American Roots

As this semester comes to a close and the end of VIS 185X has reached I would like to look back on a few things:

Firstly, I found this class to be very intellectually stimulating, although it was in someways an expressive art class in other ways it was a history class where I was able to learn not just about American history and how music came to play its role in that, but I was also able to learn about African American history and how it was expressed through their music. Interestingly the British Ballads, Appalachian music, African American Gospels ,work songs and even the Blues all came from different cultural backgrounds and carried with them different traditions yet in VIS 185 X we were presented all of these forms of music as if they were smaller parts of a whole culture, and they were. All these cultures and traditions have given way to music that has shaped American culture and traditions and even touched the rest of the world.

Secondly, I was able to see music expressed through art. It was quite interesting to see how each student interpreted and express the same songs or types of music in their own unique ways. I came to class much of the time anticipating what I would see, curiously wandering if anyone would think similar to me or would have something completely different. I enjoyed that fact that our work was not judged by the quality of the piece but by its ability to communicate visually the tone, mood and messages of the songs we based them on. This not only boasted the confidence of those that felt less skilled at drawing but it allowed us to experiment with collages, writing, poetry, drawing, painting and craft in order to communicate. Which made the class quite fun and an amazing escape from the conventional art class.

Thirdly, If I had to pick a song that touched me the most throughout this whole semester it would be "I'm Sitting on Top of the World". When I heard it I was in need of some motivation and it uplifted me also in some way I identified closely with it. Just the title of this song leaves me feeling in a quite pleasant mood so I will carry it and all the other songs, histories and cultures that I have learnt this semester with me. Mr. Dubovsky's passion for this music and this class inspired me and I began to appreciate music that I once considered much before my time.

So to my class mates, lecturer and all who have read my blog,
Thank you for journeying with me through this class!