by Wei-wei Chan
Sometimes, when we think about art, a sense of ineffable awe strikes us. It’s a common sentiment that art exists far away from the ordinary world we live in, or that art is exclusive to the well-educated or the well-to-do. Few really feel related to it even if we all have arts-and-crafts classes during our years of compulsory education. But the following article might reverse your preconceptions. Actually, art isn’t something well-preserved in museums or a valuable object hung on the wall remote from everyday life. It can be represented anywhere in any form. Some art is simply meant for giggles. Some is created to challenge our habits of thinking and living. Still other art objects are open to touch or even to use. But whatever aim artworks try to achieve, they all serve the aesthetic needs of the human soul. Oftentimes, when life gets dull or stressful, people turn to things that stimulate their senses or things that tickle them. Works of applied art do just that! They are the creations of designers who observe the mentality and behavior of average people and provide a unique solution. Let’s take a look at some examples. “Don’t Miss A Sec” by Monica Bonvicini This art exhibit is a usable public toilet situated on a bustling sidewalk near the river Thames in London. Constructed with one-way glass, this toilet allows the user to see out, knowing what’s going on outside the enclosed cube, while passers-by can’t peep inside. Though it’s definite that you would feel a bit uneasy with your pants down inside it, this toilet serves a very practical purpose and allows us to attend to nature’s unwanted call. When excusing yourself for a while, you would never have to worry about missing any part of the spectacle on the street in front of you! “Double Happiness” by Didier Fiuza Faustino Originally built for the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Bi-City Biennial of Urbanism and Architecture, this artwork is a billboard turned into a swing set and serves as urban furniture, allowing participants to experience a cityscape from the height of billboard. This swing set, says the French-Portuguese architect, is a response to society’s materialism, “where individual desires seem to be prevailing over all.” Through this thrilling experience, people can “recover an awareness of the physical world.” Besides, it can revive public spaces and reactivate abandoned billboard structures, offering swing-sitters a new perception of the relationship between space and the human body. A Ceiling Mural in a Smoking Area The image on the left is from an anti-smoking campaign proposed by an advertising agency in Mumbai, India for the Cancer Patients Aid Association (CPAA). In the ceiling painting shown above, real smokers stand under a photograph fashioned after the CPAA print. The warning is so obvious that it needs no explanation here, but what’s worth pointing out is the black humor given to this serious issue. Mourners looking into your open grave might not give you any more information than repulsive pictures of polluted lungs printed on cigarette boxes, but this image certainly expresses the same warning in a much more fun way! We all study general art education in school, but it tends to alienate us from art. Yet art does not have to be unapproachable. As seen in the examples given above, art can go beyond discussions of art movements or the works of great masters in a steady evolution of artistic styles. Art can also be about making life better. Above all, art is an aesthetic response to the circumstances we are in. Even without artistic training, our prehistoric ancestors made fantastic cave paintings. So why not strip yourself of the prejudices about art that school has cast on you and start feeling and seeing the world around you? It would be a lot more fun, and life just might become full of surprises again. a
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The Taida Student Journal has been active since 1995 with an ever-changing roster of student journalists at NTU. Click the above link to read about the authors Archives
May 2024
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