Theme: Smell
The word “smell” automatically reminds me of my perfumes. I am a big fan of all kinds of perfumes, and collecting fragrances is one of my hobbies. Personally, a smell can not only bring me the physical sensation, but also brings on a flood if memories, influence people’s moods and even affect the way we think and act. For instance, the most cherished smell that I own is the “Versace – Bright Crystal”. It is a sensual blend of refreshing chilled Yuzu and pomegranate mingled with soothing blossoms of peony, magnolia, and lotus flower and lastly warmed with notes of musk and amber. I appreciate this smell the most in winter because it somehow “warms” me up in harsh coldness. However, smell the most in winter because it somehow “warms” me up in harsh coldness. However, smell is invisible and unmeasurable, but it is a decent way to keep our memories fresh and sometimes works even better than sleep water when stress comes across.
I got the smell(fragrance) Bright Crystal from Isabelle, my best friend in high school, before her departure to Canada. I wore this perfume a lot through my years of age 17 through 19, the smell contains most of my memories. Whenever I wear bright Crystal, pictures of my high school times and all the bitterness and sweetness with her comes across my mind at times, and even reminds me of the scenes that I have almost forgotten. “Because the olfactory bulb is part of the brain’s limbic system, an area so closely associated with memory and feeling it’s sometimes called the “emotional brain,” smell can call up memories and powerful responses almost instantaneously,” says in the article “How Smell Works” by Sarah Dowdey.
However, a smell can represent different things for different people, a good smell for one can mean a horrible memory for the other. Personally, I use different smells to remark my past and they always bring me surprises at later times.
Visual Culture: I created a collage to illustrate the sensual blend of different smell in the perfume.
Theme: Taste
Taste is undoubtedly an important element that shapes our culture. Unlike smell and sight, these senses are more objective. Taste varies and forms with different cultures and living environments. Have you ever heard of Kimchi burger? Well, to suit for the Koreans’ taste, the Kimchi burger existed in the Mcdonalds’ of Korea. And have you ever had wasabi chips? In Japan, many snacks are in Wasabi flavor. To me, different seasonings are the key elements that make food varies so much. It’s like the Asians love spices and the Westerners add cheese in everything. However, different regions also have slight different sense of taste even within the same country. Today, I want to inform a little about the culture and history of spices in China.
For example, most asians can not live without Spices. The history of spice trade is just as well known as the silk road in Asia, including spices like ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Asians adore spices and played numerous recipes with them. Therefore, spice became an assignable condiment in cooking in Asia. Additionally, people are used to different kinds and levels of spiciness in different regions. For instance, southern China like Sichuan province and Hunan province are used to extremely spiciness with a sense of num, and northern Chinese are not so good with spicy food just like the Westerners. Interestingly, there are many old sayings about spices such as people who grow up eating spices have better skin, singing voices, and a more out going personality, but a saying is a saying. Furthermore, older generations make their own spices. The local spicy sauce looks and tastes very different from the sauce we see here in the states. The original Chinese spicy sauce is stickier, oilier, and hotter in taste. Families would put the spicy sauce that they made in a jar and let it set for days so the spices and oil can fully combine. Not so much in the city though nowadays, but in towns, neighbors love to send each other the spicy jars that they made their own as a present. From my retrospect, my grandparents can make all kinds of sauces and we never have to worry about buying them. People rarely make these condiments by themselves nowadays in cities, that’s also one of the reasons why people are eating unhealthier. However, the receptivity of spice can easily tell about one’s culture and living environment, and it is still an interesting topic for commercials.
Taste is a vital element that makes up our culture. The word “taste” determines who we are and there are many things beyond it . New York City is a perfect example of diversity, and there are numerous different “tastes” within the city. And this is what made New York “cultural”. Our culture background and living environments form who we are and shape how our sensory organs react to things, and personally, “taste” is the biggest part.
Visual Culture:
I drew a cartoonish young girl wearing chili braids representing the culture of spice. From the illustration, you can tell she is overwhelmed by the spiciness of the peppers. The hotness and temper also represents the enthusiasm and hospitality of Chinese.
