A Conversation with YANG, Qiong

LIANG, Hao

A Conversation with YANG, Qiong

May, 2010

LIANG Liang Hao
YANG: Yang Qiong

Recorder: Liao Dong
Editior: Liao Dong, Meng Ziyan

LIANG Your works looks very pure and clean. This doesn’t mean your work style simply. What I meant is your thought is clear.

YANG The works of this exhibition is the extension of my graduation works. The initial concept is from the idea in your class, from the research of the shape of green pepper’s wrinkle, the experiment of glass cloth, to use the plane shape --- the subtle change between two-dimension and three-dimension. I found something closed to or even coincide with my daily mood.

And later works are also coming from the former style. They are almost the same expression and thinking to one subject. Later, I found some tiny problems. The works in the graduation exhibition are usually classified, from people’s first reaction. They are classified into, such as minimalism or rationalism. But in fact, this kind of works is not what I really want to express. The composition beauty or the texture of material is not my expression. I just want to express something else by this kind of comprehensive presentation. And then, I found more materials. More ideas added into my works after graduation exhibition, such as the oxhide, the relationship with life, the state of emotional squeezing.

For a long time, from when we start to learn sculpture, we have been always using the traditional materials, such as: wood, metal, copper. These are the material with nature quality. But in fact, these are not very closed to my life and growth. Because from when I was in middle school, the things in my life, such as toy, bowls and chopsticks, rubber, household appliance, are more and more like a synthetic modern material which replace the traditional material. Such kind of material takes more and more space in our life. So what I used is just applicable to this change. They are more closed to our life than those nature materials. They are smooth, textural quality. The perfect appearance is more attractive to me. And on the other hand, I also pay more attention to the things behind the gorgeous appearance, which can be called the vulnerability behind the beauty. For example, the wood material is thick and massive, but they must go through several years to be good. But the synthetic material can be formed just by a simple chemical step. They can attract people in a short time, but they cannot keep such feeling for a long time.

LIANG What kind of feeling or expression does your work’s shape pursuing? And how do you combine the shape and material?

YANG The shape in my works is always from the experience of my life. Some are from the already images, such as shuttle. Some are from the vision experience, such as the shape of skin, wrinkle of body, break of wound, inside-out muscle. These shapes, from their original appearance, are bloody and not acceptable. But in fact, when I select and ignore their badness, they will keep a distance with the viewer, and they will show out another beauty which can make people think and taste. The both familiar and strange feelings mix together. It’s very interesting. And from another side, I have been always pursuing a quality that is somewhat the existence and nothingness in Zen Buddhism. Such quality is attractive to me so much.

Sometimes, I think people’s emotion is fettered by letters. Happiness and sadness are made of every single word. And when you try to take off this word, or limitation in another word, the state and imagery of that emotion will be funny, and it will be intimate with human.

LIANG That’s why there is a spirit quality in your works, besides something about shape, material, and texture. This is a feeling out of words. Your works made me feel a kind of attraction which is wordless but truly existing. All the people can feel such things, but cannot express it by words or language. That is a very mysterious thing.

YANG Yes, I think this is the charm of art.

In addition, because of the different growth experience, we have different feelings. Do you deny the possibility of communicating with most people by art?

LIANG I think this relates to the level the artist does. One is the cognition level. Although they are not same style, if they have similar level, it’s easy to understand. Because everyone knows the language of sculpture, they are somehow in common. The other one is in a same art language. The work doesn’t express what the artist wants to express. You can feel it, but you cannot express it by sculpture. That is the problem of expression. Then, other people cannot have common feeling. If there is nothing wrong with expression, the one you can feel, other people can feel too.

I like the subtle emotion in your work more. I think it is related to your character, an introvert man. You don’t like to show yourself in life, except when you talk about art.

YANG Yes.

LIANG According to my understanding in your daily life, I think you are also a sensitive man. And in my opinion, you did a good job of combining your sculpture language and material together. You can keep doing it.

YANG Sometimes, I am think that you must make what you want to express as simple as possible in order to show your idea in works much more clearly when you do your works. Anything superfluous does not require. But if I do so, the conflicts between ideas and the materials would be out, because this is similar to certain factions and easy to be classified by people. Of course it is normal. When I create them, in fact, there is no conception of classification in my mind. In my opinion, art should keep it complicated style, but not to conceptualize and to be outline. The art of subjective classification is not desirable.

LIANG Yes, I think to enjoy needs to put all the form, conception, bondage aside. Forget all about them and just look the work itself. What the work tells us is just the artist wants to tell us. All the information is in such work. You should find out the relationship between them and the artist.

YANG Before these works, I did some that is related to the society. Some phenomena of this society or the feelings it gave me or the impact from the economic background. Because people cannot say no to the impact of the society, I have no choice to them. But after a period of time, maybe because of my growth time, I found they are not what I want to say. I generation pay more attention to ourselves. For me, I am an introvert guy, just like what you said before. This kind of character makes me more concern about my own emotion. It is such emotion without strong ups and downs. They are tranquil, breaking the balance like a dragonfly splashing the water, but not serious enough to destroy a person. The delicate emotion is very personal thing which is made under the social background.

LIANG I think you don’t think about it too much. Still that sentence, do not be classified, do not limit your creation. Just show what you want to express. It’s enough to express the most interesting thing. The sociality is none business of art. Some people are interested in politics and society, and some people are sensitive to the sculpture. Just like you, no define, just express.

Actually, it is out of your control, unless you have strong purpose. I think art is a total sensible thing. It’s an expression from individual emotional perspective. But its appearance can be rational. The inner part must be sensible.

I think you just do what you want to do. Although you think they are different, different shapes, different material, after you make a lot and put them together, you will find they have same clue. They are the different faces under same spirit. Then you can find out the track of your thought.