// NEW LIFE // This image was generated using Midjourney, and here’s the prompt I used: new york city, waterfall, the concept of Nietzsche, sense of nervous and happiness, in the style of alessio albi, emil alzamora, ray tracing, emotional abstraction, tokina at-x 11-16mm f/2.8 pro dx ii, mute pink orange, tadao ando --chaos 30 --v 6.0
The New
In the first week of DT, the rush of a "new school," new friends, and a new life reminded me of Nietzsche's waterfall. Even though I'm surrounded by Manhattan's skyscrapers, I can't help but picture an Eastern monk heading into the mountains, stepping under a waterfall to train.
In the days leading up to the start of the semester, I visited the Museum of Moving Image to watch 2001: A Space Odyssey. The feeling of journeying through the space station with the protagonist strangely mirrored my experience of being in New York. We’re both encountering the “NEW.” When we face new spaces and cultures, what symbols do we choose to read first? And in such contexts, how significant are language and text? During the first week of Major Studio, I wrote down three key things Aya mentioned in class:
How do we consider language as a TECHNOLOGY. This phrase serves as a little reminder that, as designers and artists, we must remember that language is always a man-made construct. Sometimes, we're not just dealing with language but with symbols. These symbols can be non-verbal, sometimes just images, gestures, or even the montage of space, time, and objects that produce unique meanings. We need to learn to "observe"!
Why is it difficult to sell FISH on Wednesday? The topic of observation extended into a small exercise we did in Union Square. How do we, as designers, observe patterns? How do we see data in these patterns, make hypotheses, and then validate them before proposing solutions? During our observational walk around Union Square, I felt like we were part detectives, part sociologists.
Don't be afraid of failure. In the first week, alongside excitement and anticipation, the overwhelming emotion was fear. Fear of doubting my abilities, fear of the unknown, and fear of failure. Seeing Aya share her list tracking the progress of her award applications helped ease some of that fear. We need to face our fears head-on, just like Nietzsche faced that waterfall. Fear not, stay humble, and remember to appreciate yourself!
