Project Management & Planning

Project Management – Week 05

Minimalism Exhibition @ National Gallery –

Image result for milkstone wolfgang national gallery
Milkstone (1980) by Wolfgang Laib on display at the National Gallery of Singapore.

At first glance, Milkstone looks like a typical square tile placed on the floor. One might even wonder, “Why is this here? How is this art?“. However, if one were to take the time to read its description or even just to observe closely instead of dismissing it as a sculptural piece, one would definitely do a second take. This is the reaction of disbelief; the realisation of being fooled by its calm reflective surface. What appears to be the surface of a typical white marble slab, is actually revealed to be a layer of milk.

Beyond its surface (pun intended), the work is not just a conversation between the viewer and the artist. Due to the use of perishable material, the maintenance required to ensure it sustains for the duration of the exhibition also involves the participation of the curators themselves.

Silke Schmickl, our museum guide & exhibition curator of the Minimalism exhibition at the National Gallery of Singapore, shared that the team of curators had to take shifts to replace the milk every morning before the opening of the gallery. This involves a very ritualistic and delicate process of repeatedly soaking the existing milk from the surface with a sponge and wringing it, before replenishing it with a new layer of milk (an Australian brand, to be exact).

This is the work of Wolfgang Laib, an artist and sculptor whose work is inspired by Eastern beliefs as well as his experiences in Germany and India. He works with organic materials such as milk, rice and pollen to produce his pieces, which he selects based on their purity and symbolism. Although not a part of the Minimalist movement of the 60s, Laib’s use of ephemerality places him as one of the contemporary forerunners of minimalism in the forms, materials and approaches in his work.

In an interview by the Journal of Contemporary Art in 1986, Laib shares the core inspiration and influence behind his work:

Milkstone (1980)

In an excerpt from an interview with the Sculpture Magazine in May 2001, Laib describes the meaning behind the ritualistic acts of Milkstone:

“Those stones were my first works after I had studied medicine for six years, and somehow they contain so much that is the opposite of what daily life is today…..(Art is to get you) not only to slow down but first to think about what you want for your own life, and also what you may want to change.”

Beth Skirkanich, an exhibits specialist at the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden shared her experience on maintaining the exhibit in a behind-the-scenes report on the exhibition by Smithsonian Magazine:

“If you spill, you know you’re probably not concentrating enough,” Skirkanich told me. “The artist trained several of us to do this, and we’ve talked about it a lot, about how it slows you down. It’s kind of a meditative thing to come in to do every morning.”

The work, either through viewing or participating, encourages one to contemplate and reflect, it almost becomes a ritual in its essence. This video by Museum of Modern Art shows the process behind the making of Labi’s Milkstone pieces by Laib himself:

He starts off by taking a bowl of water from the river and sanding the top of the marble block such that there is a slight indentation on the surface to hold the milk. He then runs his fingers over to spread the milk across the surface, ensuring that every corner of the marble slab is covered just enough so that it does not spill over the edge.

This tedious process of replacing the milk to prevent it from spoiling, is an act that encourages contemplation and reflection. I infer it not only as a ritual, but as a daily reminder to remove the “bad” things in life and replace it with the “new”. It is a process that is necessary in how we maintain our well-being. The process of doing this would require a lot of dedication on our part, but will definitely prove to be a fulfilling one.

References:

Chiquit Brammall. Minimalist Art Exhibition Debuts in Southeast Asia. Houzz. 15th November 2018. https://www.houzz.com.sg/magazine/minimalist-art-exhibition-debuts-in-southeast-asia-stsetivw-vs~115472256

Klaus Ottmann. Wolfgang Laib. Journal of Contemporary Art. November 1986. http://www.jca-online.com/laib.html

Michael Kernan. Minding the “Milkstone”. Smithsonian. 2001. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/minding-the-milkstone-40363241/

Usha. Let’s Get Minimal. Plural Art Mag. 2018. https://pluralartmag.com/2018/11/15/lets-get-minimal/

Wolfgang Laib. Museum of Modern Art. 2013. https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1315?locale=en

Project Management – Week 03

Reflection on Thoughtful Interaction Design –

If someone were to write the core design principles, values and approaches that I believe in and compressed them into words, I think Thoughtful Interaction Design would be it. (I think I might have highlighted almost the entire reading.) Although what we read was merely an introduction, there were just too many points that I strongly resonated with. I would love to get a copy of this book!!

