We assume that artists are of a different category to normal people, and they live a special life. As an artist and photographer, I’ve been trying to put myself in a general category of normal life. I create projects and series out of intimate life through my relationships or the roles I have to fulfill, […]

You might liken Columbus’ Chop Chop gallery to a Japanese bento box: it’s colorful and full of exotic experiences not always familiar to the Midwestern palette. Even though there are haphazard flavors thrown into the mix (a blind car mechanic? neon green walls? an electric guitar recital?), it’s an altogether consonant with experience. The main […]

Nothing is more pure than the anguish of a child. Pictures of children crying capture raw emotion: sputtering rage and profound loss. In many ways we’ve become desensitized to disturbing image. But the honesty of a child’s feelings is undeniable, and it draws you in to the photograph—perhaps because kids experience the kind of powerful […]

Much of my work involves some form of audience interaction. This may occur in the form of soliciting information that becomes part of a new piece, or creating sites of collaborative production, or it may occur in the form of public exchange and shared storytelling. I am not interested in simply documenting these interactive experiences; […]

I was born in a northern village in China in the 1970s. I spent my childhood in domestic violence. As I grew up, I was moving around, like a nomad. I never had a steady relationship. I suffered from illness, an abortion, unemployment, poverty, an unhappy marriage, childbirth, and betrayal. These experiences make up half […]

Catherine Y. Hsieh: Can you tell me a little more about how you came up with the idea for Maximum Security? Liza Lou: Well, for the last couple of years I’ve been really making a body of work that’s been focused on the Middle East, just what’s been going on politically and kind of inspired […]

In the early days I just wanted to be given a chance. I got rejected numerous times by the fashion and adult industries, photo reps, and advertising agencies. I have kept every rejection letter and every fan mail I have ever received. The Art Center College of Design and the rest of the people that […]

Gong Jian: You’ve had many interesting experiences in life. Li Hong-Jun: My experiences are perhaps quite different from average people. I lived in the country until I was 20 years old. Then I was transferred to the county cultural center, and was in charge of public education about prints, traditional paintings, and oil paintings. I […]

I became interested in photography because of portraits of people and nudity. I don’t have any issues with being naked, and I like pictures of naked people. If I can take pictures of other people being naked, I have to be able to take pictures of myself naked. I like the honesty that flows when […]

We are a generation born after the 80s. We have not experienced wars or hunger. We have not been a part of China’s rebuilding process, but we enjoyed the happiness that resulted from that process when we were young as we watched animation films and ate our Jell-O. When we grew up, we began to […]