds. I knew this about bananas, but I didn’t realize how prevalent this process was. Although I’m not necessarily opposed to genetically modified foods, because most of the time they are safe, it did make me feel strange to not know so much about what I eat on a daily basis. Watching this talk really made me appreciate the fact that there are ways to bridge the gap between science and art and that the two subjects have more in common than we think. 

[vijayvanathayan]

The Simplest Equation

For my third event this semester, I decided to try listening to a story read by LeVar Burton. I used to love reading rainbow as a kid so I was really drawn into this idea. I honestly had no clue that he had been doing this until now. The story that I chose to listen to was, “The Simplest Equation,” by Nicky Drayden. It was a sci-fi short story about two college students. Both girls were the same age and in the same math class, but were from two different planets. The story is about how the girl from Earth rediscovers her love for math with the help of her friend from a far away galaxy. In the process, they also end up falling in love, but once they realize, they’re sadly separated when one of them gets into a grad school in another corner of the universe. But, by the end, the other is also accepted to a school just a few planets away. The story itself was very interesting. Personally, I’m not a fan of science fiction. As a kid, I loved Star Wars and Star Trek, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve developed more of an appreciation for nonfiction. What initially attracted me to the story was that it was about college students. I had no idea it was going to be a love story, but I think the story speaks to a topic that needs is very relevant for the times we live in: same sex love. Many young people don’t come to terms with their sexuality until college and it was refreshing to hear a story that combines this theme with science fiction that’s meant for young people. LeVar Burton said he even chose to read the story because he thought of his own daughter and how if she had similar feelings when she was growing up, he’d want her to be proud of them. Even though I’m not a sci fi person, I definitely enjoyed the story and hope to see more authors follow in the footsteps of Drayden in the future. 

[vijayvanathayan]

Miss You Like Hell

Last weekend, I went to see the play “Miss You Like Hell” at the Olney theatre center. The experience was very sentimental for me because I got to see one of my old friends from high school perform when I had no idea that she was a part of the play. She played Olivia and did an amazing job. It was great to see her in that role because in high school she played the lead for “In the Heights.” Throughout the play, there were so many moments where I was very reminiscent of high school. The road trip aspect of the play especially brought back a lot of memories for me. Most of the memories that I have of my family during breaks from school are ones where we’d be traveling up and down the east coast driving everywhere we went. The element of rebellion and uncertainty was what made it special and seeing that in the play was definitely a treat. Usually, it’s not hard for me to become emotionally invested in plays like this, but the story that was told throughout this play really touched me. It really showed me how much effort probably goes into the creation of the script. You have to be able to construct the play so that it takes viewers on a ride and orchestrate every event so that it happens at the right time. The motorcyclers’ gay wedding was so unexpected, but for some reason, it fits into the story so perfectly. Overall, this experience was definitely one of my favorites for pentathlon and I think it’s made me realize how carefully crafted plays must be 

[vijayvanathayan]

A Doll House

This weekend, I went to see A Doll House at the Clarice. Usually, I thoroughly enjoy the shows at the Clarice, but this one was not my favorite. I definitely enjoyed the actors/actresses and the life they gave to the characters. All of the male roles were played by women and I thought they did an amazing job at staying true to their roles. At some points, I felt that their masculine energy was even stronger than a man’s would have been. They commanded the stage and their presence was felt, even from the back row. What I wasn’t so fond of though, was the fact that the play was very dialogue-heavy. It wasn’t very difficult to follow, but because of the set and the dynamic of the play, it was hard to focus on keeping up with the dialogue. I found myself looking around and day-dreaming a lot of the time. However, I can appreciate a thought out, and sophisticated story. Honestly, I feel that I can blame my shorter attention span on the fact that I might spend too much time on social media and the internet. Plays are not sources of instant gratification, and maybe I just needed to come into the play with that mindset. Next time, that’s definitely something to think about.

[vijayvanathayan]

Knives Out

This weekend, I went to see the movie “Knives Out.” It was literally the movie version of the classic board game “Clue.” It was essentially a murder mystery story, but it was more exciting than any I’d ever seen before. The twists were actually not predictable and the pacing was perfect. Not only did it have my attention the entire time, but it had me confused almost the entire time too. The directing was also great too. The camera angles made it exciting while the lighting made it very mysterious and even funny at times. It was a very easy movie to watch and enjoy. Usually, I’m not the biggest fan of mystery stories because I automatically guess what’s going to happen and who the killer is, but this one was definitely different and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[vijayvanathayan]

Connections

This weekend I went to the Renwick art gallery in downtown DC. I was really excited to go back after our field trip last year because of the shock value and uniqueness of the exhibits that we saw. I thought that they were very contemporary and unlike anything I’d ever seen before in an art museum. This time, I was again pleasantly surprised. The collections were definitey not as shocking but nevertheless, the pieces were amazing. I especially enjoyed “Connections” collection which featured various tapestries and sculptures. Some of my favorites were a marble sculpture made to like a pillow that had an imprint, a gate reminiscent of something from a Harry Potter movie, and the picture above of what looks to be a baby in the womb. I think all of the pieces took you into the artists’ minds in a way that I’ve never really seen before. The piece that I used, specifically really seems like it’s something straight from a dream. The colors are bright and bold, and the shapes of the flowers and foliage are so unique and complex, it’s almost crazy to believe that someone could come up with them. I have to say that I had my doubts about whether or not these exhibits would live up to the ones I saw last year, but I’m happy to say that they definitey did.

