Common Module - AY 23.24 CTS B

Aranya Anurag

[aranyaanurag]

Week 4+5 Field Trip & Analyse Artistic Traditions And Lineages

Bringing our main focus to traditional art from the National Gallery, there were many different types of art styles, mediums, and overall focuses. As viewers, we perceive what we see in many unique ways.

A certain art piece I saw during our field trip that caught my attention was by “Tan Kian Por”.This piece was created in 2001 and called  “Dusk Of Life”.

I admired the very traditional Chinese style the artist used. He had created his self-portrait on a scroll rather than on a canvas or any other type of board. It added a very superior touch to it as many Chinese people used scrolls to write inspirational phrases or words in Chinese characters. I liked the way he incorporated interesting brush strokes as well as Chinese characters surrounding him which showed good contrast. My take on this piece would be from looking at his expression, he seems very pained or troubled, and judging by his age may be upset about something. You could sense movement in this whole image as his hair and posture are angeled at a certain way. For some reason it also gives off the vibe that he’s someone of importance, possibly with power, that is now debating certain choices.

After researching, this piece is actually about how things are constantly changing in the world and it's nothing more than just a cycle. He also touches on his suffering and difficult life troubles. As an outsider, it was very interesting to see the deeper meaning of what the artist was trying to convey.

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[aranyaanurag]

Week 6 Critical Self Reflectivity

Focusing on particular design problems, we as a group went to Sim Lim Square to identify the type of area it was.

We first identified the types of customers this particular mall was catered to. There would be people buying electronics or getting them fixed, people buying art materials from the shop, food stall goers, various other business owners, and lastly, people going to the club on the top floor.

 From these groups of people, we then had to identify an issue we think centered around people and customers. 

One thing we noticed was the many electronic shops scattered around different floors, making it difficult for people to navigate their way around. There also happened to be many empty shops around which could be filled up by the businesses on the top making it more cohesive. If the electronic shops were grouped around the same area it could be easier for customers to find what they're looking for. A downfall of this could be that the lower shop levels could be more expensive which is why their still available.  There also happened to be a club just randomly surrounded by other electronic shops making it seem out of place and odd. An easier solution could be including a  directory list in the lifts for viewers to find each shop efficiently. 

This made us more self-aware in identifying issues and breaking down how we think they can be adapted. This way of thinking can help us in our other modules as we continue to work on different feedback.

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[aranyaanurag]

CTSB Q2 Restate your artist's vision & one work of design under the theme of social engagement

My artistic vision statement as a designer is to use our skills to create change. By this, I mean being able to find solutions to design problems and progressively think of ways to improve them. It could be from addressing a social issue that could use a product that can make a difference or creating work to address issues and bring awareness to them. It's important to produce work that we feel can be impactful or express a certain emotion we are trying to convey. Each designer has their point of view which leads to so many possibilities of different solutions. The areas of growth around us are so wide that there are so many different ways we can use our creativity to make a difference.

This is a Nonprofit organization called “The Shoe That Grows”, Founded by Kenton Lee.

He noticed that many children in Kenya were wearing damaged shoes and weren't able to get new pairs. “Over 1.5 billion people suffer from soil-transmitted disease worldwide.” Children unable to have access to shoes could make them vulnerable to possible infections and diseases without protection. Taking into account that children are still growing, they tend to outgrow their footwear each year leaving them to again have to purchase footwear that they can't afford. 

What makes these shoes unique is their ability to expand five sizes and last for years. They have “ compressed rubber soles, antibacterial synthetic upper, high-grade velcro straps, and no mechanical parts or greats to break.” I think it was a very innovative idea as they could have longer-lasting shoes that fit them and decrease the amount of money they would have to spend each year replacing their shoes. He also created a website where people can donate, and learn more about the product and the main issue he is trying to make a change to. A good way for people to be able to spread this message and bring awareness to people who may not have a voice. One of their vision statements that caught my attention was “Because poverty is a problem we can solve it together ”. It stood out to me because its something very assertive and empowering to encourage people to want to come together to be apart of the solution.

I decided to choose this social engagement issue because it is an issue that a lot of people in poverty suffer from not having enough funds to be safe and protect themselves. The product also seems very versatile so it can be worn by many different types of people. The idea of creating a product that is both durable and long-lasting does help make a difference and hopefully continue to protect children from suffering from diseases around them.

becauseinternational.org/theshoethatgrows/kentonlee/2007/https://becauseinternational.org/about-us#our-team/

456 Words

[aranyaanurag]

CTS - Q1 Discuss your Manifesto

Our Group manifesto consisted of statements that represented each lesson as designers. As a group, we decided to create a mirror frame that shows reflections. The choice of mirror embellishments represents something old and timeless which could relate to the importance of how our manifestos could still be significant over time. The mirror is a representation of ourselves and in this case, our statements that we either believe in or can relate to.

The first statement is about what being a critical thinker is about. It can be interpreted in many ways but we focused on how it's about creating and generating ideas. The second statement summarises the importance of having a unique style that represents you as a designer. This stood out to me because as designers it's important to find something that makes you unique and different from others to be able to communicate things from your point of view. The third statement is about evaluating yourself and being able to address things you could work on or work towards. Is a very important skill to take on to work on yourself and grow. The fourth statement is very short and straight to the point. It addresses the importance of having meaning in the work you create. The fifth statement touches on the importance of research and being able to get inspiration from others to then add to your own. The sixth statement reminds me more of a quote but touches on the significance of having a plan or things you working towards to be successful or feel fulfilled. Lastly, the last statement focuses on another way that being a critical thinker can be significant.

