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PALETTE emerged when the four minds behind this magazine coinciden-tally got together and discovered that they were all from different countries, drawn together by ADM and Singapore. Yes, different nationalities – Singapore, Malaysia, India and the Philippines. For this issue of the ADM Magazine (now on its fourth year), we offer you a glimpse of the diversity that reso-nates within our hallowed walls. Featuring interviews that we had with professors and students of ADM spe-cifically focusing on their different cultural backgrounds, influences and thoughts on art and design.

Enter the colorful world where peo-ple from different cultures share their thoughts and experiences. With the art direction of the magazine focuses on the vibrant colors that PALETTE have offered you when you first flipped open the “clean PALETTE cover”, PALETTE aims to provide you a “palette of cultures”; the interesting typography characters of the world, the meaning of different colors in dif-ferent cultures/ countries and the wide range of designs and artworks as well as the different viewpoints/ thoughts by professors and students on culture. The PALETTE team has also provide our dear readers a personal guide to ADM life and culture in letters A-Z! LOVE IT!

Now enjoy this PALETTE and experi-ence this journey that the colors leads you. We hope that with this PALETTE that you have brought home, you will be able to “mix” and create more “colors” in your life!

EDITOR’S LETTER

CHEERSXIAN MIN CHIACREATIVE DIRECTOR

PALETTE / 4

EDITORIAL & LAYOUT DESIGN / PALETTE TEAMCREATIVE ART DIRECTION / XIAN MIN CHIAPHOTO & IMAGES / NEIL BRIAN, ESTHER GOHTRANSCRIPTIONS &REVISIONS / TULIKA SUD, ESTHER GOH

PALETTE Magazine is published by NTU School of Art Design & Media, in fulfilment of the requirements of VIS355 Publica-tion Design. © All rights reserved.

No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted by any means without the prior permission of the publish-ers. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, the writers and the editors assume no responsibility for errors of omissions or for any circumstance of reliance of information in this pub-lication. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the views of the School of Art Design & Media or NTU.

CONTRIBUTORSHeitor Capuzzo, Astrid Kensinger Alkhlaafy, Kenneth Feinstein, Oh Soon-Hwa, Kimberly Huang, April Ella Liang, Vedant Gupta, Lam Nu Lien Minh, Jonathan Tan, Lynn Yang Wolf, Phoebe Imeunbee, Ng Qi Yang, Carrie Cai, Dorothy Lim, Lydia Wong, Zu Orzu, Zhang Qiyin, Hubert Wah, Tracy Thng, Vanessa Chan, Roxanne Lim.

SPECIAL THANKS to Danne Ojeda for her assistance in the development of this magazine.

FONTS USED / Akkurat Pro, DIN Pro

PALETTE emerged when the four minds behind this magazine coinciden-tally got together and discovered that they were all from different countries, drawn together by ADM and Singapore. Yes, different nationalities – Singapore, Malaysia, India and the Philippines. For this issue of the ADM Magazine (now on its fourth year), we offer you a glimpse of the diversity that reso-nates within our hallowed walls. Featuring interviews that we had with professors and students of ADM spe-cifically focusing on their different cultural backgrounds, influences and thoughts on art and design.

Enter the colorful world where peo-ple from different cultures share their thoughts and experiences. With the art direction of the magazine focuses on the vibrant colors that PALETTE have offered you when you first flipped open the “clean PALETTE cover”, PALETTE aims to provide you a “palette of cultures”; the interesting typography characters of the world, the meaning of different colors in dif-ferent cultures/ countries and the wide range of designs and artworks as well as the different viewpoints/ thoughts by professors and students on culture. The PALETTE team has also provide our dear readers a personal guide to ADM life and culture in letters A-Z! LOVE IT!

Now enjoy this PALETTE and experi-ence this journey that the colors leads you. We hope that with this PALETTE that you have brought home, you will be able to “mix” and create more “colors” in your life!

EDITOR’S LETTER

CHEERSXIAN MIN CHIACREATIVE DIRECTOR

PALETTE / 4EDITOR’S LETTER

000 THE WORLD IN TYPESpread aross the pages of PALETTE.Translating the world’s languages into visual typography and aesthetic design.

007 WORLD VIEWWe feature four of our ADM professors and asked them for their views on teaching, migration and the local art scene in Singapore.

043 INTERNATIONAL INFUSIONDoes culture plays a part in inspiring ADM’s students’ works? LETS TAKE A LOOK!

055 CROSS CONNECTIONSLynn Yang Wolf & Phobe Imeunbee; Two ADM students reveal what it’s like to be born of mixed ancestries.

063 COLLECTING CULTURESCherishing memories through the items we collect from around the world. What will you collect?

083 THE DESIGN TEAMThe team behind the magazine – REVEALED.

095 A-Z ADM GUIDEBOOKFind out what life in ADM is truly like;the drama, the coffee and the crazy antics. It’s ADM like you’ve never seen before!

123 COLORS WHEELSA handy guide to what colors meanto different nations and cultures. Tear it and use it! IT’S FREE!

CONTENTS5 / PALETTE

CONTENTS OF YOUR PALETTE

CONTENTS PALETTE / 6

The most distinct feature when it comes to differentiating cultures of diverse na-tions is the language spoken. Different spoken languages create unique charac-ters and stylistic typographic elements. BE AMAZMED!

HERE WE ARE!

Take a peep into what life in AD< is truly like!

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PROFES-SORS INTER-VIEWS: WORLD VIEW

(Right Image) KLAUS CHOCOLATE, France, 1903, 157x114cm, Illustration Poster, Leonetto CappielloOne of the research materials of “The New Woman” by Professor Heitor Capuzzo

After moving to singapore, four of our beloved adm profes-sors share their experiences, their views on the local art scene and what makes them tick.

7 / PALETTE PROFESSOR INTERVIEWS

PALETTE / 8

CAPUZZO’S NEATLY PACKED SHELVES. HIS OFFICE IS REALLY SPACIOUS!

“We need to be “infected” by life. The reason to move around the world is to learn more about the complexity of our planet.”

PROFES-SORS INTER-VIEWS: WORKS

9 / PALETTE PROFESSOR INTERVIEWS (CAPUZZO)


HEITOR CAPUZZO

ADM Film HistoryProfessor

WHERE IS YOUR HOME COUNTRY? HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN STAYING IN SINGAPORE?I was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I live in Singapore for almost 3 years.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE DE-SIGN CULTURE/ ART SCENE IN YOUR HOME COUNTRY?Brazil is the most visible country in Latin-America and has a significant participation in the international art scene. Brazil design culture brings strong connection with Africa, the Unit-ed States and Latin Culture of course. Sao Paulo city is also the biggest Asian city outside Asia. Brazil is a compre-hensive multicultural country and the 6th economy in the world.

ARE ANY OF YOUR PROJECTS DI-RECTLY INFLUENCED BY OR BASED ON YOUR CULTURE?Yes. Specifically inside Academia is usual in Brazil to work in a collegial way, with collaborative groups. My cur-rent research projects are being devel-oped with several Brazilian scholars.

WHAT ABOUT INDIRECT INFLUENCES IN YOUR STYLE?Sincerely saying I don’t really know how to answer this question. I am so direct-ly influenced by the environment where I am living. This is a refined question. I think that we Latin’s are so driven

by our feelings and emotions. Do you think that it is possible to be indirect-ly influenced by your emotions and feelings? If you know how to do that, please, could you teach me?

WHAT IS YOUR EXPERTISE/ MAJOR? WHERE DID YOU STUDY TO OBTAIN YOUR DEGREE/ MASTERS/ PHD?My MFA and PhD were in Art/ Cinema at the Sao Paulo University – 1987 to 1990. My post-doctoral stage was also in Cinema/ Animation at the Uni-versity of Southern California – USC – Los Angeles, where I was also Visiting Scholar between 2002 and 2004.

DO YOU THINK YOU WERE AFFECTED BY THE CULTURE IN THE COUNTRY WHERE YOU STUDIED? Yes. I was in the US and the US was in-side me. This is fundamental. We need to be “infected” by life. The reason to move around the world is to learn more about the complexity of our planet.

HI CAPUZZO!

PALETTE / 10PROFESSOR INTERVIEWS (CAPUZZO)

PROFESSOR INTERVIEWS (CAPUZZO)11 / PALETTE

Rossiya (Russia)’ Insurance Company, 1903, Illustration Poster

(All Images under Prof Heitor issue are about the research he is currently doing, The New Woman)

The New WomanCurator: Professor Heitor CapuzzoSchool of Art, Design & MediaExhibition/ Research 2012

“The collection of posters in Utopian Constructions provides the op-portunity to trace some of the significant metamorphoses in the rep-resentation of women. In the beginning of the 20th century women were represented in some posters stereotypically as the bearers of sophisticated elegance and contemplative beauty, much sought-after trophies of the success of the triumphant masculine bourgeoisie, annexes of the desired consumer goods. It can be said that the indus-trial era could not resist the appeal of the poster girl, often eman-cipated only for consumption. After all revolutions, wars, conflicts and utopian constructions of the 20th century, humanity enters into the 21st century without having yet settled a shameful historical debt: to let a woman, one day, carry only a baby without simultaneously needing a weapon to ensure minimally her basic rights.”



PALETTE / 12

IS ASIA CULTURE NEW TO YOU?In the past it was such a huge barrier in between Asia and the West. Perhaps because of language barrier because Asia used to be from the Western think-ing is unthinkable in learning. We have no idea how to communicate, I think it was from then 15 years till now. And Singapore 15 years ago is not so international as it is now. That is why perhaps it was a kind of... if you know Hong Kong is not English based, Tai-wan is not English based and Japan is not English based. Like if you want to go to Tokyo, you will have a hard time if you want to speak in English, because a lot people cannot speak English. We are talking about Tokyo, a culture that is recolonized by United States after the war. The language barrier helps to relate Western to Asia. Anoth-er problem for the Western countries’ strategies upon Asia.

BECAUSE OF THE HISTORY? Yes, colonizing and it was really pain-ful. I’m talking about Holland, Portu-gal and United States, UK. That’s why in my point of view I can understand why China wants to isolate itself because of the experience where they are invaded so many times by so many different countries to provoke civil war. That’s why I think I never thought that I could have the access so strong. Although I always was a little fascinated as a for-eigner.

I was surrounded by mainly Japanese and Chinese influences in their daily lives. If you are from Sao Paulo, it’s not so difficult to have your life here with Asian girlfriend because it’s three mil-lion people. By the way, I had. This is so how close it is. But it is a different kind of Asian in Sao Paulo because they came in the beginning of 20th century. It means that the Chinese there didn’t have any kind of experience of Com-munist, they are before that. And the Japanese that came, they are before the second world war. It’s almost that they have no relation with the modern Japan, only the younger generation they have. It means that they are really con-servative immigrants and remain tra-ditions and languages. There are a lot of Japanese going to Sao Paulo to learn traditional Japanese screen air and the language also. Study the old fashioned Japanese language because in Brazil the colony there is still maintained. It is really a very distinct point because they came before the big changes. That’s really interesting because the kind of influence they received from Asia is not so big, it was also kind of old fashioned.

For instances, they don’t have dvds and videos, but in the past they have four theaters in one neighborhood. It’s like a Chinatown, when you go there you are a foreigner for my case. They are speaking their languages, either Japanese, Mandarin or Cantonese, depends on the areas or which res-taurants and schools teaching their languages. They have theaters run-ning films everyday and in Brazil there is a lot and usually has Portuguese subtitle. So I was about to attend a lot of Japanese films in theaters. And I was a little bit more connected to Japanese main culture because I saw the en-tire Kurosawa and all those directors in theaters before DVDs. Sometimes I was the only one who is not Japanese over there. I was always fascinated by Japanese films. Chinese’s not much because of the Chinese colony so they didn’t build their own theatre. So every week four new films are being screen there. I watch more than 200 Japanese films that time, go there and join the multitudes. By the way, it is still my preferred neighborhood there at Sao Paulo. Reminds me a little bit like Lit-tle India over here because it is con-centrated with culture and restaurants.

WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON THE ART SCENE IN SINGAPORE?This is one area that Singapore is in-vesting deeply with amazing results. Of course in our area there is always room for important improvements.Here is Singapore there is signifi-cant room for improvements, mainly in Stage Arts and Music. I believe that ADM is making a difference providing a more comprehensive qualification for future artists and professionals in the areas correlated.

If we want to show Picasso, to show Da Vinci, you don’t have it here. I’m sup-posed you are not supposed to have. You are not in Italy and Europe. But you have really good museums in Asia, good things about Asia I’ve seen here. I am thinking which kind of art history are we teaching here, which kind of art are we looking at?

“The world is bigger than the place where we were born..”



PROFESSOR INTERVIEWS (CAPUZZO)

PROFESSOR INTERVIEWS (CAPUZZO)

NOTHING THAT IS SUPERIOR OR INFERIOR?Yes. I love Picasso, but he was inspired by African art. And I am more inter-ested in that rather than what Picas-so made. This is some sort of things I need to train myself. It is not to deny but to be more aware and to try to edu-cate yourself. The advantage to be in Asia is that Asia is new. Many of their roles as foreigners are to come here and to share their expertise and they return. This is also a big issue in Singa-pore because foreigners return, I don’t think is a good idea. They didn’t learn anything and they didn’t teach anything and can be meditated to. I don’t think it’s good for both side. I don’t have an answer to do and to deal with it. Here has to be different, forget about the best one, you have to make it your best one, the way you see things. Prob-ably the main problem that I guess is that maybe there is this underesti-mate feeling where Singapore think they are unprepared and always hearing there is no identity. There is nobody that has no identity. Everyone has a unique finger print where the identity only you have. Perhaps it can be subtle or not so well expressed. The main point I think here is not be against foreigner but the answer is to establish a dia-logue. If I don’t understand something, it’s not depending on somebody but to sit with that somebody and learn with that person. I’m not seeing the deeply transformation of technology. It’s not directly taking something from a for-eigner with want they want, but what is that something we can exchange with them. For them to build a common language, the second part I am not seeing it in ADM. To my point of view, we are looking at a box to put in a box, I don’t think it’s so simple. If you put an Asian and a Westerner to marriage, the kid will have more insights, I am not seeing the kid now.

HOW HAS SINGAPORE CHANGED/AFFECTED/ INFLUENCED YOUR DESIGN/ ART MAKING METHODS?I am still learning about Singapore and South Asia. It is my first contact in this incredible region. My vision about handcrafts have expanded significantly after travelling to countries like Thai-land and Indonesia. What I am touched about Singapore are exactly the Sin-gaporeans. I am really proud with this opportunity to teach here. I can tell clearly that here at ADM I am having contact with some of the best students in my life. By the way I already taught for a significant number of students (around 2000) in many different univer-sities around the American continent.

DO YOU THINK IT IS IMPORTANT FOR DESIGN/ ART STUDENTS TO TRAVEL? WHY?More than important, it is fundamen-tal. It is like to leave your bedroom and be in contact with your entire country. You need also to see your culture out-side itself.

PALETTE / 14

(Left Image) WOMEN! HELP AMERICA’S SONS WIN THE WAR. BUY US GOVERNMENT BONDS 2ND LIBERTY LOAN, 1917, Illustration Poster, R.H. Porteous

(Above Image) GEE! I WISH I WERE A MAN. I’D JOIN THE NAVY, 1917, Illustration Poster



“It is like to see you initially on the mirror and later to see you on photography that was taken by other person. It is a completely different experience.”

WHICH COUNTRIES HAVE YOU TRAVELED TO THAT INFLUENCE OR INSPIRE YOUR WORK THE MOST? HOW?This question needs a long answer. Films are so internationally based. I am completely influenced by so many different countries and expressions. Well, in Latin America, beside the plurality of my own country, I would mention Bolivia, Argentina, Cuba, and Mexico. The way that these countries touched my soul was expanding my vi-sion about what it means to be a Latin-American citizen.

In Europe I would say Portugal, Spain, France, and Italy. It was a strong expe-rience to realize how much the Europe-ans influenced Latin-America. At same time it was painful to see how the Eu-rocentric side of Europe still continues to increase prejudices.

The United States was also a big influ-ence in my life. First because of their art production and later because their technological expertise, mainly on film production. I learnt a lot there and at the same time I refined more my Latin-American identity. Latin-America is so far from God and so near the US.

In Asia I am completely touched by Vi-etnam. To visit Vietnam was one of the most powerful experiences that I faced in my life. The Vietnamese people real-ly deserve their country. They paid with millions of their lives for their free-dom. This is a real prove of uncondi-tional love. Indonesia and Thailand are also magical countries. Their energy is contagious. They know how to ex-press beauty and this is one of the most refined ways to express your identity.

What I was really impressed by Viet-nam is mainly not because of Ho Chi Minh city, Hanoi but also I went into the Inland. I am preparing a short film about the Vietnamese experience of the Vietnam war. I decided to go to areas where it is highly damage by bomb and underground tunnels. Vietnam war is close to my generations, near the 60’s. Brazil didn’t participated in the war but Brazil was highly influ-ence by the United States. If you really see that time actually a lot of materi-als are X-war movement, movement against the war. For us we are resist-ing because of the strong dictatorship mainly guarded by CIA and those bad things. Nixon was really a bad guy. We are highly afraid to go into the Vi-etnamese problem. They were so de-stroyed. Brazil was so afraid but we sympathized. That is one thing for my life I always pay attention to com-mentaries, free speech, construction of the country, the fight for freedom and things like that. It’s something that always touch me a lot. I always take time to ask how is life there to be and who has the right to decide the destiny of their country. They are all people, not by people from the other. So Vietnam was something I am deeply interested in. I was a lit-tle bit afraid to have this romantic view about Vietnam. But when I went over there, I realized my romantic view was not enough and as romantic as they are. They are really amazing. In Hanoi I was really fascinated by how they get to travel their restaurant in bicycle from this side to that side with no traffic light and the way they just rearrange things. I thought how could people cross this incredible crossroad without traffic light, without accident, it’s really hard to invade because they are so good

in knowing what they are doing. Eve-rything, their culture, their food and their simple way of living. Sometimes some people set certain kind of agen-da saying how bad is the country, they are communist and blah blah blah. But I cannot tell whether this is good or bad but I can tell in a way that they are really happy in somewhere. This is the very few countries that I thought if I couldn’t live on anymore in Bra-zil, perhaps I could move to some-where and Vietnam could be one of them. Of course I don’t speak their Vietnam language and I’m not too sure if they would want me but I particu-larly would want to learn more about them. After the holocaust, almost 50% of the country passed away and they were completely destroyed. There are still places that are contaminated. I visited their hospital and the problems are still there with their environment. Without any prejudice, they really de-serve their freedom. The Vietnamese without anything, they resist, resist and resist, with decades, decades and decades. Ho Chi Minh passed away and they continue to fight and they won the war. They deserve today. The destroyed are there and you can see many prob-lems now. You can see they are de-stroying the environment, creating faster jobs and similar to China’s de-velopment. We see this kind of prob-lems lead on from the Communist idea where people have no soul and they continue to work on with some sort of corruption. We are aware of it and sensitive towards all these. Putting aside all these problems, they are so strong, their desire to live and the way they communicate. I couldn’t believe outside my hotel down the streets, the restaurant at the side walk is actually a place to rent bicycles in the afternoon.

PROFESSOR INTERVIEWS (CAPUZZO)15 / PALETTE


It means that the same place changes its activity according to the day. And the country is always changing, chang-ing. I cannot imagine, as if the country is nothing yet going on as they move on. If you remove their land, they will still be alive. Saigon I was less impressed because of this western sights.

IT WAS HOW THE WAY THE WESTERN WANTS TO SEE VIETNAM AND WHAT THEY PERCEIVE. Yea, I think that is something abso-lutely sad. That is something quite sad, they follow the alternative cultures and I could not understand.

One thing I really enjoy is that they can have their entire planet on their bicy-cle, they are really carrying the entire planet. A lot of chickens, a lot of ba-bies. What they can do with their bicy-cle, their creativity to transform their bicycle. Sometimes a tiny bicycle with a huge wardrobe! And the delicate bal-ance and go very slow. You can see the country moving slowly in front of you. And I said “Gosh, this is so amazing!”

You cannot see thrash. You can see it’s dirty but there is some cleanli-ness. Some they are repairing motor-cycle, fixing computers, their activities are dirty but you see a lot of cleaning and washing. There is smell, smell of people who work hard. One day I was

my very own eyes. For instance, the only fact that I am doing now, to insert Asian films in my class has already change my view about Asians. The first thing that shocked me is that in my second day of teaching, talking about animation and modernism, talking about UPA, why it was modern. There was huge silent and I start to continue to explain why is it modern. And I wonder why they didn’t get it and one week before it was so easy for me to explain to them. Then I realized what I called modern here, 5000 years ago, China has already did something that is like that, making the stylized designs where we see in manuscripts. I contin-ued the class and explained that what I meant modern was the European way. I started to see smiles.

on the street, it was one day per month, they are celebrating. And I saw so many brides, I captured all of them. It was Saturday morning, they are imitating the same way from the political post-ers. This is the beauty of life, our part of the world has the rule and their idea of beauty is different. It’s different from Las Vegas and Hollywood. I still think that at some point I still have my utopia, I need to believe that mankind is reli-able. I need to see a baby and be happy, not sad about their future. I need to see that baby be able to one day transform our world to a better place.

I’m sure there is environmental prob-lems in Vietnam, but there is this energy and I was transformed by them. They didn’t care about me, I was cap-turing. If we would like to think media to communicate the things, if people are more prone to learn how to format the narrative is to learn how to develop their character. We need to immerse ourselves in this experience, to change ourselves, the way we look at things. After that only we start to think pro-ducing through a medium. Because in this area of diversity, it’s so big and how we can see things through their own eyes. That is something that put myself to complete it, I don’t know how much I will invest in it. But what I am really interested now is to learn again things I thought I already knew through

PROFESSOR INTERVIEWS (CAPUZZO) PALETTE / 16

(Above Image) YES SIR - I AM HERE!, 1918, Illustration Poster, Edward Penfield



– Capuzzo

“Growing up in San Francisco is very rich, is very creative, very open, very experimental.”

ASTRID’S WORKING SPACE IN ADM. LOOKS LIKE ASTRID NEEDS A MUCH BIGGER PIN-BOARD!



ASTRID KENSINGER ALKHLAAFY

We have no television ever, we never eat junk food or processed food, very much against mass media. So the only entertainment is pre-tty much goes to poetry, goes to exhibitions.

ADM Visual CommunicationsAssistant Professor

PROFESSOR INTERVIEWS (ASTRID)

WHERE IS YOUR HOME COUNTRY? HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN STAYING IN SINGAPORE?My home is san francsico, California usa. But I also lived in Tokyo for 11.5 years and London for a year. (and went ‘back east’ for my BA and my MFA).

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE DE-SIGN CULTURE/ART SCENE IN YOUR HOME COUNTRY?Depends on the city. San Francisco is very creative, loads of murals and street art, public art and support for creatives. Silicon valley is close, which means we have Google and Apple and the whole internet boom. The city is also experimental and attracts writ-ers, poets, artists and designers form around the world. It’s an interesting place because it is a hub for the com-puter scene, and also for more experi-mental art. The fusion is fascinating.

