Self and Others

If the personal self can't be independent, there will be no more personal thinking. The Japanese photographer's work looks like dust on the floor after a mess, which goes directly to people's hearts. If people can know other people’s minds, they would not mourn them when they die, but understand that, actually, the sadness comes from themselves not from the dead person. Other people are just like ourselves, and if we can't understand ourselves, we can't understand others. Maybe people want to understand the world, but can't, so someone says ‘enjoy it now’. If life is not in the present, where is it? No……. life is strange, it is yesterday, history, memories. It is the economy, politics, science and technology of the future. It is shared by 65 million people, but does not enable two individuals to live in peace in one place. This is life, a storm which sweeps through all people.

Because of this, I became very pessimistic. The distance allowed me to feel safe when I was with strangers, but when I wanted to know one person especially, it was too hard for me. That person may have been my friend, my lover, or my family member. So, some people have to give up something to understand others. They automatically became passive people. For ambitious people to become active and have the power to rule the world, what they need is for people to be passive.

Just as all people can be independent, they can have their own aesthetics, But, if they are not influenced by aesthetic standards, they may need to adjust their aesthetics to suit aesthetic standards. Someone who does really well and has good luck can become a designer with his or her own style. For those who blur the line, the best occupation could be photography, like this Japanese photographer, who just can't explore person to person relationships, but is curious about the source of social chaos. Something like this is a mystery. Personal photographs don't seem to be commercial work, because they are personal, but if they are similar to the audience's memory, then the audience may buy them. But for design, it is easier to judge between like and loathe, because it is not uncertain. The design has a point. Even if the designer has a personal design style, there still needs to be a point.

So, even if good design has a deep meaning, it still needs to directly point out an opinion. Even if it is exceptionally clean, the designer still needs to consider social aesthetic standards, because if the design does not have a deep meaning, people may say it is cheap. So this needs to be considered, and if people need a meaning, the design should provide it.

Everyone recently talks about global warming, but the best people to discuss this are scientists. Politicians say that carbon dioxide emissions cause global warming, so some designers are working on preventing global warming. In my opinion, designers should be working with scientists if they want to study this topic. One scientist has now said on the internet that carbon dioxide emissions do not cause global warming, so what else can designers say?  In "On Photography" Susan Sontag  says that photography always makes things looks better, so maybe I should say that design does the same thing, i.e. makes life looks better. So I think the assumption that designers have the responsibility to save society is seriously in doubt.