For my personal manifesto, I think I would include more points on how it's important for us as designers to identify problems and evaluate them to create innovative solutions. Another statement could be addressing how it's important to get different perspectives and feedback to have a deeper understanding of how to expand from issues. From these group outcomes, I think a change we could work on adding statements that may relate to a certain experience that we had learned from.

Some aspects of CTSB that were significant would be one of our activities on creating a “statement of artistic vision”. I think it is important to ask ourselves questions about our plans, the strengths we see in ourselves, and how we will be able to achieve them. It had been something that made us think deeply about what it is we wanted to achieve which could help lead us down the right path. Connecting these manifestos to our other modules could help us evaluate ourselves more as designers and take the time to create meaningful outcomes.

[aranyaanurag]

Week 2 - This Is How You Connect Theory and Practice

In this session, we focused a lot on our own identity, how we see ourselves, and how others see us too. we were tasked to create a collage on how we can express ourselves through images. In my collage, I added a bunch of things I like, hobbies, interests, etc. 

We discussed the topic of identity and what it really means. To me, I think identity is what a persons interests are and what makes them unique as an individual or rather what others may label you as a person based on your personality or appearance. I think that social identity is already determined but the public whether you are in the public eye or not. Everyone has opinions of how they perceive someone or rather how they present themselves. It does change from time to time as a person grows, develops, and moves past certain stages of their life. It could be a certain interest that a person had outgrown and no longer represents themselves as “the kid that plays a certain sport” for example. I think our interests and passions play a big part in our identity because it shapes who we are as an individual.

We moved on to letting someone who may not know us personally create a collage of us in images of the type of person they think we are or what they think represents us the most. It was very interesting to compare how you see yourself vs. how you are perceived by someone else.

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[aranyaanurag]

Week 1 - Creative Practice And Critical Thinking

During this lesson, we were tasked to explore a particular social issue adn create a story about it based on an experience or fiction. I decided to focus on the issue of “social identity and how certain generations could have negative reactions to people vocalizing about their different pronouns and how they would like to be identified.

I think this issue is very current and has been a very controversial topic as many different people may either accept it and understand it or completely against supporting people who choose to go by their terms. I had an experience with a friend who had decided to go by he/him pronouns when they were a girl. They had felt it represented them better and felt comfortable being addressed as a “he” rather than a “she”. When he told his parents about this they were very dismissive and refused to accept the idea that their kid would want to be identified as anything other than she/her. They didn't understand the whole idea of it in general. It had not been something they had been familiar with and rather having an open mind and supporting their kid, they decided it was not acceptable.

I think something I could work on when writing my story is thinking about how I wanted to structure and instead of making it more critical, make it more creative. I think I did have some creative elements to my story but it was more of a real event that occurred as well as a common experience.

Word count (257)

[aranyaanurag]

Week 3 - Connecting practice with society

During this lesson, it was exciting to see which local issues people decided to pick and how they communicated them in an engaging way.

Our topic was how customers are afraid to confront waiters when they get the wrong order. It can be uncomfortable for people to openly call them out for not taking into consideration their allergies for example, and in the end suffering. It was a very collaborative activity as we worked together to come up with a script and plan out how we wanted the clips to be shot. I think that many people can relate to this issue as it can be hard to speak up and have that awkward conversation in order to not accept it as is. In our community, it's something that when people do call out wait staff, it can come across as rude or inconvenient but I think it's all about how you communicate it and let them know. We touched on the downfall of what may happen in that particular situation and highlighted that we as a community should not be afraid to confront them if necessary.

One thing our group could work on would be our time management because we rushed to add the clips and put them together. We had spent most of our time filming parts of our video that we had cut the editing short. I do think we communicated it in a fun and dramatic way while still addressing the local issue in the end.

Word count (250)

[aranyaanurag]

Week 3 - Semiotics

 I think that Semiotics is the study of images that can be interpreted in different ways. An example of this could be branding when a company combines both a topic and its message into one. This would let you look at the hidden meaning behind a simple image.

This is a  very creative Macdonalds advertisement. It's a very interesting way to incorporate Albert  Einstein who is known for his theory of relativity, with a food advertisement. It could link to the idea that he's just as human as we are who need fuel. The header of “what's for lunch” links to food being incorporated with E = MC². “Solve lunch first” reaching out to all working people out there to come on down and purchase the new burger.  I think its something unexpected for Macdonalds to come out with as an advertisement.

  On the other hand, this  “Tobasco” campaign advertisement is not as good. I would say this ad is not as good as it encourages people to drink Tabasco like it's a drink rather than a condiment. The man with the flames coming out of him does not look appealing nor would a customer willingly want to experience that. I think the idea was there to portray the sauce to be very spicy and the fire coming out of the man to look like a dragon spitting out the fire to indicate the spice level, but as a viewer, I personally would gravitate towards willingly wanting this experience as well.

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MLA References

Creative advertising meets pop culture, Diana Teslaru,(Creative Ads That Pop), march2019, https://www.creatopy.com/blog/creative-advertising/, Accessed 20 Feb 2023

Bad and controversial ad examples, unknown, Tobasco, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/90494273751084559/,Accessed20feb