The artifact I used for this exercise was a painting that I made during last semester. This painting came at the point in the semester when things were going as planned. Furthermore, the painting I had made before this, despite being one of my best works, made me feel very sad and miserable. The entire experience of making that painting was a mix of pain, sorrow, being caged/locked up with just far and few moments of joy and inspiration. So when I went about making this painting, I wanted to let myself loose. I wanted to liberate myself from all the shackles and things that were holding me back. And for a change not try to control the medium but just react to it.
I think as designers, we ought to look at all objects, people, thoughts and things in the world this way. I can’t imagine there would be any other way of creating original work without being one with the context. This reminds me of the philosophy behind Aikido (Japanese martial art) i.e. of unifying with the enemy. The technique consists of using the momentum from the opponent and redirecting it. This begs the question, how can you win over the enemy without being one with them? In a similar vein, how can one imagine to design a house for a person without knowing what this person loves to do on a Sunday afternoon? How can one design an experience for a user without developing that deep empathy with them?
The meaning of this object has definitely changed for me. When I finished this painting, for a moment it seemed I had managed to uncage myself and had experienced freedom. I definitely was breathing a different air than I was before. But that didn’t last long and I started disliking (almost hating) the painting.
Now when I sat and did the formal dissection of this painting, the exercise allowed me to look beyond the superficial level. It allowed me to create that distinction between pleasant and beautiful. And I do find this painting more beautiful now compared to just a week ago