Last
semester, we talked and wrote about global citizenship as an abstract, diffuse
concept. This semester we are trying to put it into practice, and art is
one way to do that. Art created to raise awareness, as the Beijing-SLC
Connect project did, causes us to confront the unfamiliar and the unexpected.
When we challenge what we take for granted (garbage bags, PVC pipe), we can
grow into new perspectives, which is part of the groundwork for operating as a “global citizen.”
In this blog post, we’d like you to reflect on your
experiences with the artists from Beijing and Taiwan and their artwork. In particular, we would like you to think
about “moments of confrontation” that may have surprised, challenged, and
expanded your thinking in one way or another.
Such confrontation could be
understood as the encounter between two cultures, two global cities, art you
saw in the making vs. art you see in the museum, and the “odd” juxtaposition
between art and environment, to name a few.
We are sure you have a lot to say about your experiences in the living
gallery, conversations with the artists, and your own reading of their
artwork. Feel free to use the supporting
materials on art and environment (news articles, video clips, etc.) that we
sent out in an earlier email and posted on the class blog. The post should be about 500 words, and will
be due next Tuesday (Feb 25th).
The first day that we went to the artist's studio I, if not most of us, felt a little out of place in the studio. I felt like this was not a place that I could really relate to, I'm not much for art and more modern styles of art send my brain into a whirlwind. But the art that I was most intrigued by was Mei Mei's. I was really interested in the pipes that she had used and what she was trying to represent, and mainly whether our class's interpretation of it as Salt Lake residents differed from the interpretation of the Beijing and Taiwanese artists. So as we went to meet with the artists a second time, the question I wanted to ask most was whether Mei Mei thought that art could be accepted and understood by a variety of cultures if there was no description of the artwork. When I asked the question she immediately answered "Yes" which surprised me because it got me thinking maybe she's been asked this before. And looking back on the conversation, the idea of mutual understanding of art reflected on the entire conversation that we had. While chatting with Mei Mei I realized that focusing on the art created a good mode of interaction between us and it relaxed us all. I felt that it was nerve racking not only to be talking to an artist about their art so as to not say the wrong thing and offend them, but also as interaction between people of two cultures. By the end of the conversation our group had almost come to a mutual understanding of art as a topic piece and I felt that we had something to share between us because of mutual appreciation of the artwork. So this appreciation of artwork allowed us to communicate effectively by allowing us to come to an understanding of the work.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there seemed to be a mutual understanding of the artwork, especially with Mei Mei because we had an understanding of smog in the city which I felt made it easier to understand the work. If I had not grown up in Salt Lake City or been to a place with bad air quality I feel that it would be difficult to understand the art. So being able to focus on something that we both understood from our lives we were able to carry on a meaningful and effective conversation. Early in the year when I went on an Alternative Fall Break and there were a lot of international students, I shared a tent with a girl from China and I similarly found that when we talked about things that we both knew that we found we had a lot in common and a lot to talk about. What I mainly got from this encounter with the artists is the cultural interaction aspect that when you have something in common, there are no boundaries to conversation, and that there is always something in common.
Just walking into the gallery as seeing all of the different perspectives and ideas being expressed was overwhelming. It wasn’t just about the smog it was about industry, pollution, recycling there was something that hit on each if not all three. Some of the pieces also hit on the artists journey through life and what they feel is personally impacting their lives. The pieces were all personal to the artists because pollution is an issue that we all deal with and can cut back on our quality of life. Each of the artists has a medium or art form that is their style and most of them incorporated some of their past works into the pieces they made. This added yet another tie between SLC and Beijing, strengthening the global community.
ReplyDeleteI think seeing the pieces in the process of completion also changed my perspective as I knew what was done to make the final product, so it was less mysterious but more impactful to almost follow their train of though. Beijing’s level of pollution is much worse than ours in SLC (most of the time) but that didn’t stop the artists from taking inspiration from both cities. The art was centered on SLC skyline and inversion but the artists brought in pictures and innovative ideas from Beijing. They drew a lot of attention and I wonder if they were anticipating that and if the constant picture taking was for that purpose or just to follow their own progress.
