1) Which three cultures/objects resonated with you most, and why?  Offer 2 reasons why you found these three objects/cultures fascinating?

    • The Venus of Willendorf
      • I found the fact that we don’t know the specific purpose/meaning behind the object
      • I also find it very interesting that we have no knowledge of the people that created it but we see similar objects in many different cultures which could have indicated trade or long-distance travel
    • The Daguerreotype
      • I loved to discover the origin of photography and the initial techniques used
      • It was interesting to see how the art world was changing since you could now capture exactly what you saw with your eyes
    • The great wave of Kanagawa
      • The technique of woodblock printing is very interesting to me
      • Hokusai and Ukiyo-e are some of the most interesting artists and movements to me so I was glad to see it during class

2) What themes would you have loved to explore more in-depth had the course been longer, say, a two-semester study?

  • I would like to explore more how the advancement of technology completely changed and is continuing to change how we make art, either through video, music, painting, etc. Basically, if we kept going further down the rabbit hole.

3) What did you learn about art history as a discipline?

  • I learned that the most important aspect of art history is not solely the object or work of art it has a lot to do with the culture, the people, the technology which all have an influence on how something is made whether the artist is aware or not.

4) What did you learn about yourself?

  • I learned that if I continue to push my work and to push how I create either by making small improvements as to how art is made or by discovering new ways to make it will help to further improve art for further generations that could possibly see my work or techniques as inspiration.

5) How would you assess yourself as a learner: where do you think you did well and what areas of improvement can you see (areas of your performance that might need a bit of practice to become part of your new you)?

  • I think I excelled in the projects, I really enjoyed doing investigative work on works of art that I found to be interesting either through museum visit projects or for the museum project. I also felt that I enjoyed the class more than others because I wanted to be there rather than being forced so I felt like I owed it to myself to pay attention to further my understanding of the subjects showed in class.
  • I feel however that I could maybe have done some more investigating apart from the weekly readings but I think that was more due to the small amount of time I had due to other projects and assignments. But I would’ve liked to show more knowledge of the subject to my teacher to stimulate more of a class discussion too.

6)  In what ways do you see yourself applying what you’ve learned to your own personal life?

  • The material I learned in class definitely changed the way I experience museums, I am now more familiar with the objects and the cultures I am looking at which make a big difference than going in blind so I really appreciate that. I will also apply what I have learned to my artistic life as well, I’ll try to branch out and use techniques used by people in the past and see the new things I can do with them.

7) In what ways do you see what you’ve learned to become part of your professional interests and work with us here at Parsons?

  • I think that this class really prepared me for what is to come in terms of my studies at parsons, it shows that the professors are competent and knowledgable about what they are teaching.

8) Any other thoughts that you would like to share on the course and our journey.

  • I felt like my professor was very skilled at making the course interesting for students because she knew the subject well and would teach in an enthusiastic manner.