March 8th, 2018, Chen Che, the chief curator of How Art Museum, and Yin Yuyan, the assistant curator, came to ShanghaiTech to share their insight on Lettres du Voyant – The Art of Joseph Beuys andNam June Paik, a contemporary exhibition organized by How Art Museum.
White walls and lights, blank and art are the first impressions of How Art Museum. Through the unremitting effort of the team and invited curators of this exhibition. Lettres du Voyant showcased the important artworks of both Joseph Beuys and Nam June Paik while paying attention to the connection between them.
When asked why the exhibition was named Lettres du Voyant, they explained that it was actually derived from the work of the French symbolist poet Rimbaud, and the word Voyant in the poem meant a group of people who could predict the future.
Joseph Beuys represents the most avant-garde and most exploratory artistic orientation of Western contemporary art. Nam June Paik is an outstanding representative of artists who comes from an oriental culture in the field of contemporary art. Their works are self-sufficient in the context of the time and personal experience, at the same time they have reached the lead of the unknown trend and the exploration of advanced prophecy.
“The work Lettressymbolizes the inextricable connections between works of the two artists and the deep friendships accumulated in the movement of Fluxus. We hope that by introducing them, we will have a better understanding of contemporary art.” After showing the works of two avant-garde artists, the curators were asked to return to the stage to answer our questions. Students who were eager to learn about contemporary art have spoken and raised many outstanding questions.
When asked about the relationship between science and art, the two curators had their own opinions. Chen Che believed that technology was an important carrier that could help artists to achieve artistic creation. For example, many art museums were introducing holographic projection technology, etc., which was intended to let the audience integrate better into the artistic atmosphere. Yin Yuyan mentioned that art was prophetic for science and technology. For example, Nam June Paik pioneered the concept of “electronic highway” and “World Wide Web” in the early fifties, which had a profound impact on the development of science and technology.
When asked if Voyant could also be an audience, the curators agreed with the active thinking, and said that the concept of Voyant was supposed to be a legendary master, but as Beuys said, “everyone isan artist”. Anyone in life can discover, appreciate and even create art. Art is not a landscape but an eye. When you open your eyes, you are with beauty.
