ALEXANDRA KOSLOSKI
Sept 3rd
Class Reflection
A main theme of today's class was DOCUMENT IN REAL TIME, CAPTURE EVERYTHING. Documentation is an amazing asset. I'm thinking of different media I can use to document- photo, video, writing. As I go maybe I can pick up new methods.
Lecture 1, The Artificial
The lecturer brings up a provocation by Clive Dilnot regarding the importance of criticism in design- "What Clive is urging us to do is not to create blindly, but to deeply understand... how what we make changes us and changes our world". I think this notion is an example of the differences between art and design. While art can be extremely critical, political, informed, etc., I think that art can exist without that kind of intention, as play or ornamentation as pure blind creation, yet I would agree that I don't think design should exist without these conscious parameters. I feel this was mostly due to the way design is produced, manufactured and consumed.
How do you relate to design without critical reflection? How could poor quality artificial affect our futures as inhabitants on this planet?
Tony Fry, Design as Politics in Action
"Whenever we make a design decision, we are in fact making a decision about the future and ourselves"
I liked the way this lecture discussed design in a very applied way and how it relates to economics, history and society. It also made me think about my relationship with permanence and my perspective as a human who, for example, assumes cities are permanent.
Fry talks about an installation he did with blocks to represent elements of a city, that was very simple in nature but sparked a larger conversation. Have you ever been affected or seen a large discussion with simple art or design as the catalyst?
Victor Papanek, Design For The Real World
I like the framing of part of this book creating guidelines and opportunities to find new ways of looking at things. As artists and designers I think it's good to be keeping open eyes and open minds to become better. It reminds me of a painting professor who told me "You should be stealing from everywhere, all the time." In the moment I thought he was being facetious, but it's true. It's so important to be expanding our worlds, and "taking" things with us and bringing them into our practice.
Telesis: “The deliberate, purposeful utilization of the processes of nature and society to obtain particular goals”
What does "telesic aptness" mean to you? To me, simply, I understood it as cultural relevance. As design and aesthetics that function in social context. When looking at design, historical context can tell us so much about the work.
James Baldwin, "The Creative Process"
I think Baldwin has a very romantic ideal of the role of the artist, and beautiful prose and concepts, as he draws comparisons to art, love and international relations.
"The artist cannot and must not take anything for granted, but must drive to the heart of every answer and expose the question the answer hides."
I walk down the street and think about the cognitive dissonance we must have to not be constantly amazed and overwhelmed by the world and what we as humans have done to it. To do mundane tasks like laundry or grocery shopping is a wild luxury and intense sensory experience.
The Creative Act (ch 1 &2) by by Rick Rubin
The first chapter immediately reinforced ideas I already hold about how 1. anyone could be creative and 2. it would benefit everyone to be more creative. Is there a role at any job, or any position where we would like the person holding that position to be less creative? To be less creative is to be less inspired, less imaginative, less original, less problem solving. This is a muscle any person could stand to exercise, not just designers.
It seems like Rubin feels we should rely heavily on intuition and listening, and ideas coming to us as epiphany. How do you conceive new creative ideas? This fascinates me and my painting practice is largely related to the idea of revelation and epiphany.
"To live as an artist is a way of being in the world. A way of perceiving. A
practice of paying attention."
"Style is the answer to everything...To do a dangerous thing with style is what I call art
Style is the difference, a way of doing, a way of being done.
Six herons standing quietly in a pool of water,
or you walking out of the bathroom, naked, without seeing me." (Style, Bukowski)