Jason Yi... What A Guy ! ! !

"Terraform" 2014

 site specific installation

install-in-progress at Wriston Art Center,

discarded metal folding chairs, plastic ties, plastic wrap

I was very excited about Jason Yi coming when he first visited us to collaborate on his zip-tie installation. Although the process was, by definition, a collaboration between him and us students, the work level was off balance. That being said, we merely carried out the idea that Jason, the artist, conceived of, acting more as sculptural fabricators and the physicality and visually impressive outcome of the "net" remind me of why it turned out well.

Jason's work, as he showed in his lecture, is very visually interesting and experimental, which I appreciate. However, I often thought he didn't explain his motives very well and seemed to be searching for meaning where there was none. This is great though! Not great that he couldn't articulate very well, but great that there didn't need to be a distinct meaning for each piece. I get that artists make money by talking about the things that they like to make, but I much prefer a modest artist raving about why they love being creative to one that struggles to find or inject meaning into their "work."

His photography looked very cool and gave an intriguing off-putting feeling that resulted from the awkward Photoshopped process. These photographs, along with the video of his parents' interviews that he presented, were all very visually exciting to me, but conceptually, they felt weak and forced. I thought the same about his sculptures, although they were much more beautiful to me. I like that he uses non-traditional media to create abstract forms in a simple and pleasant way. His "Allusion to Diamond Mountains" was particularly intriguing because he happened upon the starch packing peanuts and was interested and inspired to use them as his next medium for whatever he created.

"Allusion to Diamond Mountains" 2006

water soluble starch packing foam, wood

244cm x 66cm x 38cm (96" x 26" x 15")

Jason is a good example for me as I form opinions about artistic concepts and art-making as an activity. His confusing purposes serve as something to stay away from in terms of how I view and talk about things that I create (if they even warrant talking about).