vivian wong volume 2, 2006, #032

vivian wong is a student at cooper union in new york city. she enjoys collecting moths (not butterflies), reading vietnam war literature written by veterans from both sides, and watching M*A*S*H re-runs. currently her work explores military-related issues through a variety of media, including drawing, photography, installation, and (eventually) video/film.

1. how would you explain 'art' - in 19 words or less? creating a personal relationship with very public and divisive subject matters.

2. what is the first work of art you ever loved? it would probably be coppola's apocalypse now … i didn't discover it until i was a teenager. i was fascinated by the idea of self discovery through the horrors and atrocities of war. it described the condition of 'ambivalent realities' in war and soldiering, which is a space i've been exploring for a while. i still believe in the cliché of knowing the dark side in order to discover oneself.

3. how important is theory to your art? theory is important to my art, but i am not consumed by it. i still believe in intuition and spontaneity. sometimes i isolate myself completely from contemporary theory to just do work from an emotional point of view. but i always return to theory to further advance my artwork.

4. describe your ideal art workspace. a hermit cabin in the middle of the forest. or i would settle for a huge loft space so that i can do whatever i want without cleaning up.

5. describe your current art workspace. half of my 11 ft x 12 ft bedroom in downtown new york city.

6. if you could be placed in suspended animation and safely reanimated at some time in the future with the sole purpose being to see how history treated you / your art, would you do it?
i don't really have the desire to do so. i simply want to participate in the contemporary art dialogue of today. but if i were to visit the future, i would want to do so in the form of a ghost.

7. who are some of your favourite artists (contemporary or canonical)? too many to remember. i enjoy the work of louise bourgeois because it is so sincere and unpretentious. the watercolor drawings of marlene dumas - they are so seductive and truthful. i also like the work of paul chan, ellen gallagher, laylah ali, cindy sherman, just to name a couple of artists that i aspire to be like.

8. tell us about a gallery (online or physical space) that you think rocks, and why you think it rocks. i think the contemporary art museum of montreal rocks. never too many people there, which is the way an art museum should be.

9. would you choose the baked bean jaffle or the caramelised pumpkin and red onion tart with crispy radicchio and hazelnut salad with apple vinaigrette? the red onion tart. i love onions.

10. finish this sentence: "the work of art can / cannot be considered separately to the artist because ________." the work of art cannot be separated from the artist because it is probably the most sincere reflection of oneself. i consider my work to be autobiographical in many ways.

check out more of vivian's work at: www.vwprojects.net

skin #1
"skin" #1, gouache on paper, 2006

skin #2
"skin" #2, gouache on paper, 2006

skin #3
"skin" #3, gouache on paper, 2006

masking #1
"masking" #1, photograph, 2006

masking #2
"masking" #2, photograph, 2006