Interview with Suriaganda and Hermawan Tanzil
Basically, on our first Viscom class, we went to Dia.Lo.Gue art space to look at the Playground exhibition that was running back then. We were then given a task to interview one of the exhibiting artists in groups of three or four. My group chose to interview Max Suriaganda, who created this artwork consisting of three magnetic panels, and many magnetic components so you could sort of rearrange the components according to your liking. The components are shaped from everyday objects like tables, dogs and people to abstract, unrecognisable objects like squiggles and random shapes. The idea was that the audience can reflect themself in the artwork by rearranging the components to their heart's content.
But none of us knew how to contact him, and it never occurred to us that maybe we could ask around to see whether our lecturers knew this Suriaganda dude. So I did something quite radical. I googled Max Suriaganda, and from there I stumbled upon his Instagram which is @suriaganda, because I couldn't find any websites or contact numbers pertaining to his name. Then I sent him a direct message, telling him that I liked his work and could we please interview him? When a couple of days passed and he didn't reply (the quickly approaching deadline also might've played a role in this), I left a comment on his most recent picture, asking him that we were interested in interviewing him and maybe he could check his DM?
Stalker much? Perhaps. But I suppose it goes without saying now that I like to take risks and hey, what the fuck, the next thing you know we were in his office and talking to the one and only Pak Suriaganda.
It was a really interesting talk. It was our first interview with a professional graphic designer, so we fumbled on a few of the questions. As you mostly have noticed, I did most of the talking (and contacting... and I made the video... so yeah). Regardless we definitely learned a few things about the design world, and though there is still so much to learn, we're on our way!
A few more pics from the Playground exhibition:
On Monday the 23rd we interviewed Pak Hermawan Tanzil, the owner of Dia.Lo.Gue, which we obtained through our head of faculty. So, that goes to show you how important connections are! About seven of us went, if I'm not wrong, and it was really great. The man was very laidback and open, and the current Seek-A-Seek exhibition was awesome as well. There was this sort of wall collage, and there were even visual diaries on display (though they were wrapped in plastic and couldn't be opened, sadly). We learned a lot about potentially starting a new business, the importance of connections, and how as graphic designers our communicating skills will grow over time. Although we didn't record that one, here are a few pictures:
Overall, it was very beneficial! I'm going back tomorrow to attend the seminar and portfolio review (though I'm not bringing my own portfolio, yet) which starts around 3 pm. If you're in the area, please drop by!