Artist Dialogue with Stella Zhang

Sidewalk Art brings installation art out into the streets for the public eye. What are your ideas on public art? (Especially in contrast to gallery art.)

Art on display in public spaces has a very different audience from gallery art. The general public inherently has a more divergent range of opinions for the art on display due to their diversity. It does enable the  artist to make the piece of work have more possible vantage points  and varying depths of interpretation.

艺术作品展示在公共空间和画廊有着非常不同的观众群。来自多样的人群背景对艺术作品的观察角度和解读方式更加宽泛。因此，艺术家与作品的被解释会有更多的可能性。

For Sidewalk Art the idea of a 'store' or 'shop' was incorporated into some of your designs. What influence did this venue have on the piece that you created for this show?

For this work I chose chopsticks and bamboo mat because that’s familiar material in China town. By using these more familiar materials  (‘daily stuff’) I attempt to connect both with our lifestyle today and Chinese culture. Although the material is very common, its detailed arrangement and multiplicity elicit divergent interpretations based on personal experience and understanding.

这件装置作品我使用了在中华街随处可见的筷子和竹垫。对于日常生活用品的使用强调的是关注现实的生活形式和文化。通过使用极其平凡的材料可以表现一种现实观念。对其内涵的解读在于每个个体的不同理解。

Stores are often about consumerism, what are your ideas on the viewer consuming art, instead of products?

It is an interesting artistic challenge to create something that speaks to the imagination from left-over stuff, thereby allowing consumerism to benefit our minds.

艺术作品是一种意识形态产品。应该提供某种精神营养而展示其价值。

There were certain challenges and barriers in this project. For example, the physical barrier of the door, window, and low-lighting that working in a storefront space entails. How did you work with these challenges? Did you use these elements as part of your design?

Working in a space with surfaces different from what I am used to challenged me to come up with a new, lighter and more unified base, for which I used white fabrics winding around filling the whole space.

工作于不同形态的空间是具有挑战性的。对于空间的利用需要灵活的构想与调节。例如我使用白布包裹整体空间以弥补光线的不足。

I see many pedestrians peering into the windows of your installations. How would you like people to interact with your piece?

It is my intent to elicit different emotions and thoughts with my art, some of which can be similar to what I intended to express, but some can also be entirely different. I enjoy learning how people look at and think about my work, as this adds new dimensions and brings the work alive.

我试图引导观众以独自的角度去观看我的作品。其观点可能同与不同于我的意图。我更愿意了解其他个体对作品的理解。这种多种的解读可能性会赋予作品新的生命力。