Trying not to be negative, but still pretty disappointed with how I presented myself/my project.
I think it was a little all over the place and missing several crucial points, which is good to realize now, before the actual thesis presentation this summer.
I really appreciated a lot of the feedback, I also feel strongly that I need to be more confident and less apologetic (pointed out by several classmates), I was definitely being swallowed by the Zoom awkwardness this time around.
My biggest regret came when the guest artist Heather asked me about my fascination with “voting” as well as my personal background. I honestly was caught off guard and started rambling on things that, on second thought, don’t really represent what I truly think and the intention of the project. I was unnecessarily tieing my personal background into the concept of it, which I don’t think actually makes sense or sincere. I hope to be careful not to say things I don’t truly mean again in the future, when panicking and nervous. One good solution, of course, is to really commit to planning and rehearsal the next time around.
It’s also important to rethink how I carefully choose my words ahead of time next time around, and how I want to frame the work for outside audiences.
For the summer, I am really excited about the classes I am going to take, and how they might inspire me to build something outside of using Miro, while still tied to the same thesis question. My mentor had also invited me to visit him and his program in Hangzhou, to meet some professors and artists who’ve been working on community-based seminars. I’m also meeting up with friends working in art museums in Shanghai, to consider some longer future career plans…Afterall, the political risk of a Taiwanese national in China is very different from what an American national would face, and it’s something I need to consider alone and not something NYU Shanghai can provide actual help with (just look at who they got for commencement speaker this year lol). Overall, I’m really excited, and while the steps are pretty flexible, I feel confident that something interesting will come out of it.