More and more artists can be seen as activists. Their pieces can center on political, social, and environmental issues. Some topics aren’t necessarily controversial just things that need to be brought up and talked about. They look at the problem from a different perspective and can take an abstract perspective on the issues that need to be refreshed. Each artists brought a new perspective and emphasized air pollution as a global problem. Some pieces were easier to understand and just meant to be looked and bring up thoughts, other needed to be dissected and interpreted by each person in their person views and issues.
One of the most impactful aspects of the whole experience was the understanding we all shared. We all understood where pollution is taking us and they we are all each responsible for our own portion of it. I think the pieces each artist contributed had something to do with tier feeling towards pollution and the impact they felt it had, therefore each piece should also speak to someone else on a more personal level. That is what artist activist do they bring problems to a personal level.
With art being our chosen medium for looking at global citizenship as a whole this semester, I think the Beijing artist’s depiction of the growing pollution problem here in Salt Lake City was a great way to introduce the subject. Putting what we learned last semester into practice, being able to participate and learn in a hands on environment in the Art building inside the exhibit was a great experience that reaffirmed what we as a class have been studying for the past couple of weeks. New perspectives were brought to light, which was expected when bringing in these talented artists from Beijing, China to Salt Lake City, Utah. Although our climates and air quality problems are arguably completely different, I think the artists were able to bring both environments together and really bring attention towards the similarities between the two. One of the most interesting pieces for me personally was the depiction of the lungs against the window, with the sky and courtyard in the background. Although the x-rays had yet to be blown up and enlarged, being able to see through the images into what we know is tainted air was extremely powerful. It was a direct view of the pollution inside our bodies, which is easy to forget about or ignore at times. The plastic bag piece was also interesting, mainly because I feel so strongly about the use of non-sustainable resources that can easily be replaced with alternatives that are better for our environment. Even though the Beijing artists were fighting with an entirely new time zone and demographics, they were able to appropriately juxtapose both cultures of the US (Utah) and China (Beijing) into their artwork. Taking their knowledge of their home environment and comparing it to that of Salt Lake, we as “Utahns” were able to relate and understand their artwork. As a global citizen, we are responsible for being able to effectively communicate with other cultures, a task that was definitely put to the test during this exhibition. Understanding the artist’s work was one piece of this. In the living gallery, we were able to communicate and ask questions with the artists. The first day we were also able to create our own artwork to add to the growing pieces in the gallery. This environment was inclusive and encouraging, something completely different from typical exhibits or art shows. Usually, the artists are not present and the viewer does not contribute to a gallery. The gallery the Beijing artists put together was both inspiring and almost frightening, as they highlight environmental issues that most people would prefer to ignore and claim ignorance on. Their depiction of the environment was similar to those descriptions given to us by Jared Diamond in Collapse, the novel that came to mind when walking through the exhibit. All in all, the Beijing artists did a great job of bringing the much needed attention to our environment through the medium of artwork.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the unique chance to connect with these artists through their work and our similar issues concerning air pollution. The first piece of artwork that caught my attention when we entered the museum was the simple white masks that we wrote on in class to promote clean air, however, they had been altered since last I saw them. They now had nails and other dangerous bits of metal sticking into the mask and pointed toward where you would put your mouth and nose. This really stuck out to me because we may think that even though we live in dangerous air it won’t affect us or we’re somehow protected. Wearing a mask, for example, may give us a feeling of safety when in reality the air is still affecting each and every one of us even if we don’t realize it or if we’re taking precautions it still gets to us and inside us because it’s all around us.
ReplyDeleteI was also able to take an in-depth look at a piece of art situated on the far wall with it’s artist Mei Mei. I liked talking with her about her art work and discussing different aspects and interpretations about it. I particularly liked her use of the little pvc pipes connected to the gray wall and how they pointed down to the floor and to a collage of paper and string and other types of material all white, gray or black. I saw the pvc pipes as representing all the little sources of pollution that all culminate in the major issue of pollution.
It was very neat to be able to connect to these artist through their art and through our similar issues concerning our harmful air. I also feel that even if someone who had not experienced smog could understand it better from these pieces of art. When talking to Mei Mei she also expressed that other cultures are able to grasp the concept of her work. I really like how art can connect people and how different cultures can gain a greater understanding of each other through art.
