← BACK TO BLOG
Find out more about Jennifer’s multimedia art “Preserving Equilibrium in Food” here
What role does being a Gallatin student have in the process of making this piece?
I think it’s a very unique program where I could really do what I want and I follow my passion. In the past, it (school) was always about curriculum – you need to finish these classes; and you need to get a really good GPA and do research in that specific area. So I applied for Gallatin, and my proposed concentration is art and data science. I’m pretty comfortable with data science, but art, I always say I’m a newbie in art, right? Because I’m starting from a more organic connection to art. And how I understand that art is making me happy – the process will make me happy. Something I wanted to explore is to quantify the impact of art making to the artists themselves. So that’s something I ultimately wanted to pursue. But I’ve talked to many mentors, and it seems it’s a pretty challenging field. Because there are a lot of things you need to measure and like, and how do you make sure it’s quantifiable, but that’s something I’m still trying to figure out. So this piece, it’s a little bit and also inspired by a current class I’m taking, which is part of “urban art workshop”. So in the class we are always encouraged to do lots of reading and understand different styles, different types of art exists in New York and how that relates to New York. And a lot of the exercises we do as class assignments take us to see our favorite restaurant or cafe; or just to look for 30 minutes and see what you find. That helped me see things a little differently. It helped me to see how moving objects or like people are part of the scene. You have the background in the foreground. And I think that’s what contributed to some of my vision of how I want to make that installation come to live.
How have you interacted with other artists or GAF student leadership team members?
On Tuesday, when I met with the artists, one of them commented “your project was like the ultimate multimedia. And I was like, “Wow, that’s true”. But then also, I have a print that kind of shows the significant moments of these eateries. I also wanted to bring the ambience so that it’s like the ultimate immersive experience where I’m bringing the experience to you. This is how I see this neighborhood eatery. So I’m bringing that perspective with just being really candid. I just put a camera there, and just record for five minutes, and they do their own thing. So it’s like, close. And also I try to limit the editing. So actually the video that plays in the background, it’s raw footage without editing. I just combined them.
What was it like making Arts in COVID?
Wow, okay, that’s like the ultimate question. You just give me goosebumps. So I felt like I recently rediscovered my passion towards art. In the past, with a full time job, I would be traveling and meeting new people all the time, but I didn’t have time to really dedicate myself and understand myself more. So it’s a lot of self discovery through the art making process. And during COVID. It pushed me like it gave me so much more time to think. And when I and then I started having ideas that I wanted to execute, and I started practicing different mediums of art. So I also liked Moved to my current studio apartment from before where I had a roommate. So now it’s like it’s all my space. I have a disco ball. I don’t know if you see it. (Yes.) So I just lay on the floor, I used to not have a couch, which is the empty space. And I just think I have all the plans. And I think about how I want the space to be and then how I want to create different pieces of things. And I knew that I always loved making clothes and painting. And then just expanding into, and I also love taking pictures like photography. And that helped me because that helped me collect things in terms of like, if I wanted to use it again. So now this is like looking back, it all started around May 2020. And because I took all these footage for documentation of me making bread, and of me going to the eatery. Now I look back and say, March 2021, it looks like that. April, May. So to kind of demonstrate like that passage of time.. So that’s what COVID meant for me? There was a lot of self discovery. I became really aware of my emotions, and what makes me happy. I knew, making art makes me happy, but COVID forces me to practice more – it forces me to kind of continue to go deeper into things that make me happy. I think this year, it’s like, we’re now about to, you know, enter an almost another world. It’s like a hybrid world where I feel like I’m reconnecting with my past. It’s like, Oh, I love making art. And I love combining technology and art and like different media. And I never knew I had that talent, actually. And now it’s like, “Oh, well, it makes sense!” Because growing up I was taking all the art classes. Why was I that good at cooking? Because my mom always made me watch her cook. So it’s like a natural thing. It’s not that new of a skill. It’s a skill that we always had. And we just thought that we didn’t have it.
And how has being an artist in GAF like for you?
I’m so grateful. And I am so lucky that I felt like I’m now part of the community because I didn’t have I didn’t have any friends in the art world and past. Most of them are like finance and engineering and like in the tech firms, but now, I met artists, and everybody’s so cool, very creative and gives me alternative perspectives. It’s almost like exercising another part of my brain. And GAF was, I think it was, pivotal. I can now exercise my work. And then also just have you guys did such a great job, like we were talking about on Tuesday, all of the artists were like, almost like tearing out like appreciating. And then I remember like, well, he said, as shown here, like, Oh, I don’t have any, like, I don’t know who to say it. But like you’re here and you’re part of the carrier. And the producer team. I’m just gonna say to you, like you guys do such a great job. Because as artists, it’s so hard to find opportunities during COVID. Because when we cannot meet, it’s hard to network – it’s all just online, with very limited space and opportunity. Some of them cost money. So it’s like now it’s like giving us this platform where it’s like, you guys make our art look good. And now we can proudly add things to our portfolio and also just have a stage to have a proud moment. It’s almost like acknowledging all the hard work that we have done. And also like it’s super encouraging because now we know this is like a very professional setup, and I did have all of us that got selected, we’re super lucky and very grateful. (Interviewer: Thank you so much. I feel like the curators will tear up when they listen to this.) Yeah. We have not rehearsed. I did not know you’re going to ask me this question.
How did you set up the art piece in the gallery?
I remember the (student leadership and gallery) team was very encouraging, because working with Chey (GAF 2021 Visual Art Curator), for example: she reached out and there were a lot of things that we had to work through. At first, we were trying to do it on a window. I feel like my setup, it’s pretty, it’s not simple, it definitely requires a lot of time and coordination. It looks so good – it has depth. It has the media; it has the audio, the lights, a different pedal stool, with different height! And also, I think, as a team, everybody was so flexible about supporting each other. And I remember the first time I met Keith (GAF 2021 Faculty Advisor), he said, “your requirements make you really sound like an experienced artist.” I was like, “Oh my god! That means I could really follow my vision. In the future, I could be more confident about saying things like “This is how I want my pieces; they should be this way”. So I think yes, again, thank you for actually being super supportive and flexible. I think you guys really make our vision come true.
Photo credit to Jennifer Qian and Emma Comrie
You must be logged in to post a comment.