The group exhibition The Bunker • Dialogue, curated by the famous artist Mr. Zhang Peili, opens at The Bunker art space from June 11 to September 10, 2017. Out of the six participating artists, all of whom graduated from the China Academy of Art, Jiang Zhuyun—born in the 1980s—belongs to a younger generation.
Having studied new media art with a focus on visuality, Jiang Zhuyun was always innately sensitive to sound. Many of his works concern sound and reveal, in the words of John Cage, that ‘any sound can be heard,’ perhaps even demonstrating how sound can influence our thinking and reproduce the world around us.
‘Zhuyun’ is a poetic name; while the artist himself is mild and meticulous, his art is never without innovation, surprising his audience time and again. ‘Placed’ in the last room of The Bunker, Jiang Zhuyun’s work is titled Out of Void, demonstrating the artist’s understanding of the art space’s underground physicality and revealing people’s curiosity or fear towards the unknown.
In this interview, Jiang Zhuyun shares with me his thoughts on Out of Void, some personal experiences, and art in general.
Interviewer: Li Qingyue
Translated by: Chen Tiantian
Li Qingyue (Li): When did you first want to become an artist?
The study in the affiliated high school of China Academy of Art had a great influence on me. What I drew and what I saw became quite different. On drawing class, we practice to draw those plaster sculptures; but outside of class, I was able to see and hear many modern and contemporary art works, including some experimental literature, I had some of my own attempts back then. I think that was a very splitting state, and I just wanted to get over it after the university entrance exam.
Li: Was Mr. Zhang Peili your teacher at the New Media department?
Yes, he was my teacher. When I was still taking foundation classes during freshmen year, I wanted to organize an event, and I thought the New Media Department might be interested in it, so I reached out to Prof. Zhang (He was the head of the department). That was when we first met, and he was very supportive of me. I guess most people who learned drawing from a very young age might have a ‘painter complex’, but I’m not a stubborn person, and tend to be curious about new stuff. I didn’t know what the New Media was about, so I chose that major.
Li: When your nickname ‘building block’ come about?
When I was still in high school. I wrote some poems back then, so I gave myself a pen name. It was a time of artsy youth, tend to do some adolescent writings (laugh), the kind of thing that gives your hormones a way out.
Li: ‘Zhuyun’ is a nice name
There was a idiom called “Zhu Yun Song Sheng”(meaning: melody of bamboo and sound of pine), so my parents picked the name from this phrase. My name has caused quite some misunderstandings since I was a child. Just hearing my name without meeting me, lots of people would mistaken me as a girl. This problem has lasted till now.
Li: This name feels relevant to your work today. How did you first encounter sound art?
When I was in high school, my teacher Fang Xianhai recommended me to read a biography of John Cage. At that time, I thought his idea that “any and all sounds could be heard” was really interesting, so I started making sound recordings.
Li: What is the most beautiful sound that you have ever heard?
Silence. When I was in Switzerland, I had an incredible experience. I was standing on top of a snow-capped mountain, and it was just all white around me, with absolutely no sound, not even the sound of wind. It was like being trapped inside of a glass cage, and it felt so unreal.
Li: Who is the biggest influence on your artistic career?
Many different people I meet in life have some unique characters that would give me impacts, including my parents, teachers, and friends, or even just strangers passing by. A story that left me a great impression was this blind little boy I saw on a bus stop, he was waiting for the bus with his family holding him. Later on the bus, I was paying attention to him, since he kept smiling all the way. I then noticed that there was a girl in front of him, and her pony tail hair was sweeping in front of his nose. I guess he must have detected some really special smell. I think when one of your senses were blocked, or missing such experience, there must be something special compensated to your other senses.
Li: Does your artistic style resemble your personality?
Every piece of art work would have the artist’s own character in it, including his attitude at a certain stage of life.
Li: What do you think is the relation between art and life? To what degree is art indispensable?
Art has made my life more eventful.
Li: Will your passion for creation persist? If one day you run out of inspiration, how will you resolve this issue?
I tend to stay vigilant towards the so called ‘inspiration’. I think inspiration doesn’t just come from a knock on your head, it should be continually accumulated. For artists, it would be a state of working.
Li: You used a lot of technology-related products in your first solo exhibition—are they a means of expression in new media art?
I was really shocked by the Malaysian Airline’s event. It was hard to believe that such an airplane could just disappear nowadays. There is a contrast here between the event of disappearing, and the sudden appearance of information boom. Among the three art works in this exhibition, on one side the sound of murmur comes from black box recordings, while in Disappearing Answer, the black box emits high frequency sound that only the horse behind the door can hear. So there is a correlation on the technical level, and it also delivers a concept, but it is not directly visible.
Li: What are your thoughts on the audience’s right to interpret a work of art? If the audience’s understanding deviates from the artist’s original intent, on whom does the meaning of the work rest?
