CULTURE AND THE ARTS
The First Ever Temporary Arts Festival
We are temporal beings. We are creative beings. Creativity is inherent in who we are.
The First Ever Temporary Arts Festival held on Tuesday, October 22, 2019 from 10 am to 12:30 pm was also about creative thinking, and then making something happen.
And it happened. My Creative Thinking class collaborated with Campus Recreation to generate this creative event.
One reason for collaboration was that a Creative Thinking student suggested that one of the temporary arts in our Temporary Arts Festival be pumpkin design. With that in mind, we approached Tzu-Lin Toner at Campus Recreation, aware of the pumpkin design activity usually arrange by Campus Rec. Tzu-Lin and her student Special Events Directors, Jordan Lewis and Komal Bains were open to a collaboration and embraced our additional ideas.
The social creative value of the First Ever Temporary Arts Festival spread out to various departments, clubs and creative individuals including Stacy Gitlin, a professor in the TVDM school, with her class called Field Production and Editing. Also involved was Economics professor David Axelrod, who initiated a temporary flash mob musical. Responding to an invitation to participate Jaycee Bulaon, President of the Montclair State Car Club, arranged for members to bring five classic automobiles to the event, temporarily spray painting two of the exquisite vehicles. Furthermore, Graduate Assistant and leader of the French and German Club, Gerry Plinio requested to be involved at the spoken word tent with an activity using French and German as the spoken languages. Biology professor Dirk Vanderklein embraced the opportunity to recite in German, setting a model of participation for students. Other unscheduled individuals added creativity to the Temporary Arts Festival. Student and chalk artist, Bettina Rosario drew an aesthetically beautiful and large bear on the Student Center sidewalk. The bear was split down the middle, representing the anger of the bear on one side and peace on the other side. Walking and weather, also made this creative product temporary.
Jules Kopell, student and experienced hula hoop performer, exhibited a high level of skills in form and movement, using several hula hoops at one time. “I usually do this with flames,” commented Kopell. In addition, students in Creative Thinking invited in two performance bands and a DJ.
There was a tent for Registration and Costume Design as well as for our guest Ice Sculpturer, Bob Johnson who created a beautiful representation of the MSU Red Hawk. One hundred actual pumpkins were decorated by students on two tables. Rain at the closing of the First Ever Temporary Arts Festival helped to make the spray paint, chalk art, paper costumes and two ice sculptures dissolve and melt.
Through this festival students learned to: Design and launch the First Ever Temporary Arts Festival; Test innovative entrepreneurship successfully; Discover the value of social interaction for creative results and social change; Negotiate timing, location, utilities, transportation, finances, partnerships and clean-up; Adapt creatively to losses and gains; Transform and redesign the notion of pumpkin art by incorporating other temporary arts concepts.
As a result, Campus Recreation will be collaborating with Dr. Parker’s Creative Thinking class again soon.