Frogs: jumpling, flipping, stretching.
Dragonflies with broken wings.
Hoover craft and safe boats.
Hands holding on, or are they just ramps connecting?
A new Atom triagonal clips No. 303 box.
Attempt #2.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Boxes: 1.2
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Selling UK
This past week, British Council Indonesia has posted several advertisements in Kompas about the upcoming IYCEY (International Young Creative Entrepreneur of the Year) Music Awards. Indeed, the end of this month all the way through April will be a busy time for British Council. The Education UK will be promoting UK universities in Jakarta and Bandung, and Love and Money Exhibition, will be presenting works of 25 UK designers in Jakarta.
What’s all these buzz about?
British Council is well on promoting UK, with the intent of selling the idea that UK is the center of creative industries, defined it seems according to John Howkin's Creative Economy. In the next several years, they will have completed several programs, which altogether will strategically sell this idea. When you think of creative industries, you will think of the UK, and vice versa. All grounds relating to the creative industries will have been covered by these programs: they are working with Indonesian government, educational and professional institutions, arts, crafts and design communities, NGOs, aspiring young artists and designers.
As I am currently freelancing for the British Council, I get to scoop a little more into their plans, and I am very much impressed by how strategic and well the institution and the country work. It occurs to me that this conference I attended at the beginning of this year was part of the same effort, sponsored by UK’s Higher Education Academy. And so it goes all around the world through the British Council.
If this effort continues well, America will have to watch out about losing its dominancy, if not in developing countries throughout the world, then maybe in Indonesia. In comparison with other countries like France, The Netherlands, and Germany who have centers to promote their cultures in Indonesia through CCF, Erasmus Huis, and Goethe Institut respectively, with the exception of AMINEF that promotes US education, the United States doesn’t seem to bother with promotion and exchange of cultures. Perhaps the US doesn’t feel the need to do much promotion at present, considering most top universities around the world are currently in the US. But how long would this last?
The only concern I have with UK’s promotion is the definition being used for creative industries that is narrowly correlated with arts and design industries. It could mislead to the perception that other fields of study are not and can not be correlated with creativity. I prefer, rather, the definition of creative industries by Richard Florida in his The Rise of the Creative Class.
What’s all these buzz about?
British Council is well on promoting UK, with the intent of selling the idea that UK is the center of creative industries, defined it seems according to John Howkin's Creative Economy. In the next several years, they will have completed several programs, which altogether will strategically sell this idea. When you think of creative industries, you will think of the UK, and vice versa. All grounds relating to the creative industries will have been covered by these programs: they are working with Indonesian government, educational and professional institutions, arts, crafts and design communities, NGOs, aspiring young artists and designers.
As I am currently freelancing for the British Council, I get to scoop a little more into their plans, and I am very much impressed by how strategic and well the institution and the country work. It occurs to me that this conference I attended at the beginning of this year was part of the same effort, sponsored by UK’s Higher Education Academy. And so it goes all around the world through the British Council.
If this effort continues well, America will have to watch out about losing its dominancy, if not in developing countries throughout the world, then maybe in Indonesia. In comparison with other countries like France, The Netherlands, and Germany who have centers to promote their cultures in Indonesia through CCF, Erasmus Huis, and Goethe Institut respectively, with the exception of AMINEF that promotes US education, the United States doesn’t seem to bother with promotion and exchange of cultures. Perhaps the US doesn’t feel the need to do much promotion at present, considering most top universities around the world are currently in the US. But how long would this last?
The only concern I have with UK’s promotion is the definition being used for creative industries that is narrowly correlated with arts and design industries. It could mislead to the perception that other fields of study are not and can not be correlated with creativity. I prefer, rather, the definition of creative industries by Richard Florida in his The Rise of the Creative Class.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
When the Educational System Fails
After a few years of teaching, I began this semester with a little excitement: I had a Japanese Indonesian in my studio. The first one I had. But apart from this identity, he would probably not had attracted my attention further was it not for what he said during the first lecture I gave.
I was talking about the importance of being creative, of having ideas rather than simply knowledge. Right after I said that, he raised his hand and said something along this line: “I disagree with you. In my opinion, there are no more new ideas.” And he mentioned the development of telephone technology, which to him was a matter of adding (new) and/or combining (old) features. I said that he was indeed right. I quoted James Webb Young who said that ideas are no more than combination of old elements.
I found his comment unusual because most of my students would not start a statement with the words “menurut saya” (in my opinion), they would not say they disagree with me (it’s almost sacrilegious in this culture), and very few of them would have made critical observations about the world.
