Final Reflection Essay INTD 288 – Perspective and Position

Perspective and Position: The Connotation of The World

There are two essential parts of perspective: the position and placement of what we see and the interpretation of what we see—the two parts work together and it is often the case that people manipulate the placement in their work in order to produce an audience interpretation within the range of their desire. In order to create a specific impression for their audience who will be experiencing, artists and individuals take extreme care in their choice of placement in their work or in themselves.

This manipulation with perspective is commonly observed in visual art; a visual artist has complete control of the placement on their canvas, which displays a single moment—this depiction of a single moment is different than the series of moments that happen in our real lives and cannot be revisited in real time, making art an excellent example of perspective and manipulation. With the manipulation of placement in a composition, an artist hopes to create their desired impressions and general interpretation of the piece upon the audience. Art compositions are often described as something that will push people to think beyond the artist’s intentions and discern their own interpretation, but the artist’s intention also holds significant weight. This importance of intention is supported by the artist Steve Prince’s work, both through his enjoyment of listening to our class interpretations of his work and his confirmation of certain meanings and intentions behind his work. Continue reading “Final Reflection Essay INTD 288 – Perspective and Position”

Looking at Folk: Black Rural Cultural Production and White Appropriation

To my knowledge, I’ve not had a professor or anyone in a position of authority in a classroom (where sincere questioning of power structures and imagining of new futures has happened) that has been visibly rural until this semester. In the first few weeks of class, I noticed our TA Katie’s accent. At first I wasn’t sure, but her lilting tone, rhotic accent (presence of the sound /r/ at the end of a word), and pronunciation of the short /a/ that’s characteristic of Rural White [Southern] English (my brackets) and Inland Northern American English. It was so gentle to hear. I did feel a little odd just asking sorta out of the blue where Katie was from (although I do try to use, ‘where’s home for you?’ to avoid the microaggressive implications around belonging of ‘where are you from?’). Continue reading “Looking at Folk: Black Rural Cultural Production and White Appropriation”

Strength

In one of its definitions, a veil is a fabric used to conceal, cover, or hide the real nature of a form or figure. It is often transparent but its presence is undeniable. In the case of the social world when connecting the idea of sustainability to the veil; it is clear that the veil hinders the possibility of such sustainability. When thinking about sustainability, how do we measure such an aspect? When thinking about the balance of economy, society, and the environment, we question whether such progress is possible. When defining balance in this context, we need to narrow down each subcontext of society, economy, and the environment to explain how each, need to be balanced internally, and then do play off of one another, creating this frame and template called sustainability.

Speaking specifically about society, I have never known of such internal sustainability in real life. The reason as to why this balance doesn’t exist internally is because there are division and disconnect present within it. This faction is fueled by the fear of diversity. In this context, diversity can be defined as the mixture and assortment of people from different backgrounds of all types, political, socioeconomic, racial, etc.   Continue reading “Strength”

Relatively Speaking

rel·a·tiv·i·ty (n): the dependence of various physical phenomena on relative motion of the observer and the observed objects, especially regarding the nature and behavior of light, space, time, and gravity. considered in relation or in proportion to something else, existing or possessing a specified characteristic only in comparison to something else; not absolute.

When I speak of myself, I like to use the word relatively relatively often. I feel am a relatively calm and put together person. I think I am relatively intelligent, relatively nice, understanding. The people I surround myself have both shaped this image of me, and serve as proof of these perceived facts. I try to push these perceptions of myself onto others as fast as I possibly can, trying to carefully calculate and carry myself as though I know what I am doing, and I think I do this, relatively, well. Continue reading “Relatively Speaking”

Self Reflection Essay-Learning To Reflect, Loudly

Disciplinary Term/Concept: Historical Memory

“The concept of historical memory refers to ways in which groups, collectives, & nations construct & identify with particular narratives about historical periods or events,”

-Also referred to as: Collective Memory, Social Memory, & The Politics of Memory

The Art of Steve Prince as a class, started off pretty rough for me. I was too shy and nervous to join any class conversations and this lasted for the bulk of the semester. Class discussion was pretty much the most important part of our lessons so you can imagine how poorly I did. Still, I think I’ve learned a lot since the beginning of the semester. I listened intently to the lectures given though I didn’t speak. I’ve learned through Steve Prince’s art, I’ve learned through the books we read, I’ve learned through the class discussions and guest lectures we’ve had, and I’ve learned through simply existing and adapting in this environment. I have learned to throw a little more caution to the wind when it comes to being part of a conversation. I cannot let my limited experiences stop me from contributing. And one of the most interesting lessons I’ve learned in this class that I keep coming back to, is words, and how they influence our perceptions. I have always thought about this concept but this class, specifically a class day in which Professor Cathy Adams visited, has made me think about this concept in a historical sense. Continue reading “Self Reflection Essay-Learning To Reflect, Loudly”

