MP3 Sanjana (Aes) Interview

The conversation touches on the disconnect between the beauty of art and the harmful impact it can have on the environment. The guest, Sanjana, discusses her love for fashion and how it inspires her, but also acknowledges the negative consequences of the industry, such as textile waste and pollution. They discuss the importance of recognizing the beauty in nature and the need to consider the ethicality of art. The guest also talks about her personal taste in art and how it is influenced by her individual preferences. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the purpose of art, which Sanjana believes is to bring more beauty into the world, but recognizes that the focus on innovation and creating something new can sometimes overshadow the true meaning of art. the massive landfills, you don't think about the carbon emissions, you don't think about the textile waste, you don't think about the water pollution, you don't think about any of that. It's like, this shirt is $3, you have this high of buying it, you're like, it's cute, it's cheap, I can fit in, I can look good. Oh, and you know what else? It's like the way that you're getting that is via technology, so you're not actually seeing the shirt in person either. Exactly. You put it on an edited model, the photo is Photoshopped to make it look high quality, nice, it's put on a skinny girl, and the girl is Photoshopped to look beautiful, and you're like, she looks like that, I'm going to look like that. And yet, that's still art, because think about the editors who are behind that picture, the photographers themselves, they went into those lines of work, I mean, I'm assuming, because they love the art, right? They love photo editing, design, styling, everything. It's so weird. But when you go into that line of work, you don't think, this is going to be bad for the environment, this is going to be bad for the earth, you're just like, I'm going to be making money doing something that I enjoy doing. Interesting, yeah. You don't think about the ethicality of it, you think about the beauty of it. Exactly. And it's like, damn. Okay. Well, introduce yourself, Missy Lou. Should I use my full name? It's up to you, it literally doesn't matter. First and last? It's up to you. I don't give a shit. Okay. I'm Jana. I'm going to end up introducing you anyway, I'm not going to make your introduction. Okay, fine. I'm Jana, 21 years old. I am a senior at ASU and I study marketing with a minor in fashion. And Sanjana, yeah. That's perfect, that's literally it. Because then I'll talk about how, like, I've known, like, you've always been a very creative person, even when we were little, because I've known you for so long. And I think that, yeah, that, I'll talk about that. Okay, so without further ado, Sanjana, what, how do you regard art? How do you define art? What is art? This is a big question. It's a big question podcast. I think art is an outlet for expression of any kind. It can be from your own Instagram post to a painting you make to an outfit you wear to an outfit someone else wears to something you see in a magazine or something you see on the Internet. I think anything can be art. So what kind of art really, like, what kind of art inspires you? I, since I study fashion, I've always loved fashion. So clothing really inspires me, couture, runway looks, high fashion, that all really inspires me. But also I really like graphic design and painting, surrealism, things that are kind of weird, things that are interesting to look at and things that, when you see it, you're like, how do they even think of that? How do they even come up with that? The shock factor, yeah, that's a good point, yeah. So in your experience, have you ever, like, witnessed somebody's creation and immediately had a bad taste in your mouth? I've definitely, I'm often around student designers and I'll see some of their work and not really like it at first, but, you know, you can't really tear down other artists. But also it's just not my taste. They're still making sales, they're still selling things, they're still ending up in big places. It's just not what I would wear or make myself. So I wouldn't really consider it a bad taste. I would just, I'm just like, it's not really my cup of tea. What do you think influences your taste? I think it's, most of it is just you as a person, like what you like. I think I've always liked very similar aesthetics, even as a kid to now. I've always liked more edgy and unique things. But that's not what everybody else likes. Some people just like, you know, they look at a Van Gogh painting and they're like, wow, that's beautiful. And, like, I recognize the beauty in a Van Gogh painting, but I don't, I'm not inspired by it. Yeah, that's a good point. Exactly. And is there a difference between that, between recognizing something as beautiful and feeling inspired by it? Yeah, totally. Because I've been to so many art museums. I've been to some of the best art museums in the world. But I won't walk through it and be like, wow, like, this is so inspiring. I'll think, wow, this is so beautiful. I can't believe someone made this. But I don't necessarily draw inspiration from that. Can you remember a time when you saw something and felt inspired? Honestly, runway shows, a lot of haute couture