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A lot of times a movie will be considered inferior to others because it falls into the comedy genre on some level. I think this movie proves that a comedic movie can be well-played and smart about how it progresses, and that there is a commendable way to do any kind of “inferior” art. It makes me kind of believe that if you put your all into something, even something you consider to be “lesser,” it could turn out to be a masterpiece anyway. I would think that could apply to any subject in life, and it’s advice that I feel could bring me more confidence in my actions and projects. For example, for my CPSA Write-A-Song workshop, if I put my all into the song I’m creating, I can make something better than if I automatically assume that my work will be shallow or inferior to other songs out there. I feel like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World showed me something different, and I’m glad.

Ephrat Asherie Dance was a street and club dance influenced display, with improvisation dotted throughout the piece. It’s a dance that I’m interested in, so I was super absorbed during the entire show. Each dancer was able to show their personality, in both moves and facial expressions. As someone who dances, I tried to understand the performance elements rather than just enjoying it. I saw how they were living in each move, enjoying every moment, and I want to translate that into my own dancing. I think that is the most significant information I got out of the performance, more than any specific dance move, that enjoyment of every move. It’s something that could even be applicable to more than just dance; enjoying the process of something regardless of the finished product, in general terms. I’ve noticed that when I am enjoying myself in dancing, the dance turns out better, and in other subjects I become more efficient, and look back on the work more fondly. So, being reminded of the benefits of reveling in an experience, I will work hard to ensure that I do so in everyday activities and in Arts Scholars as well.

Having seen the film preceding this one, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, I was excited to watch the sequel movie (the real title of which is To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You). I will say that this film is not nearly as good as the first one, but I still had a fun time. I think that watching a movie with other people is truly a different experience from watching by oneself, and I think part of it is that with people being involved in the same thing, it creates a sense of community that wouldn’t otherwise be there in a given room of people. Aside from the friends I brought with me, I didn’t really know anyone else in the room, but by the end of the movie I felt more comfortable talking to them because we had already thrown comments out into the open during the movie. I feel like this can apply to more than just movies; I think any experience of the arts can become different and maybe more significant when done with other people. You would receive the perspectives of others on the same piece of art, and the shared experience of witnessing it together. Even though I wasn’t the biggest fan of the film, I can appreciate smaller details in it, such as the color choices. The movie was really beautiful because the colors in each scene fit so well together and overall created a really gorgeous aesthetic. The people who worked on the movie gave the main character, Lara Jean, some extremely pretty and well-chosen outfits as well, which is admirable. I can also appreciate the larger fact that it brought together a room of people that otherwise would probably never have interacted at all. I think that was the heart of what made this experience so fun.

I didn’t know what to expect when I signed up for this event, but I was very quickly blown away. Leyla McCalla is a versatile artist, able to perform advanced techniques on a variety of instruments, including banjo, cello, and electric guitar. McCalla portrayed her heritage through song; singing in French and English, reaching back to her Haitian heritage to tell us about what Haiti is really like, more than what the American media would have us believe. It really felt like we were transported to another world, even when I didn’t understand the lyrics completely; and when I did understand the lyrics, it felt all the more visceral. McCalla also sang some Haitian folk songs, and I felt that was truly special, to be able to experience traditional songs from someone closely and culturally connected to them. Vocal and instrument blended perfectly in every song, creating a lovely experience. I also enjoyed that we got to learn about McCalla herself in-between songs and after the performance, so that we could see her personal connection to the songs she chose to sing. Her close relationship to music was inspiring, and something I hope to reach with my own music creation, hopefully with the help of the “Write A Song to Change Your Life” workshop I am taking as part of Arts Scholars. Overall, I’m glad we could experience this close-quarters concert and understand both artist and song through it.

The idea that art can have many forms of itself working together to create a piece is one that is applicable to CPSA and to my own artistic hobbies. An art piece, for example, is just as fine on its own, but when it narrates a story, or has a title that reveals a narrative, it becomes a piece with more depth. That depth was achieved through other artistic aspects - storytelling, the written word - and created meaning beyond the image of the artwork. This idea certainly carries into other forms of art, and so it will be something that I remember in the future as we work on CPSA projects and experience new forms of artistic expression.

