Reflection of Maeve Jackson’s Artist Talk

Maeve Jackson’s Artist Talk on January 17^th about her visual art experience inspired me to find a special way of connection between the film world and our real world. Her most impressive art piece for me is the two old vintage televisions placed on the middle of the exhibition room face to face. Maeve described the TV as her tool to express her feelings and pass the information to the public; she said that by putting the TV on the wheelbarrow, she was able to carry the unique scene of her trip on a train inside the clips on the TV to everywhere and allow people to admire the beauty of the nature. After receiving the idea of passing information, while I was standing in between the two televisions and look right and left, as the clips were playing inside the old television, I had a sudden illusion that I was literally inside a railroad car and seeing the scenes pass by through the windows, which the illusion was created by the two televisions on my both sides. After Maeve’s short speech, I went to her to share the experience that I had with her televisions artwork and asked if that was her intension to let people feel it the way I did. However, she actually said my interpretation was not what she is trying to deliver to the audience, what she wanted to share and ask people to think about was the conversation in between the two devices. Because they were facing at each other, and sharing different views, what the audience can draw from that “conversation” was what she wanted us to feel. Whereas she said she also likes my interpretation; because I think that was the mystical of art, we can have such distinct understanding of the same work, but all create unique meaning on it. At that moment, I realized the media of film does not have to the on a flat screen and been shown as flat image, the environment around the film can also be part of the art for the audiences to experience, and having a connection with the film not just visually, but involve a full body perception. 

Another conversation between Maeve and me was about my recent confusion. These days, I seem cannot find the meaning of my art while I am making then. I told Maeve that I am kind of just taking videos and making abstract art without really knowing where they all go. What she replied to my confusion was “you don’t have to find the meaning of your art right away, trust your intuitions, the meaning can come later.” I haven’t quite figure if I totally agree with her or not, but she does give me a little bit of relief to make art. In fact, I think she is quite right, because when I was making the experimental film for this class, I did not think a lot when I take the shots, however, after I put all the clips together, the film seemed somehow created the meaning by itself. I guess that must be credited to the power of film and my amazing intuition then.