Our final creative response for our History of Design is a piece of work inspired by the Bauhaus school; specifically the ideology set by Wassily Kandinsky. Wassily Kandinsky believed that there was universal connection between basic geometric shapes and colors. Circles should be blue. Squares should be red. Triangles should be yellow. Through a survey taken in class, I discovered that I agree with Kandinsky with the thought process for triangles. Using the connection between color and shape, we were asked to create a piece that ultimately reflects Singaporean culture.
Like Magic
I made two pieces because I could not decide on a part of Singaporean culture to focus on. The first one is titled “Like Magic”. This piece is inspired by a lecture I took for my Integrated Urban Management class. Our professor explained to us that most of the resources in Singapore are either imported and instant, or recycled and reused. The bold and synthetic colors are symbolic of the man-made qualities of Singapore. Thinking back to my lecture, I decided to express the recycled water, imported goods, and instant foliage used in Singapore. Because water is associated with the color blue and circles are often associated with raindrops or ripples, I decided to represent the sudden existence of a water supply. The circles suddenly appear on the blue background, and grow in a short time. For the centerpiece, I chose to express the imported goods using squares and the color red. Squares mirror the shape of the box that goods are imported in or gifts given to one another while the color red is commonly used by business to capture the attention of consumers. The small white boxes are falling in to and out of its original positions inside the big white box. This symbolizes the import and export system in Singapore that can be seen in both a macro (shipping) and micro (shopping) scale. The yellow piece represents the instant foliage in Singapore. According to my professor, most of the original trees and flowers in Singapore are instant trees and flowers brought over from Malaysia. Using the dynamic triangles, I created a floral like pattern that represents the variety of foliage within Singapore. The first flower is smaller and less ornate, but as the flowers go up, the size (in a short span) and details grow. “Like Magic”, Singapore’s resources appeared suddenly and have flourished; from its recycled water to its traded goods to its greenery.
Bauhaus Inspired Work 1
A Hawk Eye’s View
My second piece is called “A Hawk Eye’s View”. This artwork in inspired by the bustling Hawker Centers and Food Courts in Singapore. The professor from my Integrated Urban Management class explained to use that other countries also have Hawker Centers and Food Courts but the aspects of the Singaporean Hawker Center and Food Court that makes it unique and “Singaporean” is its integration. Singaporean food courts are one of the only places where people of different religions, dietary preferences, and cultures can come together to cook, sell, and eat. Taking that into consideration I recreated the eagle eye view of Hawker Centers using triangles to represent the bustling and the lively things (the stalls and people), circles to represent dull or subdued things (waiting in line), and squares to represent a key part of Singapore food court culture (choping with a tissue square). As you can see from the piece, those waiting in line are bored circles with a budding triangle inside, and as they get closer to the stall the triangle grows. Once they receive their food and head towards their table, the dull circle disappears and the excited triangle takes over. Red tissues cover the surface of multiple tables, marking each customers. The colors and shapes I utilized for this piece represent the bustling and vibrant atmosphere of the food courts in Singapore. The portrait orientation of this piece reminds me of tapestries hung on the walls of medieval castles in the dinning halls.
When I was first introduced to Dada, I was told that Dada dealt with the unconventional and focused less on the traditional aesthetics. That is why, when I made my poster, I focused less on the aesthetics of the overall image and more on the message I was trying to communicate. And in this piece, I wanted to express the multi racial aspect of Singapore. Singapore is the home to many different ethnicities, whether they have settled here many years ago or recently moved in the past couple years. There is a subtle double meaning that could be seen in this work is that though Singapore is considered a modern day “melting pot” of cultures; when the pot is tipped over, these different ethnicities and cultures pour out separated. Though this is not necessarily the case all the time, this can represent the occasional cultural discrepancies or racism amongst different people. But on a more positive note, the note that I personally believe in, this piece represents the harmony and peace found between the different cultures and ethnicities in Singapore. Which I highlighted by taking my classmates pictures, the symbolism of doves and peace signs, and finally combining the different official languages of Singapore (as well as my ancestral language). People always say that we are the future, which is why when asked to create a piece in relation to Singapore, I thought of my classmates. My classmates all come from different backgrounds and cultures, yet, we still care and support one another regardless.