As the semester went however, he rarely showed up in class. When he did, he brought projects which, although very interesting in their ideas, were not finished. By the mid term he had used up all allowable absences he could take in the whole semester. When he showed up again after a prolonged absence, I told him that he could no longer follow the studio because of his absences. He understood, apologized, and asked if I would still allow him to present what he had made for the day. I did, and I was impressed by what he thought about and explored and how he made and presented his ideas.
What I realized then was that he probably lacked organizational skill with his time, and would have benefit from flexibility to work on a project with self-directed schedule, so he could develop fully what he had in mind. So I asked to meet with him the following week, which was yesterday, to offer him another chance. An independent study would probably be the best setting for a student like him, but unfortunately such an option was not available at the university. And he had decided to drop out of the university, which was not the first time either, so he could go to Japan and pursue a more practical training there.
I told him that his decision might suit him better, as a person like him would fare much better learning from real life, rather than from school. He admitted he didn’t learn much from school, which was probably because he already had his own ideas and was very specific about what he wanted to learn. He would be better off conducting self-directed studies, and discuss them with people who could help him push his thinking. I wish he would eventually find his path in life, through what Greg Mankiw suggested in Education beyond the Classroom.
Meanwhile, here are some quotes about how many great people see schools. Not too happy about them obviously. And here I am in a dilemma of losing belief in the educational system when I myself am looking into further education.
I was talking about the importance of being creative, of having ideas rather than simply knowledge. Right after I said that, he raised his hand and said something along this line: “I disagree with you. In my opinion, there are no more new ideas.” And he mentioned the development of telephone technology, which to him was a matter of adding (new) and/or combining (old) features. I said that he was indeed right. I quoted James Webb Young who said that ideas are no more than combination of old elements.
I found his comment unusual because most of my students would not start a statement with the words “menurut saya” (in my opinion), they would not say they disagree with me (it’s almost sacrilegious in this culture), and very few of them would have made critical observations about the world.
As the semester went however, he rarely showed up in class. When he did, he brought projects which, although very interesting in their ideas, were not finished. By the mid term he had used up all allowable absences he could take in the whole semester. When he showed up again after a prolonged absence, I told him that he could no longer follow the studio because of his absences. He understood, apologized, and asked if I would still allow him to present what he had made for the day. I did, and I was impressed by what he thought about and explored and how he made and presented his ideas.
What I realized then was that he probably lacked organizational skill with his time, and would have benefit from flexibility to work on a project with self-directed schedule, so he could develop fully what he had in mind. So I asked to meet with him the following week, which was yesterday, to offer him another chance. An independent study would probably be the best setting for a student like him, but unfortunately such an option was not available at the university. And he had decided to drop out of the university, which was not the first time either, so he could go to Japan and pursue a more practical training there.
I told him that his decision might suit him better, as a person like him would fare much better learning from real life, rather than from school. He admitted he didn’t learn much from school, which was probably because he already had his own ideas and was very specific about what he wanted to learn. He would be better off conducting self-directed studies, and discuss them with people who could help him push his thinking. I wish he would eventually find his path in life, through what Greg Mankiw suggested in Education beyond the Classroom.
Meanwhile, here are some quotes about how many great people see schools. Not too happy about them obviously. And here I am in a dilemma of losing belief in the educational system when I myself am looking into further education.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Boxes: 1.1.
Three dimensional forms can be created out of flat planes. Packaging boxes are examples of such attempts. Other than creating the boxes they are intended for, what other forms can they create? These sets of explorations will fall under the simple heading 'boxes'.
A bus shelter.
A girl with ponytails, sitting on the floor, playing.
A dog running, waggling its tail.
A life guard post.
A child jumping.
His hands going up and down. His legs curling behind.
A specialized drawer.
An open box of chocolate. Tempting.
A new Atom trigonal clips No. 303 box.
Attempt #1.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Navigating Space with Poor Signs (2 of 2)
The city is redundant: it repeats itself so that something will stick in the mind. …
Memory is redundant: it repeats signs so that the city can begin to exist.
Italo Calvino, “Invisible Cities”, Harvest Book, 1974: 19.
Take a look at these series of pictures below. They are taken from the point of view of a passenger car running at 20-30 kilometer per hour. Can you see where RCTI is?
It’s on picture #3, with entrance after the tree.
If you can’t see it, it’s because the building is indistinguishable and the signage is hidden by the tree. If you are driving alone, and you don’t particularly looking for it, slow down considerably, turn your attention from the traffic in front of you, and have 20/20 vision, you will definitely miss it.
And this explains why, after passing the same route from home to the university every week for the past two years, only recently I know exactly where RCTI is.
I have encountered similar problems when looking for particular buildings I’ve never been in Jakarta. Perhaps the advertising agencies got it better than architects. In this immense city maneuverable only by cars, architectural design will have to take into account the speed of the car, the signage system of the building, and the angle of vision of the drivers.
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