1. Smell
Central Park, the peaceful yet extensive area hidden in the center of one of the busiest cities in the world, is called as the heart of New York City. The public park is 2.5 miles long between 59th Street and 110th Street, though the image (picture taken near Bethesda fountain) above covers only a slight part of it. However, the best part of being in the area is the smell of pure nature. The pleasant scent of trees gently wafts through the air as I enter the park all the time. As I look at the countless numbers of trees in the park, all the leaves blur and approach to me through the air as a delicate fragrance. Nevertheless, the smell is not bizarre but familiar to me. It reminds me of Rome, Italy, where I spent my entire high school. I spent a wonderful and unforgettable time in Rome with my friends and family that I could call the place as home. The city is a nature itself with full of trees and less exhaust gas in the air. The smell could be experienced in several other places such as parks, woods, forests and etc., but it wouldn’t be as strong and powerful as it is in Central Park nor in Rome since both places are meaningful to me and in my life. Now as I am in New York City, the smell of the place represents relaxation as it makes my mind comfortable, reminding me of home, and expresses relief that welcomes and allows me to come back when ever in need of comfort.
2. Taste
Taste, the sour, sweet, salty or bitter quality of a thing that one senses in the mouth and throat, plays an important role in introducing one’s culture to the others. Taste can be found anywhere; even on the streets and mostly, people find joy and pleasure in savoring, including myself. As a person who has experienced sorts of tastes from differentiating cultures, I am very sensitive and still enjoy exploring new tastes that I have never tried before in order to sense a new flavor. Also, I believe that it is essential to venture through all kinds of taste in order to know my own style. Above is an image of a market bag from my neighborhood full of ingredients and snacks. Individually, the products would have their own distinct taste(s), but once mixed or blended with others, they would create a whole new flavor. Personally, what matters a lot is whom I am with while eating. Through out my life, my mom would cook Korean food for our family most of the time and even though the food might not taste as good as those in famous restaurants, it meant a lot to me. In this way although I was living abroad I never forgot the taste of Korea. And I am truly grateful for that as a Korean. Living by my own these days, whenever I go to the market, I think of my mom and her cuisine, which gives me a warm feeling. It is amazing how taste can help one understand and remember one’s culture.
3. Sight
Dessert, a course served to conclude the main meal, generally captures people’s eye with the creative plating, sufficient decoration and the sweetness it carries. Linking to the idea of taste, personally I have always considered the sight of food as an important factor in visual culture. Passing through the streets in New York, I would always find numerous dessert cafes and stop by to have a closer look. The outstanding colors, display and the facial expressions of the others savoring the served desserts naturally allure me in to the café. The photo above was taken in Georgetown Cupcake, located in Soho, which is originally from Washington DC. One of my favorite desserts is cupcake and I can see that Americans also love cupcakes in general. The theme color of the shop is light pink, which gives us a comfortable and innocent feeling, and the colors of the cupcake match well within the theme. As there aren’t any strong colors, the place gives a sense of harmony, allowing more people to come in and stay. The way the cupcakes are displayed all together, forming as one gigantic cupcake mountain, it makes people willing to purchase, observe the different flavors and try all kinds of flavors. If the shop did not decorate the interior in a pleasant way, it would not attract customers. In this way, because most humans have sight(s), it is important in visual culture to portray an object in a nice way, and especially in advertisements.
3. Sound
The gentle and soft melody of the song played by a Korean pianist called Yiruma, River Flows in You is probably my favorite of all. As a person who had learned piano and had been playing the instrument for more than 5 years, I am very interested in piano songs as much as k-pop songs. The sound was directly recorded with my phone, while I was playing the piano. Most of the songs written by Yiruma are famous and well known worldwide, as the music is not from an unfamiliar genre. It is a mix of pop and classical music that people enjoy listening without any reserve. Also the level of the piece is not high that even starters can easily approach and play the music with a bit of practice. I believe this is one of the most important strategies in introducing one’s visual culture through out the use of sound; accessibility. Even though, there aren’t any actual visualized images to be shown, sounds definitely help and can form one’s culture. Each tempo, note and tone creates a harmony and the harmony produces sense, which allows one to imagine and think of one’s culture or others’. In this way Yiruma and all of his other songs aid one understand Korean culture. Because even music exists everywhere in every country, they are all different, yet slightly. By playing this piece of music, I wanted to be a part of Korean culture and also was willing to spread and let others visualize my home culture in their minds.
Every human being has it’s own instinct that he or she contain within it’s mind. Intuition, the ability to comprehend a thing right away without the need for logical reasoning, does not change easily as it is what people hold with them. In some occasions, the subject can be unexplainable and even unclear, because it comes immediately out of one’s mind without any reason, but rather of the belief one carries. It always happens to me as well. My brother, on the contrary, is a person who cares a lot about logic and proof that whenever I say a true statement he doubts and does not trust me at all. The photo above was taken in Washington Square Park near the fountain. It is a very well known place and people tend to visit the park a lot. However, personally, I think that the park does not stand out visually and is not that different from the other parks in New York City. When I first visited the park I didn’t even know that it was a famous place, but with my instinct, I knew why there were a lot of people, just by a glimpse. The feeling I got from the location was amazing and I started to understand why people came to the park and spend time there. As I experienced, intuition can be found everywhere in anytime and it is important to have confidence even though there is no logic behind because it is what we believe to be true.
Hi Saewon, very nice writing and reflection. It is clear that the smell of the park is very meaningful to you, and that it also reminds you of the time you spent in Rome. Good work!