Category: Uncategorized

The Artist’s Panel: Self-Care

Calin Firlit Leave a comment

 

Hello all! As many of you may know, today was the second and final university-sanctioned Wellness Day of the semester. I know that it is difficult to focus on wellness for a day at this point in the semester, but I hope that students and faculty alike could take some time to focus on mental health. Mental health is something that I am extremely passionate about and it’s a common theme in my artistic work, so I always take the opportunity to talk about it when I can! I’d love for this post to serve as a check-in for anyone that may need it. Feel free to comment below about how you are, what you did for the Wellness Day today, or what your favorite things to do to take care of your mental health are. Personally, I tried to spend some time working on homework outdoors, and I made sure to cuddle with my adorable cat, Juniper! I drew the things I did for my mental health today in the image above. Be well!

Basement Arts SLUT Premiere

Sara Fox Leave a comment

on March 20th the premiere of SLUT streamed through the Basement Arts website. Slut ​is an all-female written, produced, directed, and performed play about how our society and culture allows sexual violence to exist and ultimately thrive. Just this past month women have come forward and told their story of sexual assault and unfair power dynamics against one of the most popular Youtube stars of our generation. The scenes depicted in the play are all based on true events and therefore may be a trigger to some.

The play originally written by Kate Cappiello has been further adapted into a Netflix series called Grand Army. The play follows Joey del Marco, a sixteen-year-old girl who is sexually assaulted by her three friends one Friday night. Using her interviews and reactions from her peers, family, and friends the play dissects and showcases the way slut-shaming, victim-blaming, and objectification are present in our society and affect justice to survivors. 

The ability to view the online play is completely free so the organization has asked those who are able to, to donate to a few hand-picked non profit organizations. ​Both of the organizations aim to end domestic abuse and sexual violence in the Wayne and Washtenaw counties.  These organizations also provide resources if you or someone who is a survivor of sexual assault or abuse.

First Step – https://www.firststep-mi.org

Safe House Center – https://www.safehousecenter.org

Director: Alexandra Lee

Assistant Director: Tiara Partsch

Cinematographer: Maddie Davidson

Stage Manager: Karalyn Hood

Dramaturgical Team: Leah Block, Carly Cooper, Alyssa Melani, Simone Clotile Headd

Outreach Team: Alix Curnow, Clara Dossetter, Andrew Cekala, Mackenzie Mollison

The Cast

Joey: Mackenzie Holley 

Natalie: Sofia Angelopoulos 

Christina: Niki White 

Grace: Shea Faraday 

Danielle: Kaila Pelton-Flavin

Jane: Claire Vogel 

Leila: Theresa Dvorocsik 

Dominique: Victoria Vourkoutiotis 

Julie: Tiffany Crosbie-Walsh

Anna: Olivia Fras 

Sylvie: Emilia Vizachero

 

After watching this play my heart goes out to those who feel as if they cannot come forward due to the fallout that Joey experienced, or come forward and experience similar backlash. This play was completely student directed and produced, seeing students come together to produce an amazing and meaningful production despite the lack of performance opportunities this year is extremely hopeful and inspiring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk9SBtS59H8

​

Round green shapes of varying sizes glow against the black background. The text reads, "Immersive."

Immersive #6: The Sun Vanished

Liana Leave a comment

Social media holds immense power over how new information is received through its ability to inform us of current events, trends, and information that can go viral within seconds. As a result, our increasing dependency on these various platforms increases our risk of being exposed to fabricated news, causing us to question what is real and what isn’t in a world where deepfakes and other editing techniques can easily replicate real life scenarios. However, instead of perceiving this dissemination of information as purely negative, some creators have been able to embrace the fast-pace and impromptu method of communication that social media provides, messing with our perceptions of truth and fiction through productive means in the midst of all the noise that we consume on a daily basis.

In a few chance instances, these realistic stories are accompanied by the phrase “This is not a game,” signifying that the narration you are reading about is one of many alternate reality games (ARGs), a transmedia method of storytelling that can be influenced by player responses. For the most part, ARGs go left unnoticed due to their desire to be seen as “real,” unfolding their stories quietly in hopes of an eventual discovery. However, for the ARG, The Sun Vanished, produced by filmmaker Adam Elliott, it would soon gain widespread popularity due to its frighteningly complex and intriguing storyline, bypassing the long wait for discovery altogether.