Artists are makers, not preachers. The audiences should contribute to the completion of the work with their own understandings. Duchamp once said, the spectators ultimately finish the artwork by observing and interpreting it.
Li: So would you rather the audience to understand your work or not?
I hope they could understand.
Li: Do you have a favorite piece? If not, which one do you have the most regrets about?
During my solo exhibition, due to several reasons, the big water tank blew up just before the opening for the first time. Then the second time it leaked again before the opening, so the gallery was flooded twice (laugh). Actually, I have anticipated it before the exhibition, but I think the artist’s personal will weighs more when facing the accident. It was important to try it anyways.
Li: And any works you’re happy with?
For anyone who practices art would have such experience: even when the exhibition opens, the artist still thinks there are something not enough, that’s just normal. At the end, it’s always just to fight the deadline, and try to do better.
Li: Hypothetically, what kind of person do you want to become in life?
To build myself from my actions, to define myself from my actions, that’s my ideal state as of now.
Li: Can I interpret ‘maverick’ as a desire to create a personal style?
My own doubts and questions would motivate me to create my artworks. So I never tried to pursue a certain kind of personal style. If I had to create a style, then I guess the style with no personal style would be what I aim for.
Li: Is this self-doubt or does it include doubts about your surrounding environment and society in general?
Myself, including all the social surroundings.
Li: China is developing rapidly, and its society is becoming more flippant, extreme, twisted, and self-contradicting. Does this bring you more inspiration?
Indeed, a lot of problems that are worth thinking about emerge in contemporary China. Because it changes very fast, everyone reacts in a different pace. It is also a matter of personal experience and knowledge. But as an individual, it is necessary to try to make some changes. Such changes could be very specific, rather than universal thinking.
Li: With regard to the artist’s means of support—or perhaps lack thereof—in the new age of e-commerce, are you more inclined to manage your personal brand with your own team, or hire a manager and just focus on the art?
I’ve seen such types, a lot of artists are running such brand management, or some painters hiring their own agents. How to make a living as an artist is a very practical matter indeed. I don’t have a preference between these, because for me, living must come first. Independence of living comes before independence of art. I think for any ordinary person who has another job, while in the same time making art works, is in a very good state of being. What you mentioned before would be two working models for professional artists.
Li: Do you have any suggestions for newcomers to the art world?
I am also an artist who just got into this circle (laugh).
Li: What are your thoughts on the opinion that ‘there is no aesthetics, only concept in contemporary art’?
The investigation of a concept can also be a kind of aesthetic. I don’t think these two are in conflict. A concept is also an aesthetic object, while an aesthetic object is not necessarily visual. Aesthetic has a very extensive range, and it’s a crucial component of philosophy. You can have your own aesthetic for just anything.
Li: How did you come to participate in this exhibition, The Bunker • Dialogue?
My solo exhibition was opening in Beijing at that time, and Prof. Zhang was in Beijing for that too. He came to see this bunker space the next day, and thought it was great, so he called me and told me to come see it.
Li: In your piece for this exhibition, Out of Void, you make the spectator enter a pitch-black space; what kind of experience do you wish to create?
The title of this work is called Out of Void, it can also be interpreted as outside of the void.
Li: What topics are you interested in nowadays? Are you preparing any proposals for future projects?
There are many lasting works. I’ve been working on a Internet project called Pass Word (showpassword.net),. Through a wifi station anyone can send messages to a physical space in which the wifi station is placed, and when searching forwifi, people c an see the contents that other users sent. This is an ongoing project. Last month in Shanghai OCAT, we had a release of this wifi station’s 2.0 version. I am also working on an experimental music album that will be released by the end of this year.
蒋竹韵访谈 | 最美不过无声
2017年6月11日至9月10日，由著名艺术家张培力先生策划的《掩体|对白》群展在位于北京张自忠路段祺瑞府的“掩体空间”艺术馆展出。相比参展的六位中国美术学院（前浙江美术学院）出身的艺术家，80后的蒋竹韵属于年轻的一代。
大学读多媒体专业，专修视觉的蒋竹韵，天生却对声音有极强的敏感，他的众多以声音为主题的作品，诠释了“任何声音都可以被聆听”，声音影响我们的思考，重现我们周围的世界。
蒋竹韵是个极其富有诗韵的名字，他本人平和、细腻，而在艺术创作上却总是充满新奇的想法，给看展的观众带来意想不到的惊喜。此次展览，蒋竹韵的作品被“放置”在掩体空间的最后一间，被命名为《凭空》，这是他对位于地下室的“掩体空间”的一种认知，也表现了人们对未知事物的探索性或恐惧感。
蒋竹韵与我交流了他对《凭空》，对个人经历和对艺术的看法。