DESSA ELY
What do functions of art mean to you?
To me, functions of art are powerful statements. Art has always had a function for me, both as a viewer and as an artist. As an artist, creating art is a way for me to process loss. I aim to make art that functions in the same way I do and goes through some sort of transformation to become the way it is. I am able to create parts of myself outside myself to gain a more objective perspective, almost as if I’m having a conversation with a friend. Art is a way for me to learn to let go. Because I use art-making to process loss, it’s also a way to feel less trapped in the past. By processing loss I’m able to better attach myself to the present and am able to love the things in my life more.
Why did you choose this artistic expression? Have you always operated in the same medium? Why?
I’ve always been very attached to finding the perfect medium. I always wanted my art to have a life and a death, and eventually, I came to the conclusion of using actual life as a material. Art helps me come to terms with the fact that things end, and that I can't hold on to the past forever. Due to the nature of my materials, my work will eventually die. This helps me come to terms with impermanence and teaches me to live presently. I only started working with chlorophyll prints about a year ago, but ever since then, I’ve been really attached to the process. This year I plan to start experimenting more with the possibilities of chlorophyll prints.
Under pandemic, most exhibitions went online, thoughts? Limitations?
It was certainly a disappointment as exhibitions went online. Many shows I participated in were virtual. Art online is certainly not the same as it is when you’re face to face with it, some of the experience is definitely lost. Despite this, virtual exhibitions have the upside of being much more accessible and have the ability to make art viewed on a much larger scale. Suddenly, you can attend exhibitions all over the world, and show in exhibitions all over the world.
Georgia Dales
What do functions of art mean to you?
Art is a means of forming relationships between those you create with and present to. It meant to provide commonalities in the human experience. Therefore, functions of art are love, vulnerability, and trust in the way the artist and viewers see fit. It doesn’t work with one party, while you can create on its own it does not properly fulfil its purpose.
How does your work resonate with your audience?
I believe my artworks with its viewers by asking what it really means to open up, to be vulnerable. There are so many ways it’s done, but only a few which are truly successful to each person. My underwear for instance shows everything it is, in excruciating lines, and the implied effort in lacking boundaries itself is a display, an invitation, a confrontation. It teaches me and hopefully others what it means to be connected.
Which artists influence you the most?
There are a few artists which have inspired me tremendously over the years, one which is obvious, would be a woman I share my first name with Georgia O’keefe. She paints flowers in a very intimate way, representing private circumstances with everyday encounters. Secondly, Marina Abramovic is an incredible artist to read about. Her performance work such as when she invited people to sit across the table from her in silence had rendered many participants in tears, as connection is the one tool she uses. Stripping down your work to its bare essentials for it to work perfectly is something to strive for. Generally, I choose to pay more attention and take The influence of female artists more heavily because the experience of relationship formation is heavily affected by how we place ourselves in society and how it categorizes us, women have a unique experience all to themselves.
What inspires me to create in various art forms?
There’s no one way to express love or be able to connect with others, so why limit yourself. Each medium allows for different types of conversations, making my thoughts more or less Tangible, or accessible. Illustrating with graphite is perfect because it’s meticulous, but printmaking allows for more exposure to different peoples and their homes. Audio and film however are more direct, more confrontational in the way that we don’t represent what we believe through objects but instead present ourselves simply, but without physicality, it often loses its emphasis. Therefore, all are important because it allows for different levels of connection, and that’s the whole reason why I make art.
Xiaohan Jiang
What functions of art mean to you?
For me, the function of art implies a kind of message. It is not easy to make others feel the same as yourself, and transforming the medium and presenting it in an artistic way can make others feel similar, either a familiar place or an estranged emotion, or it reminds you of a place or a person so that you can have a deeper understanding of the artwork in front of you, which is the function of art as I recognize it.
How do you set yourself apart from other artists around you?
I think every artist has different preferences and approaches to art, and it is important to be sensitive, curious and confident as an artist. But it is also interesting to process the information we receive in the world, past, present and future, and how to transform it into our own and apply it elsewhere.
I often include bright colors in my paintings because I love nature, and I am constantly inspired by nature, which sometimes tells me how to paint and use the language of nature, rather than controlling it myself. Additionally, I have been writing poetry since I was 4-year-old and published a poem collection at the age of nineteen. Writing poetry keeps me observant and imaginative which allows me to see the real world and the world I create from the perspective of a poet. Therefore, the poetic meaning I portray in the paintings cannot be ignored. The poetic symbolism, the contradiction with reality, the inaccessible yet close city, is right in front of us.
On the other hand, I enjoy exploring shapes in my paintings. Everything is made of shapes, and one shape contains or borders another shape, all leading to different results. This also applies to the way we look at things. And what I want to do is to include this diversity in my artworks, so that the viewers feel like they are both in and out of the painting; like the images are describing themselves or strangers.
The use of colors in your painting is very eye-catching. What do you think is the connection between the color element and the intention?
Thank you. As Kandinsky mentions in Concerning the Spiritual in Art, “Form and color in themselves can constitute a linguistic element sufficient to express emotion, just as the sound of music appeals directly to the mind.”
In my case, whether I am painting or writing, the linguistic concentration accordingly evokes the union of all my senses. The sense of fluency is an internal connection evoked between color, form, and the ability to create an all-encompassing experience through sight, sound, and emotion. I believe that color somehow stimulates our nerves and helps us to compensate for the absence of our spiritual home. Color brings fear, loneliness, but also joy and happiness, and thus a sense of the presence of the self, whether it is self-reconciliation or self-contradiction, which serves as a certain wake-up call.
