Revolution & Gravity is a piece by Fujimoto Yukio which integrates a music box to a glass tube filled with various ingredients such as salt, pepper, sugar cubes etc. The glass tubes utilises the rotary function of the music box to rotate, causing the ingredients within to shift, which induces sounds. These sounds complement the music that plays from the music box, adding a spontaneous harmony to the music.
mixed media (marble, glass tube, music box, metal pedestal) 14.7 x 19 x 5.5 cm
Fujimoto cleverly relies on the system of the music box to play music as well as to rotate the glass box, which causes the ingredients to constantly shift. The subtlety of this work and how it gives nonchalent everyday noises the spotlight is captivating.
Mixed media (solar salt, glass tube, music box, metal pedestal) 14.7 x 17.2 x 5.5 cm
Revolution & Gravity is a generative artwork as it relies on the system of the music box and the shape, position and components of the ingredients in the glass tube to create sounds that are unpredictable, spontaneous and random, such that when the music box stops and replays again, a totally different harmony will be created each time, and the same sound can never be made twice.
Mixed media (rock salt, glass tube, music box, metal pedestal) 14.8 x 16.7 x 5.5 cm
“Mundane sounds in which I had no interest until that point began to captivate my attention. The sounds of turning a page, placing a cup on the table, clothes getting rubbed, and coins discharged from a vending machine… These were never simple ‘insignificant’ sounds, which cannot be artificially generated by putting together waveforms, but flush with extremely high density content. In addition, although almost all of them were small sounds, they retained their own idiosyncrasies and sounded mettlesome in their specific environments.” – Fujimoto Yukio
The first deliverable is an illustration book about a caterpillar with red spots that faced discrimination but decided to embrace himself and his red spots. I decided that the characters be caterpillars and snakes as I felt that that the nature of them shedding their skin and metamorphosing was an interesting parallel to human skin. The caterpillar disregarding discrimination and using it as his drive to metamorphose into a butterfly is a metaphor for people with skin condition to not falter when there is discrimination, but instead use it as a drive to love and embrace themselves.
Task 4 – Deliverable 2 Pamphlet
The second deliverable is an informative pamphlet for parents/ guardians of children with or without skin conditions. It educates adults on skin conditions and tackles the misconceptions, as well as teach them how to prevent their children from discriminating people with skin conditions. For parents of children with skin conditions, this pamphlet tells them on how to manage with social issues and health issues that their children may face. The illustrations are kept simple as it is aimed for adults.
The first deliverable I have decided upon is an illustration book. Books serve as a great way to educate children on morals and values to have as people. Thus, the book that I will illustrate will teach children on discrimination and dealing with skin conditions.
Draft 1 of the Illustration Book
After consulting on the first draft, advice was given to give the images backgrounds and to incorporate of elements of designs to make the pages visually interesting and engaging.
Below are some additional drawings for the backgrounds of the book and some elements for visual interest.
Draft 2
This draft had a better sense of visual rhythm and leads the reader’s eye through the pages better. For improvement of this draft, I was advised to emphasise on certain important words in the text through size and colour.
Process for Second Deliverable – Pamphlet
The second deliverable is a pamphlet that comes with the illustration book. The pamphlet is aimed for adults – parents or guardians of the children, to educate the adults on skin conditions as well as to teach them how to manage the way their children interact with other children with skin conditions. The pamphlet also informs parents of children with skin condition on how to cope with social issues they may face.
Draft 1
The first draft is a rough layout of how the information will be placed and what information is to be placed.
These are some illustrations I did for the pamphlet. They were kept simple to make space for the information.
Draft 2
The second draft incorporated the illustrations. I was told that the illustrations don’t seem to match the information, so from here on I made the illustration more intentional and have it compliment the information, as well as place the layout in a more visually rhythmic manner.
I began by contemplating what information to display in my infographics. Based on the survey, I decided it was important to tackle misconceptions of skin conditions as well as highlight the challenges faced by patients with skin conditions, such as mental issues and discrimination.
The scope of the infographics was also limited to acne, eczema and psoriasis as after reading through articles, these are considered the most common skin conditions and patients of these disease are vulnerable towards discrimination and mental health issues.
The information in this infographic was arranged ineffectively and needed a more dynamic and better layout.
Below are some illustrations for the infographics:
For this new draft, the mental health issues were highlighted instead of the numerical statistics to highlight the severity of the issues. After consulting, I had to change the layout of the information.
I have decided to focus on the stigma against skin conditions for this design project. A stigma is currently defined as a discrediting mark, biological or social, that sets a person off from others and disrupts interactions with them. Dermatological patients are prone to stigmatisation as the condition affects the outer appearance of the patient drastically, and is obvious to the eyes of the public.