Theme: Sight
It was too luxurious in China to sit in Starbucks and enjoy the sight of passerby, it is all about how much people babied their time and cared a little about what was around them. In contrast, I learned that Americans had the time and mood: chat for the whole afternoon like a couch session and order the same combo for lunch and dinner. I never heard about someone taking a seat for eight hours in a coffee shop with a four dollar Americano in China. All in all, now I am used to the sight of a person or two leaning comfortable on the sofa chair next to the window pane in the Starbucks Lafayette and 8th street.
I go to gym almost everyday on Astor Place, and I always pass by the Starbucks laying on that street. There always seems to have a line waiting and people pass and go. For the ones often grab a sandwich and a bottle of water to go are the people in work-out clothes; the ones looking for seats while waiting for their drinks and food are usually in casual outfits;in addition, the people who standing in the waiting area and ceaselessly looking at the time on their phones are the ones who wearing suits and stunning dresses ready to go to work or some important place. Ivory foamy cream on the top of fresh green, blue, and yellow soda appears on the wooden table, and the next moment I look around they disappear. Baked ham and yellow melting cheese fill the toasted bread , you can always see the customer looking wistfully at the mini oven that is heating up the food that is going to save their lives like they’ve been starving for days.
However, the lines, the speaking pace of the cashier, and the making process of beverages and sandwiches, they are so fast that sometimes I can’t catch the details. But every time I am there, it also reminds me of myself being in New York City.
Visual Culture:
I made a time-lapse video of Starbucks from my sight.
Sound:
As a current residence of New York City, it is not surprising to get overwhelmed by all the noises of different things. Fire trucks running on the streets, construction noises provided by digging machines, and horns of automobiles. But there is always one place, I get most experienced with sound:the subway station. The tracks and the bottom of locomotives provides harsh rubbing sounds that hurts your ears, and the loud announcements is always on speaker to warn about the next arriving train. Although the subway station left us a impression of noisy and overwhelming, but there is something cherished. Personally, I love listening to the performance down at the subway station.
At the L train towards Brooklyn of Union Square, there is always a rapper singing snoop dogg, Lil Wayne and ect. The moment the beat is turned on, he catches the music perfectly and sometimes I mistake his voice for the original rapper! Also, the ballet performer on the upper level of Union Square subway, while looking at her dance, I like to listen to the soothing ballet music more. The relaxing ballet songs such as The Waltz and The Swan make me feel like I am standing in a place of holly with nobody around. Suddenly, a voice singing “Take A Bow” by Rihanna drags me out of the illusion, the singers change the female solo to a duet and reminded me of the singing competition and choir times I spent in high school. While I am reminiscing, the song switches to the up beat “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber and everybody started dancing and bouncing. The musics mingling with the sound of dancing steps, I know I have to enjoy this moment because nowhere else in the world will have a subway station like this.
Theme: Touches
I closed my eyes and wanted to feel every single fabric at Mood Fabrics located on W 37th st. The cashmere feels soft and smooth, the ramie cotton cools me down and tickles my fingers, out of all, I love chiffon the best. The soft chiffon soothes me from inside, it is thin and weak as if I could break it if I pulled it harder. At the beginning, I often mistake chiffon with cheap silk,which are both gentle and slippery. It is just perfect for summer, and I just want to snug into a big stack of chiffon fabrics and fall asleep.
The name “chiffon” originated from the word “chiffe” in French, which means a lightweight soft and see-through plain-woven sheer fabric woven of alternate S and Z-twist crepe yarns. When you touch really carefully, you can feel the little twists that tickles by your fingers. The twist in the crepe yarns puckers the fabric slightly in both directions after weaving, giving it some stretch and a slightly rough feel. Chiffon is most commonly used in evening wear, especially as an overlay. I love to buy clothes that made of chiffon so I can play with it, especially in summer, many blouses, evening gowns are made of this gentle material. However, chiffon always brings me to a summer land, and then cools me down, gracefully.
Visual Culture:
I made a fashion collage that combined with different color of chiffon fabrics, figures cut from magazines and a black foam board. And I used photoshop afraid of it being too simple.
