nguyen-le-hong-minh

[nguyen-le-hong-minh]

CTS B Wk 11: Compulsory question 1

To create this manifesto board, we all went back through the weeks and came up with 1 or 2 sentences for each one. Then we thought of the icons to go with them. Most of these are self-explanatory, although the "incorporate your background into your work" icon can be more straightforward. The icon was meant to be baby steps transforming into adult steps, in which the baby steps are the "background".

The sentences that I relate to the most are "unique experiences create unique you" and "use artistic platforms to spread new perspectives". Definitely, there are no entirely unique experiences, but there could be unique combinations of experiences. For example, two students go to the same school, course, and curriculum; but one joins an art club and one joins a basketball club. Although they have a mutual experience, their interests shape them into two different students with varied strengths and flaws. The experiences do not have to be grand, they can be the music you like, the hobby that you partake in, or the community you surround yourself with.

In Craft module I was inspired by the bead curtains from my mom's hometown in Vietnam to make my cube. Not everyone has seen a Vietnamese bead curtain before, so they are likely inclined to find out.

Hence the statement from CTS B week 2: "Your personal identity has close relation with your artistic identity", I agree that your personal identity serves as a base to help your work be more distinct and unique, which helps it get more awareness.

That leads to using artistic platforms to spread new perspectives. Unique experiences mean some people are unaware of how others think or what they are going through. Artists and designers have a platform and means to spread the word. Even if we cannot speak up, designers and artists will use images, paintings, symbols, words, etc as our language.

Ai Wei Wei is a great artist who held that value to heart in his artist-activist journey. He did many works in protest of the current Chinese government's corruption and human rights infringement which led to his illegitimate arrest and physical harassment from the Chinese authority (McMahon). Despite all odds, he continued to speak up for the people and shine a light on their sufferings, as he said "If you don't speak out you let a lot of people down, you put them in danger." (Grammaticas).

I think that is the power and responsibility that artists hold and I will continue to make this my core value when venturing into my career.

In CTS B, I had the most fun in week 3 where we were having the mini short film festival, with the topics being societal issues. Even though they were made in a light-hearted manner, I am glad that we noticed those problems and spoke about them through our crafts. Overall, it was a great journey in solidifying my identity and aspirations as a designer through this module.

(495 words)

References:

Grammaticas, Damian. “Details Emerge of Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei’s Detention.” BBC News, BBC, 11 Aug. 2011, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-14487328#:~:text=Ai%20Weiwei%20was%20never%20formally%20arrested.%20His.

McMahon, JP. “Ai Weiwei, Remembering and the Politics of Dissent.” Ai Weiwei Remembering and the Politics of Dissent Comments, smarthistory.org/ai-weiwei-remembering-and-the-politics-of-dissent/. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

[nguyen-le-hong-minh]

CTS B Wk 12: Compulsory question 2

The first draft of my artistic vision was career-centric and skill-centric and quite vaguely stated, which was pointed out by my classmates. They noted that I lacked explanation of what made up my artistic identity, like my inspirations and drive to produce work and the areas I would like to specialize in.

With the comments in mind, I wrote the second draft mentioning more of my future goals and what I would be doing to achieve them now. It was sufficient in the aspiration and action aspects, but my drive and passion behind my works were still not clearly shown. Furthermore, I could have chosen a more full-bodied project that better represented my skillset and what I stand for.

My project "Apathy" is a strong choice for all of the points previously stated.

"Apathy" is my Image module assignment. Still, I see it being partly a passion project as it holds my and my mutuals' personal thoughts about the modern world, about how we are making hyper-individualism a trend and its consequences (Lishara). Our society is getting more competitive than ever in all aspects, and our system sets up children for a pressured high-stakes life from a young age: either get in a good stream or spend more time making it work (Poh). Hence the mindset of "staying ahead of the competition" is more apparent, further encouraging individualism and apathy. Apathy has already led us to a society where people who speak up against problems will be considered "wasting their own time". Through my images, I want to show that caring should not be shamed, as ignorance has done too much damage.

While this project is still ongoing, and it has been quite challenging to articulate it into images, I am really proud that I chose to do about a societal issue. I hope it reaches the public and creates conversations about closed-off emotions.

I think art and design can be a powerful tool to speak up for the unheard. An example of that is the symbol of resistance amidst the brutal genocide of the Palestinians - the Kufiya. Kufiya (or Kuffiya or Keffiyeh) is a Palestinian scarf whose patterns and colors reflect the beautiful aspects of their country, from the landmarks to the vegetation and crafts (like olive trees and fish nets) (Hirbawi Kufiya). Throughout Palestine's history, it has been worn by the resistance force tracing back to the 1930s and has become a political and cultural statement since (Qamar).

As the Western world is disregarding the Palestine genocide and Palestine as a country, many people have been fined and shied away from wearing the Kufiya, some have even been physically harassed and targeted by people with anti-Palestine and Islamophobic idealism (Sottile). Regardless, Kufiya still stands strong as a witness to the beauty and rich history of Palestine and is being worn by their allies and supporters, fighting beside their citizens for liberation from the Israeli occupation.