IS YOUR FAMILY BACKGROUND INFLUENCE YOU A LOT? BECAUSE YOU’VE MENTIONED LIKE YOUR PAR-ENTS ARE HIPPIES RIGHT?My parents friends are very creative artists, very successful ones. So life as a child was surrounded by art and life was art.

LIFE IS ART?Well, the choices you make, what you do, how you live, what you eat, what you do during the free time, your own decisions, you sculpt for yourselves. It’s easy to fall into patterns, I have to do this. You can also look at it and say “So I have to do it, this time I’m going gardening”. I don’t have a garden but I have a garden at my balcony. Forget about the balcony, I’ll garden my win-dow. Live as it is with what you have, a lot of it is political, a lot of it is per-sonal. You choose to eat specific food you eat, a lot of it is creative. Don’t put processed or garbage in your body ‘cause you don’t know the repurcus-sion along the line.

EVEN UNTIL NOW?I drink this thing (lifting coffee sachet). I usually eat only organic.

HI ASTRID!

PALETTE / 18

WHAT IS YOUR EXPERTISE/ MAJOR? WHERE DID YOU STUDY TO OBTAIN YOUR DEGREE/MASTERS/ PHD?I got my MFA with honors at the Rhode Island School of Design. My thesis ex-plored designed experiences. I looked in to performance and the history of graphic designers using or working in the performance world to commu-nicate and test out their philosophies. I was in Tokyo before RISD and before Tokyo my undergraduate was in Ivy League Women’s school, very acade-mic, studying archeology.

WHAT ABOUT INDIRECT INFLUENCES IN YOUR STYLE?RISD is directly connected to Bauhaus and Basel and Cranbrook and Yale. I mean I was taught by faculty who were either taught by Bauhaus and basel people or went to cranbrook (big in the postmodern scene) or Yale.

DO YOU THINK YOU WERE AFFECTED BY THE CULTURE IN THE COUNTRY WHERE YOU STUDIED?I am influenced by my professors, but they were Dutch, Swiss, Iranian, and American. I am also Influenced by my many years in Tokyo and year in London.

It’s very romantic.”

“I am very interested in history, I always think about the history of the location, where I am at.

SO, WHY DO YOU DECIDED TO MOVE OVER TO RISD TO STUDY GRAPHIC DESIGN?Well I was an art director in Tokyo, very successful. But I reach a point work-ing for the industry and thought of my personal creativity and enrichment has reach a point. Number 1, I think I couldn’t grow very much and number two I was also overseeing many other designers and all of them have a degree in design and I didn’t. So I thought I was a bit insecure, the people I could direct was from art center. I need a degree to justify what I am doing, but at the same time I was teaching typography too at the time being. It’s one of the top design school in Tokyo and I have no credential, just self taught with a big portfolio. I have been teaching on and off since I was 21.

“I love teaching design so there are a lot of reasons I want to do so. One was for personal growth, one was to change my career.”



I love teaching design so there are a lot of reasons I want to do so. One was for personal growth, one was to change my career. I want to have family and working in the design in-dustry as a designer basically you have no life so it’s not possible for women to have a family. I wanted to be a mum. And I want to teach. So I thought I could fuse all these together and give an MFA. And when you are teaching, you are much much more flexible, you get to do your own project, you don’t need to work for the industry and just be able to be around with students. To be a parent is much easier. It’s a well thought out choice.

19 / PALETTE


ARE ANY OF YOUR PROJECTS DIRECTLY INFLUENCED BY OR BASED ON YOUR CULTURE?Sure. I mean I love having my hand evident. I like using the computer as a tool (one of many), I like collabora-tions and performance and participa-toryart. These are things that I picked up through my home… but also from Tokyo. I am also open to trying out and playing with technology and materi-als… I think this comes from San Fran-cisco.

YOU WORK BEFORE IN TOKYO? HOW HAS THIS EXPERIENCE CHANGE YOU?I have no idea! I don’t know what is the alternative of this. I mean I can’t imag-ine I live my life without computer. And probably, I’ve been more used to Asia and being in Asia.

REALLY? I’ve been here since I was 21.

WHAT IS YOUR CHILDHOOD DREAM?I want to be Indiana Jones! I want to travel the world and explore places which I am doing. But I thought I will be doing it as an explorer. I am do-ing the same thing, I go where I want to go, I map, I walk, I explore, I docu-ment and I reflect on the place. It’s ex-actly to what I want to do but i would never have known that if Icould do it as a kid. I mean this is not a job descrip-tion. Be a professor and walk around sacred mountains.

ARE YOU ATTRACTED TO CERTAIN THINGS? A PARTICLE FIELD LIKE NATURE, RELIGION?I am attracted to history. Historical sites, religious sites, pilgrimages sites, I am attracted to places where people are worshipping, what are the extraor-dinary things they do to their gods. I am interested in places that have fes-tivals. I am interested in pedestrian, the walk, the walk itself. I don’t have a car, I don’t have a license. It’s tacky I know, it’s fun to drive, to go on a road trip. If I lived in America I might need one, but I have not been living in America except for RISD in Rhode Island. After RISD, I went over to London. The same week I graduated, there I don’t need a car either. I was teaching in a univer-sity, no need for TV, no need for a car.

SO WHAT DO YOU FIND FASCINATING?I like people get together and express their… what would you call it? Their cu-riosity? Their faith? Their…

SOMETHING UNKNOWN?Yar, yar. Don’t care what particular religion. Some religion I think can get a bit frightening because they want to convert everybody but I like it when people express the poetic. I don’t know what my religion is, probably I believe in people. But I just love it when peo-ple transform into something higher, it’s not just religion. People seems to reach a certain higher level of ex-pression when sometimes they are trying to communicate things that are not likely known. So they build cathe-drals, they build mosques, they build synagogues, they build Borobuddur. It’s amazing expressions. That kind of try to grapple to understand with things that we usually don’t under-stand. It’s amazing. That’s why I like to walk because when you are walking, you are always thinking.

(Above image & next page image) Mapping Caylus: Visualizations of Place and Mind - by Astrid Kensinger AlmkhlaafyExhibition shows typographic and typographic maps and videos of both place and mind, of location and history, of emotions and reac-tions. The works are form thirty days of a summer artist residency and of daily meanders and musings in the village of Caylus, France.


PALETTE / 20

PALETTE / 22



WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE IDENTITY OF SINGAPORE?I wish Singapore would look back more of their history. It’s so interesting to dwell on the tradition and being once a biggest and popular port here. It’s East and West certainly. Location is fantastic, it’s sort of a position for trade, for its success and finances in such a short time. It’s global think-ing, people are generally bilingual or trilingual. I don’t know if there is a lack of identity, but I don’t think it’s true. What is their identity I don’t know because I am not one. There is definite-ly a flavor of Singapore. You don’t need to come out with a unified identity. Like if you grew up in Little India, you have certain identity and flavor.

WHICH COUNTRIES HAVE YOU TRAVELED TO THAT INFLUENCE OR INSPIRE YOUR WORK THE MOST? HOW?Tokyo, London, the Netherlands, Tai-wan, South Korea, China, Indonesia…. All for their sense of identity, their ap-preciation and integration of design at both the grassroot level, the street level up to the city and then national level. These places all understand the power of visual communication. I’ve been to any other countries, but these are the ones that jump out first.

TRAVELING TO SO MANY PLACES, ARE THERE ANY THAT PARTICULAR THAT YOU THINK AS A STUDENT IS A MUST TO VISIT? LET’S SAY FOR ADM STUDENTS.I personally is drawn to places that is very sensual. So places like Kyoto. In a sense that as you walk through the city, the architecture, the fashion, the tea shop, the lifestyle, everything is referencing to the seasons. It’s really interesting a system they put them-selves under. You see Geisha running around with their dress and when you

“If you can, explore Singapore, get to know Singapore, explore the home. It’s a form of travel. Get off the computer, get outside and play!”

get to see the colour you know “oh! it’s spring, it’s summer or it must be April”. Maybe more than Tokyo? Tokyo because the temple, the grid? You become very immerse. It smells good, it sounds good and the dressing, it looks beautiful.

Other maybe Bali? Because of the ar-chitecture, the sound, the smell. These are the places where religion is there, part of their lifestyle. Women have strong society positions somehow they are very presence, not hidden. They are just very sensual location, play with your senses. Smell is very important in Bali and Kyoto. They are incense everywhere, flowers everywhere.

I like Jogja (Jogjakarta), it’s interesting. It’s a bit old old old and tradition but also very contemporary media in their art. There are some really cutting edge media people there in Indonesia.

To understand, how a country could de-fine by design, I would say the Nether-lands? Everything is design, is brand-ed, reflect their attention to design. Is embraced in every level, is amazing!

ANY ADVICE FOR VISCOM STUDENTS? HOW ABOUT STUDENTS FROM OTHER MAJORS?Travel. Backpack. It’s easy to go inex-pensively. Don’t be afraid what’s out there. I’ve been to Indonesia all by my-self when I was 23 for 7 weeks. Alone, completely safe. It’s not dangerous at all. So travel is a big advice, read, know your history, be true to yourself, follow your bliss— these are my advice. You never know where you might end up, you may not be who you think you want to be. But it’s okay, the journey is everything, just be creative about it.

– Astrid

PALETTE / 24

Yar, travel. That’s for everybody!

PROFESSOR INTERVIEWS (KENNETH)25 / PALETTE

“From the commonalities you can find understanding. I per-sonally came in saying I’m open to what it is and I’ll find out what I do and don’t have in common.”

KENNETH’S OFFICE TA-BLE. KENNETH’S KENNY; KENNY’S KENNETH?

PROFESSOR INTERVIEWS (KENNETH) PALETTE / 26

WHERE ARE YOU FROM? I’m from the United States. But American culture is an obscure thing at times. I could say that I’m an Ameri-can citizen but I could also say I grew up in Boston, New York so I don’t know if I’m necessarily American. New York is not the United States. It lives in its own little land. Especially up until Sep-tember 11th if you ask most Americans they’d say New York isn’t America. It’s not Chicago or the Midwest, its New York, where those people are.

DON’T PEOPLE IDENTIFY THEM-SELVES BASED ON THE STATE OR REGION THEY ARE FROM?Some do more than others. It depends on where you’re from, what region. If you ask most people where they’re from, they’ll say the US. If they’re from Texas, they’ll say Texas. You’re a Texan first and an American second.

SO YOU IDENTIFY YOURSELF AS MORE OF A BOSTONIAN?No. The United States, especially the major cities, is a conglomeration of such different cultures that you don’t really see yourself as part of one over-riding model culture. If you get to the Midwest you’re basically either black or white. If you’re white you’re Irish and you’re in a sort of model culture. If you’re in Minnesota you’re prob-ably Swedish, a part of a model cul-ture. This is all sort of absorbed into an overall Anglo Saxon culture.

If you live in a major city like Boston, New York, Philadelphia, LA, Chicago then you grow up in neighborhoods. I used to work for a guy, a really great graphic designer. He has been the art director for Encyclopedia Britannica for years that has now stopped publish-ing. If I tell a New Yorker that he grew up in Bensonhurst they will know ex-actly what his background is ethnically. He grew up in Bensonhurst so he is therefore obviously Italian. My father’s parents were from the lower east side in the early twentieth century there-fore they are Eastern European Jews. They are obviously not Irish because the Irish lived in a different neighbor-hood. If I said they’re from Chinatown, they’re Cantonese. It becomes that ob-vious. You can look at the development of things like American music culture. I lived on the lower east side, which was Ukrainian. But it was right next door to the Puerto Rican neighborhood so you have a mix of both cultures. The American urban culture is a mix of all

these different links. But from where I’m coming from, being part of the Jewish culture, we all also see our-selves as being part of a worldwide Jewish culture. My grandparents were from different parts of Eastern Europe. They grew up in an Eastern European ghetto. There are still lots of connections. We have the history of the holocaust that ties us together as a group. We have a tieback to Eu-rope, all over. I have relatives all over that I know of, in France, Lithuania, Po-land, Ukraine, and Israel. What about the ones I don’t know? My family has more of a rootless culture than most Americans. I know American art but there’s also the European contempo-rary tradition.

