KATERINA (KAT) GORLENKO
Arts Scholar
PENTATHLON
Semester 1
As an experiential component of College Park Arts Scholars, I attended a selection of five art events during my first semester. These events ranged in art mediums and each sparked dialogue among my peers.
PENTATHLON 1: NEW ARRIVALS 2021
9/16/21, The Stamp Gallery, New Arrivals 2021
#visualart
New Arrivals 2021 was my first experience with the on campus galleries, and I am so lucky it was. Though it featured only a couple of works, each one of them intrigued me in different ways. My absolute favorite piece was a painting by Kei Ito (pictured below), portraying cancer cells made out of honey and oil, the materials used to heal the burn wounds of the atomic bomb survivors who developed those cancerous cells. With a grandmother who survived chernobyl, I know how the effects of chemical disasters can change lives. My babuskha had to move due to the residual radiation, and she lost many people in her life to radiation poisoning. They used herbal remedies similar to the honey and oil used for Hiroshima victims, but nothing could stop the underlying threat of cancer. In Arts Scholars we discussed aspects of what makes something art. I now see art as more than just something beautiful that may make me feel emotions, but something I can relate to on a personal level. But in terms of its creativity, I thought the way Ito used the material that is supposed to treat the infection to portray it on the canvas was an interesting juxtaposition combining the bad and the good. It creates an internal conflict that makes the audience think deeper about the concept of the work. I definitely want to explore that technique more in my own artwork.
PENTATHLON 2: COFFEE & CRAFTS PRESENTS "ABSTRACT ART MAKING"
9/24/21, Bel Air Lounge, Abstract Art Making
#visualart #ArtsScholars
At abstract art making night we created 3 different works inspired by different artists, psychologists and techniques. The first was a Jackson Polack piece, where we splattered paint onto our canvases. While doing this activity I questioned what really makes art, well, art. As I looked at my work, a canvas I had just been throwing paint at for 10 minutes, it made me think of the 0 skill or thought I put behind my movements, purely doing things for the aesthetic; colors I thought looked nice together and placement. Though there was no deeper meaning to my painting, it still brought me joy to create and look at once it was finished. Art can be something that was created for a purpose, to cause a movement, to spark change, but sometimes it is just for beauty. This was the same thought process I had for our string art. But sometimes, as with our final painting project, art is made to be used for a specific job. Hermann Rorschach was an early 20th century psychologist who developed a cognitive test that looked for possible psychological disturbances. A random symmetrical inkblot is presented to the patient and they are told to say what they see in it. Depending on their answer, they may have a certain mental issue. This test has long been discredited as an accurate measurement of psychological problems but has become a staple in the psychological community. Though these inkblots' intended purpose was for therapists and psychologists to use on patients, many would consider these art. At abstract art making night we created our own Rorschach inkblots; not to use on others, but rather for our own pleasure. Why art is made is fluid and can change depending on who makes it and when. Rorschach may have made it for sessions, but I made it to hang on my wall. This abstract art night really made me think about the different reasons art is made and again, what makes something real art.
PENTATHLON 3: ONE AMERICA
10/13/21, Dekelboum Concert Hall, UMD Repertoire Orchestra
#music
One America presented by the UMD Repertoire Orchestra was one of my favorite symphony performances to date! This was because of the history behind them and how it was communicated to the audience. I mostly want to focus on the works played in the second half of the concert, following the intermission, called the “Montgomery Variations” by Margaret Bonds. These were a selection of 7 small musical pieces all strung together to weave a story about Montgomery, Alabama and the Civil Rights Movement, as a tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. My favorite one, “One Sunday In the South”, was about the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham where the lives of several African American children were taken. At one point, the delightful sweet tune representing the innocence of the Sunday school students was interrupted by a loud crescendoing rush of the drums, ending with a cymbal crash and silence, which was the bomb going off. The way art communicates so much without words never ceases to amaze me. The use of different sounds to symbolize varying emotions and events shows that art connects not only people but the tangible world to the theoretical. I rarely hear music that truly tells a story and these pieces together took me through an entire journey using just different instruments, tempos, tones and styles. I wonder how I can also make sure to show rather than tell in my own artwork.
PENTATHLON 4: LITTLE WOMEN
10/29/21, Kogod Theatre, Little Women: The Broadway Musical
#theater
It has been so long since I have seen live theatre; over 2 years! It was such a crazy experience to be sitting in an audience again watching performers sing live on stage. The only part that was different and unique for my previous experiences watching live shows was that everyone was wearing masks. Art can be created even amidst the worst our Earth has endured. Humanity does everything it can to bring light and art out to the public no matter the circumstances. As a singer, I know how difficult it is to project in a mask, consistently adjust it after finishing a large dance number, or having to add extra expression into your face when people can’t see 90 percent of it. Having been able to see the arts for one of the things it truly is; a necessity. Fine art is something creative mankind needs in order to thrive and evolve. Through dark times it is important not only to find cures, and stay safe, but continue widening our minds and experiencing culture. Human beings will find all sorts of creative ways to ensure the arts never die. In our podcast for Arts Scholars, we are discussing how different departments within a production such as acting, music and set design built community, specifically in Little Women! I interviewed the set designer, Jo’s understudy, and the music director for Little Women, and (without giving podcast spoilers) I learned a lot about how the community played a key role in being able to put this show on during such a testing time.
PENTATHLON 5: SYMPHONIC FAITHS
11/12/21, Dekelboum Concert Hall, UMD Symphony Orchestra and Concert Choir
#music
My amazement never ceases when I go watch any performances at the Clarice. I have seen many orchestras and choirs perform individually, but I have never seen a chorus sing alongside a symphony. Stravinksy’s Symphony of Psalms is already a stunning piece of music, but adding the choir really brought it to life. I feel like combining two different elements of art really adds more to what you are portraying. For example, I prefer musicals to plays because plays are just pure acting, while musicals are plays with music. The music adds something different to the story, using song to portray emotions in a way words can’t. The different tones and styles add another layer and element about what is occurring in the story that draws you in. The beautiful orchestral stylings, along with the Latin bible verses sung by the choir, made me feel enveloped in sound, almost as if I myself was ascending to heaven. This idea of combining various elements goes along with my capstone; the arts in STEM education. How can you combine two seemingly different studies, to create something that is even greater? Though STEM isn’t necessarily an art, though you could argue it is, bringing the arts into STEM is a way to make learning more interesting and thorough than pure lecturing and paperwork. The Symphonic Faiths performance really got me thinking about my project and how much I do believe that bringing things together to make a whole is much more wonderful than the separate parts.