The Sun Vanished was created in 2018 and utilized Twitter as the primary storytelling platform. Here, the main protagonist, named TSV after the @TheSunVanished account handle, woke up one day to realize that all the stars in the sky had disappeared, casting the world into eternal darkness. Like everyone who wants to make sense of the unusual, TSV went onto Twitter to document his experience with the sudden disappearance of the sun. But, as the days go by, the sun doesn’t return. The world becomes less hospitable as flashing red lights begin to trail people walking outside, and the temperatures begin to plummet. Soon, we realize that there is something more ominous at hand.

What makes ultimately The Sun Vanished an ARG is the interactions that people are able to have with the characters of the story. By responding to TSV and his friends’ posts, advising them on next steps to take, or informing them of outside observations, people are able to guide the characters through the unfolding events as if they were also living in the same world themselves: it’s as if reality and fiction have become one and the same.

TSV responds to the concerns of other users

Ultimately, the ability to watch the narrative of The Sun Vanished unfold in real-time is a captivating experience that no other conventional storytelling medium can replicate without much difficulty. And it’s position as a creative project on Twitter challenges our very perception of what social media platforms can and should be used for, expanding our toolkits as creators in an increasingly digital world. As a result, I want to recommend that we all look into The Sun Vanished and other popular ARGs to understand how they’re able to cultivate high amounts of audience engagement through their compelling stories and transmedia narratives.

Experience The Sun Vanished: HERE

+KHAOS+ EP.18: ZION’S DECISION

Kat Leave a comment

+KHAOS+ EP.18: ZION’S DECISION

+KHAOS+ EP.18: ZION’S DECISION

Caressing his badly wounded sister in his arms for a moment of silence, Zion accepts Ingenium’s offer to join Khaos for the sake of his sister.

+Author’s Comment+

Black is Zion’s color.
I hope this illustration can depict how tragic the situation is and how much of a difficult choice Zion had to make within a short period of time.
+Drawing the hair was satisfying 😇
Feel free to follow my art Instagram account: @kats.art.folder

The Indian Artist: Blossoming in Adversity

Riya A Leave a comment

Hello everyone! I hope that you are all doing well and midterm exams were successful for you all! I took a break last week but I am back to the regularly scheduled program. This week I wanted to share a very personal piece and the story behind it with all of you. Interestingly, oil paint is the one medium that has always intimidated me and that I have shied away from. However, this piece, done in oil paint, is one of my favorite pieces and very close to my heart.

Just as the Plum Blossom pushes through the snow and the ice, flourishing, permeating the air with its beautiful smelling perfume, so has my father. Exuding an air of perseverance, endurance, strength, and commitment, my father has pushed back against many obstacles, whether internal or external, and has thrived. Facing depression and family conflicts, he has learned to push back harder when times get tough. In my piece, I portray a tree growing in a climate of darkness and turmoil. Despite the pain and adversity surrounding the tree, it is in full bloom and flourishes in a harsh environment.

My father was born and raised in India and lost his mother at a very young age. Through hard work and perseverance, my father made his way to the United States on a full scholarship for college and graduate school. He started a family and has, against many odds and difficulties, keeps us intact.

Growing up in a family with strict traditional ideals and rules and personal misgivings, I have overcome my own inner challenges. I have devoted myself to becoming better while using my father as a role model. I have dedicated this piece to my father, the one who understands me and pushes me to be better, the one who understands pain and empathizes with everyone around him, the one who has lost so much but made so much out of it. Like the Plum Tree, the harsher the conditions the more buds come into bloom. I have pushed through my personal adversity to blossom, following my father’s lead. Through his guidance and love, I have come to find the beauty in adversity, the beauty in my culture and religion, and the strength to push through a sometimes difficult personal life. 

This piece, done with oil paint on canvas board with dimensions of 18″x24″ mimics the nature of a flower blooming in the winter… a lotus floating atop muddy water. It is a piece very close to my heart and holds such an important message that I keep with me always. My father is my hero and has taught me so much. I hope that you all enjoyed this week’s post! As always if anything that I discussed in this post stands out or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts.

Looking forward to next Sunday!

 

~ Riya

 

Personal website:   https://riyarts.weebly.com/

Laying Down the Sound: Unraveling – Episode 1

Dominic Manzo 4 Comments

Welcome to the fifth installment of Laying Down the Sound! After completing my breakdown of “Colored Balloon” last week, I now move on to a different song, this one called “Unraveling.” It’s one of the shorter, simpler songs on my album and also one of my favorites. In this video, I expound and expand on the guitar parts and vocal melodies essential to the composition, and I demonstrate their organization and fit with one another. In all, I highlight the development (in terms of guitar parts and vocal melodies) of all but the last section of the song, which is primarily instrumental. I’ll get to that next week! Thank you for watching!