Miranda's CPSA Blog

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Today I partook in a spontaneous de-stress session in Bel Air, sponsored by Resident Life Association. It was so wonderful to sit down and relax with some familiar faces, coloring my problems away (and eating delicious snacks). Coloring really helps me calm down when I’m feeling overwhelmed, and I appreciated the unexpected opportunity to take care of myself in the midst of so much end-of-the-semester stress. We reminisced over our favorite childhood cartoons, like Liberty’s Kids, Totally Spies, and Winks Club, and listened to some calming music. I wish there were more events like this!

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On Friday afternoon at a quarter to three, I trudged against the wind across campus, carrying a giant white poster board that I had picked up from Harold for my capstone project. I realized soon after I received the poster board that it would have to accompany me to the COMM documentary film screening in HJ Patterson, an event I’ve had marked on my calendar for weeks. All year I’ve been researching short-term study abroad programs, and earlier this spring I found this winter-term program in London that is offered through the Communications Department. The program requires students to make their own short documentary films abroad in London. It would be perfect for me since I will soon be a double major in communications.

When I discovered last month that the faculty who runs the program would be leading a film screening and Q&A with past students, I knew I had to go. The screening itself was a lot more laid back than I originally thought (although I had my own personal mission of protecting my poster board from passerbys). One of my favorite student documentaries was one called “bump,” which took an up-close look at a local roller rink in central London. It was lighthearted, upbeat, and had an amazing retro soundtrack. Another film that caught my attention took a more serious approach. The student film-maker interviewed international film students at a London film school about how Eastern Asian cultures are represented on film. All these films were noteworthy because they crossed cultural boundaries and made very human connections. They were all incredibly professional for three weeks of undergraduate work, especially the one called “Soul Into Steel,” which looked at the life and work of a London metalsmith.  

The Q&A sessions were really insightful. I realized that the students in the program had very different film-making and educational backgrounds. Some were COMM majors and had super nice camera equipment, others had zero film-making experiences and made their documentaries on their iPhones. Attending this film screening has only heightened my desire to apply for this program and study abroad.

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This is an updated sketch of the final portrait. I feel like it only needs a few more tweaks before I start tracing the “puzzle pieces.” I plan on painting her hair and clothes onto the page itself in a more expressionist, delicate style. I want these aspects to have more muted colors in contrast to the blocky, vibrant shadow shapes on her face. The next step after polishing the sketch is to start tracing the shadow shapes onto the thick, cardboard plates.

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On Wednesday March 28th, I attended a Concert in Close Quarters event that highlighted Grammy-nominated artist Rene Marie. I started attending Concert in Close Quarters events last year when I saw the jazz band Industrial Revelation. I loved the experience of getting to meet these amazing artists in a more personal setting. Concert in Close Quarters gives students the opportunity to relate to these successful artists whose resumes are quite intimidating. When I heard this event would feature a Grammy-nominated jazz singer, I originally anticipated a brief schmaltzy revue. Instead, I was given the privilege of hearing Rene Marie’s life story; she shared how she fell in love with music, how she pursued a completely new career after raising her children, and how overcame her tumultuous marriage. It was inspiring to learn about how Marie empowered (and continues to empower) herself through singing. The concert definitely made me think consider how I incorporate my passions into my everyday life. 

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Last night I went to Art Scholars Coffeehouse with my friend, Rashi. We loved the St. Patrick’s Day theme, and had a blast listening to the performers. My favorite performance was an original song called “Parachute,” performed on the ukulele. The free snacks were also a personal highlight of the evening. Coffeehouse is such a nice event, I wish that more people knew about (especially performers! There were only two musicians that presented last night).

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I made a new, larger sketch to help me get a better idea of the shadow shapes I will create for the final product. My sketch started off with more detailed shadow shapes, but as I progressed I made a conscious effort to draw the shapes bigger and more block-y so that they can be easier to manipulate for the final portrait. I will continue to work on making larger, easier-to-work-with shadow shapes. Also, since I intend to apply the interchangeable shadow shapes only to the face, I might make the hair and clothing more delicate and expressionist. 