The idea of American culture is not particularly tied to the United States. For example, I’ve only ever really had a contract with one gallery. I’ve workedwith people off and on but only with one gallery on a contract. That was

KENNETH FEINSTEINI’m from the United States. But American culture is an obscure thing at times. I could say that I’m an Ameri-can citizen but I could also say I grew up in Boston, New York so I don’t know if I’m necessarily American.

ADM Interactive MediaAssistant Professor


in Berlin. So the only place that I can say my work has been really exhib-ited by the gallery that represented me is Germany. It’s not like “I’m Ital-ian therefore everything I think about is only about the Italian tradition”. Part of it is western art history. The west-ern art tradition is more cosmopoli-tan anyway. If you look at Paris in the 1920’s and the great artists who were there – there’s Picasso. He wasn’t even a French citizen. He grew up in Spain. Max Ernst is German. After Paris stopped being the centre it became New York. The French and the Rus-sians came to New York, and the Ger-mans and the English. It had this cos-mopolitan thing of everybody mixing together especially if you’re in the arts. You’re in a greater western tradition; there isn’t necessarily a local tradition. The localness of stuff may be a more specific issue but you know that you’re fitting into a greater tradition. Anyone dealing with contemporary art has to be aware of it. You’re conscious of be-ing part of a cosmopolitan tradition. The culture I grew up in, there was an urban culture and also a Jewish cul-ture in which not everyone who I grew up around from my parents generation was from the United States originally. We have an understanding of a greater world whereas other people who have

been growing up in very small towns like in the Midwest had to come to places like New York to discover that. I already grew up with the idea of that. I know people who grew up in Latvia, in Poland, and they all have dif-ferent kinds of strange stories. There is a greater world but the concept that held us all together was that we were part of this Jewish culture. We were held together by something greater than a regional culture. It has its own variations and changes. I grew up in a time that was kind of at the end of a process that my parents’ gen-eration had, which was a process of simulation into the greater white cul-ture. That means there were elements of our culture being absorbed into the dominant white culture. It was a cul-ture where we still saw ourselves as outsiders, maybe being allowed in but not being comfortable with the idea of being inside. That relationship to culture is a very different kind of re-lationship to culture. There’s an un-derstanding of what the dominant American culture is. The most obvious way you see it where I come from in American culture is twentieth century American comedy. The Three Stooges, Woody Allen, Jon Stewart, the Marx brothers. They’re all about looking in and being out.

WHAT ABOUT SOUTH ASIA? WHAT DRAWS YOU TO SINGAPORE OUT OF ALL THE COUNTRIES AND CULTURES?Honestly, what brought me here is that I was offered a job here. When they originally set up a committee to cre-ate an art school that would be at ADM to find the vision of what it was, the person that was offered the posi-tion to be the head of the school was my boss back in New York. After a cou-ple of interviews they decided to hire me. In that sense it was the idea of a job that got me here, but that has very little to do with what the experience of being here is.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF OUR “FLAVOR”? WAS THIS YOUR FIRST CONTACT WITH SOUTHEAST ASIA?It is the first time I’ve lived in South-east Asia but I’ve spent time in a bunch of different places. In Indonesia it was mainly Jakarta. I have friends working in media there. I know a lot of people in Manila too.

WAS IT HARD FOR YOU TO ADAPT TO SINGAPOREAN CULTURE WHEN YOU FIRST CAME?No. There are three ways you can come to a place – you can come in saying I know everything about it and what is right and what isn’t. You can come in saying I have no idea what’s go-ing on. Or you can come in saying this place is whatever it is and the only way I’m going to understand what it is is not by saying it’s strange and exotic, but by asking what is it that is similar to what I know. From the commonalities you can find understanding. I personally came in saying I’m open to what it is and I’ll find out what I do and don’t have in common.

“Singlish is not part of my language. On the other hand,I wish I could speak it because it has a musical flow and quality to it, I wish I could do that but I can’t.”

The Image That Doesn’t Want to be Seen, Publication by Kenneth Feinstein

WHAT DID YOU FIND YOU HAVE IN COMMON AND WHAT IS DIFFERENT?Some things about Singaporean cul-ture can be understood out of the Brit-ish tradition. There are some things that I learn about Chinese families that are very different from Jewish families. I meet people, I get to know them, and they get to know me. If we get along we start to learn about each other and you figure it out that way. If you live in a place long enough hopefully you’ll take the time to understand it – the culture, the politics. There are still things that confound me about Singapore. That’s just part of living anywhere. I also make comparisons to where I’ve lived before but that does not mean the US is the best and whatever you compare it to is always inferior. It is just a meas-urement system. For example, if I look at the HDB system in Singapore of the government financing money to give the middle class a form of housing; and compare that to the projects in the United States which initially attempted to be that but ultimately became lower income housing, I can make a com-parison. The conclusion is that the HDB system is definitely superior. Peo-ple are not homeless here. They have decent quality homes. Comparison doesn’t have to be one sided, one-way or the other. I’m not coming in saying I’m a westerner and so I know better and I’m superior.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE ART SCENE HERE?I find the art scene here very interest-ing. There are a lot of good artists and people doing great work. But show me a place where that isn’t true. I like it here; I don’t have any big problems. I don’t find that every chance that I get I have to go back to Europe or the Unit-ed States. I have a lot of friends; I like what’s going on. I don’t see any prob-lem. There’s an interesting art scene going on.

I was teaching when I was back in New York and there has always been a large Asian student population so it isn’t something completely new. Some peo-ple have a certain place in the world that they gravitate to. Singapore isn’t completely alien for me. It isn’t exotic, it’s just human. Exotic tends to say that it’s not human. For the most part, most of the people I’ve met here have been human! There have been plenty of things that have been difficult but they haven’t been specifically because I’m in Southeast Asia.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TEMPTED TO SPEAK IN SINGLISH? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF IT?No. It’s great but it is foreign to me. I would never attempt to talk to peo-ple in Singlish because it isn’t natural to me so it might appear condescend-ing and that’s not something I want to do. One of the things that really scares me is going native. I am who I am, we meet as equals. I don’t want to pre-tend I am what you are and I’ve had the same experiences that you have when I haven’t. Nor do I want to seem like I’m reaching down from a better place. The only way for me to deal with some-one in a way that is truly authentic is to acknowledge who I am and ac-knowledge who they are but not by pretending to be part of their culture. It will come off as condescending. Sin-glish is not part of my language. On the other hand, I wish I could speak it be-cause it has a musical flow and quality to it, I wish I could do that but I can’t. Over the years I’ve started to under-stand the phrases. You have to know more than that though to start speak-ing it. It has to be natural.

PALETTAE / 28


Speaker, 2006

“The philosophy that I write about is primarily grounded in photography – taking things about new media and ethics from the perspective of the camera as the new media object.”

forms of photography and then those things started to move in time and so I moved into video. Then they moved into being projected in places so it was more environmentally oriented. As they become environmentally oriented then they may need to consider where they are and how people do things.

They’re all grounded in photography as opposed to cinematography. In all of the video work I’ve ever done, I don’t think there’s ever been a pan or zoom in anything I’ve done. It comes from different ways of approaching a pho-tograph aesthetic. The philosophy that I write about is primarily grounded in photography – taking things about new media and ethics from the perspective of the camera as the new media object. I guess I could say it is the aesthetic component that holds everything to-gether.

WHAT ABOUT YOUR WORKS? HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THEM?That’s difficult. There are a couple of different directions of practice that I’ve done. My practice is complicated. Also it’s complicated because part of my practice is also a little bit clos-er to just being hardcore philosophy. So that’s purely theoretical. It relates to things like the making of images but it’s not the same as say, Lucy writing about art criticism. She’s writing about certain issues in the arts but what I’m writing about touches on image making but not necessarily the arts. So that’s one kind of practice.

The artworks that I do may have some places that they touch but they are more distinct and separate than what most of what other people are do-ing. I know where my influences are. I’ve done a lot of video work. I started out with documentary filmmaking and photography. I then abandoned documentary filmmaking and focused on photography. At a very early point I abandoned traditional photography and went to collage and non-traditional


Big Man, 2006


Yogya Afternoon, 2012


YOU’VE TAUGHT IN NEW YORK AS WELL AS HERE. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT ADM STUDENTS?I taught at the School of Visual Arts and Parsons. I taught the MFA program at the school of Visual Arts. I’d say that American students come in with more background. They’ve seen more shows and been to museums, they have more experience and exposure. The student body was smaller. Parsons at one point had a lot of Japanese students. There were people from all over the place – Korea, Japan, South America.

ADM students work a lot harder. When it comes to the quality of student work that I see here compared to Parsons and the School of Visual Arts... You guys come in knowing nothing and come out equal if not better in the long run. You work harder. Some people go to school in New York just because it’s a great place to live. The quality of what you guys put out is phenomenal. The aver-age work that I see coming out of every department here is certainly equivalent to Parsons. You come in knowing noth-ing, which is bad in some ways and good

ways and good in others. You come in with a blank slate so you can start from scratch. School here in Singapore for the most part teaches you to look at the world in a bunch of little boxes. You don’t take something from Math class and try to apply it to history. This is a problem for us as teachers. You’ve been trained to keep things very sepa-rate, so the first three years is spent just trying to break that down, hope-fully by FYP. That’s probably the most negative thing. You’ve been trained to think a certain way. By coming here you’re a little more open to put-ting things together and self-selecting exceptions to the rule. This is true of art school anywhere in the world but it is especially true here because of what you’ve been taught. I’ve shown work from here to other people. I have a friend in the UK who I sent the cata-logues to of the two ADM shows and he was very impressed. He’s been teaching arts in the UK for a long time and he was very, very impressed.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR ADM STUDENTS?Go to shows! You guys don’t go to enough gallery shows and museums. You should all take a tour of the Mu-seum of Modern Art in New York. Look at things; see what’s out there. Read books. Go see some live music.

HOW CAN WE DEVELOP OUR OWN CULTURE? People and especially governments are so concerned with trying to create their own culture, they need to stop and just do, make things without worrying about it and it will happen. To a certain extent, I think American art culture has been that away up until abstract impressionism. Culture develops from the confidence of not having to look over your shoulder. At a certain point you have to stop worrying, just make what you make, and you start to an-swer your questions already. Already you have politically and culturally the issue of claiming to be multi cultural in a way that is actually always trying to make sure you are a bunch of differ-ent cultures that keep away from each other. This is a politically based issue. When you stop talking about this stuff and just do it, it just happens. People don’t need to worry about what it is to be Singaporean once they just are Sin-gaporean.

– Kenneth

“I am no more the traditional Korean, I’m not the Westerner to be. I’m a fusion of it, both ways influence my thinking and also shape my practice.”

LOOK AT ALL THOSE BOOKS ON THE SHELVES! SOON-HWA’S COLLECTIONS.


PROFESSOR INTERVIEWS (SOON-HWA)

OH SOON- HWA

ADM Digital PhotographyAssociate Professor

HI SOON-HWA!