“To design digital artifacts is to design people’s lives.”

In today’s technology-dependent society, digital artifacts are shaping the way we live. It almost feels like we are the devices instead of the devices themselves. The increased reliance on these artifacts have changed our behaviour drastically – both positively and negatively. This over-dependency has, sadly, lead to a loss of our “natural abilities”. Yet, it is also difficult to imagine life without any of the devices that we use on the daily. An example I can think of immediately would be in navigation, whereby a simple search on Google Maps can guide us to our destination, instead of using our brain juices to memorise the streets and directions as we would have done before. However, to say that this responsibility is on the designer would be unfair, since they only seek to improve and make life more convenient for the masses. Ironically, it seems that aside from designing people’s lives, we are also designing problems. These days, digital artifacts exist to solve problems created by another artifact (or perhaps just to feed our laziness); and the cycle repeats.

“There is an ever-present ethical dimension in design,”

I personally would not consider what we do in IM as design, more of art + design thinking. But one area that I think both art and design have in common is the ethic reasoning that goes behind the creation, especially empathy. With design, the process and the end product usually involves some moral reflection on the designer’s part, identifying a problem and coming up with a solution that can directly improve people’s lives. However, with art, the moral impact is more indirect. Art seeks to create an awareness of our ethics as a society, and can (hopefully) spur someone to make a concrete change to improve the problem identified.

That being said, there are definitely some unique cases where the artwork is able to fulfil the ethical dimension holistically, both directly and indirectly.

Lampshade by Snøhetta

The one work that I feel best sums up what Thoughtful Design is, is this installation by Snøhetta. I first saw this work at iLight Marina Bay in 2016. To date, this work still stands out the most and also left a very lasting impression. Although it is not an interaction design work per se, it does encompass the values of thoughtful design.

The design and structure of Lampshade is constructed with bamboo and solar-powered lamps. In the day, the installation serves as a shelter from the hot sun, while the solar panels absorb solar energy. At night, the installation transforms into a beautiful light installation and resting stop for the festival. However, the work is not only environmentally sustainable, but also socially responsible. The afterlife of this installation is what really amazes me the most. After being taken apart, the solar-powered lamps will be donated to communities where electricity is not an available resource. This aside, the bamboo will also be donated to construction sites and reused as scaffolding. The simplicity of the design to function as a shelter and a place for rest in the day and night, as well as the thought put into considering the materials and how they can be used even after the festival, is to me, the epitome of good thoughtful design.

“Every design is a change of our life world; the designer influences our overall experience of the world as a pleasant or ugly place to spend our lives in.”

Project Management – Week 02

Michelangelo Pistoletto’s thought-provoking works seek to challenge the way we perceive reality. The thought process behind his creation as well as his approach in portraying human relationship with our surroundings is something that I find extremely intriguing.

“Looking into the mirror is a signature of life.”

Mirror Paintings is one of his series of works that really stood out to me. I find it amazing how a simple observation of his reflection in the mirror led him to creating a participatory work that allows the realization of oneself in relation to space. The mirror works are constantly evolving depending on how people move around the space and how viewers choose to interact with it. The use of the mirror seems to represent the ever-changing present and demonstrates how quickly a fleeting moment can become a memory. The work invites one to question their identity, and the mirror itself becomes a catalyst for one to exist in both the physical space and the artwork at the same time. I love that viewers become involuntary participants of the work simply by looking at it, or even just by being in the space. The paintings often depict people in scenarios that makes one wonder if there is a story or deeper meaning behind it. It also seems to elicit a response from viewers by encouraging them to behave in a certain manner such that their actions complement the figures and scenario in the painting.

