#entry12

Brian Oldham - 

“When I began this project, all I really knew about photography was what button to press to take a photo! This project has forced me to improve, and with time I have started to get a feel for my style”.

It has been 8 months since I acquired a degree; 5 months since the Philippines has been in a series of quarantines. And even though I mostly stayed at home during this time, a lot has happened—in my country and with myself.

Last year, even with fear and doubt of finishing college and entering the big, bad reality of the world, I was at least comforted by the fact that I still have a couple of months of finding a job before my actual graduation ceremony. But then COVID-19 hit and the already low standard normalcy I had just crumbled, down into tiny pieces I didn’t know how to patch up.

All along I thought 2020 was the year I would have security when I land a job I love or at least tolerate, when I put that degree into use, and finally be able to give back to my parents, which is all I ever wanted.

But no.

I gained more insecurities about my life instead. I kept comparing. I kept looking at other people’s plates. I kept feeling sorry for myself.

And that said a lot about me. About my faith, perspective, and emotion—everything was ugly and in bad shape.

With one of Japan’s highest ranking websites, Syosetu, it is a novel publishing site. It’s design is very simple and condensed, with small text, bordered sections, and any images being small as well. Compare this to Google, the world’s top website, a more Americanized website. The font for Google is unique, and constantly changing to reflect important people and dates. The text is larger and more pronounced, with most content in a central or right hanging focus. Syosetu is indicative of Japan’s design preference, outlining more of a straight to the point with as much info packed in as possible take on design. Even with the site translated into English, it has a very Japanese feel to it, and continues to keep that theme regardless of the audience. Contrary wise, Google is good at adapting to its audience, including people, culture, and holidays from around the globe. I did notice that Syosetu also heavily focuses on shades of blue, orange, and yellow in its design, relatively calm colors in America. There is also a large amount of white space, that it shares with Google’s design. This white space makes the content more visible and less busy, making it more easily accessible to a large audience.

http://www.similarweb.com/website/syosetu.com#social

Earlier this week, my friends and I went to the Musem of Fine Arts in Boston, to check out the “Women Take the Floor” exhibition. An issue that is often brought up in society is the inequality between men and women in the workplace. Going to this exhibition has given me the opportunity to pay more attention to the issue, but specifically in the field of visual art.

This week, I learned that there are roughly the same amount of men and women artists in the world. However, the majority of artworks displayed in many art galleries are those made by male artists. The “Women Take the Floor” exhibition showcases artworks made by female artists like Frida Kahlo, in various forms of artworks, such as paintings, sculptures, poetry, and cinematography.

One of the things that intrigue me the most is the way the artworks are so different in their own ways but somehow are able to be tied together through the way they are displayed in the exhibition. The walls of the exhibition are plain white with bright red texts on them (quotes of various female artists, the purpose of the exhibition, etc). The contrast between these two colors really makes those texts stand out. On top of that, the color red is often associated with the idea of bravery, which also plays a role in achieving the goal to not only empower female artists but also visitors at the exhibition like myself.

The exhibition also consists of several interactive elements with its visitors, such as one where we are able to write our version of a structured and short poem that they have on their wall, on a piece of paper and hang it on the wall.

So here is my version:

say my name & i’ll sing

call me out & i’ll harmonize

i reimagine the euphony

and i announce my voice