stonezhuart.com / IG: @stonezhuart

ESL Teacher Jessica Coyle interviews Stone Zhu: a photographer, Parsons student, and an ESL+Design alumnus.

Can you describe the work that you’re doing these days?

I’m doing fashion/portrait commercial photography. Recently I have been working on my thesis, which is a kind of fashion show with flowers. I’ve been thinking about girls with flowers, which are two sexualized things, and considering instead working with men and flowers, or myself and flowers. I also work with artists. I’m doing a collaboration with a painter currently. We’re going to dress a Westerner in a kimono, in Eastern style. It’ll be a collaboration working with contrast.

What are things that you think are beautiful?

For me, beauty is really simple: as long as you enjoy the piece, it’s beautiful. It’s a first impression. So many people ask me if I show them ten pictures: which one is your favorite? This is a question I don’t like to answer. It’s like someone asked me which one of my kids is my favorite. Beauty makes you feel comfortable and draws you to look at it and you enjoy looking at it. Some people ask me, why do you like this or that picture or work? I don’t know why I like it… just because I made it; it has energy that draws me to like it. That’s why I’m showing it to you. Otherwise I wouldn’t show it to you. I’m a visual artist, not really a writer who can explain why I like it. (I need to work on that ability, for sure.)

How has being in New York City influenced your art?

I’ve been living here for almost five years. I think the biggest thing that has influenced my art has been visiting galleries and museums, and meeting a lot of interesting people who come from all around the world. It’s been a life experience that has affected my artwork and my career. If I weren’t in NYC, it would be different. Before I came here I knew I wanted to do photography and work with fashion commercial photography, but I didn’t start doing fashion photography. I was working on landscapes and taking pictures of my friends… all kinds of photography. About three years ago, because I was here, I started focusing on fashion production photography.

What inspires you?

I read a lot of magazines online and in print, and every month I collect pictures in my sketchbook or mood board. I look at them and think about what I want to do next in the short term for a photo shoot, and in the long term I think about what my style is going to be. How can I define my style? After I finish school, how will people know that this was Stone who did this work, not someone else? All this comes from my background and what I am doing every day and what inspires me every day, magazines or photographers. It’s a combination, I think.

What was your overall experience with the ESL program at The New School?

One of the huge benefits I got form ESL would be… well, obviously my English got much better, but the second thing would be that I have lived here for five years, and my best friends are still those people I met through the ESL program. We have the same level of language and we can understand each other. Some of my best friends in New York City are still the people I met in ESL.

The teachers are really tough on your English level. You have to really go to classes, finish homework, and do well on the tests to go to the next level. That’s really a good thing. If you’re not getting good grades, it will take longer to graduate from the program. That happened to me, actually. I stayed in the program for two years. It was a good thing and a bad thing. My English skills got much better, but it took longer than I expected. In general going slowly is not a bad thing, but everyone wants to take a shorter time, right? However, if you push harder, you can learn faster.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

In five or ten years, my fantasy would be to become a really good/well-known fashion photographer… maybe not everyone knows me, but in the photography world everyone will know Stone Zhu as someone who is a nice person who does a good job.

What advice do you have for students or potential students in the ESL+ program?

First of all, come and really study English hard because you really need it. Second, make local friends, or even international friends so you will always speak English all the time. That’s extremely important. Third, work on your writing! When I was in ESL, we learned how to write. Of course, I didn’t really like writing. I just wanted to finish and go into Parsons. Now I’m graduating and I’m facing the real world and I’m sending emails to producers and reaching out to people at magazines. If I don’t write really well they’ll look at my emails and think “oh, this guy is not professional.” Even if I have really good work, they look at my text and it affects my profession. It will affect your profession if you don’t have good writing. Try your best, study hard, and work on your writing.

The program gave me the courage to speak English and practice every day.

I learned to be more open.

It's a tool even more than for the language which also helped me connect with others.

I remember meeting another student from Brazil. I needed to get better with my English, so we could develop our friendship. We're still friends today!

Advice to students:

Be patient, positive - it's a process.

Appreciate every time you learn a new word and say a new word

Read a lot of your favorite magazines and watch your favorite movies in English.

Have some love!

akira-t.myportfolio.com / IG: @akirate0502

AAS Graphic Design 2017

Akira, tell me a little bit about yourself.

I’m from Japan, and last summer I came to New York to study English and graphic design, and so now I’m going to Parsons and my major is graphic design. I’m interested in branding design and motion graphics, and so in this school I do my best to improve my skills.

What inspires you?

I am always inspired by movies, because movies have specific stories and good visuals and make people have good emotions. Actually, my field is TV so I always make short title movies and sequences and I try to make specific stories or concepts to show TV programs.

Your website shows your interest in Japanese traditional culture. Why does that inspire you?

