Music

How Making Art Affects You as a Student

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Brushes on a canvas covered in paint

“I don’t listen to what art critics say. I don’t know anybody who needs a critic to find out what art is”.

~Jean-Michael Bassquiat
A piece of art where a woman's face is covered in color as she holds her face with her hands.

It’s the first thing to be underfunded and ignored in terms of educational value. Is this societal disregard for art justifiable? As a matter of fact, no. Having art programs present at educational institutions creates exciting places for learning and discovery. Research by the Americans for the Arts and Vans Custom Culture shows that low income students who are engaged in the arts are more than twice as likely to graduate college compared to their peers with no arts education, proving that creative classes as a part of your education can drastically increase your chances for success. Here’s how:

The Academic Boost of Art

As you can imagine, making art of any kind requires diligent focus and discipline. Which means the practice of turning creativity into a product is enhancing those skills. Focus and discipline are then going to transfer into other aspects of the artist’s life. For example, studying for a final exam is a bit easier when your brain has already been trained to have laser focus and not slack off.

A study on art in schools done in 2006 by Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum study showed a link between arts education and improved literacy skills. During the study, students were working with an artist to make a masterpiece. They then developed better critical thinking skills. By pondering and discussing different pieces and works, these students were establishing vital life skills. This could then be applied to understanding and analyzing literary material later on in different situations.

Outside of School Benefits

hands reach over a desk to sketch an art drawing of a fashion design

Art can benefit you life in more ways than just in the classroom. Creativity can often act as a bridge between two people of different walks of life. All forms of art can help to significantly improve community cohesion. A study done in 2005 by the Rand Corporation showed that art can connect students. These students might otherwise be culturally isolated, to each other and to the world at large.

A study by Anna Bernadska & Kelly Leroux describes the impact of the arts on individual contributions to US civil society. According to which, among adults, arts participation is related to behaviors that contribute to the health of civil society. These contributions include increased civic engagement and greater social tolerance. Put simply, when you create things for others you’re getting more involved with your community. You’re also learning how to better understand and accept thoughts and opinions of others, even if they may not agree with your own.

A man sits at a computer making graphic designs, the desk also has a coffee and a mug of coffee sitting next to the computer.

Art Is Available To You Everywhere

SUNY Ulster offers several types of art degrees such as fashion or advertising design, theater, music, and fine arts. Learn more information on the programs SUNY Ulster offers here. If a full-fledged art degree is not for you, arts classes can be taken with any degree program. They would siply be classified as an elective during any one of your semesters at SUNY Ulster. The next semester coming up is Fall 2019, and there are plenty of art classes to be had, check it out on the website. Some people may even qualify for free tuition with the college scholars program.

Fun Electives Offered This Spring

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People observing the night sky

Are you looking for an intriguing and fun elective to fill up your schedule or fulfill a requirement? Though it sometimes takes a bit of searching to find, Ulster offers a number of unique and innovative courses to bring some excitement into your semester. Here’s just a few you can sign up for this spring!

History of Rock Music – MUS 175

Personally, I’ve seen enough students with band-related apparel to safely say that many of you love rock music. Why not learn more about it in this informative class that covers every aspect of the genre? You get to learn about the history of rock music from its pre-50s roots to today, including its social causes and effects, style trends, and the backgrounds of many performers and songwriters who worked within it. Every other aspect of the business is covered too, as the course description says other topics are “language geared towards the non-musician musical features of rock: instrumentation, melodic/harmonic/rhythmic details, performance styles, lyrics, visual aspects (personal appearances, album covers, etc.), and production/recording techniques.” Of course, you get to listen to a great deal of music, both in and out of the classroom. What could beat receiving college credit for listening to music you already love? Professor Gregory Dinger, who teaches the class, says “The students are assigned a lot of listening outside of class, and we do some playful things in class like “create” appropriate song titles or group names.  Some of the written assignments include “Your Favorite and a Least Favorite Song,” reactions to a reading on the “Negative Reactions to early Rock & Roll,” and interviewing someone (of the right age) as to who they preferred in the 1960s:  The Beatles or The Rolling Stones.”

Feature Journalism – COM 201

If you like writing, this is the course for you. Although it’s a 200-level Communications course, this class can be taken by anyone who has taken ENG 102. Students get to learn about many aspects of the journalism industry, including the development and research, writing, and editing processes used to create feature stories for newspapers and magazines. Best of all, students in the class staff the campus newspaper and contribute articles for credit. Anyone interested in writing or journalism can benefit from this experience and exposure! Professor Robert Pucci, who teaches this class, offers, “The feature journalism class gives the student an opportunity to experience the working environment of a freelance article writer. Students research markets, target publications, write query letters and complete three magazine articles geared to their interests. In the past feature articles written for the class have appeared in local publications.”

Solar System Astronomy – AST 102

Who doesn’t love looking at the stars? The astronomy course here at Ulster offers not only the opportunity to attend a night sky observation (with a telescope and professional input!), but also the chance to learn more about the fascinating world outside our planet of moons, asteroids, meteors, and comets. Professor Steven Schimmrich, who teaches the class, says, “Students learn to use a freeware program called Stellarium which allows you to view the night sky from any location on Earth at any date or time which allows them to predict when and where to observe planets and other celestial objects. Students are introduced to the latest data being returned from NASA missions to various planets, moons, asteroids, and comets in our solar system.” The history of the solar system up through the current search for extraterrestrial life and new planets is also covered. This course is designed for all majors, and actually fulfills a Natural Science elective you might need for graduation.

Register Today!

If you can fit one in, it’s always good to have a class to take purely for the joy of learning! Read more about the courses and find out what requirements they fulfill by clicking on the names above. Be sure to register for these and your other classes before they fill up!