Collective Perception - Reflective Writeup

            Over the last few weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of working with my fellow students on the joint project Collective Perception. Overall, the experience was rewarding on both a professional and personal level. Together, we were able to rapidly imagine, develop, and synthesis our ideas into a singular entity to display as a final exhibit in the gallery space at the Beard Building on Main Street in Cortland, NY. Our ability to work as a team and come to an agreement at every step of the project was a difficult feat to uphold but one that strengthened our end product. The measure of compromise and commitment needed by each member was great, and thankfully, we had a strong group of individuals who were fully immersed into its completion.

            Professionally, we were exposed to the challenges of working within a group-oriented environment, a critical skill necessary for artists who are seeking employment after college. Many jobs, aside from perhaps freelancing, require artists to come to a consensus on a design theme. All aspects of the work must reach this goal if the final presentation is to be cohesively united. Personal opinions that do not gain approval by the majority need to be respectfully dismissed if it halts the production process. Conflict must be constructive, not disruptive and compromise is vital.

                  Personally, we were able to discover a bit more about ourselves throughout the duration of the project. How do we work within a group? Are we willing to lead or do we prefer to follow the instructions of others? Do we respect other input enough to be willing to let go of our own ideas? We were faced with a difficult process, and I definitely felt a little uneasy when we all came together in the conference room with three separate concepts for this project. Going into that situation, we all knew that our designs were on the chopping block and that some of us were going to have to let go of our ideas for the sake of the group. After much negotiation, we were able to come to an agreement and begin development of the project, which to me, speaks to the level of teamwork displayed in our group.

                  I really enjoyed working with all of you, and I hope we can continue to make excellent work as the semester continues. I believe we were able to pull off something extremely thought provocative and interactive with Collective Perception. Let’s continue the trend!