IS IT POPULAR FOR PEOPLE TO GO INTO THE ARTS? WHAT IS THE ART SCENE IN KOREA THAT TIME?At that time it was limited, but after 10 years, it was like a boom. A lot of artist they study art in Korea and they went overseas, it was very traditional and in some ways very Eurocentric. So Korea was very quiet like up to 1990’s and then all of a sudden, more Koreans’ artists went overseas. It deals a lot with the politics, as you know. So a lot of them went to overseas, a lot went to Europe, New York and those artists still come back to Korea after that. And it’s very interesting because they are trained in Korea and also overseas. Coming back with the new things that they’ve learnt overseas; and with our own culture, they are able to create something that was unique. That become an interest-ing platform.

SO WHAT IS THE KOREA CULTURE THAT IS INFLUENCING IN ARTIST’S WORKS, PARTICULARLY IN YOUR WORK?My works are very feministic. Growing up in a certain region, there is certain gender issues, gender roles - what men and women should do or should not do.

It is a sort of a traditional idea but it is still part of my culture, in Asian cultures. I came from a generation where a lot of female unborn babies were aborted. If a family has a girl, they will abort it because of the preference for baby boys. Yes, I came from such a bias culture towards the preference of boys, where females have not much a say. So I went to the States with that tra-ditional way of thinking from my culture that women are not supposed to speak up for themselves or express their opinions even though nobody in the States restricted me. I sort of felt that it’s not my place and also not being en-couraged to think that my opinions are equally important.

In the States, it’s very different from Asia where I came from. America had been through that stage for 30 years before, much earlier than Korea. That became an eye opener. I studied the philosophy of feminist theory and even psychology studies that really indi-cates the male and female differences in terms of reasoning. That becomes quite an influence for most of my own artworks. So I started looking at the is-sues of women and basically my pho-tography works goes quite closely with these issues.

Photography is not just about taking pictures of what you see, but also how you reveal the complexity of some of the under-neath reality.


PALETTE / 34


(Above image) The front page of Soon-Hwa’s website – www.soonhwaphoto.com

“Because photography is not also about just the message, but also the sensitivity.”

35 / PALETTE

SO IT’S BOTH KOREA AND U.S. THAT INFLUENCE YOU? KOREA IS MORE LIKE WHERE YOU ARE COMING FROM, U.S. IS MORE LIKE INFLUENC-ING YOU IN THE LATER WITH ISSUES AND THEORIES OF FEMINISM AND THE ART SCENE?It is also more of how do you convey an issue through the photography medium. Photography is not just tak-ing pictures of what you see, but also how you reveal the complexity of some of the underneath reality. So how do you use the medium to explore it? For me it works well because it deals with the sociological and psychological is-sues. Painting was a bit too abstract for me. When I get to know the photog-raphy medium, it was a great potential to me. The fusion between my culture in Korea and as a Korean being in over-seas. My husband who is a French, in our daily lifes with our different ap-proaches, he observes carefully how I react to certain things, so that be-comes another way of getting to know a person. I am no more the traditional Korean, I’m not the Westerner to be. It’s a fusion of it, both ways influence my thinking and also shape my practice.

THAT’S BECAUSE IS A ASIAN COUNTRY?That’s one thing. Is like you’re com-ing back to your comfort zone but in someways the working place is pret-ty much western oriented. The system is very transparent and there is a place to speak up. In Korea I can still feel the cultural pressure that exist.

IS AN UNSPOKEN ONE?Yes, but here(Singapore) still is a for-eign country but I can be my new self and express it. That’s why is a perfect place. I understand the culture close to my culture because my family has close connection to China. I have been traveling to China in the past 10 years.

WERE YOUR PARENTS FROM CHINA?No, my father used to have a business before China really open up, like in mid 90’s till 2005, I came to China every year a couple times. So I feel like I can connect and understand the education system because I went through the Korean education, which is Asian edu-cation. In somewhere which is spoon feeding and competitive. Singapore is a bit different but Korea now is improving. I think we came from the same root be-cause education has beame the meth-od to get the country going forward and running in terms of economy and po-litical situation.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT OUR ART SCENE?In photo sense, when I first came it was hard for me to even find a job as a part time lecturer. I was new and will try to go everywhere photo related, try to look for other colleagues, other col-leagues to work with me. For me it is important to have the local and inter-national balance. There are the con-nections to our students. I understand something that I don’t understand in the past. So I also rely heavily on them. Now we have a lot Singaporeans who went overseas and came back. They are like another me, like Korea. They have been exposed and under-stood about the local art scene and learnt from from the international art scene. Coming together and work-ing together, it makes great dynamic here. For photo scene has been slowly

changing. Some of my students went overseas and they are coming back, some are already back. They are now becoming the new generation of our artist. So it’s becoming more vibrant and dynamic. It’s expanding and more rich. It’s catching up very much. Any kinds of work student make here are the works any student will make in New York or in London. Photo program has a program to take our students to overseas and also putting overseas students to come over to ADM. So every year we have oversea faculty coming to critique all our student’s work. It’s hap-pening every April or May. Last year we had a professor from School of Visual Art, Charles Traub.

LAST YEAR, YOU HAVE INVITED CHIEN CHI-CHANG OVER. HE IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE PHOTOGRAPHER! Yar! Chien Chi was another guy I get to know in New York. He’s a friend of mine. It’s important because it’s pho-to history. If you are not going to devel-op your own, no one is going to develop history for you. So we have to develop our own Singapore photographer and give important teachings to them so that they will become international photographer also. International rec-ognition is not given by international community only, but it is also we devel-op them, we push these artist. We now have international art festival, we have ADM, we have strong intelligent photo community members which is quite nice. Our works become more fun and more internationally recognized. When Chien Chi Chang came, he love it and that’s important because when he goes outside he will talk about us. When you say photography he would say ADM. Charles Traub who is MFA chairper-son in photography department in New York, who is most influential photo fig-ure in the United States. He saw the works and immediately offer scholar-ship to our students. That’s indication that our student’s work is good.

I feel like home in Singapore!


“We have a few students going for MFA program right away. They don’t seem to have problem to get into top graduate school.”

PROFES-SORS INTER-VIEWS: WORLDVIEW

PALETTE / 36


#13 The ship, 170x100 cm, Archival inkjet print, 2012 #3 Walking on the beach, 170x100 cm, Archival inkjet print, 2012

#5 Rice field, 170x100 cm, Archival inkjet print, 2012

#2 From the highway, 170x100 cm, Archival inkjet print, 2012

37 / PALETTE


EXCLUSIVE NEW WORKS BY SOON-HWA!

Title of this series of work:Quiet

#1 House by water 170x100 cm, Archival inkjet print, 2012


PALETTE / 38

I THINK LIKE SOME OF THE CON-CERNS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE IN-TERESTED IN PHOTOGRAPHY IS LIKE YOUR INITIAL CONCERN — CAN YOU MAKE A LIVING OUT OF IT. SO ANY ADVICE FOR THESE PEOPLE OR THOSE WHO ARE ALREADY IN THE PHOTOGRAPHY FIELD?I tell you the truth, there is no full time job for you as a photographer. If you think about, we need image more than ever right? If you are looking at to be employed for full time photography job, that is not a smart idea. But if you develop your own studio, that’s a great idea. Photography is not just about developing still images, we are also doing moving images and sound. That is where we are going to invest more in it and prepare student. Peo-ple think of event photography only at first, but that is just a simple mean of doing it. Photography can be devel-oped into research based project and it can be approached as documentary, photojournalistic, fashion and com-mercial. So some of our students they have their own business, they gathered together running a company.

WHAT DO YOU THINK SO FAR AS A PHOTOGRAPHER, A LECTURER, IT HAS CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE? HOW MUCH PHOTOGRAPHY HAS INFLUENCE YOU?Photography is my life. My life has been shifted around. Once I began to know photography as a medium, it became a world, a small world to me. I also see the power of photographic image. Now I am working on a book with the minister of affair in Tunisia. So we are working on the photo, image and poli-tics, power. Photo, woman, politics and woman in Asia and Middle East. We are now working on the photographic im-age, thinking how to show the public empower the woman and showing the women’s situation.

Now is more like a the power of the image, the politics around the image, the power to change or to evoke sensi-tivity. If you look at it this way, photog-raphy is not a small area, it encompass many different fields. So it can connect to different disciplinary like psychol-ogy, sociology, philosophy, politics, engineering in somewhere. The things we printed on are no longer on paper, we print on aluminum, glass and we make 3d images. So the area is able to expand into different directions. So that’s the common misconception of photography in Singapore.

I THINK NTU ADM STUDENTS ARE VERY BLESSED. WE HAVE PROFES-SORS FROM EVERYWHERE AND WE GET A WHOLE BIG SPECTRUM FROM EVERYWHERE. SO WHAT DO YOU THINK?I start to see that students they make statements through their works about Singapore and it is as if ADM is a pio-neering ground for these. Yes, we like to bring that in, not just journalistic way, but also way of debating, how the other audience can relate to it.



Photography has changed and now it’s more of how you use photography image to speak. That’s why I think my role to play is to think how to push the medium, where to draw the boundary and what else can we do with the pho-tographic image. It can be very differ-ent. I was engaged with the computer scientist to develop computer soft-ware and to engage to politicians, how to use photographic image to reshape and rebrand the image of woman and empowering it. So photography is not only picture taking, how to shoot food, a kind of fashion, but how you juxtapose certain image to convey your message. That is the power of photography, not the actual photo taking.

I KNOW CERTAIN IMAGES EVOKES CERTAIN EMOTIONS AND FEELING, BUT IT IS UNSPOKEN AND YOU JUST FIND IT STRANGE THAT AS IT HAS A MESSAGE.Yes, that is what I want our students to get it. It is not about who can shoot fast, who can make beautiful prints, but what these prints are going to do to the audience and what image can con-vey certain sensitivity and aware of it. Because photography is not also about just the message, but also the sensitiv-ity. Like when you see something beau-tiful, you feel it. That is very important as like straight forward delivering message. Photography these days has expanding into many things like digital painting, designing, graphics and ty-pography. It’s no longer an area where you take picture and be a commercial photographer like an event photogra-pher. That is a very narrow view of it.

39 / PALETTE




“What we really want to convey is that photography is not only for making a living; but about using photography for intellectual debate.”

– Soon- Hwa

PROFES-SORS INTER-VIEWS: WORLD VIEWSo we hope that we can reveal

the complexity through photographic way of thinking.

PALETTE / 40

THE KOREAN LANGUAGE

Modern Korean is written with spaces between words, a feature not found in Chinese or Japanese. Korean punctuation marks are almost identical to Western ones. Traditionally, Korean was written in col-umns, from top to bottom, right to left, but is now usually written in rows, from left to right, top to bottom.

Graphical play: Lines and circlesFont: Nanum Gothic Displayed words: Hello / 안녕하세요

INTER-NATIONAL INFU-SION

Still Life #2, Oil on wooden panels, 2012

Adm is filled with outstand-ing talent. Does culture play a part in inspiring our stu-dent’s works? Lets take a look!

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INTERNATIONAL INFUSION

HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR CULTURE HAS INFLUENCED YOUR WORK?My culture doesn’t have much of an influence on my work, not that i can think of anyway.

DO YOU FEEL AT HOME IN SINGAPORE?I do, actually. I really enjoy the independent life-style I have here and after almost three years of living in Singapore, I can say that it’s prettymuch my second home.

DO YOU FEEL AT HOME IN ADM?I have a bunch of great friends that make ADM feel like home to me. Besides, I spend so much time here doing work, that in a way it is my home already! This year’s student club is also doing a great job in building the school spirit; ADM’s student body is in good hands.

