LandEscape Art Review // Special Issue | Page 27

Jing Zhou

LandE scape

CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW of Chinese philosophies has shaped my thinking and conduct . The prudent and contrary-minded Taoist beliefs , the attached-to-the-earth reality of Confucianism , and the sudden enlightenment and intuitive insights of Zen ( aka Ch ’ an in Chinese ) are the foundation of my life . On the other hand , Western culture has inspired me and opened new ways of thinking after moving to the U . S . for 18 years . My understanding and appreciation for both cultures has no doubt given me the ability to see the connections and differences between the two . This experience enriched my passion for art making and critical thinking to solve aesthetic problems .
You are a versatile artist : marked out with a multidisciplinary nature , your approach accomplishes the difficult task of creating and amplifying specific interactions between different mediums . The results convey together a coherent sense of unity , that rejects any conventional classification . Before starting to elaborate about your production , we would suggest to our readers to visit http :// www . jingzhoustudio . net in order to get a synoptic view of your multifaceted artistic production : while walking our readers through your process , we would like to ask you if you have you ever happened to realize that such multidisciplinary approach is the only way to express and convey the idea you explore .
I started to realizing my multidisciplinary approach in 2008 . By that time , I have taught in academia for four years after many years of working as a graphic designer . I began to have the freedom to explore different art media and catch up on reading . I think that each visual art medium has a unique “ voice ” to express thoughts , which is similar to music instruments . In many cases , certain ideas and feelings are best visualized in a particular medium . To me , the medium — the means — is not as important as the messages in the artwork — the ends ; the means serves the end . Therefore it is the message that matters most . The media or medium used in the artwork is like a messenger ; the better quality the messenger offers , the more successful the meaning of the artwork is expressed . So to answer your question , although I don ’ t know if the multidisciplinary approach is the only way to convey my ideas , it is certainly so far the best way that I have experienced to express my thoughts and feelings .
For this special edition of LandEscape we have selected Dimensions of Light , an extremely interesting cross disciplinary