Category: 2024

Again, I feel resonated a lot with this piece of reading. The idea of how external voices affect people performing not only applies to art. Human beings are social animals. To really not care about anyone else’s opinion requires a strong mentality with great confidence, which most people do not possess. Like myself, I can’t help to not care about what others view my works. To really brainwash me into not looking at them is like burying my head in sand. Therefore, what I’m working on is accepting the fact that not everyone may like what I have.

Going back to the topic of art, I feel like the key part for an artist is to be self-consistent. If the artist’s gole is primarily to make money, then this artist ought to make art that follows the public’s opinion and it’s important for his work to be understood, accepted, and approved. On the other hand, if the artist does art for self-entertainment purposes, then public’s opinion on his/her work no longer matters. Also, such artist should be prepared to not have his/her work understood, accepted, or approved by the public. It wouldn’t make sense if an artist keeps wants popularity while ignoring what the public likes; nor would it make sense if an artist with very unique/personal works keeps trying to win public’s approval on his/her work. But still, I believe most artists are somewhat in between these two extreme categories. Therefore, for them, I think what they need to work on is also accepting the fact that not everyone may like what they have (spend more time with the people who do understand their work).

The fear that your art isn’t considered art or acknowledged is something I don’t really understand. I thought art was universally defined as some form of expression-of anything- or of nothing and just something pretty at the very least. Do artists want recognition for inspiring a certain feeling in their audience? If not, I don’t see why their work being labeled as a “craft” instead of art should be an issue. Whether you make a pretty vase or an ugly one, you probably want people to appreciate it, but it can be liked without being recognized as an inspiring work of art. 

My point is that what differentiates recognition between art and craft or just something aesthetic is whether the artist intended to evoke a specific emotion or perception. Otherwise, what does it matter? Your work doesn’t have to be classified as art to achieve recognition, money, or fame. 

I guess that’s what the author was implying when discussing the repercussions of following established notions of ‘art’. Nowadays, anything can be considered art, but really good art is rare and hard to find. Good art isn’t something you come across easily; it should be unique and compelling enough to make you stop and look.

This chapter was very informative about how the fear of others’ opinions can affect the art making process. Many great ideas are lost and abandoned because of small comments here and there made by others which I find really stupid because one person’s opinion doesn’t define an artist’s worth. It is as important for an artist to learn how to deal with other people’s comments as learning how to do their artwork. The author touched upon this a bit but I believe different people should have different strategies of coping and preparing for the criticism they will inevitably face that work best for them. I think that giving yourself the time to mentally prepare and fully finish your piece like Andrew Wyeth’s example is a good way to learn how to accept your work and be confident about it so that your artwork is not affected by it. I personally find that this is a good method to overcome criticism and be less self conscious about your work.
It’s scary how much control the audience has on someone’s self worth and art making process. The examples given in the chapter show how cruel people can be sometimes and I’m not going to lie if I were performing a piano piece and got a zero on a scale of 0-100 because the person thought I could not play, I would give up playing the piano in a heartbeat. When it comes to art, criticism can either make you or break you, so it is important to learn how to embrace it and deal with it without having it affect your work because we live in a cruel world and apart from your close family and friends no one is going to go out of their way to be nice to you or sugarcoat their comments.

The words: Organ and Shop

I decided to have a peek into the world of organ shopping and see what it looks like to order organs online. Below is a screenshot from an amazon page to buy fresh organs online.

I belive that talent is a very important part when it comes to fighting for the top achievements. I believe talents come in different ways, and it’s different for every realm. For example, for sports, the talents may be genetics, may be body parameters(such as height, leg ratio, etc.) These talents determine that people with them will have a higher starting point, and if they work hard enough, their upper limit wil also be higher. But if for other realms that mostly requires brain functions, there are the talents that they might learn things much faster. With the same amount of time they can learn more and able to comprehend the knowledge better. These talents exist, and there are plenty evidence that supports this. I believe that we need to see those talents, face them, and admit we might not be as good as someone in case of talent. Then it is up to you to decide whether go down this path.