Aquatic Dream By Auditoire & Lekker Architects, co-presented by PUB, Singapore’s National Water AgencyLight Wave By Max LabBefore The Word By Pierre Ranzini & Cristina Di Pasquali (FR)
Peace & Harmony
Peace and Harmony was a simple yet impactful interactive art piece. And though it did not have an intricate programming , nor did it have extravagant LED lights adorning it; Peace and Harmony still managed to stand out and catch my eye with its purpose and interactivity.
Peace & Harmony
Peace and Harmony is set in the lawn of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd Catholic Church. Participants are handed a candle in a paper cup at the entrance and asked to place the candle along the outline of “Peace & Harmony”. Though one of the most basic forms of audience participation, this simplicity is what we need lately. Lately, it has become about the the most innovative, the most technologically advanced, and the most novel; that people have forgotten to appreciate the root of it all. Even the choice of words- peace and harmony, is such a simple yet evocative vocabulary. Peace in the world and harmony amongst the people, are two changes we need right now in our world full of tension and strife.
Peace & Harmony
Lastly, I feel that the choice to use candles to light up the word is much more captivating and meaningful than using LED lights. A candle light is such a fragile flame that even the slightest wind could blow it out. Yet, when this flame is surrounded by more of its counterpart, it becomes stronger and brighter, like soldiers banding together to fight for their nation. The idea of taking a candle and placing it down with a simple wish reflects the practice of lighting a candle and placing it at the alter with a prayer at church. In church, when lighting the candle, we embed our prayers and wishes- the same goes for the Peace and Harmony exhibit. A small part of Peace and Harmony reminded me of the visual impact of the gathered candle lights and the purpose of their gathering during the peaceful protest in Seoul, South Korea.
Ember Rain is an art piece by a diverse constellation of local and international artists called the “Starlight Alchemy”. Their works revolve around flaming extravaganzas and luminous dancing lights, often using themselves as part of the piece. The artists in Starlight Alchemy consist of versatile dancers to international engineers interested in body mechanics. Their presence at the Singapore Night Festival felt fitting for this years theme, “Bring on the Night”. The challenge mirrors the daring nature of the fire’s flame, and though the challenge is to bring the “night”- Starlight Alchemy chose to bring the light- the heat.
The interactive aspect of this piece is the bicycle that powers the mechanism that triggers the sculpture placed in the middle of the area. An audience member is allowed into the enclosed area one at a time. The person is asked to pack her own mini ash pouch. This pouch is placed on a contraption that brings the pouch up as you peddle the bicycle, and ultimately drops the pouch into the ember fire. This chemical reaction triggers a flurry of embers that disappear into the night sky.
A sign near the artwork said something along the lines of “this is art, not a race” and whether that was a warning sign to upcoming participants or a hint at the true meaning of the artwork; I felt that it reflected the artwork quite well. “This is art, not a race” reminds people that finishing fast is not always the answer, sometimes it is acceptable to go slower. The mundane bicycle and handmade mechanism prevented the participant from speeding their efforts for the pouch to reach the top. This prevents the pouch from falling off during its journey as well as allows us to genuinely appreciate all the effort needed. The way the embers that disappear into the night sky reminded me of the stars that flicker in the night as well as the transience of life.
After a brief introduction to what we will be doing and learning in Interactive 1, we were asked to find two interactive media projects that inspired us. For the two projects, I chose the works by an art duo called “Scenocosme” and another duo, Caitlind r.c. Brown & Wayne Garrett. I could not chose a specific work by each of the two though the works that first attracted me to the artists were “Metamorphy” and “CLOUD” respectively.
“Scenocosme” are known for incorporating natural elements and the influence of energy in their sound and visual installations. Which can be seen in their works like “Akousmaflore”, “Kymapetra”, and “Metamorphy”.
