Week 1 | 29th July, 2019 | Malvika

Integrative Studio

“Simplicity is not about making something without ornament, but rather about making something very complex, then slicing elements away, until you reveal the very essence.” – Christoph Niemann

Christoph Niemann

The first Integrative Studio class brought about a different perspective for me on the world of art. When people think about the term “art”, they probably picture an intricately made painting with complex colour palettes, shading, and value. However, illustrator Christoph Niemann shows us a different, more simplistic side of art-making in his Ted Talk “You are fluent in this language (and don’t even know it)”. He proposes that as an artist, the onus is on the audience to interpret the artwork and process it in their minds since it is possible for artists to invoke emotions into their viewers. This ted talk proposes the possibility of art psychology and how artists tend to manipulate their work in such a way that it can resonate with their audience and instil thought and emotion, all with less complexity and more simplicity.

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Above is an example of one of Christoph Niemann’s artworks called “Roll”. We can notice how Niemann manipulates a common bread roll and appeals to his audience’s imagination by portraying it as a man’s chin and beard. This can suggest how the audience’s interpretation of the artwork is a significant part of the artwork, too.

Lines and Dots (Activity)

As a way to explore simplicity in art, we conducted an activity with lines and dots. we were told to make 30 depictions within 4×4 inch squares. The depictions had to encompass 5 concepts:

– State of mind in the morning
– Highlight of our journey from our homes to our college
– Thoughts while looking outside the window
– A word to describe your best friend
– Your happy place

Each concept had to have at least 6 drawings.
The objective behind this activity was for us to improve our skills as artists in conveying ideas and concepts with limited options: Lines and dots.

Below are a few examples of my rough work denoting to each theme:

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Week 2 | Aug 10th, 2019 | Malvika

In week two of Integrative studio, we attempted to bring our dots and lines to life on 4×4 inch squares. After we got our designs approved by Malvika, we were given the chance to turn them into 3D depictions. It had to be white on white. We used bond sheets to create 3D depictions of certain emotions, thoughts and ideas. Below are some examples of what I did:

Week 3 | August 12th, 2019 | Malvika

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In week three of our studio class we continued listing down 20 metaphors that define us. The ones that got approved by Malvika are these: (In bold, are the metaphors, and next to them are their explanations)

• I am the wind – I am calm yet relentless
• I am an unguarded castle – I let people in very quickly and easily.
• I am a constellation – I am very organised and creative.
• I am an unfinished book – I am an uncertain person.
• I am a kaleidoscope of butterflies– I am lively and cheerful.
• I am the sound of sirens– I am really loud when I have to say something and also very anxious.
• I am a raven– I am eccentric, colorful and unique.
• I am a waterfall– I pave my own path and am very ambitious
• I am a spiral in the eye– I am hard to figure out and am very confusing to people.
• I am the tide– I am impatient and short-tempered.

Above, at the very top, are my illustrations, denoting to each theme. They are yet to be approved by Malvika. We spent 3 mins thinking and creating each sketch.

Week 4 | August 19th, 2019 | Malvika Mahidhar

Today we reflected on our metaphors and got them approved. After that, we turned our metaphors into 2D depictions using our imagination. After that, we turned them into 3D models on f4x4 inch file cards:

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Week 5 | 26th August, 2019 | Malvika Mahidhar

In this week, we continued working on our 3D compositions for our metaphors. I was able to reflect what I learned when we discussed The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka in our seminar class. The discussion helped me comprehend how to view myself through the magnified looking glass not in a literal manner, but rather in a figurative one. Ironically, relating myself to metaphors helped me gauge a better understanding of who I am as a person and what makes me unique in society and what helps me create my own little niche in the big world that we live in. I learned to not look at myself as if I were a single entity, but more like a kaleidoscope of entities with different perspectives and viewpoints. Creating these metaphors in class enlightened me about who I am and helped me define myself as a person.

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I worked on refining my metaphor compositions and adding more elements to them and I also began creating more 3D compositions in today’s class. One of my metaphors, “I’m a spiral in the eye” is one of my very sentimental ones, because it depicts who I may seem like to others. Over the years, I’ve learned that I’m never the same person to everyone. I’m open to some, shy to some, and for some, I’m just difficult to figure out, hence the spiral in the eye. I’ve been battling with which one of these I am, too, then realised that I don’t have to be either one at all. As I mentioned before, I am a kaleidoscope of things.

I also got the chance to tap into some of my less complicated traits. I am fearless, relentless and unwavering like the wind. I am quite capricious, too just like the wind, and very unpredictable in nature, yet extremely hard to move against when I put my mind to something.

Week 7 | September 2nd, 2019 | Malvika Mahidhar

The Kaleidoscope That I Am
In today’s class, as we started refining our final 3D composition models. At first it was a little difficult for me to connect all of my metaphors together because most of them contradict each other, but then I managed to relate them create different sides of who I am.

Lionhearted
Several significant parts of my model were inspired by a book called Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. Despite reading this book a couple of years ago, it has since been a part of me and stuck with me. This novel shook me, and influenced me to become an even better artist. It is a coming of age story which chronicles the lives of two Mexican-American boys battling topics surrounding identity. One of the protagonists, Dante, personifies a chair into his friend Ari by drawing it. The way Dante depicted the chair, in a lonely, isolated, and misunderstood manner, drew a line between who Ari showed he was to the world in comparison to what he really was. The honesty in Dante’s artwork really resonated with me and made me want to become a good enough designer to evoke similar emotions in my audience. The metaphor that I chose to put at the very top of my model was an unguarded castle. I’m a very insecure person at times, and can let people get to me easily, but at the same time, not show it. On the outside, a castle seems like a lavish, grand, and overwhelming sight because of its size too, but on the other side of the spectrum, a castle (mine is on the top of a mountain) is also isolated and remote from the far away cities, yet it stands tall and can brace for whatever is coming for it despite its unguardedness. This is what makes me lionhearted, my ability to fight back despite letting people in.

Week 8 | Malvika Mahidhar

In our eighth week of studio I learned how to visualise certain aspects of a city and depict certain themes in the form of logos and symbols. Every city has its own characteristics and therefore is unique in its own way. I decided to brainstorm on the city of Madrid and what makes it individualistic in its own way. I chose to focus on the architecture of Madrid. Madrid is one of the cities in Spain that is full of boulevards, this is what makes the city so distinguishable. I brainstormed on how to show this by practicing drawing architecture and boulevards. This activity made me delve deeper into stopping in order to notice what makes a city unique to its people and the world around it and capture key elements and details on way, as these key elements and details is what makes a city whole in itself.