The Art Piece that struck out the most to me was an art piece I have known about since my Secondary School days and was marvelled to have finally seen it in person.

It was Ai Wei Wei’s Sunflower Seeds.

With each sunflower seed actually a porcelain piece hand-crafted carefully to closely resemble true sunflower seeds, it is a masterpiece telling the narrative of China’s prized exports, giving us an insight into China’s rich history of cultural and economic exchange. Each one of the (supposed) 100 million seeds were individually crafted and painted by specialists in Jingdezhen, a Chinese City. In the small-scale workshops they worked in, it tells us the blistering tale of each hard-worker, carefully crafted in detail as though every single angle and stroke of the paintbrush would be vital in telling the story of China; its rich history dealing with porcelain, its arduous manpower, and its commentary on the human condition.

Rather than a work that inspires me to create a similar story, it is a work which inspires and motivates me in my design of the game; each small element such as sound effects or character design may seem to be just a negligible part of making a game, but to make a good game is to treasure these bits and pieces of what forms the end game. How much can an individual go in communicating with the masses? What does it invoke in the relationship between the creator and the masses? One thing’s for sure; details and intricacy can never be wrong.

 

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