“Akousmaflore” is an installation involving sensitive plants that react to human touch by producing sounds of nature.
“Kymapetra is an installation involving specific minerals and stones that react to human touch to create specific and unique vibrations in a bowl of water.
“Metamorphy” is an installation involving a transparent veil that symbolizes the elasticity of human skin.
One thing that stood out about the works of Caitlind r.c. Brown & Wayne Garrett is their use of light and colors. Their work focuses on interacting a large community of people, from any age and all backgrounds.
“… and the heart-rending moment where Wayne and I stood back, watching people interacting with the piece…”
When people realized that they must value and retain the past. Design has always been a part of human history but the practice of recording the life cycle of art was relatively new in comparison. Thankfully, art and human history intertwine with each other in many ways that allow for the history of design to accurately be recorded.
Project Social Life. Project Social Life is an interactive online social performance. In this experiment, we test the power of social media in our lives and the effects of losing control over our lives. Our project revolved around Instagram. Instagram was our source, our outlet, and our dictator. To test this, we created a separate Instagram account and constantly asked the question, “What should we do next?” on our Instagram Story. There would be a poll attached to each question with two options sent in by our followers in the beginning of the experiment. Our group would then wait ten minutes and do the option with the most votes, following the idea that we have no control over our actions but social media does.
Our entire day was curated by social media and the decisions of other people we barely know. We wanted to show people the power of social media in our lives and how it feels to be puppets held by the hands of strangers. Much like Finding Uncle Roy, a Blast Theory work that focused around the concept of trusting strangers, we put our trust and life in the hands of strangers. We started off the experiment in ADM NTU but due to the demands of the people, we ended up in Haji Lane after a long subway journey. I like the rest of my group mates, was in charge of the Instagram account as well as one of the “victims” of social media and the lack of control.
While the entire point of our project was to embrace the unexpected and the unknowable, there were still certain aspects to our experiment that left us in a sticky situation. We were always stuck at a certain place for 10 minutes because we were unable to proceed without the say-so of our Third Space companions. And until we got a response we were unable to move because no one told us “what to do”.
For our trailer, we were inspired by Carla Gannis’s artwork, “Until the End of the World (2017)”. Not only because the aesthetics of Carla Gannis’s work is compelling, but also because the meaning behind her work relates to ours to an extent. “Until the End of the World” is about a girl who is engrossed in her handheld device (technology) to the extent that she has no awareness of what is going on around her; the girl’s dreams and reality have manifested within the cyber world. Due to the project, our lives have also become controlled by our handheld devices. We were constantly on our phones to see the results, post the results, and record our results. Even until the very end, we our lives were controlled by the theoretical third space and the physical smartphone. In modern society, our lives are dictated by the third space; it is not always negative nor always positive. It connects us by bridging together the restrictions made by geography but at the same time influences our behaviors and thoughts to accommodate to the collective whole. Project Social Life does exactly that. Through this we succumbed to the majority and did what others told us to do yet through this experience in the third space with other people, we not only learned to negotiate with these people but created friendships with them. Life is about balance. It is important to keep this balance regardless of the situation as this gives you the most successful and meaningful use of a situation. In the begininning of this year, my friends and I stepped into the first space known as the 4D room unsure of what to expect from the class. After one semester, we find ourselves in the third space; connecting with different parts of the world and working with entanglements that we face in our everyday lives with eagerness and quick-thinking.
For my second and last project of our Graphic Form class, we were tasked with creating a Zine inspired by a specific locale in Singapore. A zine is a “small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via photocopier” and can be short for “magazine” or “fanzine”. For this project, we were given the choice to chose any location (preferably a location we were unfamiliar with) and design a design according to our taste. The location I chose is Tiong Bahru. Tiong Bahru is located on the Green Line. Famous for their combination of old and new, hipster cafe joints, and serenity.
