Put a Bird On It!: Assignment 6, Open Assignment on Concept
Where does trend end and taste begin?
My piece is an introspective reflection on trend versus the individual. I have decorated a quite literal interpretation of the current pillar of design—full of clean lines, simple geometric shapes and patterns, the exploitation of woodland creatures, chevron stripes, a touch of floral, and a color palette of teal, grey, white, puke green resurrected from the 1970’s, yellow, and magenta. Ribbons and pearls adorn this vintage, DIY piece of home décor (or the appearance of it), altogether creating the likes of something seen in a Target or Anthropologie or Pier 1 or even the aisles of Walmart. My room happens to be very akin to this pillar of design. In my room, the predominant color is teal, with touches of puke green, magenta, orange, white, yellow, and grey. There are little figures and images of woodland creatures like owls and squirrels and birds here and there. I am a sucker for cutsie vintage-inspired things, be it in home décor or in clothing. I like DIY projects but reject Pinterest projects. I insist on originality but my creations often exude the current trends. What is me and what is the radiation of current trends? Will I reject these things I currently find tasteful, once society recognizes it was kitschy all along? Or will I continue to like and appreciate these things? Coming from that, how am I seen by society? Am I celebrated for adhering to what is ultimately deemed tasteful? Am I judged negatively on days where my attire strays from what is common place? With the labels of “basic” and “hipster” being slapped aggressively onto this and that, but no one wanting to own up to such labels, where is this judgement coming from? What is right and what is wrong? Can I wear leggings and order a Pumpkin Spice Latte and still be taken seriously? Why shouldn’t anyone be taken seriously despite these things? Can I wear vintage clothes and things you wouldn’t find on the racks of Target, and not be labeled a hipster, be it for better or for worse? Who am I in this mess, and why am I concerned about judgement? Why do I feel chained to trends, and a slave to them, when I insist I am myself? Why worry? The turmoil of Erikson’s identity-vs-role confusion. |