Dear Future Student,
I wanted to travel on an International program
because I am a hands-on learner. I thought that being able to learn about art
history by experiencing it would work well for me. For me, seeing and touching is
much more beneficial than simply reading in an art history book. Normally,
travel will push you out of your comfort zone. It will force you to learn and
see new things in new light. It ignites new ideas and motivates one to want to
know more. Educational travel pushes you even further. It gives direction and
structure to the experience. This trip expanded my artistic ideas and
strengthened my foundation knowledge for future projects.
My expectations were simple. I wanted to see a lot of famous art
and learn a great deal from it. These expectations were not just met. They were
exceeded. Using the 6 scales that Chris and Eric taught us, I was about to
learn and study the art in a whole new way. With so much exposure to art, my thoughts were jumping with
ideas and concepts to explore. I kept a list of these ideas that I plan to work
on in the future.
Overall the Paris trip served as a learning
point to reflect on the past and to fuel further explorations. Every student is
unique with different favorite parts. I really enjoyed that Chris and Eric tried
to at least touch on all the art movements as we traveled around Paris.
There was something for everyone. Keeping an
open attitude allowed me to enjoyed areas of art and history that I would not
have sought out on my own.
Learning is a never-ending process. Everything
that I had studied previously became the foundation for this trip. The many
group and one-on-one discussions allowed me to expand my base knowledge.
Experiencing the art with others allowed us to have shared experiences for
these discussions. One of my strengths was talking about Monet. He is one of my
favorite painters. Sharing some little known
facts with Eric, I was encouraged to research Monet and Impressionism even
further.
This is an once-in-a-lifetime experience. You
will see art that you have only talked about in school but then to experience
it in person changes everything. You will notice little details you that cannot
be captured in a book.
Let me close with these suggestions. Done
worry. Relax. Everything is going to be all right. For example, the language was the biggest issue I had while in
Paris. Learning some key phrases and being polite worked wonders. Most businesses
are more then willing to try and help you. Also, at this time of year, Paris does not get dark until almost
10:30 so plan for long days and little sleep. Go on walks at the end of the day
to soak up the culture and reflect on your experiences.
Best wishes,
Robert Matthiesen
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