Location’s History
The name “Tiong Bahru” itself is a combination of two languages. Tiong Bahru translated loosely means “New Cemetery” with “Tiong” comes from the Hokkien word “thióng 塚” and “Bahru” comes from the Malay word “bahru – Malay. “thióng 塚” meaning cemetery while “bahru” meaning new. This compound word is the parallels the idea of Tiong Bahru being both old and new, quiet but lively. Originally, Tiong Bahru was a cemetery that later turned into a housing district that incorporated the European Streamline Modern (simplified Art Deco) and local Straits Settlement shop-house style. Tiong Bahru has always been about mixture and balance.
Page 1
Page 2Page 2Page 4
Location Pictures
During my first visit to Tiong Bahru, I decided not to have a a specific focus as it was my first time there and did not want to miss out on anything.
Tiong Bahru’s ArchitectureTiong Bahru’s HotspotsTiong Bahru’s ExtraTiong Bahru through the lens of a Film Camera
ORIGINAL PLAN
The original plan for my zine was to incorporate the idea of hybrid/mixture/combination in my artwork and then eventually link it to myself and how my mixed upbringing has made me the person I am today. For the cover of the zine, I wanted it to make it quirky and different, much like my personality. I created a character called “Nost” who is a Korean Dragon and her friend “Bah” who is a sheep. I wanted to incorporate these two in the cover of my zine as sneak peak into my zine. Though I did not specifically plan my layout for the pages within, my initial concept was to create a coloring page or mad lib page. Coloring pages and Mad Libs were a big part of my childhood and I felt that it was fitting to add a bit of childhood to not only express myself but also to make the zine more interactive for the reader.
(Insert sketches and examples)
FINALIZED PLAN
However, upon further development and revision, I decided to focus more on my characters Nost and Bah and their trip to Tiong Bahru.
Cover/Back
Back and Cover
Inspiration
This cover shows a mixture of traditional and modern medium of drawing. Though a little unclear, the background is a photograph taken from a disposable film camera of a floor painting. While the two characters in the foreground are created on my laptop using Adobe Illustrator. My cover shows a close up on my two main characters, Nost and Bah holding a teacup will exclaiming the word “Roo”. This character idea came from the word “Tiong Bahru” itself. I wanted to express my quirky personality by joking around and saying that Tiong Bahru sounds a lot like “Tea-Yong-Bah-Roo”. After some deliberation, I told myself why not and developed on the idea of using “Tea-Yong- Bah- Roo”.
Front Facing Korean Dragon https://aminoapps.com/c/mythology/page/blog/korean-dragon-yong-ryong-mireu-yong-ryong-mireu/pabQ_anhQuE3evZgeQqZ2wDMzoKzjxq2xk
“Yong” sounded like “용” which is the Korean word for dragon.
Sheep
“Bah” was the sound sheep’s make.
Bah holding a tea cup and tea pot
“Tea” means tea and I thought that it would be a nice beverage the dragon and sheep could share together.
Nost’s Catchphrase
“Roo”, eventually became the sound the dragon would make, much like how the sheep would go “bah”.
Story
This led to the cover page of a sheep and dragon side by side holding a teacup and teapot as the dragon exclaims “Roo”. Nost is a Korean dragon who has come to Singapore with her best friend in order to visit Tiong Bahru for the first time. I myself was born in Korea to Korean parents, though I did grow up overseas. My decision to create a dragon was due to the fact that the “iong” in “Tiong” sounds much like “용” the Korean word for dragon. Making my dragon Korean was more of a homage to my home country and culture. Nost constantly ate at Tiong Bahru Bakery in other locations but was unable to visit the Tiong Bahru itself. After many years she has finally come to the decision to visit Tiong Bahru. Bah is Nost’s faithful bestfriend who has stayed loyal since their childhood. Many believe that it is crazy that a sheep and dragon could be friends but Bah has always been Nost’s support system and helped her through the hard times.