The process of offering and receiving feedback one-on-one with Anna was incredibly insightful but also oddly nerve-wracking. It’s hard to give advice on a work that is personal to you. Anna recommended that when I go about creating the final portrait, I should trace the shadow shapes so that the process becomes more like an assembly line. I learned that the larger the shadow shapes, the easier assembly will be for me. Also, it will make it easier for the viewer to interact with the piece. 

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NAME: Miranda Morris

ADVISOR: Bimbola Akinbola

MEETING DATE & TIME: February 8, 2018

During our meeting we discussed how to push the engagement component of my capstone project further by allowing the viewer to manipulate the artwork in other ways besides rearranging shadow shape pieces. There could be a social aspect of the interactivity, such as viewers writing their own experiences on the shadow shape pieces or in the “comments” section of the Instagram backdrop.

Also, Bimbola advised me to rewrite most of my learning objectives to make them less specific and more macro. Originally, they were written as almost a timeline for the project, rather than overarching goals and themes.

Please use the space below to indicate any further questions, concerns, or confusions that were NOT addressed during the meeting.

· How can I present this at ArtsFest in a meaningful way other than just leaving it out for viewers to pass by?

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Over President’s Day weekend, I collected the bulk of my materials that I will use to complete my portrait. I’m excited to work with acrylic paints again after two years. I’m a little nervous that the Bristol paper will be too thin for the paper plate material I’m going to use for the shadow shapes. My plan is to mount the finished portrait on a larger canvas panel, on which I will add the Instagram features. 

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These are three preliminary sketches for my final capstone project that I completed over winter break. I like to start with basic ideas and get more detailed from there. I would like to do at least another 2 sketches to help me get a better understanding of how I will map out the large, abstract shadow shapes. 

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On Friday, February 2nd, I saw Second Season’s production of “Territory Spaces” in the Dance Theatre at The Clarice. I’m not that familiar with dance, and I’m always astounded how broad it is as an art. “Tertiary Spaces” blended dance with theatre and performance art. When I entered the theatre, all the performers were on the floor, playing with classic toys and board games, as if they were hanging out at their best friend’s house. The audience was seated in the round on the stage, so the performers were able to get up close and personal with the spectators. They had the audience participate in all kinds of ways. They made us get up and dance, give requests for songs, create a giant unbreakable circle with props. The performers even left playing cards under seats to allow the audience to control the next “turn” the dancers take. It was a fun and interactive experience, unlike most dance shows I’ve seen. 

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Today, my group from the class AASP313 presented our project on the experiences of black female students during the late 1980s. The three group members pictured, Mekdes, Jeff, and Ryan, were in charge of presenting the information at Undergraduate Research Day for the Women Studies Department in Woods Hall. I conducted the two interviews with two UMD alumni who also work at the university today. These interviews were the basis of our presentation. Our group also spent the semester conducting research about the university at this time. Some common themes that were brought up in both interviews included student protests for divestment from South Africa, the impact of basketball star Len Bias’s death in the summer of 1986, and the improvements the university has made since the late 1980s. The interviewees praised the progress UMD has made in terms of diversity and inclusion, but believe that the conversations happening now are not being had at a deep enough or high enough level.  

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Tonight, I went to the Holiday General Body Meeting in Tydings 1103 for Primannum Honor Society. Tonight’s GBM advertised a special holiday film showing. When the meeting began, the Primannum board members decided to show the best holiday television specials. My favorite special that they showed was the Season 2 episode from the hit workplace comedy “The Office.” This episode is called “Christmas Party,” and it centers on a hilarious, poorly executed secret Santa exchange. Like Pam, I, too, would love a teapot for Christmas!