DO YOU THINK NOT BEING A LOCAL STUDENT IS AN ADVANTAGE OR A DISADVANTAGE E.G. IN YOUR DESIGN WORKS?I don’t think being an international student affects the evaluation of my work in any way. The only downside I can think of is that international students are not usually eligible for design/ art competitions and sometimes even festivals.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES YOU HAVE FACED?I’m happy to say I haven’t experienced any dif-ficulty that any other student, local or interna-tional, hasn’t already faced in this school.

WHAT ARE SOME PROBLEMS YOU HAVE FACED IN YOUR DESIGN WORK BECAUSE OF YOUR NATIONALITY AND THE CULTURAL DIFFER-ENCES?None.

IF YOU COULD LIVE AND WORK ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? WHY?Every since I was fifteen it has been my dream to work in the film industry, and Hollywood has always been my dream destination.

I’ve always been partial to California in general; I love the lifestyle, the weather and the people there. It would be great if I could work and live there one day.

KIMBERLY HUANG

/ FROM: PHILLIPINES/ MAJOR: ANIMATION/ ADM 3RD YEAR


PALETTE / 44

Some screenshots of the interactive flash project.Based on an imaginary hut in the forest. The visitors will be able to explore different parts of the house, revealing and also interacting with the objects within the house as they navigate through.

INTER-NATIONALINFU-SION

45 / PALETTE




APRILELLA LIANG

/ From: Malaysia/ Major: Interactive Media/ ADM 3rd Year


WHAT ARE SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES YOU HAVE FACED?A place to stay! As we all know that, we have to work very hard in order to get a place in NTU hostel. Every start of a new academic year, I have to worry about the allocation. The extra commit-ment is very tiring for ADM students because we always have a lot of work to do. Renting a room outside campus is not a good option for me because the rental is high and also liv-ing with a landlord is just not as comfortable as staying in the school’s hostel.

WHAT ARE SOME PROBLEMS YOU HAVE FACED IN YOUR DESIGN WORK BECAUSE OF YOUR NATIONALITY AND THE CULTURAL DIF-FERENCES?Do not really have any problems.

IF YOU COULD LIVE AND WORK ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? WHY?The United States. Because it has a lot of cul-tures and many of the popular culture begins from there. I feel that the US might be a good place for me to find new inspirations after stay-ing in the same place for too long.

HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR CULTURE HAS INFLUENCED YOUR WORK?Finishing works as soon as possible and prefer to finish work earlier than the deadline. There-fore, I like to start and plan my work earlier, as my culture taught me that I will be screwed badly if I can’t finish it on time and it is always good to start earlier.

DO YOU FEEL AT HOME IN SINGAPORE?Yes, I came here five years ago, so I definite-ly feel at home in Singapore and the culture is kind of similar back in Malaysia.

DO YOU FEEL AT HOME IN SINGAPORE?Depend on who I’m spending time with, I feel more at ease when my close friends are around me.

DO YOU THINK NOT BEING A LOCAL STUDENT IS AN ADVANTAGE OR A DISADVANTAGE E.G. IN YOUR DESIGN WORKS?I think nationality is not a big issue in arts, I don’t think there is any disadvantage. Advan-tage? Yes! I feel that I know more about the culture of other races because spent five years studying in Malay school back in my home-town. Having quite a number of close friends in school, who were not Chinese, I got to know more about Indian and Malay culture. There-fore, I feel that it does help me to have more


PALETTE / 46

VEDANT GUPTA


/ From: India/ Major: Visual Communications/ ADM 2nd Year

(Left Image) Grace in woman has more effect than beauty, Illustration, 2012

HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR CULTURE HAS INFLUENCED YOUR WORK?Whether we realize it or not, culture does in-fluence the style, notions and preferences of a designer (fasion/ graphic/ interior). I am no different here. My approachis feeling-based.

DO YOU FEEL AT HOME IN SINGAPORE?Not really.

DO YOU THINK NOT BEING A LOCAL STUDENT IS AN ADVANTAGE OR A DISADVANTAGE E.G. IN YOUR DESIGN WORKS?I take it as an advantage. Since I am from a dif-ferent culture; I have something new to learn from my peers and teachers here. I feel an in-tercultural influence might make my work dif-ferent.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES YOU HAVE FACED?What I have notices here in ADM is that the teachings focus on training your thought pro-cess and approach to a design problem. Very little attention is given to the technical aspect (in Visual Communications). I am not really sure how it is for students from other ADM majors.

WHAT ARE SOME PROBLEMS YOU HAVE FACED IN YOUR DESIGN WORK BECAUSE OF YOUR NATIONALITY AND THE CULTURAL DIF-FERENCES?Not problems exactly, but a disadvantage. Local students have a stronger backgrounf in the field (along with some work experience) due to the education system here which al-lows them to take up design at an earlier stage. On the contrary, our education system in India does not offer design as a part of its curriculum or specialization for students in high school.

IF YOU COULD LIVE AND WORK ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? WHY?I would not want to settle down in a particular part of the world. I would want to change base every few years.



47 / PALETTE

LAM NU LIEN MINH


HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR CULTURE HAS INFLUENCED YOUR WORK?This is what I feel for most, I understand most, I love most, I am most proud of. It’s inside my blood. Hence, if there is any design brief re-garding culture, my country’s culture is the ini-tial thing I think of.

DO YOU FEEL AT HOME IN SINGAPORE?Of course, initially I did not. However, Singapore is no longer as tedious as it used to be to me.

DO YOU FEEL AT HOME IN ADM?At first, I felt very lost and isolated in ADM. This feeling lasted for around two years. However, I encouraged myself, believing that the situ-ation would get better, as long as I gets along well with some close friends who never regret-ted spending their time sharing with me. It is great that at the moment, I can tell myself that I will miss ADM like crazy once I graduate, al-though the community integration challenge has not yet completely been surpassed.

DO YOU THINK NOT BEING A LOCAL STUDENT IS AN ADVANTAGE OR A DISADVANTAGE E.G. IN YOUR DESIGN WORKS?Personally, I think is it a disadvantage. The first adversary comes from the friendship zone. Most ADMers are Singaporeans and not a large pro-portion of classmates are enthusiastic about international students. Hence, if a foreign stu-dent come across with a project that needs more than one specialized discipline ability, it will be hard for him or her to ask for help from other friends. This results, perhaps, partly from the individualism culture in Singapore as well as the fact that people are too busy to help any-body else. However, I have encountered some cases where works were implemented in a tre-mendously professional way due to others’ as-sistance and I’m really grateful aboutit.

Secondly, we hardly have direct support, both physical and sentimental, from parents and relatives if we are in need. For example, I had group work for a typography project in which we need to set up a huge swing. The parents of one of my group members offered incredible help with logistics and swing construction. If this was my personal project, the idea would have never been implemented. But if I had done this at home, I know that my parents would have done the same for me.

Thirdly, there is the limitation of financial budget and its accompanied consequences. I guess most of you understand this issue. Lastly, it has taken some time for me to understand the aes-thetic trends in Singapore and what kind of de-signs will appeal people in here.

There are alot of difficulties. However, the situ-ation is not that bad. My complaints are not aimed to discourage any other international students from studying in ADM. I believe these sort of challenges are faced by any overseas student, even Singaporeans going abroad. I promised myself that I would accept all these difficulties which are also a part of my learn-ing; occasionally train my design thinking, pro-voking my attempt for creative solutions within such constraints.

WHAT ARE SOME PROBLEMS YOU HAVE FACED IN YOUR DESIGN WORK BECAUSE OF YOUR NATIONALITY AND THE CULTURAL DIF-FERENCES?If I do any work related to my indigenous culture, not all the professors understand what I am try-ing to communicate to the audience. The look of a foreigner towards any country is not aligned with the perspective of that country’s native people. Despite these misunderstandings, I have been really encouraged to be creative with my personal unique local experiences, as most of the professors, I guess, wants to see the di-versity of designs strived from abundant culture backdrops.

IF YOU COULD LIVE AND WORK ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? WHY?I am still not sure. If i have the opportunity, I would want to experience living and working in as many different countries as possible. The dif-ferent environments among the countries attract my curiosity. Maybe when I reach the age of 30,I will think of settling down in one of the coun-tries that I liked the most among my previous voyage experiences.


49 / PALETTE

INTER-NATIONAL

Graphic Design Project in 2011Traditional Festical Promotional CampaignFull-moon festival celebration in Hoi An – an acient town in Vietnam with all of its miracle secrets charac-terizing a full moon occasion.


INTER-NATIONAL

/ From: Vietnam/ Major: Visual Communications/ ADM 4th Year


PALETTE / 50

The Runners Series, Jo, Under Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim, 1/10 series of images.About Singaporean youth running throughout various locations in Singapore. They are a celebration of the Singaporean landscape.


INTER-NA-TIONAL INFU-SION

51 / PALETTE

JONATHAN TAN

/ From: China (14 years)/ Major: Photography/ ADM 3rd Year


HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR CULTURE HAS IN-FLUENCED YOUR WORK?The biggest takeaway was to experience anoth-er culture from my own. It gave me the aware-ness that I am just a small part of what makes up the world.

DO YOU FEEL AT HOME IN SINGAPORE?Yes, I think I can say I do now. This wasn’t always the case though.

DO YOU FEEL AT HOME IN SINGAPORE?Yes, I feel at home in ADM. I like my peers and we’re blessed to have access to great equip-ments.

DO YOU THINK NOT BEING A LOCAL STUDENT IS AN ADVANTAGE OR A DISADVANTAGE E.G. IN YOUR DESIGN WORKS?Well it depends on what you choose to dwell on. But it has taught me to related to different types of people and I find it less intimidating to do so.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES YOU HAVE FACED?I think army pretty much prepared me for what-ever I was going to experience in ADM, minus

WHAT ARE SOME PROBLEMS YOU HAVE FACED IN YOUR DESIGN WORK BECAUSE OF YOUR NATIONALITY AND THE CULTURAL DIF-FERENCES?It was more of a language problem at first be-cause I couldn’t understand dialects. I’m still not totally sure what the hawker uncle says sometimes but I manage enough to order my food!

IF YOU COULD LIVE AND WORK ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? WHY?I used to hate the idea of living in Singapore because everything was so controlled. There seemed to be rules and regulations for every-thing. But I’m starting to come to terms with that. It’s a great place to live, so I’m happy with Singapore. But I will travel to other countries in order to make the work that I do. I’m inter-ested in China and Japan in particular.

INTER-NA-TIONAL INFU-SION

PALETTE / 52

THE JAPANESE LANGUAGE

Japanese is an agglutinative language and a mora-timed language. It has a relatively small sound inventory, and a lexically significant pitch-accent system. It is distinguished by a com-lex system of honorifics reflecting the nature of Japanese society, with verb forms and particular vocabulary to indicate the relative status of the speaker, the listener, and persons mentioned in conversation. Japanese vowels are pure.

Graphical play: the interesting swirls and curvesFont: Hiragino Mincho ProDisplayed words: Good Morning / おはようございます

STUDENT INTER-VIEW: CROSS CONNEC-TION

55 / PALETTE CROSS CONNECTION

STUDENT INTER-VIEW: CROSS CONNEC-TION Art truly brings people together.

And that’s exactly what happens here at adm. For this issue, we spotlight on two students of mixed descent that we could only beg to dream of.

CROSS CONNECTION PALETTE / 56

LYNN YANG WOLF/ Major: Digital Filmmaking/ ADM 3rd Year

The half-German half-Burmese beauty is definitely easy on the eyes. Much to our surprise, she actually prefers to be behind the camera lens more than be in the limelight. Spot her around ADM if you can.