[vijayvanathayan]

Sabrina Claudio at The Fillmore

Yesterday, I went to go see Sabrina Claudio at The Fillmore in Silver Spring. In terms of my experience, it was amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people captivated by a performer at one time. She had everyone’s full attention and the whole room was lost in her sound. Although the venue wasn’t huge, it was perfectly personal and her voice was definitely strong enough to fill the room. Sadly though, I found myself struggling to sing along to a lot of her songs. It made me realize that I wasn’t as true of a fan of hers as I thought I was. That got me thinking about the way that we listen to music now as a society. “Instant gratification” has definitely found its place in the music industry and I feel like that’s within streaming services. Since we have access to so much music at any one time, it’s easy for us to pick the exact song that we want to listen to over and over again and never expand our horizons or open up our minds to songs that may not be as popular. It’s so easy to just keep clicking that skip button until our ears are satisfied by a catchy riff. This takes away from the listening experience. Not all, but many artists have intended purposes for their albums. They want you to hear every song and in some cases understand how it fits into the bigger picture of the album. But, streaming services and even digital music, in general, make it much easier for that message to become lost. As listeners, we may skip over the songs that have the most meaning to the artist because of the next one sounds more energetic or has a catchier hook. That phenomenon is probably a major reason why people show up to concerts and find themselves mouthing words that they don’t even know instead of singing along. Maybe that’s not always such a bad thing though. After all, now I’m going to make an effort to check out some of Sabrina Claudio’s songs that I may have absent-mindedly skipped over before.

[vijayvanathayan]

Vivo en America

This week I went to the Stamp gallery to see the “New Arrivals 2019″ exhibition. The particular works that were displayed came from a number of emerging artists who are pushing the boundaries of both mediums and subject matter. Some of my favorites included this sign made by Puerto Rican artist Karlo Andrei Ibarra and Washington D.C artist Noel Kassewitz’s art and raft (yes a raft) Sunset on the Empire. The pieces in this gallery were truly unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, at least in terms of what is thought of as popular mediums. I can’t even imagine how hard it was to fabricate the sign shown above using one’s own hands and to make something as functional as a raft beautiful must’ve really taken some patience and thought. When people think of art, I think they usually think about old paintings and drawings, but the artists in this gallery prove that contemporary art has boundaries that are only expanding. It was refreshing and inspiring to see the works of artists who are thought of as “Millenials” or “gen-z.”

[vijayvanathayan]

NextDANCE

This past weekend on Saturday 9/14, I went to the NextNOW festival at the Clarice to see the NextDance show featuring Candice Scarborough. Although this particular show didn’t have any styles or pieces that were completely new to me, I still thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I got to see one of my teachers perform and she was incredible. She teaches my DANC200 class and it was a great time to be able to see her practice what she preaches and how she implements the actual techniques that she teaches us, into her own dance. Her movements were extremely passionate and full of texture and the dance itself told a story without actually using any music. You’d think that the absence of music would take away from the actual performance, but if anything it enhanced it. You were able to focus on every movement that she made and really feel the dance itself. It was extremely powerful and it made me very excited to continue with not only her class but also my hip hop class and my own exploration of dance as an art form, in general, as well.

[vijayvanathayan]

The Endgame

Just a fair warning, there are spoilers ahead. Last Saturday (5/11) I went home to Gaithersburg to watch the new Marvel superhero movie  “Avengers: Endgame” with my family. It was the highly anticipated final movie of the Avengers franchise and turned out to be the second highest grossing movie of all time already. I’ve been watching the Marvel superhero movies with my family for years and it’s always been a lot of fun to share those experiences with them. Whether the movie ends up being good or not, we always manage to have a good time. This time was no different. To be honest, I was very disappointed with the movie. Of course the directing was amazing and so were the special effects, but I thought that the plot was somewhat underwhelming. In the last movie, they were defeated by Thanos, so of course, they had to win this one but I thought that their use of time travel was kind of the obvious choice. Although, because they used time travel, we got to take a look into the past and reminisce over the past Marvel movies which I thought was great. In the end, Tony Stake (Iron Man) dies after using the Infinity Gauntlet to defeat Thanos. If there was one thing that I feel like Marvel executed perfectly, it’s the timing of his death. Iron Man was the character who started it all, so it only seems right that he would finish it all too. Even though these kinds of films aren’t considered artistic pieces usually, I think it's fair to say that they are. The way that they skillfully blend action, comedy, drama, and storyline is usually pretty amazing, and of course, they turn out to be visual masterpieces. It makes me very excited to see what the future has in store for films and maybe even genres that don’t exist yet. The limits are unimaginable.  

