Land scape
Stephen Chen
CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW
The power of being indirect lies in the perception it is less forceful. Neutral is a shade on a swatch, not a stance. I don’ t want to tell people, I want people to think; which is why I prefer to work with non-linear narrative structures, so as to create spaces for people to make their own linkages. Particularly for those working in a climate rife with censorship or conformity, I think it is one of the few viable strategies for expression that does not overly compromise one’ s authenticity.
I believe the role of the artist is to somehow break through the sea of apathy and complacency in the public sphere of our highly mediated and materialistic culture. I have no utopian delusions about sweeping social transformations from art. More so than ever, one has to guard against the codifying, commoditizing, and co-opting impulses of the contemporary age. However, if we all create enough ripples, it just might become a wave of change.
One of the hallmarks of your practice is the capability to create a direct involvement with the viewers, who are urged to evolve from a condition of mere spectatorship. So before leaving this conversation we would like to pose a question about the nature of the relationship of your art with your audience. Do you consider the issue of audience reception as being a crucial component of your decision-making process, in terms of what type of language is used in a particular context?
Thank you. The issue of audience reception is a critical component of my creative decisionmaking process. One of the things that resonated with me in Adorno’ s conception of the dialectic is the notion of immanence, of coming from within. When I am creating a piece, many of the decisions are around how to create the conditions and symbolic structures to encourage the audience to think actively, to