I was surprised by some of the decisions the Beijing artists made in representing the environment. I was expecting to see much more abstract works of art to convey air pollution and its effects on human and environmental health. The Beijing artists surprised me by creating a few pieces that were very natural versus abstract, yet still worked to make the viewer think about what it was representing.
ReplyDeleteA good example of this type of work would be Dai Dandan’s picture of the Salt Lake valley cut into many strips and re-organized onto a poster/ canvas. I thought this was an interesting way of “showing off” the valley inversion; although the picture was just an ordinary picture of an inversion day, the way Dandan organized the picture made it seem new and stunning. The re-organized photo was intriguing, and possibly beautiful, but at the same time was just an ordinary picture of pollution in the valley.
In Dandan’s re-organized photo, the odd mix of pollution and art is clearly visible. This mix of pollution and art made me ask Huang Xu if he considered this type of art “beautiful” even though it has everything to do with the issue of air pollution. Xu responded by saying something along the lines of “nothing about art is ‘beautiful’,” but rather art is what it is and the viewer’s job is to decide whether or not he/she relates to it or likes it for some reason. This idea motivated me to analyze my reaction to Dandan’s piece, and decide for myself whether I liked it or not. Ultimately, I decided to almost like it. The creative organization of the Wasatch Front is intriguing and the way the mountains go around the poster in a circle is impressive- but the bitter air follows them around creating it’s own grey cycle. This piece of art was simply a cut up photograph, yet it inspired me to think more about Utah’s beautiful geographic features which are great for many outdoor activities, and the drawback of dreaded winter inversions.
Beijing is facing a huge air pollution issue; and since a rise in awareness has taken place for it’s health risk, citizens are now seeking change and stronger governmental action. According to the “China does a ‘180’ on Air Pollution Policy” article, the public was once proud of the smog. This was due to the fact that China is developing, and the pollution meant it was exploiting more resources and producing more in order to fuel its economy. However, the public is now growing concerned about the effects of the pollution, and want to see more strict standards. Salt Lake City has had a similar thing happen. Although the air quality in Salt lake has been gradually improving for years - despite increasing population- the public is becoming more concerned about it. Pollution is no longer viewed as something that is just a little unpleasant, but is rather becoming a dangerous health risk.
I loved how different the artwork was that was created by the Beijing artists. They used a lot of photography and technology to make their artwork come to life. I felt like I could relate to a lot of the pieces and their artwork truly depicted how similar our two cities are. Both of our cities have environmental problems and I felt like their artwork depicted just how bad our environments have gotten. I really liked the picture with the colorful trash bags because it depicted (in my eyes) hoe trash is a part of our every day lives and we are wasting more and more than we ever have. This picture depicted trash in a beautiful way, which I feel is a form of irony. If we keep destroying our beautiful planet with waste the only beauty we are going to have left will only be found in trash. I also liked the picture that was done in sharpie that showed an example of a crazy idea for how we can fix the pollution problem. Art can be beneficial in the sense that crazy ideas can evolve from it but these ideas may be able to make a difference if they are brought to life. If the windmill idea wouldn’t do more damage than what we are doing right now so his picture depicted some form of a blue print and it is up to the rest of us to bring that piece of art to life. I found it interesting the types of materials that the artist used. They didn’t use expensive and high quality medium. They used cameras, photos, sharpies, duck tape, PBC pipes, paper, and metal scraps. These materials are common and it was amazing how they could use such basic tools to create magnificent pieces of artwork. I feel like many artists try to depict scenes that spark imagination. A lot of the imagination that is sparked cannot always completely relate to the real world. In the Beijing artists pieces there isn’t one pieced that could not be related to the problems humans are facing today. Their art was very realistic and every piece told a story of how our world is being destroyed and it is something that is preventable if human beings decide to take a stand and changes to better our planet. We are all connected as a human race and I feel like their artwork really depicted that. We are all affected by each other’s mistakes but we can also all benefit by the positive changes that humans can and do make. I enjoyed meeting these artists and seeing their perspective on the problems within our environment. It really made me realize that there are many people out there going through the same problem that Salt Lake City is going through and the only thing that can change this problem is we, the human race that occupies this beautiful Earth.
