What a great design by Gabriel Lopez! I really enjoyed his talk and his work and learned a lot. Likewise, as a foreigner, the impact of different cultures is a very valuable experience for me. A few years ago, I came to the United States to continue studying printmaking with a professor I admire. Every day I learn new knowledge and experience new cultural shocks, all of which trigger my creation. From the mechanical equipment and work processes of different printmaking studios, to different reagents and different technical means, to the history of Chinese and Western printmaking, I deeply realized that in artistic creation, proficiency in technical means is less important than a deep concept back of a work of art. Systematic learning is the fastest way to enter the industry.
In my printmaking and illustration work, daily life and the rapid advancement of technology are my greatest sources of inspiration. There is always a nostalgia aesthetic in my work, so I often use a mixture of mediums to create textures and surfaces that reference the architectural landscape I grew up in. I like making art that has more than decorative purposes. No judgment on people who just make stuff for kicks, though. You do you. Within my work, I always try to experiment with environments by manipulating the perspectives and space my figures occupy. Seasons are equally important. In my works, you can clearly feel the seasonality. I think my drawings can feel the seasons, tapping into a familiar feeling, like a reminder of a certain summer.
In addition, I often wonder where design and illustration will go in this era of rapid development of AI technology. As discussed in Benjamin’s “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, he considered that mechanically reproduced artworks lack a sense of “aura”. In today’s world, printmaking is already an ancient fine art medium, and AI can easily create realistic characters and scenes in digital printing. So where does “aura” go? I decided to continue to explore the answer to this question through continuous in-depth study and practice. Although I always try to maintain a positive attitude, I inherently question the logic behind everything. Maybe this is the meaning of deconstruction.