1-Who are the 5+ artists you chose?
- Wong Ping | Digital Animation
- Cao Fei | Multimedia
- Rachel Rossin | Multimedia, 3D Animation
- Kevin Beasley | Sound and Sculpture
- Tauba Auerbach | Music and Sculpture
2-What were 5+ themes the artists addressed about making work?
Wong Ping has a lot of variety in the themes of his work. Much of this comes from the idea of taking aspects of everyday life and his own experiences and turning them into animated stories. He states that animation gave him a sense of freedom, allowing him to explore themes varying from that of broad lessons to things that are more personal to him as a person.
Wong Ping often goes to themes of desire, though not in a literal sense of focusing on that topic. He uses it as a vessel to talk about other things.
Cao Fei, specifically in "Fantasy," refers to the idea of how an individual can be transformed by existing in a digital space with her experiences on "Second Life." The creation of "RMB City" was one of creating a space that exists digitally in a way that functions like a real space, all while giving it themes of multiple cultures and things that cannot exist in a real world. The place has mayoral terms, policies, and evolution just as a real city would.
Rachel Rossin addresses themes of safety, home, and belonging in her work. She speaks about how escapism was a factor that led to her exploration of artistic mediums, and this is something that is reflected in how she creates her pieces.
Kevin Beasley addresses ideas of history and human rights. Specifically in this case, Kevin Beasley explores the history of cotton by using materials related to cotton farming to create sound and sculpture. There is a sense of confrontation with the history of slavery by directly interacting with inventions and objects related to this history. The soundscapes that are created force one to think about the ramifications of what was used to create the pieces, all the while having time to think deeply on the matter.
Tauba Auerbach explores ideas of controlled limitation and sensitivity as a way of enhancing both the artistic process and viewing experience, as well as constantly learning. In doing so, she explores how many connections can be made between different mediums.She carries an undying sense of curiosity and learning, combining elements of art and life to create unique pieces.
3-What were 5+ challenges the artists faced in making their work?
Wong Ping discovered his love for animation when he was working at a broadcast station in Hong Kong, using his own wandering mind as inspiration to experiment with art and animation software and fell in love with the process of creation. Wong Ping cites difficulties with writing and communicating with an international audience at a time where the globe was stuck in a familiar situation of lock downs and quarantines.
Cao Fei was a person who was on the outside looking in when it came to her initial experiences with the platform "Second Life." She looked back on her experiences under an alias in this alter-ego, how she explored her own identity, and how she reacted to a romantic situation with how the other person's real life and digital personalities differed from one another.
Rachel Rossin deals with themes of escapism, which was a struggle in her early artistic endeavors as she navigated trying to find her own sense of safety in overwhelming situations. Rachel Rossin also refers to how this feeling becomes something that is both necessary and recurring in her work.
Kevin Beasley sees challenges related to obtaining the materials and dealing with the history, which is tied into the fact that the work is so closely related to the history of slavery. The sense of confrontation that is felt when viewing the work is also one that has to be addressed when creating a piece. Kevin Beasley points out that every piece of material has its own history, every piece has experiences that it had gone through. This is something that becomes apparent, leading him to question parts of his own history as a person, and the implications of the past.
Tauba Auerbach faces many logistical challenges in her work, such as that of a specific material falling short in her goals leading her to learn an entirely new medium. Her pieces may also prove difficult to perform, with The Auerglass requiring an incredible amount of teamwork to perform with.
4-What were 5+ inspirations you drew from the artists?
Wong Ping is inspiring in his sense of exploration, variety of topics, and taking advantage of his inner thoughts by turning them into art pieces. Wong Ping is special in how he does not stay in a single topic, nor does he rely on a specific aesthetic in his work; his themes are as varied as his figures and animations.
Cao Fei is inspiring in how she discovered an entirely new space and medium, and both experienced it herself and used it to create a new world. Many of the people that I work with, both in art and music, are people that I met in a digital world. This is something new that was only made possible on this level with the development of new technology and the progression of the internet, and the creation of an artificial world that people can both see and experience is one that I find very inspiring.
Rachel Rossin is inspiring in how she uses her medium and new technologies. She creates a sense of safety and home by combining the metaphysical with the physical and creating identities related to a digital world. Using things such as augmented reality and her own body to create work is a great combination of worlds to create art.
Kevin Beasley is inspiring through his exploration of history and important topics in creating his work. There are many implications about working with items related to slavery, and he tackles these head on with his work in sound, allowing for the experience of his piece to create a pondering and confrontational effect.
Tauba Auerbach is inspiring in her constant desire to learn more. I really appreciate the fact that she is always willing to learn and apply new things in her work, there is much value to be had in trying new things and learning skills that can be applied in the future.
5-What were 5+ things you would like to incorporate into your own work after watching these videos?
Wong Ping's exploration of topics within his field is something that I hope to expand upon in my own work, both in art and in music. I really appreciate how Wong Ping draws from his own thoughts and stories, at times creating his own inspiration for work. I first discovered Wong Ping through a presentation while taking Computer Graphics, which was my first deep dive into various Adobe programs. I was enthralled by his experimentation and exploration in a way that has influenced me since this discovery, and something that I admire.
Cao Fei and her usage of a digital space to create a world that has aspects of real life and fantasy is one that I would like to incorporate into my work more. Many of my themes relate to that of technology and ideas of science fiction, and this is something I could expand upon by leaning into things that can only be possible in a digital world.
Rachel Rossin and her combination of the digital and physical world to create work is something I would like to explore more. I would like to try taking a digital project and using it to create a physical piece someday, as Rachel's process is one that I found to be incredibly interesting.
On a literal sense, I would like to explore the ideas behind Kevin Beasley's usage of objects to create sound and sculpture. Any object is capable of having value in the world of sound, and though I have used the odd sample here and there I would like to explore getting deeper into these ideas.
When it comes to subject matter, I appreciate how Kevin Beasley dives into history and its implications in its work. I would like to incorporate themes of my own background into my art pieces someday.
Tauba Auerbach and her constant pursuit of learning is something that I aspire to add more of in my owrn work. I am already a person who always wants to learn more and become proficient in more fields, but at times many of these explorations live in isolation. I would love to take elements of these explorations and combine them more effectively moving forward.
Nice!
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