Japanese culture has a very unique and specific character, and I think this fits within modern culture. Therefore, I pay attention to traditional culture and try to pick up some unique characteristics like shapes and color and history. I try to make new things to fit modern images. It’s an abstract concept.

How do you like living in NY?

It’s very special for me. Since I came to NY, I’ve made a lot of friends. They have a diverse background and culture compared to me, and so we can exchange a difference of opinion about everything. For example, we went to movies and we have different opinions about movies. It’s so exciting to talk to them! We also say, I think, that NY is the center of entertainment, so it’s so exciting to me.

What’s your favorite place in NYC?

The East Village, because there are a lot of Asian and Japanese restaurants. My friends love Japanese culture, so we go to Japanese izakaya (pubs) or karaoke.

How did you feel about the ESL program?

I took two and a half months of summer classes. It was a short time for me, but I think it was so nice to take ESL before Parsons because at Parsons, there are a lot of native speakers. In ESL, I could talk with international students like me and communicate with them, which improved my English. The teachers were so kind. Because they are familiar with international students, they gave us nice lectures to let us be more familiar with English in New York. Sometimes they also talked about New York culture, which helped us.

Any advice for an ESL student?

The ESL program is so nice for students, but I think students should not only use this program but also make a lot of friends, because conversation with friends is the best way to improve your English. It’s also nice to do group projects to communicate with classmates to accomplish goals… we have to speak English, right?

AAS Fashion Design

So Hee, tell me a little bit about yourself.

I’m a recent graduate of Parsons. I started at the ESL program and after I finished it, I went to the Fashion Design AAS program. At Parsons, my favorite thing to study was womenswear fashion design. Also, I could learn about accessory design, which was very nice.

What inspires you?

That’s a hard question! One of my favorite designers is J. W. Anderson.

What do you like about him?

He started in menswear and expanded his designs to womenswear and accessories, so I think he’s one of the most successful designers and co-founders of a brand. He also manages both Loewe and his own brand, so I admire his ability.

So part of what you like is his discipline?

Yes, and also I love his inspirations and ideas.

How long have you lived in New York?

3 years

What do you like about living in New York?

I think there are great hands-on opportunities to work in global luxury brands. For example, I did a handbag design internship during this semester at Tory Burch. I also did a summer internship at Alice and Olivia assisting designers in the handbag and accessories team. They were wonderful experiences.

What’s your favorite place in NYC?

I usually like to go to Soho, and also I love the Grand Central area. There are some very nice places for cupcakes in Soho. I recommend Molly’s Cupcakes. My favorite type of cupcake is strawberry shortcake.

How did you feel about the ESL program?

I wanted to go to Parsons, but at that time I didn’t have the ESL skills. I think it was a very good program for me, because I learned a lot of terminology related to art and fashion. It was very useful when I presented my work at Parsons, so it was really good for fashion design or art students.

Do you remember any of your teachers, specifically?

I still remember my writing 3 teacher, Andrea. She also taught me at Parsons in an 1800 writing class. She was so kind and taught us in a way that was easy to understand.

Any advice for an ESL student?

The ESL program is so good, so work hard and play hard.

So don’t forget to have fun?

Yeah… because when you get to Parsons, there is no time to play hard. In ESL, students have a lot of time to do things… maybe fun things? (laughs)

Can you describe the music you’re playing these days?

I’m a classic violinist. I love Mozart and I just played in Mannes Opera. We played Marriage of Figaro. That was so fun!

What are other genres of music that you enjoy?

I like jazz music. The New School is a great place to hear jazz music. I’m working as an usher on campus so I ushered some jazz shows in school, and they were amazing. Now I have some jazz major friends. I went to a famous jazz bar but still, the New School level jazz is pretty high. They are amazing. Oh! Also, in the beginning of the semester, Mannes and New School Jazz had a concert together. We played Charlie Parker jazz music, and that was so great.

So it sounds like The New School has given you an interest in a whole new type of music.

Yes, definitely.

How has being in New York City influenced you?

I had never had an opportunity to play in an opera when I was in Japan. But this city, especially Mannes, has good singers, so this was my second time to play in an opera. I really like it! My dream is always changing. Before I came here, I didn’t expect that I would play other genres of music. I didn’t expect I would play in an opera. Definitely, I would say I have many chances to try not just classical music but also jazz music, opera, and others.

I love visiting museums and parks like Central Park and Washington Square Park. New York City is so busy, but in the parks I can feel nature and the changes of the seasons, and any time when I have free time I can go to a park or I can get coffee.

What inspires you? What is your biggest inspiration?

