A little about myself

My name is Allijah Motika. I am from Asheville, NC. I am a freshman Music Business major concentrating specifically on the Artist Development Program. My goal is to be an artist: recording, performing, and writing, my own music. Although now that I think about it, it seems as though my career path should be the reason for my interest in this class. While this class may of course influence my opinions on my own chosen love for music (art), the reason that I took this class was because of my newly discovered love of visual art.
Last year I took AP Art History at Asheville High School and thought the class was incredible. Because of the unreasonable amount of snow we got last winter we didn't have nearly enough classes to give real respect to modern art and I felt like I barely learned it. That is one reason that I was interested in this class, because the debate about the validity of modern art is so heated and I barely got to study it. In that class, though, we went through the entire history of art from Venus of Willendorf to Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans and others. Some of my favorite pieces are Fragonard's The Swing, Dali's Persistence of Memory (The melting clocks painting), and one of my favorites simply because of the craziness of the title is by Manet: Monet painting in his studio boat. So in essence the title is "Manet painting Monet painting in his studio boat" which I think is just incredibly clever. Some of my other favorite artists are David, Renoir, Bosch, Michelangelo, Caravaggio and the Impressionists are incredibly interesting among others. All in all I have just realized that I'm a huge art history geek and would love to learn more.
I had assumed that this class would be focused solely on visual art and I am looking forward to the fact that it is not, because I personally believe that music and sound is the purest, most moving, and ultimately most powerful form of art that there is. Music is not only in my soul but is my soul and rules my life. I try to put as much music in my life as I can and so far I have learned how to play many types of percussion (from the marimbas to the drum set), piano, and guitar. My main focus is singing and songwriting. I have also taught myself how to beatbox (this is probably the most fun out of all the instruments I play!! :). I am currently involved in Catawba Singers, the Colloquials Vernacular (as the drummer), Urb'NSol (as the keyboard player), an artist in the ADP Program, and am enrolled in two different vocal studios. Along with that I am planning a concert back in Asheville in March, as well as other random gigs that I will be doing. All of that should hopefully explain how much I love music.
I am really into philosophical discussions too and I love to argue so this class is turning out to be a lot of fun for me! I can't wait to do more!

P.S. When I studied Jackson Polluck...I thought he was an idiot, still do. Oh and Marcel Duchamp too haha

P.P.S. here are three pieces of art that I think are some of the most incredibly moving things that I have ever seen/heard

Element by Moses Mayfield
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UrczBIc8a8

Knock Knock by Russell Simmons
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E0DMcZ23kE

The third was Goodnight Moon but the youtube video is gone. If you can find the cartoon version somewhere online please watch and post it, it is INCREDIBLE!!!