There’s a lot in today’s reading that I feel resonate with, but also some that I don’t completely agree. Right in front of our NYU Berlin building, there’s a photo taking machine, and there’s a quote on it: The first 10000 pictures are your worst picture (something like this, can’t recall the exact words). This is exactly what this text emphasizes. Art never comes from emptiness. One has to keep trying, although making bad arts, but this imperfection is irrelevant. I feel so resonate with the part on how perfection drags us behind. I have the mentality of perfectionism, and this mentality affects almost every aspect of my life. Even in playing games, if I have like 100% winning rate in some games or characters, I would gradually stop playing so that this 100% rate would stay forever. Such procrasination stems not only from the mentality of perfectionism, but also a fear of losing. Therefore, this is the part I need to work on improving.

‘However, I don’t really agree with the talent part. At least for the areas that I’m working on, I feel like hard working determines the lower bound while talent determines the upper. This is because, I suppose, when entering a new domain, things are easy at the beginning but are getting harder and requires more talents. Like for my major, mathematics, I have met some really sharp people in some advanced elective course who could devise nuanced proofs that I would never thought about. Nevertheless, I had some of them as classmates in my MVC class, where things are not really hard, and I thought we were sort of at the same level. I wouldn’t attribute all our differences to talents, but I believe it indeed plays some roles.

Regarding the visit, I really enjoyed our trip. Visiting the studio gives a totally different experience from having guest speakers. They cleverly make use of the developing AI technology, instead of getting negatively impacted by it, like many other people in the creative industry do. Not only am I interested in their work, I also find their vibe of having close friends together in one studio be desirable. Overall, it was an awesome trip.

I believe this reading was one of the most valuable we’ve had yet and that is for certain reasons. Firstly, the pylosophie of the reading can not only be applied in the process of art and artmaking but also everywhere in life. Let me show you how:

The reading delves right into the concepts of fear, pretending, talent, perfection, annhiliation and magic. While they all seem to be very different from each other, they all combine to delve right into the human psychology of any process in the human life. No matter if you are a painter, swimmer, computer scientist or whatsoever, these concepts will always be engraved deep into your mind. The one thing we cannot let them do is overpower our thoughts and take over, fear is a very good thing but too much fear is destructible for a person. Talent, yes, some people are gifted with all these talents but if they don’t keep working on them, these talents will play no role in shaping their future. Perfection, always strive for it but deep down know that you are not going to reach it, there is no such thing as perfection, no one is perfect but if you reach for the stars and you fail, at least you are going to fall on a cloud.

My point is, use fear to your advantage and don’t see fear as an enemy but and accomplice.

Stay Safe!

The principles of art-making discussed in the book seem to exceed the confines of creating art and extend into broader life lessons. 

I watch a lot of IFSC. Commentators frequently use the term “confident” to describe climbers’ movements. This confidence stems from trusting their bodies and their skills, a concept that parallels the confidence needed in art-making. As an artist, trusting your work and your creative process is crucial. Doubts and fears are natural, but overcoming them and moving forward with confidence is what leads to growth and improvement.

I also believe that authenticity is a driving force in the creative process. The artist visit we had reinforced the importance of being genuine. While talent, hard work, and luck are all important, authenticity seems to attract and amplify these elements. Genuine expression, I believe, is what connects artists to their audience and to their own work on a deeper level. It’s the authenticity that drives artists to continuously learn, to produce numerous works, and to engage in self-reflection.

It was a fantastic visit. I observed their planning and organizational strategies. The time spent in London and the three days dedicated to creativity were particularly impressive. The collaborative spirit within the team clearly drives them toward successful and efficient projects. Additionally, I witnessed how modern technological advancements, contrary to the negative aspects often associated with AI development, have enhanced their productivity and output. Overall, their work was incredible, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.