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My weekly class CLAS409W Classical Heritage in D.C.: An Exhibit in the Making, takes place in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Every week, our instructor takes us on a behind the scenes look at the museum’s inner-workings, ranging from panel design to forensic anthropology (a room full skulls and bones--some even from the Caribbean over three hundred years ago). This past week, our instructor gave us his own tour of an exhibit on the second floor of the museum called “Objects of Wonder.” I was enchanted by the beauty of these objects. One of my favorites is the bottom-right image, called “The Blue Flame.” It is the world’s largest lapis lazuli gemstone. (Also, I wish I had that emerald necklace).

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On Tuesday, October 10 and Friday, October 13, I saw the play “Antigone” in the Kay Theatre at the Clarice. My three friends and I decided to take advantage of the Clarice’s free student ticket Monday and order tickets to the play for the day. As soon as I ordered my ticket for Tuesday, my aunt rang and asked me to see the play with her and her family the following Friday as part of UMD’s family weekend. Seeing how I wanted to visit my family and the fact that I enjoy the productions by TDPS, I decided to say yes to seeing two renditions of the Greek tragedy. I had vaguely remembered reading “Antigone” in high school, so I figured it would be able to follow along and stay engaged fairly easily. However, when I saw “Antigone” for the first time on Tuesday, I was unaware 1) that it was 80 minutes without intermission and 2) of the amount of angst the show possessed. “Antigone” was not a lighthearted affair. Sitting through almost an hour and a half straight (two times) was a remarkable feat.There was a lot of off-stage death, a lot of chanting, a lot of angry yelling and soul-searching. Needless to say it was not my favorite story. My favorite part about the production was the technical aspects. The set was huge and eerie. The ceiling even opened up at the end to pour sand on top of a grieving Creon’s head. The props, too, were gorgeous. Tying the whole stage picture together was a large, intricate, antique desk. I also enjoyed the way that the two main characters, Antigone and Creon, were portrayed as their ego, superego, and id. That was a cool, new twist to this ancient tragedy. 

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At NextNow Fest, I had the amazing opportunity to see MILCK perform at the Kay Theater. I had never seen or heard her perform before. I only knew that MILCK had performed at the Women’s March in D.C. Her performance at NextNow was so moving, I can only imagine what it was like to see her live during such an emotional and historic moment as the Women’s March. The performance was especially moving because two survivors of abuse and assault publicly shared their stories for the first time with the audience. The honesty and support expressed in that theater was beautiful. I love MILCK’s message of “gentle rebellion.” Also, her voice and artistry were unbelievable. She sounds better live than most famous pop stars sound on recordings. It was truly an amazing experience. 

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Last night, I took a study break and went to see a free screening of “Dead Poets Society” at the Hoff Theatre. I had seen clips of the movie before (as well as a hilarious SNL parody from a few years ago), but this was the first time that I watched this culturally significant film the whole way through. I was not expecting Robin Williams to be quite so serious! Another surprise was seeing Red Forman from that That ‘70s Show (Kurtwood Smith) in this classic American film (he essentially played the same character: stern, unforgiving father). I was heartbroken by Neil’s suicide, especially as someone who loves theatre and the arts. The moments leading up to his death was simultaneously beautiful and suspenseful. When Neil put on his Puck crown, I still wasn’t expecting him to pull out a revolver. Having this context, it made the iconic “O Captain My Captain” scene much more poignant. I am glad that I finally got to see this critically acclaimed film.  

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On Wednesday, May 3rd, I went to the National Museum of the American Indian to complete a project for a separate class. While I was there, I came across a fascinating photography exhibition entitled, “For a Love of His People: Photography by Horace Poolaw.” This exhibition explores how Poolaw’s close, multi-tribal community in Oklahoma carried out their everyday lives in modern America during the early to mid-twentieth century. I found this photograph of a Kiowa mother and her daughter was particularly interesting. These two had negotiated terms with the federal Indian agency to allow them the freedom to express their own forms of female identity. In a mid-western town where make-up was virtually forbidden and modesty was exulted, the daughter, Hannah, rebelled against local temperance laws and wore makeup. Hannah and her mother not only fought for the right to express their native culture, but also to defend their individual rights to female self-expression. If you are interested in early-mid-twentieth century American life or Native American history, I highly recommend visiting this museum and especially this exhibit.