ReplyDeleteOn the first day when we had first walked into the studio, the artists were in the midst of creating their final product. When we walked in, I honestly wondered what in the world we were doing there simply because none of us are art majors or even artistic in the slightest. After I was able to do some research on the artist while creating questions to ask them it really opened my eyes and made me see just how much work these artists had done. It made me wonder what it was that made them want to keep creating new pieces and, specifically, why they were here to create pieces that would speak to the students and population of Salt Lake City, Utah. After seeing their unfinished artwork I was so intrigued to see the final product. The artist’s work that really surprised me was Mei Mei's and Dang Dang's work. Mei Mei, whom Sophie, Emily, and I had the privilege of interviewing, surprised me because she said that she walked in to the studio for the first time and just had the instinct to specially pick that back wall to portray her piece. Mei Mei was very interesting and I found her work to be so practical yet so non-realistic at the same time. She was able to make an entire story on one wall, she used real pieces to add to her overall masterpiece such as PVC pipes, rocks, duct tape, thread, etc. I like that she does this because it isn't just one medium that she used such as the picture of the trash bags (although I rather enjoyed those as well). But the different mediums just gave it diversity.
ReplyDeleteDiversity was an important concept when talking to Mei Mei, we had asked the question whether or not she thought that other people would be able to connect with this piece if they had the same problem as us, and what it would mean to people outside of the smog cities. Mei Mei responded by saying that that is what she loves about her art, every single person can have a different interpretation and it will always be specific to them and their story. At first it was rather intimidating when we were told as a class to "just go talk to them!" But once we started talking to Mei Mei and hearing her story and her interpretation of the art, I was surprised that I was still left with my own interpretation. This relates to Global Citizenship because at first, diversity is a little intimidating to be honest; yet, once you are educated about it and you are immersed in experiences in which you are a little bit uncomfortable, you get to learn a whole new story or point of view. Leaving you with your own interpretation and connection with the person/experience. The importance of art is the viewer’s own personal interpretation of the piece, ultimately connecting each person, art work, and their own personal story or interpretation together.
I was unfortunately unable to make it to the discussion with the Beijing artists, although i was able to see what the artists were starting to work on. I thought that it was a great idea to put the problems of Salt Lake City's air and pollution into a medium. Seeing issues of our very own city is definitely more emotional when it is portrayed through a piece of artwork rather than reading out of a newspaper or magazine. It was pretty cool to see what kind of medium the artists used to portray certain issues. Seeing the different perspectives that the artists have, especially in a different country than their own, was so interesting. I really enjoyed the garbage bag photographs, mainly because i would have never thought of it. The use of lighting, as well as the texture and colors of the different garbage bags made this photograph stunning. I am sad that i was unable to personally ask questions and directly get the artists side of their art pieces, but just looking at the pieces of art got my mind thinking of Salt Lake City's problems in ways that a text never would.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed going to the Beijing art exhibit. The pieces were so inspirational, and I'm so glad we were fortunate enough to have the chance to talk with the artists themselves. Every piece of artwork was very thought-provoking. The artists did not get to experience the annual winter smog in SLC, so I wonder if the artists' perspective would have differed if there was more smog in the air (but I shouldn't be complaining about our uncharacteristically clean winter). I bet SLC looked a lot different from Beijing when they visited.
ReplyDeleteThough I really liked all of the works, I was especially intrigued by Huang Xu's drawing of SLC in Sharpie. It seemed to portray a sort of idealized world, in which all of the pollution we produce is sucked back into the ground, purified, and released back into the atmosphere as clean air. I really wanted to know what audience he was attempting to speak to by portraying this idealized place. He said that there really was no specific target he was trying to speak to, he just hoped that his message could appeal to all audiences; whoever would take the time to understand his piece. It was interesting speaking with Huang, even though I was speaking with him through Ye (Thank you, Ye!). Even though he was speaking a different language, he looked me in the eye and spoke directly at me, which was surprising. I have not had much experience conversing with someone using a translator, but in my limited experience, I realize that it is uncomfortable and awkward speaking to someone in a language that you know for a fact they don't understand, and vice versa. I was pleasantly surprised that he made eye contact when answering my question. I knew that he truly wanted to answer all of my questions to the best of his ability.
