‘Tadao Ando: From Emptiness to Infinity’, a sharing by Bryan Lim Organised by Anonymous, as part of A Design Film Festival #dffsg2014 --- This documentary really resonated with me because prior to my application to NTU ADM, I considered studying Architecture. Since all I ever wanted to do then was to draw, and to draw buildings too. It was so inspiring to hear from Tadao Ando speak of his philosophies which frankly, are not very different from other forms of disciplines such as graphic design, product design, interior design and even fashion. His work, Church of the Light, even though created more than two decades ago, still stands as a real contemporary piece of architecture that transcends through time. It is amazing how he manages to express his ideals of Japanese culture through to a church, referencing the concept of a haiku, emphasising on space and emptiness. Essentially the emptiness creates room for which the mind may rest and connect with your inner spirituality, serving the function of a church or a religious building. When we look at graphic design, one key element is reading space or white space. The use of white space versus text/graphics, are so important because it gives a reader the time and space to breathe mentally. And so it informs other aspects of graphic design like typography in terms of kerning and leading. It is not about how much exciting graphics you cram in one page, but how you balance the two to visually communicate for the audience. And an interesting fact about Tadao Ando is that he started out as professional boxer at the age of 17, before deciding to self-teach himself architecture. In a fight or a design process, from start to end, you have to be 100% focused, to make sure you win or execute the project successfully. Personally I could relate to this as I did Muay Thai shortly in the past, and concentration is so underrated, compared to the physical side of things. The sharpness of the mind is just as important as the creativity of one’s own imagination. Which probably brings back to the idea of space for the mind to think. Little moments in the film, such as where he asked a young architect in his firm to get out more and speak to the clients personally versus over emails, asking why he was drawing out his ideas instead of the young ones trying out themselves, speaks volumes about Tadao Ando’s approach to the design process and the way human factor plays in the larger scale of things. Overall, for architects, designers or students in the same field, you’ll learn to appreciate the many things the film speaks about, both design aesthetics, philosophies and the way creatives work. As our daily work gets tough, you get reminded by our figures of inspiration who strive to make Earth a better place to live in for future generations to come. --- youtube/watch?v=xRk5Oe88Rqw
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 10:50:17 +0000
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