During an obligatory module in design college half a decade ago, we were all assigned to sculpt under the inspiration/influence of pop artists. Our lecturer will always animate a, “Let them inspire you…,” loud whisper with his left hand gesticulating a silent voila behind his red retro polka dots glasses. He will end all lectures in this way for that period of time.

“Let them inspire you…” “Let them inspire you…” “Let them inspire you…”

They can’t. Being a gothic, eroticism renaissance influenced person, I cannot seem to be inspired and they just cannot seem to influence my sculpture. God knows how many vanguards of paper I have used to build up even one pathetic maquette.

I could not do it. Me and another quarter of the class are not able to be inspired. Our passion and aesthetic preference are dissected at a pivotal point where clean lines of influences and inspirations are divided. In the end, 15 of us left our artistic notion in the luggage and came up with a sculpture under the “inspirations” of cubism. We had literally cubes as sculptures.

Obviously, we failed. We were not as inspired as we were told to and can be.

The above headline was written by the brilliant copywriter for Jumeirah Hotel’s atl advertisement. Inspiration IS a personal experience - this very one line I saw in TIME Magazine inspired this article. This article is already an evident that inspiration does not necessarily have to be influenced by people who are great masters of the arts/design themselves. Inspiration is a token of notion where it warms you inside and made you stop to think. Inspiration propels ideas and influx a flood of adrenaline-d excitement.

Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Picasso… I could not be inspired by these pop artists for my sculpture.. not to mention my poetry, writing or way of life. Give me Nico Stinghe, Baudelaire, Oscar Wilde, Lenor Fini, Ellen Von Unwerth, Rimbaud and I can stop still and be amazed. Be very amazed.

It is not the name of someone whom everyone recognises who should be your hero. It is the constant loss of breath he/she takes away from you with her craft. Karim Rashid, Herman Miller, Henri Cartier-Bresson, JEan Paul Gaultier – Big names them big boys.

Designer as celebrity. Designer as brands. Designer as inspirations.

Everyone’s inspiration should be different and personal. Most people who first started out use big names as their inspiration so it is easy to explain to others…”Oh my chair is inspired by Phillippe Starck’s ghost chair…” Ask any young wannabe photographers…”Who has influenced your photography…?” Majority will declare Helmut Newton (He is a legend, isn’t he? Plus, his works are beautiful.) But ask them why does Newton inspire them. They cannot answer you with intimacy of their own experience.

I am also not ashamed to tell people that gothic cartoon characters and Chanel influence the way I dress. Because my inspiration works differently for me and with that, I am inspired to be inspired to pay tribute to my craft.

I do not lie to myself and tell the world with nose high up in the sky and say Franks Lloyd Wright is my source of inspiration for my architecture appreciation. As unglamorous as it may sound to many others, animal and gothic architecture create a huge impact on the architecture scene to me – not Oscar Niemeyer, not Charles Van Rysselberghe.

Inspiration is indeed a personal experience, not the weight of the name of your inspiration but the cause of her/his effect has on your craft.

Bianca Zen

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What is your inspiration but then again... what inspires...?