Topics and Issues #2
Hung Liu was one of the biggest art presentations I've attended here at Goshen College and was set up in a manner that caught my attention from the beginning. As I sat in the Reith Recital Hall, I was intrigued by the number of people in attendance and the amount of clarity she presented for each piece. Liu went through each of her pieces on the big screen, explaining in detail the background and meaning behind each one. During most Topics and Issues sessions, I am sitting on a cold hard floor in the art display room learning about the history of the artist, not necessarily each piece that is being displayed. I really enjoyed being able to hear about each piece and her thought process behind each piece. It was like I was stepping into her head and seeing the painting in the way she envisioned it to be. There were multiple ideas that she presented frequently throughout her work and some of them included: cultural revolutionaries, multiculturalism, and women of color. She also expressed her fascination with fortune cookies and the irony they have with her actual culture, her culture never invented them! She also talked about how each experience in her life provokes a new idea for her artwork. A lot of artists, including myself, have many experiences that rub off into their work. Since I have experienced those memories myself, it is easy for me to express those memories through my work. Liu was very good at provoking ideas for her work from her very own life experiences. Liu also discussed the fact that she went against traditional cultural traditions and displayed those reverse ideas in her work. A lot of artists are trying to relay messages through their work and Liu capitalizes on this concept with her false depictions and wacky setups in her work. It says a lot about her work ethic and personality to paint pictures like that and she had a very spunky personality that rubbed off in her work as well. I really enjoyed this topics and issues session and felt as though it was an honor to have her present at our school. I really enjoyed everything she had to say and my favorite part was learning about each painting. It really opened my eyes to how an artist at her level works and thinks.
Posted at 15:13 #