Learners Journey Log || Galaxy of Art & Design

ILLUSTRATED GLOSSARY

TALKS

TALK 1 : Style, Stylistic evolution and the notion of zeitgeist : The Indian perspective

I personally am not well versed with history however during this talk I got to know a great deal about it. While Mr. Kannal was explaining the Indian figures and architecture I couldn't help but relate it to my current study of Italy. Even thought India and Italy didn't cross paths it was interesting to see how both of them had such similar yet distinct art forms. It helped me to further analyze and understand my study of art in Italy and why something is done the way it is. I particularly found the concept of Baroque quite interesting. That form of architecture came to Italy/ Europe after 500AD( which was after the time period assigned to me) and I have always admired it therefore to know about it was mesmerizing.

Talk 2 : What is Modernism?

I share a great interest when it comes to modernism, I think it has a unique style and very elegant appeal. To understand the roots of modernism was yet another step to understand the people and why a concept like modernism took over the classical period. After listening to the talk I realized that this concept of modernism, if used wisely, could do wonders in the field of architecture

TALK 3 : Costumes: An Overview

Being an aspiring Fashion student I was very keen on attending this talk. I gained another dimension of understanding on clothing as not merely a piece of cloth but something that holds a symbol and meaning. It was an insightful way to understand the evolution of the perspective of human clothing. If we see nowadays clothing is surrounded by trends and appeal to the eye and sometimes even more, but when the concept of clothing arises it was merely a matter of covering up. It was interesting to connect how use of various materials as part of clothing was done earlier and now.

TALK 4: Identity and Design & Identity in Design

It was interesting to see how identity and design go together. I got an insight on identity and how consciously or subconsciously we associate certain things through identity. Eg: India is associated with the tri color flag or even some famous personal. I could make a connection with this talk through my study on Italy as well. In Italy there was a wide usage of Corinthian order in its architecture which later became an identity of ancient Rome. Similarly the widely worn toga also became an identity of that area and era. A design can hold several identities which tells us a lot about the designer as well as the history associated with it which further forms its identity.

PERSONAL VIEWS ON ART & DESIGN

When we think of art and design the first thing that comes to our mind is creativity. Every artist is creative and so is every designer but the way each showcase their creativity might be different. However, these similarities do not always mean that art is design or vice versa. Art according to me is a tool which can be used by a designer to make a product. Both the fields use similar principals and elements to come up with an outcome. According to me Art is the foundation to design. Art opens one’s mind to think beyond and innovate which is a key skill for a designer. Design is more functional, and user driven. Its core function is to make the users life efficient. Design does not have a scope to be subjective which is not the same in the case of art. So how do we differentiate between the two field? I think to understand this we need to go beyond and think about the intent of making something, in the case of art it can be a form of self-expression and the artist has the liberty to put his or her individuality into it. In the case of design, the designer must keep aside his or her personal needs and biases and think solely from the point of view of the user. Of course, there is still scope to put individuality into the design as long as it does not hinder with the functionality of the product. Design has a set of rules which must be followed, design can be taught as well, however not the case with art. Art can never follow rules or be taught is why it is so fluid and vast.

Meaning Making

The Era 500BC to 500AD had a rich visual and material culture. A shared belief amongst many empires during this time was worshiping the supreme being along with, immaculate appreciation for human body as well as people in the position of power. Christianity grew popularity in Europe, even though the Romans followed a Polytheistic belief system. Early humans also worshiped nature as seen in Etruscan civilizations in Italy along with various other civilizations around the globe. All throughout the globe battles were common which led to creating various social hierarchy and the need for power. The clothing also attributed to the same; the ones on the higher end of the social hierarchy wore more flourishing clothing and jewel as compared to the latter half which gave birth the various social practices as well as slavery, along with other factors. Widely used material during this time was marble (for buildings and sculptures), Bricks and Stones (for buildings), Concrete (for buildings) and Bronze (Sculptures). If we focus on Italy particularly, we can notice how the roman empire was an agrarian slave run society which might also be the case with other places. Romans unlike Etruscan followed a patriarchal from of society with set gender roles. Evidence of all these have been found in wall painting or murals, sculptures, and architectural structures. The evolution of art forms could be evidence of the creative process of that time and the evolution of the same. This can be used by design student to get a deeper understanding of the origin of many famous art works which could trigger a similar process in our minds.

STRUGGLES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

During process of inquiry (Phase-1)

I struggled with the direction of inquiry initially and wasn't sure what kind of data to collect as it was a vast range of options.

While understanding Visual Language of a selected piece of art (Phase-2)

I struggled with the abstraction as the piece that i got was an architectural form and to make an abstraction of that was a task at first.

While understanding Visual & Material Culture of the assigned time period (Phase-2 & 3)

The wide range of explorations initially was hard as there is very less evidence of artforms during the time period assigned to me. However once the data was collected the visual and material culture was quite evident.

During the preparation of Final Group Presentation: What were the challenges faced? What were the helping factors? (Phase-3)

The abundance of information was something we struggled with. We had too much information and to put in a 7 min video. To tackle this issue we decided to make a video podcast so that its engaging as well as the information could be manipulated.

TEAM WORKING

Planning the work flow
Brainstorming ideas so that everybody gets an opportunity to put forward their opinion
Communication
Divide Rolls
Daily Goals

UG20065

Fashion Design