Visual Culture 5-Day Journal

02/02/2019

Teaching art is something I believe to be possible. Looking at my own experience, I know that while I always had an affinity to creativity, I think it is something that developed over time due to the increasing amounts of exposure I had to art. As a child my creativity was always encouraged by arts and crafts projects in kindergarten and school, and art classes my parents enrolled me in outside of school. In each of these experiences, I was introduced to materials, ideas, and methods that expanded my knowledge on art and creativity, allowing me to employ my new found knowledge in the way I initiated, developed and refined my own works of art.

However, “teaching art” is about much more than learning what and how you can produce physically. It is also about how you interpret the work of others and how you understand the visual culture around you. Understanding art involves the ability to look at it and make meaning behind it by interpreting its subject and concepts. This is definitely much harder to teach as it can depend on an individual’s perceptive and intuitive skills, however, this also can be developed with more exposure. While each artwork is unique, there are definitely themes and ideas that can be compared across different works and patterns can be found in the concepts and styles of certain time periods. Learning about the way different artists worked and thought to create their pieces can encourage an understanding of other art as well because the knowledge and thought process of interpretation can be carried forward to more pieces of art. Interpreting visual culture in daily life also involves similar thought processes as you can interpret the purpose behind the creation and display of imagery we encounter in daily life, such as advertising, sculptural monuments, social media, etc.

 

03/02/2019

My ideal place to live would be the city I grew up in: Hong Kong. Having lived there my entire life, and now currently living in Manhattan, my life has always been integrated within an incredibly fast paced society. While I do enjoy moments of relaxation and quiet time, I still know that I would struggle to cope in a place that lacks the same excitement and speed of living in a city. I specifically want to live in the city of Hong Kong because of the culture. Spending eighteen years of my life in Hong Kong meant living with the privilege of experiencing and learning from hundreds of different cultures and lifestyles, but more importantly it allowed me to develop a deep respect and love for my Asian heritage. Furthermore, I was raised with a great affinity for nature and the outdoors, and Hong Kong’s perfect mix of manmade and natural structures within limited land space allows me to flutter between the serenity of nature and the vitality of the city within a matter of minutes.

My ideal place to work would be in a media company or organisation that advocates for or sheds lights on issues and beliefs that I support. My art has always had a deep focus in social justice and political issues as I find it very important to open up a dialogue about these issues. Working for companies such as CNN, Time Magazine or the UN in the field of creative direction and graphic design would give me the opportunity to use my skill to play a role in supporting ideas that I believe to be very important in the betterment of society. I would also want to work somewhere that gives me that opportunity to work closely with the communities and social groups I try to advocate for through my art. This is not only because I love working with people and learning from them, but it  would also give me the ability to understand their cultures and struggles better, which would in turn give me the ability to tell their story using imagery using a more educated and powerful perspective.

 

04/02/2019

In a world where beauty and appearance is constantly being noticed, make up has been a way to avoid criticisms and judgement. It is recognised as a tool to enhance and improve someone’s appearance. As someone with quite evident dark circles, have also been someone who uses make up as a way to hide my imperfections. Because of its ability to conceal parts of a person’s appearance, people who use makeup are often criticised for not presenting their true selves, or putting up a mask in front of the world.

The negative stereotypes of makeup are often challenged by the fact that it also acts as a way to boost self confidence. Being proud and content of your appearance can help someone’s confidence as they no longer feel the need to hide or be ashamed of any part of themselves. In response to this, however, is the argument that we as a society need to learn to accept people and help boost their confidence in their natural, unaltered appearances and reserve any form of judgement that may demoralise them.

These daily arguments on the pros and cons of makeup and presentation of self are often repetitive and never ending. However, coming to a creative school filled with individuals with a strong sense of self, I have come to discover that make up can be used as a tool to do so much more. Although I may still use it simply to cover up my dark circles, I have observed students around me who use it not as a way to hide themselves, but to show themselves. It becomes a firm of creative expression of their identity and energy. Rather than trying to look “natural”, they use bright colours and abstract designs to present their inner self on the outside. Rather than using it as a mask and presenting a altered version of themselves, they use to show their truest self.

 

05/02/2019

To describe my art to a family member, I would have to start my story years in the past. I would tell them how I had always loved art, especially drawing. I would tell them how I would find an object, like a mug, and simply recreate it on a piece of paper. Perfecting the shading was what I considered the extent to which I could take my drawings. But in December of 2012, a 21 year old woman was brutally gangraped on a bus in New Delhi, India, causing the nation to erupt and send shockwaves all across the world. Being only 12 years old at the time, it was my first insight on the injustices of the world. After this, my interest in social justice issues, especially those to do with feminism, grew and this became prominent in my art. My art became a way to express my concerns about socio-political issues while also trying to open up a dialogue about these controversial issues I strongly believe need more exposure and understanding.

To describe my favourite artist, I would tell them about Jenny Saville, and how her paintings helped me develop my own style as a painter, as well as my interpretation and use of colour. I would describe how her large scale paintings, that are deeply embedded in a feminist agenda, showed me how to combine concepts with subjects in simple yet incredibly powerful ways.

Since I’ve never taken the time to explain my art and my artistic aspirations to any of my family members in depth before, I am also able to make the decision of who to start with. I would most probably start with my mother. As an Indian woman who has lived in India for a large portion of her life, she has first hand experience of living in a society where women haven’t always been treated or viewed in a just manner. Because of this, she would be able to sympathise and empathise with a majority of my artwork that deals with the role of women in India.

 

06/02/2019

If I owned an art gallery, I would display art by local South-East Asian artists. Having travelled to most South-East Asian countries, I have had the opportunity to view the work of many local artists who display their culture to tourists by means of painting, embroidery, woodwork, and more. While many of these works are seen as repetitive in tourist areas and usually appeal to tourists by portraying tourist attractions, there are many local artists who aren’t as prominent and produce work that beautifully combines mediums and displays overshadowed parts of their cultures. Rather than just focussing on the glorified aspects of their culture, for example religious icons and festivals, they also focus on their lifestyles and try to introduce different perspectives to outsiders by revealing concepts that are usually only understood by those deeply embedded in these respective cultures.

For example, contemporary Indian artist Siddharth S Shingade’s stylised figures convey years of history from his birthplace Marathwada, India, including the oppression women in their community face. Sothy Chhim of Cambodia uses traditional Khmer painting and more diverse techniques to portray social issues and Buddhism.

By putting all of these powerful artists’ works in one room, I would aim to give my viewers an enriching cultural experience from an angle they have never been introduced to before. A dynamic range of mediums would reflect the diversity and array of the interesting aspects of each culture. Another reason I would want to display the work of local artists is to give them more exposure and recognition, to introduce new types and concepts of art to divert or contradict the preconceived notions that outsiders may have about the lifestyles and cultures of these South-East Asian countries. This would promote a better understanding of the diversity of different cultures, while also helping and encouraging local artists pursue their aspirations in creative fields.