Image courtesy of Lynn Yang Wolf

57 / PALETTE CROSS CONNECTION


“I tend to emphasize on life, love and death, more universal topics that I feel are relatable to viewers rather than where I came from.”

WHAT LANGUAGE DO YOU USE TO SPEAK AT HOME?Mainly English, but sometimes my Mom speaks Mandarin and Burmese (espe-cially when she’s scolding us). My Dad isn’t so fond of speaking German.

HOW DIFFERENT IS YOUR UPBRING-ING COMPARED TO THOSE WHOSE FAMILIES ARE ALL FROM THE SAME COUNTRY?I was taught to be more adaptable and less judgemental. You’re pretty much a loner when it comes to culture differ-ences with people of the same coun-try because they will never see you as one of them. People in Singapore think I’m “ang moh” even though I grew up in Asia my whole life and don’t have any German connections – but people don’t see that. You definitely stand out a lot more.

HOW HAS YOUR WORK BENEFITED FROM THIS MIX?I actually try to stay away from cultural topics when it comes to my artwork. My work represents what I feel or what moves me, and being exposed to many cultures makes one feel that it’s normal. I tend to emphasize on life, love and death, more universal topics that I feel are relatable to viewers rather than where I came from.

WAS THERE ANY NEGATIVE INFLU-ENCES?I guess when you come from so many different cultures you don’t feel that nationality/ race is important. This can be very confusing and so I focus more on myself as a person, not as my nation-ality. This results in me not really being patriotic to a certain style or tradition; instead I feel like a citizen of the world. My artwork tends to show that by being completely different everytime. I guess I can’t find my style till I find myself first.

Image courtesy of Lynn Yang Wolf

CROSS CONNECTION PALETTE / 58


HEY LYNN! DO TELL US AOUT YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR MIXED CULTURE.My Dad is German and my Mom is Burmese, but I grew up in Hong Kong. Everyone in my family has trav-elled and lived in different countries (much so) that we’re all a muddle of races and cultures. Even the food we eat at home is usually a mix of West-ern and Asian. I think it is interesting to see how my parents raise my siblings and I by meeting in-between the East and the West. The German side says I am supposed to leave home by 18 but the Burmese side says I can visit anytime. It is also funny how people can never guess where I come from.

Image courtesy of Phoebe Imeunbee & Loh Voon Yew Terry

CROSS CONNECTION


59 / PALETTE


HEY PHOBE! ANY INTERESTING EX-PERIENCES YOU’VE HAD WITH YOUR MIXED CULTURE?The most interesting thing is that when ever our family drives down to Malaysia in a car and the immigra-tion officer looks at us funny when we present to them two Korean passports (my Brother’s and my Dad’s) and three Malaysian passports (Mine, my Mom’s and my Sister’s). The three girls in my family will walk straight through the automated gates when crossing over from Singapore to Malaysia and back while my brother and father have to get in line, while we all get to use the au-tomated gates when coming back from Malaysia to Singapore.

HOW HAS YOUR WORK BENEFITED FROM THIS MIX?I don’t think my art has really benefited from me being mixed, but if anything, I was exposed to artworks from differ-ent cultures. During an Asian Art pres-entation, I was supposed to present on the Malaysian Kris, and my Mom was extremely knowledgeable on the subject because she is from Malaysia. My Dad occasionally introduces me to artworks from popular artists in Korea, So I’m ex-posed to many good artowkrs. In short, I get a lot of reference for inspiration for my own work.

WAS THERE ANY NEGATIVE INFLUENCES?Not that I can remember offhand, I only remember the good. Well, I don’t re-ally get influenced by me being mixed; in fact, I think I’m pretty westernized.

PHOEBE IMEUNBEE/ Major: Digital Animation/ ADM 3rd Year

Talented in animation, passionate about animé and she’s got the exotic looks to prove it. She’s of a Korean-Chinese descent with a Malaysian nationality, Phoebe shares with us the quirky experiences she had with her truly unique Asian descent. Japnese? Close enough.

Image courtesy of Phoebe Imeunbee& Loh Voon Yew Terry

CROSS CONNECTION

WHAT LANGUAGE DO YOU USE WHEN SPEAKING TO YOUR FAMILY?English, but occasionally Korean when i’m joking around with my Dad. To my Grandmother who only speaks Canto-ese, I learnt to speak basic Cantonese.

HOW DIFFERENT IS YOUR UPBRING-ING COMPARED TO THOSE WHOSE FAMILIES ARE ALL FROM THE SAME COUNTRY?I’m lucky I get to celebrate many holi-days: Singapore’s holidays, Korea’s holidays and Malaysian holidays, like Korean Chul Seok, which is around Chi-nese New Year I believe. My family goes through some activities that are com-monly performed during this occasion, like children bowing to their parents and playing this game called yut nori.

“I’m lucky I get to celebrate many holidays: Singapore’s holidays, Korea’s holidays and Malaysian holidays.”

PALETTE / 60

THE THAI LANGUAGE

From the perspective of linguistic typology, Thai can be considered to be an analytic language. The word order is subject–verb–object, although the subject is often omitted. Thai pronouns are selected according to the gender and relative status of speaker and audience.

Graphical Play: Little loops within the thai charactersFont: CordiaDSE Displayed words: Bangkok / กรุงเทพมหานคร

COLLECT-ING CUL-TURES

SPIDERMAN FIGURINE / TAIWAN / National ServiceTrip / Army Friends / 2008

Keep memories, cherishing moments. Here’s a showcase of where the travellers in adm set their foot on and what’s in their secret closet of collections.

COLLECTING CULTURESCOLLECTING CULTURES63 / PALETTE

DAYS OF THE NS

THE GLOVES / BANGKOK / National Service Trip / Army Friends / 2008

Collections of Ng Qi Yang / VisCom / Year 3

COLLECT-ING CUL-TURESALL OVER THE WORLD


EVERY SEASON’SCHANGINGCollections of Carrie / VisCom / Year 3

COLLECTING CULTURES PALETTE / 66

JAPAN / HOKKIAIDO / 2011FRANCE / PARIS / 2011HONG KONG / CHRISTMAS / 2010MACAU / 2010NEW ZEALAND / 2010THAILAND / KUCHING / 2009



COLLECT-ING CUL-TURES OVER THE SEAS

67 / PALETTE

STICK-ERSOF FRIEND-SHIPS

TAIWAN / Leisure /Church friends /2011

HAINAN ISLAND / Mission Trip /Church friends /2012

Collections of Dorothy / VisCom / Year 4


PALETTE / 68COLLECTING CULTURES

COLLECTING CULTURES

4 / PALETTE

MEMORIES ARE CONSTANTCollections of Lydia Wong / VisCom / Year 3

THAILAND / CHIANG MAI / 2001“The pair of chopsticks was a gift to me on a school trip to Thailand; Chiang Mai by the Thai school students.”


COLLECTING CULTURES69 / PALETTE


TAIWAN / TAIPEI / 2001“The tin candy boxes were from Taiwan, during a holiday trip with my mum and sister. So are the cat pencil.”

THAILAND / CHIANG MAI / 2001“The 2 glass bottles of tiny food and the miniature rattan basket were bought from the floating market in Thailand.”

CHINA / YUNAN / 1999“The rough cut crystals were got-ten from a crystal mining factory in Yunnan. The butterfly hairclip was picked up from the streets.”


CAMBODIA / JAPAN / KYOTO“Spoons from cambodia, matchstick boxes I took from a restaurant in Kyoto...”



REMINISCING TRAILSCollections of Zu Orzu / Digital Animation / Year 3

“Very precious to me ‘cause they hold all my memories of my travels!”

COLLECTING CULTURES


PALETTE / 72


LOVE FOR KEY-CHAINS

Collections by Zhang Qiyin / VisCom / Year 3“These keychains are brought from Taiwan, Australia, China and Vietnam. Some are from friends.”



Collections of Hubert Wah / VisCom / Year 3“Hmmm... the countries are England, Japan, Macau, some I can’t remember because my friends got them for me. Yea... The Japan ones I went with my family but some were from my friends... abit of a mix yeap.”




CRAZE FOR PRINTED EPHE-MERA

When Hubert was asked to show us his collections, he brought us a medium size plastic bag but packed with printed things he collected. You’ll be amazed, it is truly what will caught a viscom-er’s attention!



BITS & Collections by Tracy Thng / VisCom / Year 3“They’re from China, South Africa and Egypt. The peanut-like stone is a gem to me!”



PIECES

EVERY-

WHERE.

Collections by Vanessa Chan / VisCom / Year 3“These figurine dolls are from Sarawak. They are gifts from my grandmother.”


BRIT INVASIONCollections by Roxanne Lim / VisCom / Year 3“Oh, Englang. The transit card, the one which has Prince Wil-liam and Catherine Middleton on it is a limited edition piece! ”


PALETTE / 80

THE HINDI LANGUAGE

Devanagari, the Hindi script, is written from left to right and can be distinguished by the horizontal line at the top of each word that links the letters in it together. This is a feature that exists in Hindi today. There is no system of upper and lower case. While the English or Latin letterform can generally almost always be related to the three reference measures of ascender, descender, and x height, there is no universal consensus on reference lines for Devanagari letters.

Graphical play: A bar that holds the curvesFont: Devanagari MTDisplayed words: Welcome and Thank you /

THE DESIGN TEAM:SELF STORY

SELF-STORY83 / PALETTE

Inspired by their places of origin, we reveal the team behind the magazine and the palette identity. Get to know a little about them.

SELF-STORY PALETTE / 84

THEDESIGNTEAM:SELF STORY

CHIA XIAN MINADM Visual Communications YEAR 4 2011/2012

HER COOL TOY.

85 / PALETTE SELF-STORY

/ Obviously camera shy here / She is a Singaporean but often mistaken as a Korean by people because of her small smiley eyes / Cheerful / Smiley / She loves dogs and she had a Yorshire Terrier named Happy / Lives with her brother and mom / Dad stays in her heart / Dad is her inspiration and role model in her interest in art and design / Red is her favorite color / She tries her best to always wears a smile on her face for she believes that a smile is capable of making more smiles / Mixing paint colors makes her happy / She plays the Clarinet and Piano / She loves to eat but she is not a great cook at all / Designing and making art ensure her to always able to produce and create something that is collectable. She is happy that design and art could help her to create intangible emotions into tangi-ble and visible artworks. /

“Every single acknowledged appreciation leaves an invisible mark on a person’s heart and collectively builds up to a form of happiness.”

– Chia Xian Min

DE-SIGNTEAM:SELF STORIES

PALETTE / 86SELF-STORY

ESTHERGOHSHAN LEI

ADM Visual Communications YEAR 3 2011/2012

HER FUN SOCKS.


DE-SIGNTEAM:SELF STORY

“I doodle a lot when I was young and I ask (still asking) a lot silly questions like why dogs have 4 legs. I enjoy imagine things around me coming alive and just have great fun in coming out nonsensi-cal ideas.”

Home is where my heart is. We live in rural areas. We walk to kindergarten and along the way we will stop at playground near many coconut trees (that is why me and my brother are always late to school!) My mum will sing us C-O-C-O-N-U-T song and rainy days were the best because we don’t have boots but mum will tie plastic bags over our feet and only change our shoes when wereach school. We enjoy taking slower pace and enjoying these little moments of everyday life.

Nature is also a big part in me. We go to the seaside almost every 3 days and fold paper boats to release them. Even now as I grow older, still enjoy taking quiet moments into the nature and believe there is always a loud voice behind the silent reverie. Environment inspires me and it’s my way of getting inspirations— walking, talking and listening.

