For our first semester as Arts Collective, we decided to run an Outdoor Art Instillation. We were inspired by Pistols & Poodles, a former "guerilla art" group at HWS that would hang up huge art instillations overnight. For our first project, students decorated and placed 13 five by five foot canvas puzzle pieces in academic and residential buildings around campus. Since Arts Collective functions as an outlet for artistic expression, we did not designate a theme for the puzzle pieces. Instead, each artist chose his or her own subject- including Hugs Across America, Identity, William Smith athletics, and understanding sequence in comics. The results were very impressive, and the puzzle pieces caught the attention of students and faculty. Each puzzle piece was up in its separate location for a week, and we're hoping to display all of the puzzle pieces together by the end of November!

On top of the Outdoor Art Instillation, Arts Collective held the Techno GraphArt Party at the Kappa Alpha Lodge the weekend before Thanksgiving. The party was a great success- with two student DJs playing techno/electronic music, a projector displaying music videos and student photographs, and glow-in-the-dark, student-made graffiti and art covering the walls. The party attracted over a hundred students and went on until the early morning! Arts Collective is hoping to throw a Masquerade Ball for the spring semester!

Posted by Meggie Schmidt at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Political Science and Art Departments, among martini and other clubs on campus, organized for author and activist Anne Elizabeth Moore to visit HWS. Her recent book Unmarketable reveals how corporate advertising has underhandedly infiltrated the underground. The book shares her experience with zines, self-published mini-magazines, and her research on the marketing techniques of many major companies.

I had the privilege of having dinner with Anne and a few other students before her presentation Tuesday night. Her talk involved a great slideshow, with many startling images of modern advertising techniques. On Wednesday afternoon she held a zine making workshop in the Fisher Center. Along with a handful of other students, I attended and made my own zine. Zines can be as relevant or coherent as you would like. Some student and faculty examples include the beginning of a graphic novel called "Bee Sting Death," an ode to hairy legs, a pitch for a movie playing this week at the German House, and a limerick. It was a great way to learn about the self-publishing process and stretch our creative muscles!

check out www.anneelizabethmoore.com!

i'm getting this for my little brother

Posted by Meggie Schmidt at 1:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was just accepted into the Bath, England Study Abroad program for Fall '08! I'm thrilled to study in Great Britain- the program includes excursions to Stratford-upon-Avon, London, Oxford, and Wales. I can't wait for the opportunity to travel to other parts in Europe, maybe Prague or Budapest! Flights within Europe are typically inexpensive, and a lot of my close friends will be studying in Paris, Copenhagen, and Maastricht!

As part of the program I hold an internship in Bath, either in an art gallery or museum. I can't wait to meet English people, and to learn more about their art world. Apparently the pubs and clubs in Bath are great, geared towards a young student population. Even better, Bath is supposed to be picture-book beautiful! It is the site of the Roman Baths, and has been a vacation spot since antiquity!

I'm excited to leave in less than a year. We're so lucky that so many HWS students study abroad, typically only 1% of US students take a semester in another country. Our Center for Global Education is extremely helpful in finding the right program for each student. As an Art History major who wanted to go elsewhere than Paris or Rome, CGE helped find a program that would suit my interests. I couldn't be happier with the results!

courtesy of lonelyplanet.com

Posted by Meggie Schmidt at 1:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)