Failure is My Friend

When I think about this course, what I’ve gained and the ways in which I have contributed towards the community we’ve built in the shaggy room located in Welles 216, I become overwhelmed by how many kind, eager, bright classmates I’ve met—some which I now consider friends—and how much I’ve learned and developed throughout the progression of the spring semester. One of the earliest memories I seem to be finding myself heavily resonating on these days—one which I spoke about in my very first blog post—was Steve Prince’s Urban Garden Project. That first week felt like a celebration of unity and collaboration. Just as I so heartily outlined in my blog post titled What We Talk About When We Art, there was nothing not to love about participating in the Urban Garden Project led by Steve Prince. From the words I uttered in that very first blog post, we spent the week listening to snazzy tunes and having lively conversations with one another. We got our gloves and shoe covers on and then we got ready to get down and dirty with some charcoal blocks. It was the most fun I’ve ever had in an academic setting. Continue reading “Failure is My Friend”

Battling Comfortability

Comfortability is determined by your environment and the people who you are surrounded with. This class, The Art of Steve Prince, has further helped me realize that your creation of art, no matter the type, depends on what you are willing to share with everyone else. As a dancer, I am already aware of the dependency of my comfortability in relation to performances and dance classes. I have realized how my performance skills will be dependent on who I am performing for. For example, if I believe the environment is filled with a sense of competition, I am less willing to fully express myself because I fear judgement. It is assumed that when you dance those around you are judging you; however, this feeling of judgement is different from a competitive environment. My description of a competitive environment is when the dancers around me are trying to out-dance each other and pick out who is the “best dancer”; this would be the type of environment that would make me feel uncomfortable to be myself. My comfortability relies on a space where dancers are not only supporting and encouraging, but also open to giving feedback in areas where improvement is possible. Continue reading “Battling Comfortability”

Reflective Blog Post: The Art of Kazon

On the second floor of Erwin Hall, there’s a piece of art on the wall. The piece is sandwiched between the Office of New Student Programs and Sponsored Research to name a few. In the middle of the wall is a steam print piece completed by Steve Prince in 2017. Phrases, animals, faces, and other iconography encircle the people around it. The colors of these icons are red, white, and black work as the focal point of the art piece draws people in.  The focal point is the family and their teddy bear. The family and their teddy bear allow the viewer to read this piece from right to left, left to right, or in any direction one sees fit. As I look over this art piece, I smile.

“We created this,” I thought as I turn away. “It was something of a group effort.” I walk away from the art piece and into the Study Abroad office where I was heading in the first place.

Continue reading “Reflective Blog Post: The Art of Kazon”

Repetition

I think in this class key terms kept coming over again and again, which is why I chose repetition. Even though we constantly had different professors talking about wildly different angles and viewpoints on Mr. Prince’s work, the Veil kept reappearing, as well as “process”, jazz, the Dirge, different ways of thinking about time, downbeat dancing et cetera. It very much seemed like everything converged back to the theme of repetition, as if, as Snead wrote in “On Repetition in Black Culture”, “Narrative repetition tends to defuse the belief that any other meaning resides in a repeated signifier than the fact that it is being repeated.” The cut back to original principles meant that no matter what topic our discussion meandered to, there was something familiar to go back, which strengthened the original idea. Continue reading “Repetition”

Growth within the Developmental Process

The terms growth and development are often used interchangeably, however the overall development process encompasses the many forms of growth we experience. The developmental process integrates and organizes all of the ways in which we have grown. Development is a lifelong process. Growth is quantitative, while development is qualitative. Development implies shifting, but it does not imply constant, consistent growth.  Growth is not linear, and so, development is a nonlinear process. Human development, identity development, urban development, the development of art, personal development, and communal development are all non-linear and not always visible or easily recognizable.

Without making an active effort to reflect on my experience in this class, I may not have noticed all of the personal growth I have made. The third learning outcome listed in the syllabus has advised us: To reflect upon changes in learning and outlook over time; to make personal, professional, and civic plans based on that self-reflection.” The reflection process has been put into action through our blog posts, class discussions, these self-reflection essays, and each of our individual interactions with the material Dr. McCoy has provided us. Over the development of this entire class, we have been given the task to both reflect and build upon everything that we learn – whether the knowledge was sourced from Steve Prince, guest lectures, Dr. McCoy, a fellow student, or from our own individual vats of prior knowledge. The ways in which this class has fostered my personal growth will allow me to continue my own journey of self-development long after it ends. 

Continue reading “Growth within the Developmental Process”