These backgrounds I have influence a lot in my works. It is al-ways about the nature, slowing down, people and cultural values. Malaysia is a colourful place, we have people from different ethnic, culture and religion. The multicultural background is one bright shiny match that sparks curiosity for different communities and things in me. I always envisioned myself as a multifaceted artist. I believe art comes in any form, even in the littlest thing we see, we feel or we adore. With the eyes to see and hearts to feel, artist set these littlest things into another platform to be heard. Art is contagious and infectious. This is the whole fun of the creation process and art making. Ideas influence ideas, creations create.

Shan Lei is a kampung girl, born and raised in Malaysia. Resting in the hammock under the man-go tree of her backyard and imagi-ning clouds in the skies like shapes and forms start her crea-tive entity journey.

– Esther


NEIL BRIAN REPOSAR

ADM Visual Communications YEAR 3 2011/2012

Once in a while, amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life, Brian would dream for that solitary moment when he’d be free of the world’s ills and have the time to paint what he felt at that time.

Growing up in a small family in the Big City, he got use to living a fast-pased way of life at an early age. His working parents, both architects, have bestowed upon him the talent of expression: through art, music and dance. Encouraging and all-knowing as parents are (and should be), they gave him what would be known as the best birthday present ever that early morning of 4th of October 1997: an art kit.

Filled with numerous colors in various forms one could only imag-ine: crayons, water-colors, colored-pencils, oil pastels and a cute little pair of plastic scissors, he carried that huge box of art materi-als around proudly – knowing he could create a world of possibili-ties. And for a small boy, that made him very happy.

Brian lived with his parents, his elder sister, and within their big compound, his grandmother, his aunts and uncles, and his cousins.

On his birthday in 2004, he bid goodbye to all of them as he was given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: to pursue his education overseas. Thankful for the guidance and support they’ve always given, he remained grateful and brave as he left.

This boy, Brian, had big dreams. He loves art, and would want noth-ing more than to be given the chance to express it. He also loves visiting art galleries, just as it was back then in his childhood days, when his parents would take him out to view the museums at the big city. He humbles himself down as he viewed the masterpieces of true artists, and all bright-eyed, wonders when he himself would be painting masterpieces.

Art, as most people would put it, runs deep in the family – even his great god-father is a world famous national artist. Brian looks up to them as inspiration and is admittedly highly influenced by their styles when it comes to his art.

Most noteworthy, he is in awe of their bravery when it comes to ex-pression in their craft.Besides art, this boy, Brian, also has a deep passion for dance and music. He loves staying indoors on rainy days, curled up with a good book and piping hot cup of coffee.

– Brian

This is a story of a boy, named Brian, who dreamt of a world filled with meaning.

DE-SIGNTEAM:SELF STORY

89 / PALETTE


SELF-STORY

HIS BRIGHT HAIR



TULIKASUD

HER SEXYHEELS


Tulika came to Singapore for her undergraduate degree at ADM three years ago. She is Indian, having spent most of her life in Bangalore, India, with her parents and two siblings. She hopes to design an album cover for Coldplay one day.

Coming from a culture where the accepted career paths to follow are basically medicine and engineerying, it took a lot of contempla-tion before I decided to go ahead and do design. I studied science all the way through school and I wasn’t bad at it, but it was never what interested mem with the exception of Math, which I loved. Looking back, I’m surprised that I had the courage to do it when my friends and my teachers were all telling me that I should be doing science because I was good at it.

My dad worked for a multinational company and so we moved around a lot. I’ve been in six different schools and lived in three coun-tries. My family moved to India in 1998 when my brother was born. India is extremely rich in culture and disversity, a country alive with color and has very interesting history in terms of its art. There are a lot of incredible sources to draw from and be inspired by.

I think my art is very obvious reflection of my upbringing and cul-ture. My professors and classmates often tell me that they can see the Indian influences in my work. I think even if I tried, I’d be unable to take it away completely from my designs; and in any case I wouldn’t want to, because I think this is what makes me unique and all artists strive to be one of a kind, so what mess with a good thing?

I strongly believe that there is nothing more inspiring than travel. The exposure that you get from visiting museums, monuments, cafes and just by meeting people from all over the world is some-thing that can never be matched by books or the internet. I think I have been very lucky in this sense as my family loves to travel and we go overseas at least once every year. France, Switzerland, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Britain, Australia, America, Dubai, Singapore, India. Each of these places has taught me something different, something that reflects in my work in some way or the other. Nobody has had the same experiences as I have and this is what I strive to take advantage of in my art, what shapes my design identity.

– Tulika

PALETTE / 92THEDESIGNTEAM:SELF STORY

SELF-STORY

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE

Modern Hebrew is written from right to left using the Hebrew alphabet, which is an abjad, or consonant-only script of 22 letters. Modern scripts are based on the “square” letter form, known as Ashurit (As-syrian), which was developed from the Aramaic script.

Graphical play: Confined in a invisible square box.Font: Arial HebrewDisplayed words: Israel and Judah / הדוהיו לארשי

GLIMPSE OF THE LIFE INSCHOOL OF ART DESIGN & MEDIA

So you think you know all about adm and its student? Flip through these pages and let palette offer you a glimpse of what life in adm is truly like!

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect in any way the views and opinions of the NTU School of Art Design & Media. Read with caution. And please, take it with a pinch of salt. Oh no, with “a lot of salt”.

FROM A-ZWITH A GREEN GRASS PATCH ON TOP OF OUR GLASSY-CLASSY BUILDING, THAT’S OUR SCHOOL; SCHOOL OF ART DESIGN & MEDIA.

A–Z ADM GUIDE95 / PALETTE

YOUR PERSONAL GUIDE

TO ADM LIFE AND CULTURE!

A–Z ADM GUIDE PALETTE / 96

is for AMBITION

ADMers have all kinds of big dreams – winning Oscars, taking photographs for Harper’s Bazaar and more. For sure, we’ll have rich and famous alumni in the years to come.

AGLIMPSE OF THE LIFE INSCHOOL OF ART DESIGN & MEDIA



is for BOOTS

We are obsessed with this footwear; it’s almost the ultimate ADM staple. Looks good with every outfit and it gives you that

added “designer-edge” – certified by the world-famous doctor himself, Dr. Martens.

B


PALETTE / 98

is for COFFEE

Coffee is a NEED for all ADMers.

We will never pull through all the late nights “chiong-ing” and intensively “xiong” project assignments without caffeine.

C


is for DEDICATION

ADM is about dedication.

Which other school can boast of such an enormous number of students

camping on weekends to work?

The speed at which our vending machines empty is enough indication

of the presence of these hard workers in school late in the night.

DA–Z ADM GUIDE PALETTE / 100


is for EXHIBITION

Be it the end of semester show or the final year project exhibition, it is always very exciting to see people applaud our craft.

Of course, it is also a great opportunity to meet new people and “be inspired” with new ideas.

E

101 / PALETTE



is for FLORA & FAUNA

Our eco-friendly building is truly NTU’s pride and joy. Even people from other

schools want to roll/ swim/ party in it – that’s when the Campus

Security hotline comes in handy.

F


is for G-SPOT

We ADMers are suckers for good design. Incredibly good design excites us – leading some into a climactic chorus of “This is orgasmic design!”

In ADM, we strive to create works that hit you right on the spot.

G




is for HOT

We’d like to think we’re among the better-looking people on campus.

Let’s face it, nobody can match up to our clothing sense. Plus, we’re got exotic,

creative and vibrant personalities all over.

Spot us if you can.

H



is for I

Making strong statements and a confi-dent pitch in projects always brings you to higher ground. In ADM, people boldly decalre, “This is how I want my art to be.” Don’t give in to the pressure.

Stand out, be proud!

I


is for JOBS

Who says artists anddesigners don’t churn out the bucks?

There are a lot of opportunities and com-petitions within ADM’s hallowed walls.

You just gotta know where to look.

JGLIMPSE OF THE LIFE INSCHOOL OF ART DESIGN & MEDIA

is for KNOCKOUT

ADMers have tons of assignments and sleepless nights, so whenever we have the chance to sleep, we don’t bother to make our bed, we don’t bother to brush our teeth, we don’t care about anything – we literally just knockout.

See one snoozing at one corner?Wakes us up at your own risk!

KA–Z ADM GUIDE107 / PALETTE GLIMPSE

OF THE LIFE INSCHOOL OF ART DESIGN & MEDIA

GLIMPSE OF THE LIFE INSCHOOL OF ART DESIGN & MEDIA is for LAST MINUTE

If you’re from ADM, you’ve probably finished an assignment exactly three

minutes before class is scheduled to begin at least once in your time here.

Or is once a week more realistic?

L



is for MONEY

The amount of money we spend on buying supplies and printing things is probably more than we spend on anything else.

Empty bank accounts by the end of the semester are expected.

M


is for NIGHTLIFE

It’s true. ADM holds the best parties in NTU. Period.

Shots at Chupitcs, Horrific Halloween, an Indian Wedding for Valentines’ –

there’s never a reason not to have one! Nuff said.

N

is for SHAPE OF OUR MOUTH

“WOW!” when we see good design; “OH!” when we think of a brilliant idea; “AWWW...” when people help us out with work; “AHHH!” when we can’t finish work in time.

The shape of our mouths is constantly in a big wide “O”. Most especially since we yawn from severe lack of sleep.

O




is for PREPARATION

When attending class, you need to be at the top of your game. In need of art

supplies? Art Friend is your best friend. The newly-opened Buona Vista branch is a

lifesaver for those living on campus.

P



is for QUIT

Yes, you read that right. Quit. How many times have ADMers secretly considered quitting school?

As the Queen herself said, quit whining, keep calm and carry on.

Q




is for RESEARCH

Researching in our massivelibrary is the best way to start on any

project. The place is great for chilling, too. So many books,

so little time!

R

PALETTE / 114


is for SHAG

Shag – the evil monster that chases ADMers around 24/7. Monster Shag makes our mind shag, eyes shag and bodies shag; transforming all ADMersinto mini shag monsters.

S

115 / PALETTE


is for TIME MANAGEMENT

Surviving in ADM is all about time management. What’s the minimum

amount of sleep you’ll need to meet those deadlines?

Prioritising classes, getting your designs ready to be printed and bound – managing

your time is essential.

T



is for UNDO

It is common here in ADM to be forced to take a step back and undo your own work. Yes, it is painful sometimes.

Next time when you have to hit the Command+Z button, always remember, you’re on your way to perfection.

U



PALETTE / 118

is for VAIN VENDETTA

ADM Fasion Rule #124: Putting on a scarf does NOT make an outfit evening-wear.

Remember the infamous N.T.U. Style battle with another school?

We take our fasion very seriously.

VGLIMPSE OF THE LIFE INSCHOOL OF ART DESIGN & MEDIA


is for WAIT

ADMers should take some time to apologize to the people around us – our friends, families and partners. Due to the intensive workload, we’re guilty of making out loved ones wait endlessly for us.

Now, how ‘bout we show ‘em some ADM love?

WA–Z ADM GUIDE119 / PALETTE


is for MAC OS X

If you’re in ADM, you love your Mac. Enter an ADM lecture theatre

and be amused as seventy identical Macbook Pro’s emerge.

X

PALETTE / 120


is for YUPPIE

Owning a Macbook, drinking Starbucks and carrying a leather bag: ADMers are certainly on their way to becoming yuppies – Young Urban Professionals.

Y



is for ZOO

ADM is filled with ‘em wild party animals. We work hard, we party even harder.

And we deserve it.

Z


COLORS AROUND THE WORLD

Know what different colors means all around the world.

Feel free to tear along the perforated lines to get your copy of the color wheel!

COLORS AROUND THE WORLD123 / PALETTE

palette

Documents

adm magazine

palette of cultures

magazine issue

different cultures

different countries

meaning of different

magazine coincidentally

chiacreative director