Theory and History

O.P.I.N.E

Observe, Ponder, Investigate, Nurture, Express

For the very first lesson of history, I was asked to identify an object which is seen on the left. I was not sure about the definite meaning of this object, but I was thinking that it can be a form of a bible, or a book about some evolution of human sapiens. The reason why is because there are several typographies there, but I was not sure also about what it said. It almost looks as if there is a word "generation" so I thought that it was a book about human.

However, it turns out that it was actually Book of Kells, which refers to the spread of christianity across Europe that contains of Gospel and the Pagan Symbol and was written during the medieval period.

From here, I realized that some visual and cover of a design can indicates the book's index even though that is one may not have any idea of what is written on the cover. Also, that design is layered with meaning that was created through history of human experience.

Creating a collection based on the Renaissance period

Inspirations : The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli

This collection is inspired by the famous painting named "The Birth Of Venus" by Sandro Botticelli in 1948. Using silhouette and line works as the elements, the three dresses illustrate the beautifulness, love, and purity of a newborn goddess. The curved material contained in each dress are representations of the female genitalia-Symbolically to a human birth. Also, the black and white prints of cornflowers, primroses, and daisies flatter the perfection of welcoming birth. With a slight touch of gold highlight, these pulchritude dresses are meant to be worn in a goddess theme party.

Industrialization and the Age of Discovery

Industrial revolution:

- Change from agrarian civilization to using machines

- A period of advancement in science and technology

- Increase in population and people living in cities

One of the Art movements: Romanticism

For this week's activity, me and my friend group went deeper on one of the art movement, which is Romanticism. Here are the discussion:

Romanticism originated in Europe during the end of the 18th century, but it's still well and alive today. Contemporary Russian artist Anna Razumovskaya manages to capture the romantic style of Renaissance portraiture in her own, modern way. As an artistic movement with emphasis on expressing emotion, the subject matter in paintings from Romanticism varied to include landscapes, religion, and portraiture, but the brushstrokes remained loose and expressive. Similarly, Razumovskaya's vibrant paintings beautifully depict the graceful elegance of the female form, and celebrate modern freedom.

Eugène_Delacroix_-_Le_28_Juillet._La_Liberté_guidant_le_peuple.jpg

La Liberte guidant le peuple (1830)

Key ideas of the art movement:

- Nature and imagination

- Emotions and senses

- Spirituality and free expression

- Religion and revolution

- Peaceful Beauty

Reflection:

While doing research and going deeper on this art movement, I realized that even a paint stroke, a poet, an object, or even a song can really reflect to what the designer's emotion. For example, La Liberte guidant le peuple (1830) is often used in popular culture to symbolise people’s emancipation from oppressive domination, it is one of the most famous paintings in Art History. It is when we type romanticism in the google, this particular artwork will pop up. I find this one art movement really interesting because it is more related to one’s emotion and not that logical. And it is the same on how I approach design, I usually tend to create an artwork that is also a part of how my feelings are and an expression of how my condition at the moment are.

Modernism and the Machine Age

In this activity, I reflect more on one particular sentence from a video how it really pushes and ponder me the most

Post- Modernism and the Space Age

One of the Percepts of Modernism:

Modern design should express the purpose of an object, never making it seem to be what is not.

From this Perception, Me and Esha then reflect more and find more on how it connects to our domain in fashion

Timothy Bouyez-Forge, an innovative Royal College of Art graduate whose label Bouyez was founded in 2016. He first developed a serious fascination with fashion at the age of 20 after previously studying film;

He describes a new movement rooted in the blurring of documentary and fiction (“docufiction”) and cultural translation. The key difference is that time is viewed as a multiplicity, meaning that various disparate references from various points in history are navigated within the work of altermodern artists: “For me, it’s the ‘junkspace’ of architectures and product that construct a new face of modernity,” summarises the designer.

“My work shows a relatable human narrative; overarching themes are migration, travel and exile,” says the designer of his disarmingly distinctive aesthetic. “I express these narratives in micro-themes and simplistic moments, like travelling to work or relationships between flatmates, but these are usually set in a futuristic mise-en-scène. The garments reveal themselves as complex redefinitions of banal products: a toy car becomes a belt buckle; a Kawasaki tank cover becomes a jacket.”

Design in Context

Observing a movie: ILO ILO

I feel like the form of the design, the character, the background, even the garment that a character wears really play big part on how the writer of a movie tell their personality to enhance the story. This week, me and my group are observing through the ILO ILO's movie character. From along the process, we discuss each character thoroughly together and came up with these:

Since some of the part cannot be read, CLICK HERE to access the miro board

Movie to watch : Design For All

Design as Semiotic Construction and Vernacular

For this particular symbol, we aimed to make it as a collection to convey a meaning of swimming for an Olympic event in Singapore. We want to constructed the meaning behind it so that it can communicate well for people to understand.

Here, me and my group were ought to create a representation of a person who swims on top of the Marina Bay Sands, because it is what the Singapore icon's famous for. Throughout the process, the problem that we faced were actually occur on the placement and how we would communicate the building, but also make it different than the actual ones.

In my opinion, not only does the design of a symbol is important, but also the placement of where the symbol itself is placed. For example, when a knife is placed on the kitchen, it is indicated as a form of object to cut meals and preparation of food. However, when it is placed on the street, it can indicates a suicide motifs or danger.