In conclusion, with the space and means to speak up for the ones who have no voice, I think it is our responsibility to do so. As for my aspirations, I want to be seen as "a multi-hyphened designer who voices out the unseen aspects of society".

(495 words)

References:

TM, Lishara. “Apathy Will Consume Us If We Let It: How Hyper-Individualism and End-Stage Capitalism Shun Empathy.” Medium, Medium, 10 Oct. 2024, medium.com/@lisharachan/apathy-will-consume-us-if-we-let-it-how-hyper-individualism-and-end-stage-capitalism-shun-empathy-15d7150789b8.

Poh, Brian. “Commentary: A Hyper-Competitive Culture Is Breeding Severe Test Anxiety among Many Students.” CNA, www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/hyper-competitive-culture-breeding-severe-test-anxiety-among-799076. Accessed 20 Oct. 2024.

“Our Story.” Hirbawi Kufiya, 22 Aug. 2024, kufiya.org/our-story/.

Sottile, Zoe. “The Palestinian Keffiyeh Explained: How This Scarf Became a National Symbol.” CNN, Cable News Network, 28 Nov. 2023, edition.cnn.com/2023/11/28/style/style-palestinian-keffiyeh-explained/index.html.

Qamar, Aysha. “Breaking down the Symbols of Palestinian Resistance and Strength.” Al, 22 Oct. 2024, www.al.com/reckon/2024/10/breaking-down-the-symbols-of-palestinian-resistance-and-strength.html.

[nguyen-le-hong-minh]

CTS B Wk 3: This Is How You Connect With Society ꩜ .ᐟ

In my opinion, as designers, we have the skills to create solutions to bridge different communities and address social issues, hence it's important to learn how to collaborate and converse to reach the goal (O’Donoghue).

And that was exactly what we practiced in class. We were tasked to do a short film in 45 minutes with 3 other classmates, which reflects a social issue in Singapore. Due to us being mostly foreigners, we chose the issue of not understanding Singlish, Singapore's "unofficial language".

After that, we had a mini film fest in the studio. The groups that caught my attention the most were Keane's group who acted as entitled influencers with shaky cameras trespassing properties for views, whom we see often on social media, and Adeline's group who portrayed inflation and took "an eye and a leg" to purchase food literally. All the films that left me with a lasting impression had something relatable or familiar to my lived experiences, explaining why the pieces of media that have the most impact often involve real identities and real stories, because people see themselves in there (Emotional appeal in ad creatives: Establishing a deeper connection).

An example is this advertisement for Tet Holiday (Lunar New Year) from Kinh Do.

With the message "A small invitation can make somebody's spring", this story represents the Vietnamese people who cannot travel back to their hometown for Tet and yearn for familial warmth. It uses its baked goods as a semiotics to express joy and reunion, which the neighbor gave to the male lead, representing him sharing New Year spirit with the young man. This advertisement deeply connects with relatable viewers and shares their goods as a fragment of home, successfully bridging the company and customers closer.

In conclusion, to be a great art practitioner, you have to be socially engaged and aware, because it can make a great difference when you can touch people's hearts.

(300 words)

References:

O’Donoghue, Jack. “Designing for Social Good: How Designers Can Make A Difference.” MakeIterate, makeiterate.com/designing-for-social-good-how-designers-can-make-a-difference/. Accessed 14 Sept. 2024.

“Emotional Appeal in Ad Creatives: Establishing a Deeper Connection.” GetAds, 19 June 2023, www.getads.co/blog/emotional-appeal-in-ad-creatives/#:~:text=A%20well-crafted%20narrative%20that%20elicits%20empathy%20and%20connects,evoke%20emotions%20that%20resonate%20deeply%20with%20the%20audience.

Kinh Do. “Cùng Kinh Đô - Tết Vui Chuyện Sum Vầy” YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyMvhI5X7Qw. Accessed 14 Sept. 2024.

[nguyen-le-hong-minh]

CTS B Wk 4+5: Field Trip + This is How You Critically Analyse Artistic Traditions and Lineages ⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆

In week 4, we went to the National Gallery to view a piece called "National Language Class".

"National Language Class" illustrates Chinese students in a National Language class learning Malay, as it was newly deemed as Singapore's national language right after Singapore's self-governance was attained (ROOTS). The blackboard behind the teacher has "Siapa nama kamu?" written on it, meaning "What's your name?", but can also be interpreted as a question towards their identity as a citizen of a young country. Although each person in the classroom has a different attitude and learning pace, they are all here together learning even with humble infrastructure, painting the picture with a hopeful gleam of progress and unity (Let's Learn About Art).

In week 5, we were asked to collaborate and present 3 artworks we found interesting per group. Surprisingly, our group chose a contextually diverse range of works, which included historical scripts, social issues, political issues, and identity issues.

