Category: 2024

Sometimes, I marvel at how creativity varies among individuals, each bringing a unique flair to their work. Robert was different from other artists we’ve seen, not only through his distinct paintings but also in his ability to adapt his talents across different settings, such as museums and corporate buildings (Particularly striking was his use of projection on buildings like in Seoul). His proficiency with 3D technology further elevates his art, adding a layer of depth that’s both innovative and engaging. The short films he shared exemplified this, showcasing his skill in blending art with technological advancements in a way that is truly inspiring.

Robert’s art was really interesting, the first video he showed us made me think that it would be a cool intro to a show or movie about something horror or suspense related, because it sort of tells a story but it’s quite vague. The last artwork, with the AI was also really interesting, and the images themselves were drawn more clearly so it was less abstract than the first.

He mentioned being consistent with his work and developing it further so that it becomes new art, and it’s interesting that we just had a reading talking about that.

I found his art very mesmerizing. I love how his videos leave so much for the imagination and yet direct your thoughts in specific directions. It was very interesting seeing how his art has developed over time and across different mediums.

Feed The Guest

Process:

Using the random word generation technique we came up with two random words, banana and box. Then through that we used generating alternatives to come up with food and maze. 

We initially thought of a cooking game where the partners got random ingredients and they had to create things and share ingredients to combine the final results of each player. To make this applicable to a classroom setting we decided to make cards to represent the ingredients.

Idea:

The game is meant to bring two people together through cooking, since making a meal is a great way to bond with someone. The idea is that two college students with barely anything in their fridges have an unexpected guest coming over and they have 3 mins to put together something to serve for the guest, Having almost no ingredients to work with, the real challenge is being able to creatively make some presentable food for the guest under the time crunch. 

Implementation:

We brainstormed some crazy food ingredients, designed some cards on canva and printed them to be randomly chosen from. 

The rules are as follows:

Each person gets 3 random ingredients which represent the stuff in their fridge

They have 3 mins to make something for the guest using all the ingredients they have

Final Results:

My first impression of Robert Seidel’s work in the first video was that it reminded me of traditional Chinese landscape paintings. The ink technique was really reminiscent of the way landscapes would be depicted on these rough paper scrolls. I always really liked that style of painting so Robert Seidel’s initial works resonated with me there.

The second video he showed us made me feel like I was watching the intro sequence to an action thriller movie of the mid 2000s. This felt like something I would see from Sam Raimi when he directed the Spider-Man films in the early 2000s.

A lot of scenes made me feel like I was watching a microscope view of an amoeba or microorganism. It was pretty eerie but all the movements on screen felt really natural and mesmerizing. It was nice.

There was one thing in Robert’s long presentation of various works that really caught my eye: the projection onto the direct physical environment. I think it looks really fantastical when placed on that building in Seoul he showcased.

Robert mentioned something along the lines of “not adding to the noise of the city but calming it down. I think this only works if it’s in a big city where there’s a lot of monotonous lights like Seoul though. The colored projections on a building in Seoul didn’t feel like “noise” because it was like the accent color of a tame color palette. The projections on the smaller buildings he showed on the other hand made his projections look like someone changed their color palette too late into the painting process and overdid the tertiary and accent colors.

Just the other day, I borrowed a basketball from the security guard and walked over to the nearby park. Shooting hoops helps get my mind off things so it made me feel very relaxed, much more than I was before I borrowed the ball.

For some reason, I was just unable to miss for a good few minutes and I felt like I was tapping into flow state while playing sports for the first time in a while. This nearby Arab kid came over and asked me something in German, which I politely but awkwardly responded with “English?”

This kid thought about it and conjured up “one v one?” I didn’t really want to do anything more than move my arms at the time so I asked him if he wanted to play some HORSE. He didn’t understand what I meant so I just pseudo sign-language communicated my way into taking turns shooting.

All was good and I felt pretty relaxed balling with this random kiddo until this German kid and her friend kicked a football way off mark. Before I could really process the situation, my body acted on its own to intercept the ball. I somehow intercepted the ball midair with my weak foot, was able to control it perfectly, and sent it back right back to where the kids were on the field.

I was genuinely surprised how smoothly I pulled that off. It was like since the situation dictated someone to save the ball from bouncing over the short fence and into the traffic, I was instinctually able to control a football. That definitely gave me some rep boost at the local playground, but it really showed how flow state pushes me to do things I didn’t know I could do when I need to show off in front of a bunch of grade schoolers.

This made me think back to a chapter of a manga called Blue Lock I read a couple months ago. Ego, essentially the coach of the players, basically says they’re all at their physical limits, so the only difference that’s left is being in “flow” state. Ego shows this exact diagram they show on page 74 that’s still in my head today.

This literally reflects what happened at the playground that day. I had skills much higher than the challenges demanded of me so I was relaxed but admittedly bored (A2). Then a challenge appears, to intercept the ball that’s closest to my weak foot rapidly approaching my direction while bouncing on uneven terrain. That moment, my skills were barely just in range for the challenge posed to me, thus I was able to visit the flow channel (A4).

It’s not that flow is an unfamiliar feeling or concept to me, but it truly does surprise me when my body is able to do something I wasn’t able to visualize in my own head before it happened. I was also really surprised to see the concept of the “invisible hand” be brought up on the topic of flow. As an econ student back in high school, I’m all too familiar with the invisible hand and yet I never realized how well it applies to this flow state when you visualize it using this exact flow chart.

And no, I didn’t get a standing ovation from the kids for stopping their ball. They just said a timid “danke” and continued kicking the football.

I came into this visit without any expectations and was actually blown away. Even though Robert was a quiet guys, his work was SCREAMING creativity and skill. I was really impressed with the short films that he made and how they blended from 2d to 3d. I was actually very happy to learn about the software he uses for these presentations and at the same time surprised to see his works on different buildings across the US. I like how he is an adaptor of the new AI technologies and continues to put himself and his style in his work. Excited for his upcoming works!

This was our first studio visit of this class and I really enjoyed it. Overall the studio was very nice, I really wish they walked us through the whole thing so we can see how the creative process actually comes from an idea to a final product, how the workspace looks like for different members of the team and so on. I feel like their presentation was pretty straightforward and was amazed by the companies they worked with. They seem like a pretty big studio compared to the artists that we have seen so far (don’t mean to discriminate, just looking at the overall situation). I really liked their projects, and even though I had weird first thoughts about the BMW project, it really grew on me as I kept looking at it and the overall concept. I really like that they put a part of themselves into the projects and also enjoy food and travels!

I really enjoyed the first film he showed, mainly because of the storytelling aspect, also the process of how it was created was very cool.

He mentioned something about how we shouldn’t add all things at the same time just to include them, instead focusing on/using one thing then adding what you need. I agree, and need to apply that more.

Flow happens when we are fully absorbed in an activity. This state occurs when there is a balance between the challenges of the activity and our skill level. When these are aligned, the activity becomes deeply satisfying and rewarding. Throughout history, the importance of these activities has been recognized. Rituals, art, and play have been central to human life, offering joy, meaning, and community. These activities, which might seem “unproductive,” are essential for a fulfilling life. I truly think those that are happy in life experience flow often. In our modern, fast-paced world, it is important to remember the value of flow-inducing activities. They are not a waste of time but an important investment in our mental and emotional health, because they help us so much.