Now I’m Forced To Go Outside

[sofiasmcpsarts]

I’ve been listening to a podcast called the Magnus Archives. It’s a really interesting horror fiction about an organization that investigates supernatural occurrences. I use to be someone who could listen to podcasts all the time but I hadn’t listened to one in a while so when I saw people talking about it I decided to check it out. I think podcasts, much like audio books, are really a whole experience of thier own. For me, this allows me to indulge in a genre I really like with out feeling with the things I can’t stand. A lot of horror stories are based in body horror or gore, which I can’t put up with. But since this is an auditory experience, they have to build up horror through implications of terrorifing situations rather than just showing scary images and I really like how it is done.

[sofiasmcpsarts]

Today I watched the Violet Evergarden movie. Firstly, like many of KyoAni’s works, the visuals in this movie were breath taking. I LOVE how the animators focus on intamates shots of faces or other parts of human body language to convey the tone and emotion of the scene. There were many moments where the lines said by the characters might have been vauge and monotonous but the character acting in the animation got across the unlining emotions so beautifully. The sound work was also amazing. Attentions to little detials like the clank of Violets mecanical hands really sold the atmosphere. Watching movies like this makes it hard to focus on the story because I am so enchanted by the animation and then inspired to go draw but the story behind the animation, one of love and found family, made me tear up. It was truely such a great movie.

[sofiasmcpsarts]

I watched Lu Over The Wall today! Ive always been a hug fan of Masaaki Yuasas work so i was really looking forward to seeing this movie. The colors and direction of Yuasas work has always been amazing and this wasnt an exception. This movie wasn’t as mature as his other works (though that isn’t a bad thing!) so it was easy to sit back and have a relaxing and cute experience. The music in the film was also very catchy and fun (I had the intro stuck in my head the entire day). Yuasas work is always goofy and colorful and fun which is something that really inspires me with my own art.

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I went to go see Leslie Holt’s exhibit in Stamp today. It was called “Neuro Blooms” and constituted of many mix media pieces which depicted scans of brain activity from something like an fMRI machine. In the back there was a place to reflect, where people left notes for others as well as entries in a book where they shared thier stories. Reading through the notes and entries really made me feel somewhat relieved and less alone. One of my favorite details in these pieces was the way the embroidery was used to show activity in the brain. From the front it looks like a confusing mess but when you go around to the back of the canvas you find out that they random stitches were actually words.

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I went to a presentation by Erik Peterson based on predictions made by Kearney for the year-ahead last week durning down time between my classes. This was new for me, since this isn’t the type of thing I would usually go too, but since thanks to one of the classes I’m taking, I was able to go if I wanted to and so I did. The presentation wasn’t too long but it was very interesting, as it made me think in more broader terms about the future. In arts we can often get isolated from things like economic interests and business, but things like the way Mother Nature is effecting the planet and generational shifts are thing we can all be effected by. The theme on innovation came up often with is something that can be applied to art very easily, as artist often strive to improve and adapt their art to the current climate.

[sofiasmcpsarts]

Last week I went to the Homecoming Comedy show to see John Mulaney! I have always been a fan of his specials on Netflix but seeing him in person was a whole new experience. Comedies on Netflix are fun to watch and very funny but lack a lot of the personal charm that comes with being there live. When he began to make jokes about campus it made the whole experience feel a lot more familiar and made the jokes land a lot harder. With the stress of midterms and final projects loaming over me, have a night to relax and have a laugh helped get rid of so much stress I had been harboring.

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I went to go see Promare!!!! I’ve been so excited to see this movie for so long and now that I’ve seen it I can confirm that it’s as good as everyone says it is. I just saw it this morning and I already want to rewatch it. The art style and animation in this movie was so amazing and added the hype of the plot along with the ost. I really hope it’s success will open the door for more anime films to be screened in the states.

[sofiasmcpsarts]

Over the weekend I went to the Women In Arts museum with my parents. I really appreciated going to a muesum dedicated to women artists, especially considering how they are often over looked. I also saw a piece by the Gorilla Girls that we talked about in colloquium! One of my favorite exhibition was the Live Dangerously one. It was a room plastered wall to wall with images of women in a wide variety of places laying face down on the ground.

[sofiasmcpsarts]

Today I went to stamp to see that gallery for the first time since last year. The exhibition was centered around new arrivals in UMDs collection of art. One of the pieces that stood out to me the most was about “pulling back the lace” and was a mix of mediums I hadn’t seen at UMD before. It had a digital projection of glitches out landscapes framed between a shiny “lace” held up by two painted hands. I really loved the piece and how it came together as a whole. It made me feel a sense of longing that I couldn’t quite place.

[sofiasmcpsarts]

I decided to stop by the gallery in Stamp yesterday. I went in not knowing what the theme was but even then it gave off a strong impression of the things we leave behind. Walking through the gallery felt as though I was seeing things that were long forgotten about. I especially love the sense of repetition throughout ever piece. It was an effort to not forget, and continuously remember.

[sofiasmcpsarts]

I went to go see 5 Feet Apart with some friends today. Not gonna lie, I went in knowing this wasn’t going to be a good movie, and I was right. I think one of the aspects that really got to me was the “bury you gays” trope that it used full force. Gay people deserve more than just being plot point for straight couples. I think I really realized how much this movie was not for me when the theater was full of sniffling girls and my eyes felt dryer than they had ever been. Talking about t with my friends afterwards though was definitely worth it.

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Every Saturday at El Patio they have live performances by local artists. They really add such a nice mood to the restaurant since it ends up feeling more like you are there for the performance rather than just food. My mom keep telling me all about the songs they were playing. I grew up in the states so I’m not familiar with Argentine songs. It was a really nice way to connect with my mom.

[sofiasmcpsarts]

Me an my family went to an Argentine restaurant over the weekend. One of my favorite things about it is how the walls are lined with Argentine photography and art. my mom likes to point to the photos and tell me about the famous locations around Buenos Aries that inspired the photographer. The artwork is often of Argentine culture, which makes me feel nostalgic. It’s a great way to support local artists while embracing culture.

[sofiasmcpsarts]

Last night I watched Liz and the Blue Bird with a friend. I was really curious about this movie since it just came out but was getting a lot of praise so getting the chance to see it was really exciting. Even though there isn’t much going on plot wise, the character drama happening made me cry multiple times. On top of that the animation so was beautiful and breathtaking I was hooked the whole movie. I haven’t seen a movie that has hit me this emotionally in a long time. Since it has to do with high schoolers getting ready for college I think it hit very close to home.

[sofiasmcpsarts]

Yesterday me and my friends went to go see The Miseducation of Cameron Post. It was a really heart breaking film that really made us feel for the characters. I hadn’t read the book but my friend mentioned that the movie focused on the more depressing section of the original. It felt like a much darker telling of But I’m a Cheerleader, ending with the main characters going off into the unknown on a much more somber note.

[sofiasmcpsarts]

Last week I went to the art galleries on campus. I especially loved the one at stamp. I’ve always loved the use of color and how it expresses emotion so the pieces really spoke to me. I mostly loved the notebook that were out for people to write what different color meant to them. It was just so fun and interesting to read all the responses and some of them were genuinely very touching.

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Last week I was able to get into the CupcakKe concert at nextNOW! There was definitely a moment where me and my friend Sarah didn’t think we were going to get it (the line was HUGE) but in the end they pulled up two chairs for us in the back of the theater! It was so much fun. The girls in front of us were going so hard it was honestly a shame they weren’t in the front row.