A thing that I noticed was although we provided a time frame, material, and social context for the artworks, most of us lacked information on the artists who made them, as pointed out by Edmund. The artist's upbringing is equally as important as other context factors because it explains how society shaped them and created the motive behind the work. For example, this is the artist and his work that I chose to present.

Tan Chin Kuan was one of the young Chinese-descent artists seen in the 90s Malaysian art wave. Due to his heritage as a non-indigenous ethnic group, he often used the point of view of an artist or a Chinese-descent Malaysian in his works, which discuss issues of ethnicities, then politics and society, usually in an enraged and sarcastic manner (Tragic of yellow skin - Tan Chin Kuan) (Blue night 11 : Tragic 2 - Tan Chin Kuan ). If we didn't know about all these contexts, his artworks would be deemed as plain gorey and upsetting.

With that being said, context is so important that it increases viewers’ understanding and appreciation of the artwork by 35% (Outmane). So how can we utilize it? The details that should be included are Medium, Time of Context, Form, Artist's Intention, and Historical Context. All of these will work harmoniously to create depth in the art piece.

To conclude, I think weeks 4 and 5 were a nice refresher to WOII where we learned how to critique art.

(300 words)

References:

Outmane. “Context’s Significance in Art Analysis: Exploring Depths.” Proactive Creative - Guides for Visual Artists, 22 Dec. 2023, proactivecreative.com/importance-of-context-in-art-analysis/#:~:text=Understanding%20the%20importance%20of%20context%20in%20art%20analysis,acknowledges%20the%20multiple%20contexts%20in%20which%20artworks%20exist.

National Heritage Board Singapore. “Tragic of Yellow Skin - Tan Chin Kuan - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, artsandculture.google.com/asset/iAFQ_HTJHbdJXg. Accessed 14 Sept. 2024.

National Heritage Board Singapore. “Blue Night 11 : Tragic 2 - Tan Chin Kuan - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, artsandculture.google.com/asset/pwGLwS9L9YWylQ. Accessed 14 Sept. 2024.

Let’s Learn About Art. “Chua Mia Tee’s National Language Class | Part 1: Subject Matter.” YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wGL4ZwgIjI. Accessed 22 Sept. 2024.

Let’s Learn About Art. “Chua Mia Tee’s National Language Class | Part 2: Context.” YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=agI0zMai-Bo. Accessed 22 Sept. 2024.

“National Language Class, Chua Mia Tee, Singapore, 1959, Oil on Canvas.” ROOTS, www.roots.gov.sg/stories-landing/stories/the-singapore-story-through-60-objects/art-historical/national-language-class/story. Accessed 22 Sept. 2024.

[nguyen-le-hong-minh]

CTS B Wk 2: This Is How You Connect Theory and Practice ౨ৎ ˖ ࣪⊹

In today’s class, we touched on the topic of “Identity”, which to my interpretation comprises of the values a person holds, and based on those values their actions and attitude will reflect (Identity).

To warm up, we did a sharing in which each person created a collage of 5 images and 5 words that best describe them.

We then moved on to a task that required us to reflect on ourselves and sketch out our identity as a designer.

In hindsight, I did this sketch in a light-hearted mood and did not put much thought into it. If I were to redo it, I would put in more personal touches. Through my works, I'd love to incorporate my own experiences and hardships to shed light on my communities' universal but unique struggles.

Through the exercises, we discussed the relationship between our artistic and personal identity, or in my interpretation: "art" and "life". “Art imitates life and reveals universal truth”, said Aristotle in “Poetic: mimesis”, in which he believed that art reflects life events (Poetics: Aristotle), while Oscar Wilde wrote “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life” explaining that art brings out the beauty of life that people often ignore until artists discover it (Westologist). Here is an example:

Skeuomorphism is a concept where a design reflects its real-life counterpart and was used heavily in Frutiger Aero (Web 2.0). But what is the reason behind this choice?

In the late 90s and early 2000s, technology started to grow rapidly, marked by the innovation of Windows XP in 2001 and iPhone in 2007. However, at the start, the audience hesitated to try out new products, mainly because of insufficient knowledge or fear of the alienness of the internet. A solution came around: to bring nature into the experience. When people saw things they were familiar with, they "humanized" technology and were more inclined to try it out. The Internet was not something locked away in the computer anymore, people's lives on the Internet imitated life in nature the aesthetics illustrated, merging indoors and outdoors (Izzzyzzz).

Through this example, I conclude that no matter which theory is correct, I agree that life and art influence each other in many ways, explaining the relationship between personal and artistic identity.

(300 words)

References:

“Identity.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/identity. Accessed 24 Aug. 2024.

Aristotle. Poetics: Aristotle. Lebooks Editora, 2024.

Westologist, The. “Oscar Wilde - Life Imitates Art.” The Westologist, www.thewestologist.com/ideas/when-life-imitates-art. Accessed 24 Aug. 2024.

Izzzyzzz. “The Rise Of Frutiger Aero.” YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHU7Pb3eSZ8&t=1230s. Accessed 22 Sept. 2024.