The semester is coming to a close. In a few months, I will no longer be a student in Art, Design, and Digital Culture. Let’s be honest, if this class did not fulfill one of my requirements in the College of Arts and Sciences, I am not sure I would have even taken it. In a few months, as someone who has recently declared their biology major, I will go back to all STEM classes. Do not get me wrong, those courses are challenging. However, as someone who has a more straightforward, scientific approach to how she thinks, this course challenged me in ways organic chemistry never will. I will miss that the most.
My favorite part about this Design 264 was how the prompt was always so widespread and open for individual interpretation. Each person had a different approach to each assignment. I loved it yet also despised it because it took me outside of my comfort zone. One assignment that I recall having so much trouble designing was the Invisible Citiesassignment. I physically could not think of any more by the time I reached my third (out of six) art board. However, before I show this, let me explain this project a little better. Or how about, I will allow Professor Lawrence to explain it, as he does so the best.
While reading Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, consider which “city” (chapter) you’d like to explore in an abstract, non-representational, full color visual response utilizing symbolic meanings from the text. Much like our Sound Analysis project, imagine the text as “raw material” to analyze, interpret and translate visually. Consider what the text might suggest in terms of imagery, narrative, relationships, structure, organization, etc. How might one visually explore such suggestions utilizing only an abstract visual language and a range of deliberate color choices?
Before beginning my adventure into the Invisible Cities project, I responded to this assignment with this:
As we know from the preface of Invisible Cities, that this book is the tale of Marco Polo’s wanderings, and his account of each city he visited to Kublai Khan. Khan admits to not believing all these tales, yet he was intrigued by them. After reading some of Invisible Cities, I understand where the emperor’s interest and curiosity arise from. This book tells a fictional story and makes you think about the idea of memory and place.
If I could choose one city I would like to analyze it would be the city of Zoe, which resides in the chapter Cities and Signs 3 on page 34. Immediately upon reading the first line of this chapter I was sucked in; “The man who is traveling and does not yet know the city awaiting him along his route wonders what the place will be like” (Weaver). Polo tells of traveling from city to city in this chapter and how in this new, unfamiliar land he is exploring, he knows not of what is to come. All he knows for sure is that each city he has visited has distinct buildings and landmarks that are distinguished through certain roles it plays. However, when Polo arrives to the city of Zoe, it is a city unlike any other in his travels. All was the same, identical even. “The individual cities [that fill] up” the city was not “made only of differences” like Polo was used to. Each of the pyramid roof-buildings served all of the purposes a traveler could think of, leaving said traveler with doubts. He questions the existence of this invisible city, for if one cannot distinguish its features, then why was it made?To continue with the premise of the assignment, the next steps were as so:
As I stated above, the city of my choosing was Zoe. I further interpreted the passage by Italo Calvino with these artistic representations:
I spent so much time and effort on this project. Designing, redesigning, starting from scratch, getting frustrated. I contemplated changing my city from Zoe to any other invisible city because I felt that if my interpretations were incorrect.
Then I realized that train of thinking was what was incorrect.
Everyone has their own perception on what is and what is not correct. What is and what is not beautiful. Everyone interprets art differently. Some love the color orange and would say it is their favorite. Others may claim it is ugly. I may think my art directly reflects the invisible city of Zoe. Some may tell me that my project makes no sense but in the end I was happy with my work and the image I selected as my final project.
After this class, I will take many lessons with me. I now not only view the world differently, but I also will view myself as differently. I spent my entire life trying to be “perfect.” I have put high expectations on myself to do things the correct, systematic way. I have realized that the word perfect does not exist. I learned it is okay to step outside of my comfort zone, as it only allows me to grow.
I guess that I should rename this article “Thank You”
Thank you for letting me get the most out of this course.
