center for contemporary art

Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries piece Art Is A Lie That Just Won’t Die stuck out to me the instant I saw it. The work feels almost like a jab at what art is today. The work, done by duo Young-Hae Chang and Marc Voge, is a sort of “fuck you” to the institution of art museums in general. It talks about how, rather than display art in general including “bad art”, museums only show the good stuff – the magnum opus or crown jewel of the collection. This is a contradiction to the traditional view of art which is that it’s subjective. The artwork was displayed on two monitors, one in English and one in Chinese. The soundtrack, a jazzy blend of synced harmonica with the text, was outputted through a pair of Genelec monitors – monitors used by musicians such as Kanye West, Boys Noize, Skrillex, Ariana Grande, and The Chemical Brothers to name a few. 

Based on what we learned about in class, this piece is incredibly important in the world of digital art. Heavy Industries pieces have served as a catalyst for digital/new art in museums, with (one of my personal favorite) museums, the SFMOMA, recognizing their work all the way back in 2001. This piece is important because it, as said above, acts as a “fuck you” to the direct institution that they are trying to get shown at. Rather than be like Damien Hirst where they make art that does nothing but look like it wants to be shown, they make art that they like, and in turn see who wants it. To back this up, the duo’s work was acquired by Hong Kong museum M+back in 2016, showing the lasting impact and legacy they have in digital art. Their work has been shown all around the world, from the CCA here in Shanghai to the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, and their reach and legacy will be one hard to forget. 

*Please note, the use of “they”, “them”, and “their” referrers to the work of the duo. Young-Hae Chang is NOT a one person project.