2 surveys were made to gain further insights as to how skin conditions can affect the diagnosed person’s quality of life and why a stigma against people with skin conditions exists.
Survey 1: For people diagnosed with skin conditions
This questionnaire served to understand how skin conditions affect the person diagnosed, and the challenges faced in their daily lives.
Below are the questions and some responses from the questionnaire:
What skin condition are/ were you diagnosed with?
What part of the skin condition affected you the most?
Have you ever been shunned upon/ excluded due to the skin condition?
Did the skin condition affect your self esteem? If so, please specify how.
Why do you think the public tends to respond to skin conditions negatively?
Have you ever come across campaigns/ projects about skin conditions? What are your views on the campaigns and its effectiveness?
Survey 2: For people without any skin conditions
This questionnaire served to understand how much of a stigma exists amongst the public, and their reasons and misconceptions behind the stigma.
Below are the questions and some responses from the questionnaire:
Do you feel uncomfortable when you are around people with skin conditions?
Do you feel uncomfortable interacting (eg. touching) a person with skin conditions?
If your answer to the previous question is yes, please specify why.
If you had a better understanding of various skin conditions, would your reaction to people with these conditions be different?
Further Research
According to research at the American Academy of Dermatology, 68 percent of 56 healthy volunteers would find someone with skin conditions unattractive as well as be ashamed to have it themselves. 41 percent would feel uncomfortable with someone who has skin conditions, and 14 percent would avoid hiring them. Feeling stigmatised for skin conditions has also shown to cause quality of life to be poorer amongst sufferers.
The researcher has lamented that these are astonishing results as skin conditions such as acne can be common, yet there is a lack of empathy and understanding of the conditions.
Conclusion
The stigmatisation of skin conditions is certainly caused by misconceptions and a lack of understanding from the public, affecting the patients quality of life. With these research results, tackling stigmatisation can be approached from the patients’ point of view and the public point of view. It is important for patients to understand that having skin conditions is nothing to be ashamed of and their self esteem does not need to be affected by the public. On the other hand, the public needs enhanced knowledge of skin conditions and understand that a person with skin condition will not spread their condition to others.
Old age comes with the challenge of isolation, loneliness and depression. Singapore is one of the most rapidly aging countries and Asia and has to place more importance on the predicament of the elderly. The number of elderly households in Singapore is increasing because of the pervasiveness of smaller families and the growing trend of more people to stay single.
Isolation, which could lead to depression, is often related to other health issues, such as senile dementia and limited mobilities. There is also a high predominance of suicide mortality among Singapore’s elderly. Therefore it is important for the elderly to have interaction and emotional support to tackle isolation which leads to other health and emotional issues.
Skin conditions such as Acne, Eczema and Psoriasis have become more prominent in Singapore, especially due to the tropical climate in this country. Lack of awareness from the public lead to misunderstandings that these skin conditions are contagious, and people with skin conditions can be shunned upon when in public. This leads to reduced self-esteem, sleep disturbance and loss of concentration at school or work, social withdrawal, and depression. Research has shown that skin diseases can impact a person’s quality of life more significantly than other medical conditions, as it is visible to other people, according to Dr Lynn Chiam, a dermatologist at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital.
It is thus important to have continuous public education as misconceptions still exists.
Dove launched its DermaSeries collection – a range of hypoallergenic and fragrance free products for those with dry skin. The ad features women who live with the dry skin conditions, including eczema and psoriasis.
The ad is successful in showing the skin conditions as they are without beautifying it, and the people in the ads are unashamed, which encourages confidence amongst people with skin conditions.
Societies have long sought to protect and preserve their cultural heritage, for reasons ranging from education to historical research to the desire to reinforce a sense of identity. Countries in conflict such as Syria face intentional destruction of major and well-known UNESCO heritage sites. Loss of sites of cultural identity, such as religious buildings, schools, libraries fractures places of identity and familiarity, leading to a loss in community. As for Singapore, the constant advancement of the country has left behind some traditions and historical buildings, though there seem to be increasing efforts to preserve them currently.
“What we do lose is a certain consideration for what the human hand can impart (and the idea that) we don’t always need to iron out all the kinks we see in the city. If we accept we have a city that has a bit of a collage feel to it, we can comfortably trace the age. Otherwise, it always feels like you’re creating a clean slate every time there’s redevelopment.”
According to the World Wildlife Fund, species are disappearing at a rate of 1000 to 10000 times more than the Earth’s natural extinction rate. This could amount to losing hundreds or even thousands of species each year. Earth’s 6th mass extinction is underway, and unlike the previous 5 which were caused by natural climate changes, this mass extinction is caused by human activities such as deforestation, overpopulation, pollution, poaching and extreme weather events tied to man-caused global warning. Mammals of Southeast and South Asia are particularly hard hit, with mammals losing more than 80% of their geographic ranges. The resulting biological annihilation obviously will have serious ecological, economic and social consequences, and requires attention and preservation efforts.
