Artists
Photo Credit: NIU Chun-Chiang
TANG Tang-Fa
TANG Tang-Fa
| Location | USA / New York, NY |
|---|---|
| Residency | International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) |
| Year of the Grant | 2000 |
| Work | ISCP開放工作室展 |
| Personal Website | TANG Tang-Fa's Personal Website |
Artist Statement:
I was able to experience in person what I had read in books and seen on the internet through this residency in the art center of the world, New York City. And it was through this direct contact that I had the opportunity to make up what I did not obtain from the books and advance my art.
Being in a foreign environment and exchanging ideas about personal lives and art with artists from other countries made processing my own culture easier. I could view my own art as well as the cultural scenery of the place, in which I grew up and lived at, in a wider and more open perspective.
There were about 300 galleries exhibiting works by tens of thousands of artists worldwide in New York City. At the beginning of my residency, I trained myself to be a more critical viewer of art by looking at dozens of artworks in different media, forms of expression, and themes every day. I thought about what kind of works would transcend time and make an imprint in the history of art. The answer to this very first question that I asked during my residency lies in works that break the limitation of art itself, to be able to communicate deeper in more accurate forms of expression with ‘artistic value’ to achieve such timelessness.
If one has never been moved by art, how could he or she make art that moves people? I had had many opportunities in New York City to see famous works in person that were only accessible to me in books or on the internet. I found it quite misleading to simply view works through images of the original artworks since there existed a gap between the real thing and its representation. One could only experience the essence of an artwork by visiting it in person. This firsthand experience became an important process to elevating an artist’s understanding in art.
My residency experience holds an important place in my artistic career. It opened up my eyes and strengthened my artistic capabilities. It also helped me to really appreciate the spiritual influence that art has on people and further guided me in the direction for my future works.