I also listened to Dandan when she spoke to the group. A few questions arose about the process of her work. She said that she has no idea what her finished product will be when she starts a piece. She says the ideas just come to her as she is working.
Lastly, I talked to Matthew Niederhauser. He has an incredible background. He has been living in Beijing for about 6 years. He attended Columbia University and he worked at the National Committee on US-China Relations. I could tell that he was extremely passionate about the pollution problem in Beijing. He told us about the types of particles that can get trapped in our lungs and how the pollution in SLC compares to that in Beijing. He talked a lot about his friend, Jonathan Watts, the author of When a Billion Chinese Jump. (For the record, I really recommend that book because it is packed with information not only about pollution and contamination in China, but everywhere in the world.)
My major takeaway point from the exhibit and the interviews is that an artists’ work is never planned out. They have an idea of the message they are trying to convey, and they use whatever materials and means to get that message across.
Always hard to be an interpreter, as there are so many things that cannot be precisely translated across cultures. I was actually a little surprised, too, that Huang Xu spoke to you in Chinese with direct eye contact. That actually does not happen very often in such interactions that involve a third-party translator. Simple eye contact turned out to be very important in such intercultural interactions! I'm glad that you enjoyed talking to different artists and seeing their art work in progress. Your post covered well on your encounter with art, artists, and people from a different culture. It was a multi-dimensional experience for sure!
DeleteAt first hearing we were going to an art gallery I was rather confused thinking, “what does art have to do with class?” When we got to the art gallery I became even more confused and very uncomfortable. I didn’t exactly understand what was being portrayed and felt unwelcomed. As we walked around everything started to come together for me, artist began to explain the work and the work made sense. It was so interesting for me to see how these artists from Beijing represented air pollution. For me I really had to take a step back and look at the bigger picture of things to really have an understanding of what it all meant. For example the trash bag art, which I found incredibly fascinating, it wasn’t till I really thought about the picture and what it could be till I gained an understanding for it. It was so interesting to see this artist had picked up trash bags off the street, made it into an intriguing design and then took a picture of it. The pictures were absolutely gorgeous, something I would honestly hang in my room, but they conveyed this message of ugly vs. beautiful. We value and appreciate industries, not only that but we almost have this strange obsession with industries and the newest gadget. Industries and buying is ‘what makes the world go round’ and we love our industries but we hate trash. People love to shop but most hate dirty environments, and it’s strange to think that sometimes that obsession with industries, and buying, and having the latest whatever is what leads us to our hate for dirty polluted environments with rubbish all over. The pictures portrayed this giant contradiction, and were rather ironic, between our love to buy and our hate for filth. Even wilder was the thought that this doesn’t just effect one area of the world, it’s not just Utah or Beijing that is effected by this irony, it’s everywhere. I found it so important and interesting because air pollution is usually thought of as emissions and vehicles and non-energy efficient objects when pollution is also due to trash and littering, and I think that is really overlooked. It was so important too me and really caught my attention because I think it’s important to inform people of this crazy idea that seems to be a secret to most ‘littering causes pollution’. Aside from my personal take from the art, I also enjoyed seeing the artist and art in the raw. It was interesting to go the first day and nothing was really done, only things had been started, compared to the second time when artwork was almost finished and there was stories being formed behind it. Overall the experience was really eye opening to me, I never thought of art as being this beautiful and creative way to portray something so ugly. Usually when talking about bad air you’re getting your information and perspective from a text based document. The art gallery gave the class and myself a chance to step out of the typical text based learning environment and step into a new creative learning environment. Overall the art gallery was an eye opener and gave new perspective!
ReplyDeleteIt is a joy to read your analysis that moves smoothly from your reflections on the art work to your thinking on industry, consumerism, and pollution. I am glad that you got to "immerse" yourself in an art piece (i.e., the plastic bags), and that its paradox of "the horrifying and the beautiful" (using Huang Xu's words) got you thinking this much. That is what's fascinating about art -- it may be confusing and inaccessible at first, but if we are willing to pause and stop and spend a little more time with it, it starts to speak to us in some way. Great post!
Delete