Date of Award

Spring 5-17-2018

Author's School

Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts

Author Department/Program

Graduate School of Art

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Visual Art

Degree Type

Thesis

Abstract

When looking through the camera lens, what do I see and hear? This thesis includes my two years of practice as a video artist discovering the world. It reveals my position as a middle person between my homeland, China and the country I am living and learning in, America. This double-sided culture blend affects my point of view of looking at things and myself especially in nature. The fundamental longing of discovering nature is deeply rooted in my own culture, and it has been developed over time by living in another culture. The process of looking closely at nature is itself a meritorious communion between nature and myself. My work explores video in an experimental way and focuses on the expression of human emotions. I project my feelings and stories on nature so that I can know myself better. By using video and sound, I create visual and auditory poetries to tell stories about solitude, clashes of cultures, transformed nature and transience of things.

Language

English (en)

Program Director

Patricia Olynyk

Program Director's Department

Graduate School of Art

Thesis Advisor

Buzz Spector

Studio/Primary Advisor

Zlatko Cosic

Studio/Primary Advisor

Buzz Spector

Committee Member

Dana Turkovic

Committee Member

Dana Turkovic

Artist's Statement

I mainly do video works based on my own experiences. I am interested in the process of my interactions with nature rather than just the pure beauty of it. The fundamental curiosity about nature keeps increasing as I am growing up. Nature becomes a character with its own breath, rhythm and way of being. Sometimes I view it as scenery and, at the same time, it also views me as scenery. We each see through the other and feel each other’s affections and vibrations. I see the human emotion coincide with changing nature, and by learning from it, we are able to learn better about ourselves. I project my, temper, humor and spirit on a larger screen called “nature”, sharing and communicating with it.

Video as a medium allows me to capture the unnoticeable dynamic transformation within nature, and to convey real-time experiences. Affected by traditional Chinese aesthetics, the poetic value is significant in my videos. The course of making an art video is like the construction of a poem. The symbolic meanings between visuals and sounds are linked, leaving spaces for imagination and interpretation.

My works show a new way of seeing the world and brings poetic to life. I wish to create an atmosphere in my videos and reveal a life experience of myself: people are able to step into my world and feel what I have experienced. I focus on human emotions, increase the awareness of familiar lives and tell universally affecting stories.

Permanent URL: https://doi.org/10.7936/K7V40TMC

Available for download on Wednesday, September 20, 2045

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