That a comedy show can share traits with these art forms, along with being another form of expression, demonstrates that it is an art form as well. Knowing that such factors go into all of these art forms, I hope to recognize these commonalities, as well as new ones, in Arts Scholars, and use this knowledge when creating my own art. Understanding the many techniques behind art and expression is integral to creating new art, and John Mulaney’s comedy show provided me the opportunity to learn another of these techniques.

I went to see Promare with three of my friends, not expecting particularly much from it. However, upon seeing the movie, I was blown away. Sure, the story itself had been done before, and the characters not given enough time to develop in the mere 2 hours of screentime, but the animation was truly stellar. The incredible amount of detail that went into each fight scene, the color schemes for every setting, the intricate character design; these were things I did not expect, but found myself appreciating the most. I really hope we get to delve into animation in CPSA, or Arts Scholars in general, because this movie has only strengthened my admiration for the art form. I have so much respect for artists that choose to animate for a living; it is such a long and arduous task and creates incredibly beautiful works such as this movie. I don’t think animation gets recognized as an art form as much as more traditional types of art, such as drawing and writing, and I wish it did get more recognition, because the ability to create something like Promare is mindblowing. I would totally rewatch this movie solely for the seamless animated sequences. The hard work poured into Promare by the artists at Studio Trigger truly paid off.

I have always been a huge fan of dancing, and in the last couple of years I have begun to learn dancing myself. When I discovered there were opportunities on-campus for me to participate in and learn new dances, I eagerly attended with my roommate. The class was somewhat short for the amount of material we were meant to learn - about 2 hours - so it was a challenge to keep up with the choreographer. Since I was used to learning on my own time, I had plenty of time to figure out my moves, but because this was a group lesson, I had to keep up with the class. Furthermore, the dance style was one I am not used to dancing in: contemporary. I am more inclined to hip-hop when I choose dances to learn, but when I arrived to this class I had no clue what we were going to learn. I ended up testing my dance foundations and skills through contemporary dance. Overall, I found new ways to challenge myself in dance, and I think being able to challenge oneself is fundamental to growth in any field, whether that be in Arts Scholars, in my major or even for hobbies like dance. Knowing this, I think this event was a moment of that growth for me, and I look forward to future opportunities to advance my skills in dance and other activities.

This origami workshop was a fun and engaging experience. We were taught how to make origami butterflies using colored squares of paper. I think origami is not only a creative art, but one that tests memory; my friends and I attempted to recreate our butterflies without instructions, and found it was more difficult than it seems. The fact that we almost forgot how to make something as simple as a butterfly suggests that professional origami, where there are much more detailed creations, must be quite difficult. It’s similar to how artists can make their art seem easy, but when we try to imitate them it never quite turns out the same way. That’s something I’m discovering as I enter the Arts Scholars program, that every artist we meet is creating art in a different way, and when we try to create works like theirs, it will never be exactly the same. However, because of that, we can create artworks uniquely our own. My origami butterflies were folded slightly off, but those mismatched folds created a tiny strips of white to the wings and added interest and detail. In that way, my origami butterflies were uniquely my artwork.

At the Emma Weisbaum: TURNED ON (Read Receipts) exhibit, I observed paintings that depicted modern topics; there were texts, modern slang, and even references to viral vines and memes. I’ve never seen detailed paintings incorporating such ideas, so I really thought it was going beyond the traditional subjects of paintings. I think collaboration and interdisciplinarity help push the boundaries of what we understand art to be because it’s a gateway to new art forms and artistic innovation. When we combine different art forms, it creates something new and unique, which is, in a way, what art is all about. Much in the way that country and R&B were brought together to create rock ‘n’ roll, other disciplines can be combined to invent new genres. This is the power of interdisciplinary and collaborative work.