Week 1:
The Creative Act, Rick Rubin
Harnessing Energy and Trusting Intuition:
Are you comfortable in the vulnerability of letting the unknown guide you? Or do you feel the need to be in control to create?
J Cole has a 7 minute drill, write whatever comes to mind in the first minute and no matter what let the process unfold itself. I think this is a good way to let the universe take the wheel and is great for me.
I have found in my journey of making music that there is something about making things at 5 in the morning, perhaps it is just when the universe speaks to me but I know for a fact that when it hits I need to get it down right then and there or else it won’t be the same even if I remember it later. I’ll walk out of your classroom mid class if that itch strikes me (just kidding).
"Komorebi" is a Japanese term for the “Sunlight that shines through the Canopy”. I am only recently tuning out the noise like the canopy filters the sunlight. To let your mind be the canopy that lets the specific light you desire reach you.
Creativity as a Universal, Innate Force and a Way of Being.
How do you satiate the creative desires of your inner child while existing within the constructs of the corporatization of art?
I hate hearing friends say, oh maybe I’ll try it one day but I don’t know if I’m good at it… not everything has to result in you being good at it. I think people should express themselves without the pressure of the shit even being seen. Those are my favorite works.
We have been molded to judge our creations by the standards of what sells when creating has been a right to us from birth. Creating has been passed down generations as traditions since before society as we know it was in place… music, crafts… To the point that when I realized this I truly wanted to figure out if I even wanted to do what I liked to do for a living… I am shooting for NYFW tonight and hate the strings that come with it… perhaps I am better off growing radishes and shooting in my free time.
The Creative Process, James Baldwin
The Artist's Solitude as a Primal State and our avoidance of it:
How has your time alone affected your creative process? Do you fear it? Do you thrive in it?
I went through a phase of my life where my demons were running rampant, and I found myself doing anything to avoid being alone. And as a result I felt like my vision/creative drive all of the sudden became affected by everything around me but not in a good way. I felt like I was losing my own taste. I decided I had to lock myself in and just let it all crumble on top of me… but through the rubble I came other with things that I would have never been able to conceive of before… such as the strawberry Uncrustables shit on the grape ones
What is Design?, Victor Papanek
Degeneration of Commercial Design through Status and Gimmickry:
Do you find that some designs are made to be very complex only to portray the illusion that it serves a purpose grander than it actually does?
What are some real life designs that are "doin too much twin"?
Growing up in Hong Kong, I was surrounded by some of the most consumerist valued environments in the world. Every was a waddle through commercial after commercial. One thing I noticed was that the shittiest looking places/products were often my favorite. The hole in the wall restaurants with the lady cussing you out, slapped. That was because they didn’t need to hide anything.
Intuitive Design:
Do you find that form and function go hand in hand? If your intuition likes the ease of use and gravitates to the way something looks do they work with each other? Or should one be prioritized?
I am a big fan of the retrofuturism aesthetic (sometimes dieselpunk, sometimes decopunk), and hence the 1920s-40s industrial designs always appealed to me. I think there is a lot of nuance to this topic but I think form is a function. Something looking pleasing to me whether it is due to an associated aesthetic or a feeling serves a purpose for me.