Introduction

I'm used to introducing myself as a musician, but not so much as a visual artist. I'll start with the basics. My name is Bennett Gabriel, and I'm a current senior at Lawrence studying trombone performance with a French minor. After taking only classes in music and French at Lawrence, I'm excited to get back into the discipline of art that I've lost touch with in college. I've lived in Madison, WI my whole life, though I still enjoy exploring the city like a tourist when I'm home for breaks. I like to approach art with a strong sense of place and the human environment, and preferably through a camera lens. I've attached images I've taken that resonate with my personal sense of place.

Me

During the past couple weeks, I've been isolating in my apartment in Appleton after catching Covid-19. I normally enjoy getting outside almost every day for long bike rides or walks, and the confinement with only a few minutes a day on our rooftop was unbearable. Through countless hours in my room and the loss and return of my sense of smell and taste, I was able to think a lot about our perception of our world around us. I found time as well to hone my craft on my instrument, the trombone. Tomorrow, with the end of my isolation period, I'll be able to feel the sun and fresh air again, and breathe a little easier for the next couple months knowing that I should have some immunity from the virus. I'm hoping to take fewer things in life for granted, and slow down and appreciate my surroundings more often.

I'm hoping to incorporate music in some way into my art this term, and push my creative limits. I consider myself over-connected on social media, so perhaps this class can be a way of harnessing it for good rather than mindless scrolling.