[vijayvanathayan]

Kreativity

For this event, I went to see the “Kreativity End of Semester Show: Puzzles and Paradoxes” at the Clarice. I didn’t really have any idea of what I was getting myself into, but it was a pleasant surprise. There was a variety of performances from short videos to concert dance to theatrical scenes. Every single one had a different message and tone and it was very entertaining to see the different ideas portrayed through different mediums.  I think my favorite part about it was the length of each scene. They were skillfully paced and none of them felt too long. It was really impressive to see how every idea and image was able to be conveyed in anyone from around 3-5 minutes. Sometimes its easier to make a long film or presentation. It takes a lot more thought to be able to say what you want or give off the message that you want in a short amount of time. I think that seeing this performance really helped me realize that sometimes there doesn’t always have to be some big overarching serious meaning to things. Sometimes you can be just as artistic with a 5-minute long joke about “self-care.” Overall, it was a lot of fun to watch and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing more performances by the group next year.

[vijayvanathayan]

Cherry Blossoms in DC

This weekend I went to the Cherry Blossom festival in DC. I went to take pictures and appreciate the beauty of the seasonal trees. Even though this wasn’t a normal visual art setting, I still was able to appreciate it just as much as a fine art gallery. It was amazing to see how Earth can create art for us to observe whenever we want. From vast mountain ranges, to gorgeous beaches, to the tiniest of flowers, beauty can be seen everywhere and in everything. I don’t think that the beauty of nature was something that I didn’t appreciate before this weekend, but the bright flowers all around the city did remind me of how special it was. Even though millions of people come to DC to see the cherry blossoms and take pictures of them, I think there’s something about them that makes them undeniably charming. Every angle has probably already been shot countless times, but the photos are timeless and a joy to take every time.

[vijayvanathayan]

Beyond the Stars

This weekend I went to the “Beyond the Stars” dance competition in Manassas Virginia. I saw some amazing solo performances from teens who came from all over the DMV to compete. There were contemporary performances, tap duets, and even a traditional African dance. I feel like every time I go to a dance performance, I learn to appreciate a facet of the art that I never paid much attention to before. Solo performances are a very interesting form of dance. All of the focus is on one dancer and it’s up to them to captivate the audience with their passion and energy. Every move they make and detail of their choreography has the attention of the entire room. It must be a lot of pressure, but also very rewarding. While watching it’s really easy to get sucked into the performance and feel what the dancer is feeling, and I think that’s the most amazing part about it. It’s a very intimate experience and is in that way very different from group performances. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to continue exploring the world of dance at the next competition.

[vijayvanathayan]

The Art of Protest

Today I went to the Stamp gallery to see the “Visualizing Narratives: Shaping Resistance” collection. It featured works such as sculptures and photographs depicting images and themes of protest and opposition movements. Before seeing these pieces, I never really considered the impact of visual media on different forms of resistance. Seeing the photographs of evicted citizens and the paper mache pig helmet especially, helped me realize how symbols could be used to combat oppressors and defy authorities. It was interesting to see how much could be said just with images alone. It was easy to understand the artists’ purposes for their works without even reading the descriptions. The gallery gave me a new appreciation for the idea of standing up for one’s rights in a nonviolent way. 

[vijayvanathayan]

Collages with Josh

I went to Josh’s coffee and crafts and made a collage for the front cover of my journal.  What inspired it was all of the thoughts or emotions that I experience on any given day.  The faces represent different emotions of feelings: the lady with the cigarette is content, the woman right below her is concerned or a bit sad, the one on the bottom right is energetic and excited, and the small face above her is focused.  The other elements of the collage are meant to represent my scattered thoughts all tied together by different types of music that I listen to throughout the day.  

[vijayvanathayan]

Alternative to NextNow 2

1. I didn’t really expect to see or learn anything completely new from this assignment, but I definitely did.  I went to the faculty dance concert and got to see a few pieces performed by some amazing dancers.  I never really knew what concert dance was, or that it even existed.  I can’t say that I enjoyed it more than commercial dance, but it was definitely beautiful and it was an interesting experience.  

2. My favorite experience was probably going to see “With Gratitude” featuring the UMD Wind Ensemble.  The music was beautiful and although I’ve been to orchestra concerts and seen other ensembles, the pieces by the wind ensemble were especially fun to listen to.  The amount of layering and depth they were able to achieve in every piece was amazing.  

3. The exhibition at Stamp featuring Sepideh Salehi’s artwork was incredible.  The level of detail that she was able to reach with her collages was incredible.  Although the picture above doesn’t relate to the theme of Migrations, there were pieces in the gallery that had statements commenting on the President’s recent policy on separating migrating families.   The statements were sewn into cloth and they criticized the government for its lack of empathy.  The pieces brought to light a part of migration that is often overlooked by many.