“The massive loss of populations and species reflects our lack of empathy to all the wild species that have been our companions since our origins”
Miyajima Tatsuo is a Japanese artist that does sculptures and installation pieces, incorporating circuits and LED lights, of which Miyajima designs himself and holds great attachment to. Miyajima explores the teachings of Buddhism and social issues such as the use of nuclear power, and often dedicate his works to disaster victims such as the Holocaust and the 2011 earthquake. Through Sea of Time ‘98, Miyajima breathes life into technology, and it is through the viewer’s interaction with technology in his art piece the essence of living and its importance is realised.
Art House Project, Kadoya. Photo by: Norihiro Ueno. From: http://benesse-artsite.jp/en/art/arthouse.html
Sea of Time is an installation piece located in an island of Japan, Naoshima. A two century old house, Kadoya, was restored using traditional Japanese materials such as cedar wood and plaster to hold this installation piece. Miyajima built a water pool within this house, and place LED devices in the water that count from 1 to 9 chronologically. The counters move at differing speed which was set by the residents of Naoshima personally.
Sea of Time ’98. Miyajima Tatsuo. Photo by Norihiro Ueno. From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/_meg/5996597151
Miyajima uses numbers, usually associated to science and technology, to symbolize life. As the numbers count from 1 to 9, the inevitable flow of time or as Miyajima puts it, the arrow of time which is a physics terminology that means time is irreversible, is portrayed. The numbers also portray the cycle of life, and strips life into its most basic form, binary digits that shines, until it does not. Each counters change numbers at different speeds as well, its randomness is akin to life where nothing is predictable.
The colors of the digits displayed by the LED devices depict elements of the natural world as well, further humanizing the technological device. Blue suggests the sky and the universe, green and red are associated with nature and fire, and white embodies enlightenment. The usage of technology to symbolize and portray aspects of the natural world and life thus humanises technology.
Sea of Time ’98. Miyajima Tatsuo. Photo by Norihiro Ueno. From: http://asianartnewspaper.com/subscription-give-away-winning-submissions/98-tatsuo-miyajima/
Interactivity in this piece begins during the process of creation. Miyajima invited the people of Naoshima, aged 5 to 95 years old, to set the speed of the counters according to their liking, thus each counter that floats in the artpiece has a unique flow of time and is representative of the individual residents that set the speed. The viewers are essential in completing the artwork. When undulating waves are created through the viewer’s footsteps, the random waves are complemented by the counters changing numbers at random speed, further emphasising chance and randomness which is associated to life by the artist. The viewer is therefore key to the completion of this work. Miyajima also adds, “In fact, if there is no viewer, an artwork really does not even exist. It is not yet an artwork until it is viewed.”
However, Miyajima use of technology does encompass an aspect that does not apply to the living world – immortality. Yet it is through the immortality of technology and the fact that it is void of life, that Miyajima is able to highlight the limits of human life- life results in death
In Vannevar Bush’s As We May Think, technology is predicted to extend the physical capabilities of people. Bush suggested that technology would aid people in storing information and organising it, such that man can focus on the improvement of mind rather than focus on processing the infinite of information available. Just as Bush wishes for technology to be an aid to human, Miyajima sees technology as an important tool to extend his artwork beyond his lifespan. He wishes for his work to connect and be viewed by all sorts of people, and his LED devices would be able to perform for other audiences long after his death, perhaps even forever.
On the other hand, Miyajima also uses technology to portray the limits of people, which is death, and contrasts Bush’s suggestion of technology boosting human capabilities. The LED counters do not display zero as Miyajima believes zero is invisible, it is void in Buddhist ideology – a point where one life ends and another begins. The portrayal of death in turn allows us to appreciate life as it is, and is also a reminder of the limits of life.
Miyajima’s Sea of Time is a work that articulates light and darkness, life and death, change, and nature through the use of technology. Interactivity between the viewer and audience is also key to the work, which builds and completes the artwork. The humanist approach towards technology highly contrast’s Bush’s practical approach towards how technology should be used, creating a new perception of technology.
References
“Art House Project.” Benesse Art Site Naoshima. Accessed September 10 , 2018. http://benesse-artsite.jp/en/art/arthouse.html
“Sea of Time ’98.” Tatsuo Miyajima. Accessed September 10 , 2018. https://tatsuomiyajima.com/work-projects/sea-of-time98/
Tim Douglas. “Japanese artist Tatsuo Miyajima’s ingenious digital works illuminate the big issues of life, death and time” last modified October 30, 2016. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/review/japanese-artist-tatsuo-miyajimas-digital-genius-on-show-at-sydney-mca/news-story/09b11f9888762c46102f08ee97d58186