As you mentioned in your artist statement, your works center around an individual’s attachment to her/his native land, can you tell us more about it?
I think everyone has an attachment to their homeland. My attachment is based on past experiences, personal feelings, and other factors. Starting from the epidemic, I studied abroad and became especially homesick after not being reunited with my family for a long time. Memories of spending time in my hometown and thoughts of that land supported me, but I was getting farther and farther away from there. It seems that I no longer belong there, yet not a day goes by that the land that nurtured me does not call me and tell me where I come from, but I often question myself too.
I would like to conclude with a poem I wrote recently.
Ghazal: Are you from here?
Like the calm water between the buildings and the leaden sky, my mind drooped
I turn my face to the mane of the hills, seeking his warmth in the cold winter
Sunlight receded along the rim of the cup into the water
Now, answer it, are you from here?
A few flaps of snow rolled off a clump of brunches from time to time
White, blue, orange lights draw traffic from the waste-ravaged soil, in its own moral order
Left alone by a cruel desire -- you,
Are you from here?
The gap between the sleeves swayed, stirring the pathos of millions of people
Countless faces turn back to you in the nightmare, gently cuffed by the heavy night
Iron falls on us, our needs are thrown to the ground
The village of dreams – are you from here?
Please do not be angry with me, do not be angry that I set foot on your land
For something heavier had trampled me underfoot
O, you worried that he would ignore your death
If you cannot cheer and smile again, lose the past, are you still -- from here?
2021.02.26
Tina Guo
What do “functions of art” mean to you?
Right now, art functions as a biological process that exists and evolves as I do. An apt comparison would be the process of eating, digesting, and excreting. Every day I take in a few things, chew on them, and drop them back into the world in another form.
What have you learned from your art-making process?
I am learning to trust my body. Let my hands make the things they want to make. Let myself be excited without judgment. Do without thinking too hard. Be surprised. Reflect on everything after some time. Like many young people, I struggle to become good at what I do. Not long ago did I realize that to be good is to be kind, and to be kind is, to be honest. In order to be honest with other people, I need to trust myself first.
You use a lot of technology in your previous work. How does technology play an essential role in your artwork?
Learning to code was one of my best decisions. The web has made my projects much more accessible, which so important to me. I want everyone to be able to enjoy what I make whether or not they can afford art. Last year, I made a digital version of my book Ravine (https://tinaguo-ravine.com/) so people could enjoy a quality reading experience even if they couldn’t purchase a physical copy. I also co-created a virtual exhibition platform called “The End” (https://playcanv.as/p/Vuk5xSch/) with my friends Bao Nguyen and Andri Schatz that houses artworks by emerging artists and shares relevant resources.
How do your artworks express what you think is most important?
Over the past year, my focus underwent a dramatic shift from disembodied transitory spaces to embodied natural habitats. However, the one thing that remains unchanged is the incentive to look more carefully and feel more intensely. I make images, objects, videos, and writings that posit the body and the surrounding world as interchanging vessels. Most works are set in environments that people can only perceive in an incoherent manner. I want to encourage the viewer to look more than once, to linger, and to make sense/or not in their own way. Everything changes when you pay attention, I promise.
Your video poem, “Discourse” is a unique artistic expression. How do you think it resonates with your work and(or) provokes the audience to think?
“Discourse” marks a clear turning point towards my interest in the embodied experience. Over the quarantine, I documented moments of intimacy between my partner and me as a source of comfort. The video poem is the synthesis of everything, one that I hope would open up a site of joy and vulnerability. I think we have all come to a heightened awareness of our bodies during this time of isolation. In hindsight, the video seems to prompt the viewer to notice the weight and the impact of touch from another human being.
Julia Yoo
What functions of art mean to you?
Art is a tool for understanding and connecting- my process often starts with emotions and struggles, misunderstandings of myself and my community. Art helps me find the root of those feelings and the reasons why we don’t talk about them. By speaking these thoughts that live deep in my mind- things that often may be seen as mundane or minor to someone separate from my experiences or cultural identity- are complex, nuanced, emotional and relatable stories for someone else. It’s a tool to express feelings and experiences that feel diminished by cultural norms, whether that be Asian or American.
As you mentioned in your artist statement, your work aims to discuss cultural identity and social issues. Would you like to share more about how you visualize and convey these ideas?
Emotions and experiences surrounding race and culture are often silenced by the ethnocentrism and xenophobia of North America. I aim to understand and express the specificities of the experience of myself and others like me. In North America, where the utmost value and representation is given to almost every aspect of life for white people, it’s so important to give value to the aspects of life (whether that be struggles or triumphs) to every community. In my work, I find specificities and struggles in my life and I prove their value through my art. I look specifically at my experience as an Asian woman, including otherness, understanding relationships, family, emotions, and race as well. These elements grow the most through conversation and connection with myself and others, and eventually into art - in whichever way that idea speaks to me.
Which artist influenced you the most in filmmaking?
Tyler Mitchell is a big influence for me, and FKA Twigs’ visual work is also a massive inspiration. I love the work of Lulu Wang, Rina Yang, and Hayao Miyazaki! Above all, my friends and community are my biggest influence.
Can you tell us more about your involvement in tiff?
Programming at TIFF has given me so much more perspective than I ever could have expected. It has also given me an incredible community of people and helped me understand the importance of community in film and art. TIFF has opened my eyes to the vastness of film around the world and helped me gain appreciation for so many aspects of the film industry- specifically the collaborative, community, and social aspects.