XINYU LONG
In my research and reflection on art practice, I usually use short interrelated texts to document my primary and secondary research. These critical reflections help me to organize my creative thinking and extend it. This section will share my thoughts on some of my favorite artists' works, books, and films. In addition to this, there will be some reflections on my personal experiences.
Artist：Natisa Jones
Natisa Jones has been one of my favorite artists for the last two years and her work has guided the direction of my artistic studies, by researching her personal background in relation to her work I was able to find my entry point to this section of Feminist Art. Through the process of drawing, writing, and video, Jones creates strong connections between her personal experiences and her creative practice. Behind her work is a perception of society and self that transcends identity. To a certain extent, I think her work has pushed identitarian paintings related to racial and gender themes forward. Her paintings clearly showed various history and cultural backgrounds, which led her to think of multiple identities, so her work showed some bisexual characters. She was oscillating between abstraction and figuration,
while often incorporating words into paintings. Additionally, she pays attention to painting and random brushstrokes, the picture is original, without deliberate and artificiality. I see a powerful and mysterious primal calling in her work, which is the point of attraction for me and what I want to see in my work. Besides, I really like her thinking way that she explored more about understanding of women’s gender in an unstable environment. This had to make me also start to incorporate the subtle changes in my identity in light of my cultural upbringing and the development of contemporary society in recent years. Therefore, she not only inspired me a lot about my work but also influenced me in art practice of female identity.
_Elephant, 2019
+-+Ce+Soir_s, 2019
Artist: Wendelin Wohlgemuth
I initially thought he was a photographic artist because I was drawn to his filmic and narrative images, but when I explored his work I realized it was actually all paintings. It was at this point that I began to learn more about his understanding of aesthetics and art making, as I felt that some of my work intersected with his.
I learned about his description of his purpose and forms from an interview with him，‘The goal for me is always to create a delicate balance and tension between something virtual (removed in time and space) and something tangible or physically present. But I retain my interest in more of a figurative approach (rather than purely non-representational) because all images carry connotations and references to shared observations/perceptions/memories between people that connect us’. (Wendelin Wohlgemuth, 2020) I found that he uses photographic material as a starting point for his paintings, and that he reconstructs narrative images into self-conscious pictures by using his own drawing language. This is something that I also feel very strongly about since in some of my works there is often a story like a flash of light or a blurred image of a creature, which not only reflects some subtle emotions but also makes the viewer stop in front of the painting.
In a further way, I am inspired by his approach to images and materials, which differs from the traditional practice of reproducing an image onto a canvas, but instead undergoes multiple processes. For example, they are re-photographed on a computer screen with a cell phone, adjusting the focus and playback speed, and then using software to adjust their color compositions, which is why the final outcome is unique. His behavior seems to me to be on the rational side, and his use of oil painting as a creative medium I think is also due to its malleability to fit the needs of the picture. As he says, ‘On the one hand, it functions as a photographic medium that can be used to view something else, much like a window or a mirror. But on the other hand, it is a purely physical substance that resembles nothing but itself.’ （Wendelin Wohlgemuth，2024）
Film：Passing （2021）
Here's a movie Remi recommended to me during one of the tutorials. This is a film by Rebecca Hall, based on the novel "White Pass." The whole movie revolves around the story of two black women. Mixed-race childhood friends reunite in middle-class adulthood and become increasingly involved in each other's lives and insecurities. While Irene identifies as African-American and is married to a Black doctor, Clare "passes" as white and has married a prejudiced, wealthy white man, she chooses to herself off as white due to the social problems of the time until ends up paying the price for it.
I was touched by the words of Clare in the movie when she says to Irene 'You're living a real good life, and you're free'. The idea of authentic identity and freedom has been mentioned in my previous work，but this movie gave me a new perspective on these concepts. Freedom no longer just represents moving from a closed space to a desired environment, it represents the inner psychological identity of individuals of different races and genders in every era. like Kaplan, Carla (2007) states that it has been hailed as a text helping to 'create a modernist psychological interiority ... challenging marriage and middle-class domesticity, complexly interrogating gender, race, and sexual identity, and for redeploying traditional tropes—such as that of the tragic mulatta—with a contemporary and critical twist'.
To be honest, I haven’t had much experience with racial issues. Before I was a graduate student, I stayed in one country for a long time, but now that I’m in another place with frequent cultural hybridization, this topic has appeared more frequently. I think I It should be accepted and explored, because whether it is the gender I often speak out about or the artists around me have grown up in this environment, if I want my art practice to develop more broadly I think I will pay attention to it in my future studies. In addition, I was fascinated by the use of black and white light and shadow tones and the abrupt ending of this film. The dramatic turn in this soft atmosphere makes the narrative full of artistry, which may inspire me in future paintings.
Critical reflection of personal experiment
The Call Of Nature & The Great Love of Motherhood
I have had an inexplicable affection for nature and its creatures since I was a child, which is also one of the creative themes of my current artistic practice. I have always believed that nature is healing and can take me to places far away from the world and noise. From the CCTV series Animal World and Natural Science Channel, which I never stopped watching when I was a child, to every natural place I go to when I grow up, I never tire of it. Therefore, whether it is an upward-growing tree, a gray tornado or the fleeting animal images in my works, it is my yearning for mysterious nature. In my paintings, every life is undefined.
Sometimes I feel that animals are worth knowing more than people. Just like when I reflected on the movie Beauty and the Beast when I was a girl, I felt sorry for the beast turning into a prince. Although because of my young age, I often saw the different appearance and wild temperament. But it was also my early enlightenment towards the image of “beast”. Observing the behavior of creatures in nature and the feelings brought to me by my family background, the image of "beast" gradually changed in my perception. After my parents divorced, I was legally assigned to my mother. From that point on, my father's involvement in my life became significantly less. Although my father also loves me, my mother obviously played a major role in my growth. Just like a video I accidentally saw on the Internet some time ago in terms of caring for my mother alone. In the video, a mother who was interviewed said, 'Even though it was difficult for me, I have no regrets about giving birth to my child'. In fact, in Chinese society, many fathers have role deficiencies, and there are tens of millions of such mothers. From then on, the image of "beast" represented a resolute and responsible mother in my understanding, they are like mother animals raising their offspring, which is their motherly instinct. This is why there are animal elements in my paintings. I want to redefine beasts maternal love. They have a similar connection with the development and survival model of human society to a certain extent.
Reference
ARTODAY, 2020. Wendelin Wohlgemuth's Interview. Available at: <https://artoday.it/wendelin-wohlgemuth> [Accessed 15 January 2024].
New American Paintings，2024. Available at: <Wendelin Wohlgemuth | New American Paintings> [Accessed 15 January 2024].
Kaplan, C (2007). "Introduction". In Larsen, Nella (ed.). Passing. Norton. [Accessed 18 January 2024].