In this school, there are many great musicians. They’re from China or Korea or all over the world. Every time I play in the orchestra or just go to the practice room, I can hear high-level music, so that raises my motivation to practice. Also, only 20 minutes from school I can go to the Lincoln Center and I can listen to a professional orchestra. Also, there are museums… they’re so close! When I was working on Fauré Violin Sonata No. 1, I went to the Met and I found a painting by Monet and I got inspired. I could hear the music from the picture. I researched the music which I was working on and the picture, and it turned out they were made in the same year. I was so surprised! Mary pieces of art I can feel really close in this city, and that inspires me.

Also, one other thing… I have had some opportunities to play contemporary pieces just recently composed. Some of the composers are my friends. When I play that music I feel like I am making a new era, a new year, and I am so glad that I can be a part of that, of making a new thing.

What was your overall experience with the ESL+ Music certificate program at The New School?

I remember I was so busy… I studied so hard! In my writing class, I had to write a report every week. At the beginning of the class, for 5 minutes we had to write one paper and we could write about what we did over the weekend. But that was so helpful! It was really helpful in that I could learn how to write a report. I have many friends from abroad who didn’t go to ESL, and they have a harder time because they have to focus on their major, not improving their English.

Since we had a lot of homework, and the classes were intense, my classmates and I became friends and are still good friends. My roommate and I were classmates in ESL and I love her so much. Every ESL classmate, even if we don’t have the same classes in Mannes, still feels like family.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

One reason why I came here was because I met my professor Sally Thomas, or Ms Thomas and she’s amazing. So my dream used to be to be a professor, but I have many opportunities to play in an orchestra in this city and… I don’t know, I’m getting used to playing in an orchestra and I think maybe I should play in an orchestra in the future as a professor. Still, if I have a chance to have students, I will try.

Can you tell me a bit about your film?

Sure! It’s based 30% on my experience learning English. This is my first time studying abroad and my first time living in a different country. Overall, this film is a mix of learning English and the culture (New York). It’s about a Japanese international student named Maki who just arrived in NYC. She meets Simone, who is a psychologist – around 70 years old. They both study at the same school. Simone studies in the Institute for Retired Professionals program, and Maki is an ESL student who wants to be able to speak English fluently. I included a little bit of cultural contradiction between East and West. It mostly comes from Maki’s side and because she tries so hard to cover her fear which means not truly expressing what she wants to express, she begins imagining things that don’t really happen.

And that’s drawn from your own experience?

I exaggerated because I wanted to make it more interesting. Film is more interesting if you exaggerate it. I allow myself a wild imagination when I write a story.

I also experienced having a Conversation Partner when I took my English classes, but in the film I push it further into a dreamy or surreal thing. Learning English is not necessarily hard, but it gets emotional. Sometimes I feel that I blame myself because, you know, like, maybe I feel like a baby. I want to tell you something, but I can’t really say what I’m thinking… it’s frustrating.

So, in a way, this movie shows the challenge of learning a new language?

It’s not a depressing movie, though… I can’t tell you everything about this movie because it’s a short film, it’s already short. The real experience that inspired the film was a conversation with my language partner when she asked me “Have you ever dreamt in English?” That really struck me. Until then… well, I had once dreamt in English. It was a really short dream, and I’m not sure if it can be called a real meaningful conversation. My partner said if I dream in English, that in real life, I will be able to speak English fluently. I’m always hoping that I have a dream in English.

[laughing]

Ladya, you do speak English fluently! You know that, right?

I know, Jessica, but maybe… maybe it’s not only about how you want to speak English, but also how to overcome fear. I want to make a film that can also feel like a memory of people who experienced learning English or any other things that have a similar feeling.

It sounds like you’ve got such a strong grasp on your art and how you want to express yourself. Did you get a foundation for that in the ESL+ program?

A lot, Jessica, a lot. I didn’t know how to write a paragraph before ESL+! You taught me how, in class, and I’d never had that… I had never learned that! It’s really helped me, because my film production program has lots of paper assignments. I have to write at least 6 pages to analyze films, for example, and if I didn’t have the basic structure, if I hadn’t learned it from The New School, I wouldn’t know how to make a good paragraph or a correct structure. It’s really different from what I learned in my country. I mean, we had some similar structures, but it wasn’t specific like what I learned in ESL or maybe I didn’t pay attention that much in writing a paragraph back then.

I also feel that making a journal in the Listening/Speaking class really helped me, because I learned how to do research in a specific way. I really loved what I did, because the teachers in the ESL+ program let us pick a theme. We could research something we really loved. Every week we had to write about at least two restaurants or farmers markets we visited. I really enjoyed doing this since I like drawing and collecting good grades (haha). For example, when I took Listening/Speaking with Tamara, our goal was to make a restaurant review guide, like Zagat. Tamara let us choose the restaurant we wanted to critique. It was really interesting, because we had freedom to eat wherever we wanted and review it. Our work narrowed to what we really like.