runway shows. I feel a lot of inspiration from those because there's crazy things that people come up with. And the fact that they make it fit the human body in a wearable way is kind of fascinating. That is so true. It's so innovative. Yeah, exactly. It's that shock factor. It's like, what the heck? That is so true. Okay, so going back to what we were talking about before I started recording, as far as the connection between beauty and nature, as something that you see throughout philosophy, but also just in general when you're talking about any art adjacent historical understanding, nature has always been the muse for artists of any kind. And so with that being said, and it remains that way today, right? You read about it and it's used as metaphors and in songs, blah, blah, blah. You can go on and on. That's not what we're talking about. What I'm trying to get at here is that despite this connection between beauty being inspired by nature, the way that we've come to treat it today is pretty hypocritical of the way that we regard it when it comes to creating art from it. In art, nature is holy. It's the most beautiful thing to be created. And yet in practice, you look at climate change and you look at everything terrible that's been going on in the environment that everybody knows about, whether they believe it or not. And why is there that disconnect there between honoring the beauty of nature and treating nature like it was beautiful? I think the way people view art is separate from how they view the world. You don't see an outfit or a painting or a dress or a design on the Internet and think, oh, this is what the world looks like. You just are like, wow, that's a beautiful thing that this person made. But there's also, I think, in relation to fashion, when you're looking at fashion, whether it be high fashion or retail fashion, when you're looking at it, you're looking at it in a way where it's like, okay, I like that. I would wear that. But you don't really think about what goes into it. You're just more like, I want that, rather than this is going to contribute. If I bought this, this would contribute to landfills, to carbon emissions, to water pollution, to the industrial waste. You don't really think of that when you're looking at clothes immediately. In the back of your mind, obviously you know you shouldn't be shopping past fashion. You shouldn't be mass-consuming clothes. But at the same time, the human's innate need to fit in and be beautiful, I think, overrides that. Yeah, that makes sense. That also goes back to this idea that beauty is parts of a whole, but it's about unity. It's about the individual parts fitting together to make something whole. That's what makes something beautiful. That's like St. Augustine, that was his theory, if you will, that in order for something to be beautiful, all of its parts must work in unity so that it comes across as perfection. And that's what we see, especially when we're shopping online or doing any sort of the... When we're not participating in... Where am I going with this? Damn it, I had a connection. Stop, you have to write this shit down, bro, because I always created it halfway through talking. Because I'm busy. No, seriously, I'm like, oh my god. It's so frustrating. Anyways, moving on. I'm over that. You can just do all this shit, but I don't care. Okay, I will. Yeah, I'm over that. Okay, so, I guess the last thing that I want to talk about... Let me look if I'm missing anything. Yeah, I suppose, like, what's the purpose of art? I think the purpose of art is to just make more beautiful things in the world. Like, people paint paintings to make something beautiful. People make clothes to make something beautiful. So I think it's to bring more beauty into the world. But I think that in recent times, with the advancement of technology and the focus on constantly innovating and making something new, making the next big thing, has kind of overshadowed the true meaning of art. Because now people are just looking for something new, exciting. Something that's never been done before. Rather than just something beautiful. Creativity is based on commission. I know. Yeah, that's just sad. Because, again, it's supposed to be naturally inspired. There's a luxury brand called Coperni. In their past couple of years, their runway shows, they've always had a crazy technological event happen on the runway. And their recent one was having a spray-on dress on Bella Hadid. And she stood on the runway. That was the closing of their show. She stood on the runway. And then they sprayed her body with this material that turned into fabric. When they sprayed it onto her body, a designer came on stage, cut it up, and then she was just standing there wearing it. Essentially, it was a wearable, movable dress. Even though it was cool and it was definitely art, seeing that happen. The whole presentation was art. The dress itself was just a regular white dress. So I think it just depends on how you see it. Yes, it was beautiful. It was a great demonstration. But at the same time, it was so much more focused on being different, something that's never been done before, rather than making something beautiful. Exactly. And it's like highlighting the process of the making and not the result. Okay, I'm done. Thank you so much, Sanjana. Thank you.