“Humanity is created when we find the balance between two opposites.”

In the panel dialogue between Maestro Michelangelo Pistoletto, Nobel Laureate Ben Feringa and Prof. Em. Helga Nowotny, parallels were drawn between art and science, an area which I have yet to consider before.

The discussion mainly addresses similarities in the work of both areas, and the perspectives on Pistoletto’s thought process and views, which I felt was really enlightening. Throughout the talk, there were quite a few similarities that I could identify between the two speakers’ approach in their respective fields, even leading Feringa to describe himself as a Molecular Designer instead of a scientist! Both art and science require making use of what one currently has to achieve something; with the technological constraints of science and Pistoletto’s approach of using regular, everyday materials in his work. Both fields also revolve heavily around process and serendipity. Feringa discovers new findings through trial and error in his experiments, whereas Pistoletto hit a Eureka moment while he was looking at himself in the mirror and observed his surroundings through it. The key factor that seemed to intertwine the two is the creativity required to succeed in both fields – the creativity for problem-solving in science, and creativity for creating work in art, as well as our feelings, emotions and consciousness – uniquely human characteristics that are irreplaceable by the existence of robots and technology.

“The Third Paradise represents the fact that everything is a continuation.”

The Third Paradise is a symbol that balances two differing or opposing sides by finding the balanced connection between nature and artifice. The first impression that most people have of the work on the ADM rooftop is that the symbol is probably a sign for alien communication of some sort. I initially had the same impression too and was quite shocked that our beautiful green rooftop was suddenly “destroyed” by the symbol. That perspective has since changed after knowing more information about the work and the meaning behind it. Personally, I see Pistoletto’s Third Paradise installation more as an intervention of the space, since it seems to prevent human activity on the area which it now stands. However, I find it rather ironic that he would choose to use a natural material to mark the symbol on already natural grounds instead of a man-made material, as with the intended meaning behind the work. Regardless, the symbol itself serves the purpose of leading viewers to think about the idea of balance of everything around them. Perhaps, with its position on the ADM rooftop, the Third Paradise serves as a reminder for ADM staff and students to have work-life balance.

Project Management – Week 01

/ B I O G R A P H Y

Tisya Wong is bad at biographies.

However, she is an aspiring artist-designer hybrid, with a particular interest in creating immersive spatial experiences. She is currently pursuing a Degree in Interactive Media at the School of Art, Design & Media in NTU.

Wong has always been curious about human behaviour – but more specifically, our interactions with objects and spaces. With a background in product design, Wong is also a firm believer of physical interactions, as well as its interdependent and intertwining relationship with technology. She also has a keen interest in material exploration and a mild obsession with water.

Her work is inspired by issues that result from our behaviour, spanning across a wide range of topics such as plastic pollution and abandoned furniture. Through her work, Wong hopes to bring an awareness and make an impact in the lives of others by changing the lens through which they see the world.

/ W O R K

PLASTIC GYRE
Recycled plastic bags, Nylon string, Electronic wires, Ultrasonic sensors, Servo motors, Arduino Uno, Projectors, Macbook Pros, Speakers

Plastic Gyre is an interactive installation inspired by plastic trash islands that float around the World’s oceans. The work merges data visualisation and physical interaction to create an awareness of the damage that has been done to our natural environment. Driven by sensors that are triggered by the viewer, changes in the movement and light on the plastic body reveal a harsh truth – that the beautiful surface of our oceans may soon be replaced by our plastic trash.

(https://www.behance.net/gallery/60792111/Plastic-Gyre )

/ R E S U M E
/ I N S P I R A T I O N

WeltenLinie, 2017
by Alicja Kwade

Kwade’s installation deals with optical illusion through the use of space, creating a disorientating experience. With the use of mirrors and identical objects as well as carefully-crafted placement, Kwade’s work attempts to engage the viewer by blurring our perception of reality and changing our perspective of the space as we move around it.

(https://alicjakwade.com/exhibitions/space-shifters)