First Spread
Spread 1
My first spread paid homage to my childhood by doing the entire spread in a coloring book format. The right side has a black and white with a contour of my favorite street in Tiong Bahru. The picture I chose for my coloring book has a linear perspective that ellicits a sense of movement and depth. I feel as if I was being pulled into the main street by a seductive force. Even the street itself exuded this pull. I captured the elements that made this street Tiong Bahru, from the Streamline architecture to the pipes running on the exterior of the walls. While the left side of the spread has an introductory page that explains the “Tea-용- Bah-Ru”. Everything on this page is black and white so that the reader can color whatever he or she wants to.
Inspiration
Coloring BookSide by Side Comparison
I removed certain elements (the buildings in the background) from the line drawing so as to focus our attention to the essence of Tiong Bahru which can be found in the piping along the walls and the clean cut streamline architecure. The lines (especially the floor) have no end so that we can use the implied lines to create a sense of openness and curiosity. Like coloring books, what is beyond the line is up to the artist with the imagination.
Story
This page is like the beginning of Nost and Bah’s adventure as it is not only the path to the main street of Tiong Bahru but also because it was the place I fell in love with Tiong Bahru.
Three Pictures Taken from one spot (Clockwise from top left #1 Behind #2 Front #3 Side)
Second Spread
Spread 2
For the second spread I focused on mixing two different media, Adobe Illustrator Vector and Old School Collage. I chose to use mix media as it alludes to the idea of mixing the old and new. Though collaging is still used today, it is considered an older technique and is commonly associated with either ransom letters or vintage art. Drawing from the idea that collaging is old, I paired it up with another technique used to create a whole image– Illustrator. This juxtaposition of the two techniques create a sense of harmony yet jarring difference due to the solid color and clear lines. The background deals with a multitude of perspectives and tones while the vector is limited to an one point perspective with minimal tonal ranges.
Collage Examples
Story
My second spread is depicts my main characters debating on where they should go. There are so many places to visit in Tiong Bahru, from its cafes to its restaurants to even bookstores. Bah is taking his usual position on Nost’s head, resembling a thinking cap. Proving that these two are two pieces to a puzzle. They balance one another and help each other do their best. In this case, they are helping each other strategize on where to go and what to see.
Third Spread
Spread 3
For the last full spread, I chose to take inspiration from the Mystery Book Vending Machine, which I felt best embodied my thoughts as I got ready to go to Tiong Bahru. I did not know what to expect and was open to anything that happened, whether things went according to plan or not. The vending machine itself is etched with hand-drawn marks relating to the two characters. The black markings are inspired by the scales of the dragon while the black orbs are a nod to the 여의주 orbs that the dragons in Eastern mythology carry. The white markings refer to the sheep and the shape of its body. Originally, I intended to put as many pictures on the vending machine and show the entire vending machine from top to bottom. However, I realized then I would not be able to see the images clearly and this would obscure the focus of the page. To counteract this I consulted my instructor who recommended that I spread this across two pages and crop the vending machine so that I focused on the top two or three. This allowed the focus to go on the images and showed the places clearly.
Mystery Book at Books Actually
Story
After struggling to come to a conclusion, Nost and Bah stumble across the Mystery Vending Machine (based on the Mystery Book Vending Machine in front of a book story called Books Actually). This vending machine dispenses post cards for travellers to help decide where they should go next or even as a souvenir. In the end Nost and Bah use this machine, much like I did, to help them discover Tiong Bahru. This symbolizes that there is so much more to Tiong Bahru left (as you can only see a portion of the vending machine) meaning that the two main characters (and myself) have yet to even break the surface of Tiong Bahru. Possibly setting up for a sequel *wink*.
REFLECTION
Throughout highschool, my art teacher always talked about wanting to make a zine for the class or even for ourselves but due to money restrictions and time constraints, we were unable to make it. However, after this project, I can successfully say that I have created my own personal design. And far from a perfect zine as there are always room for improvement, I am proud to claim this zine as mine. It was a fun experience as I felt that it introduced us to the world of book making and illustration, giving me a taste of what making a children’s book or even a zine in the future would look like. I enjoyed being able to visit Tiong Bahru not for just pleasure but work and creating a piece centered around my interpretation of the place.
