Paul Chan
Paul Chan, a Hong Kong-born musician, will be the subject of this paper. He was born on April 12, 1973. He is now a social activist. His art focuses on globalization, geopolitics, similar political climates, crime, war documentation, pornography, deviance, digital media, and language. His practice also includes font design, book printing, and animation.
Early Life and Education
Chan and his family moved from Hong Kong to Omaha, Nebraska, in 1981. He attended the Art Institute of Chicago and Bard College to study film and video. After some time, Chan gained critical acclaim from the media, which had never been seen in the previous 35 centuries. This happened after he developed a seventeen-minute animated video which was shown on projected and continuous loop on a scroll-shaped screen. The works of Chan are deeply anchored in social justice which made him film in Iraq in 2007 which was disobedience to the American authorities since that country had been put on sanction by the united states. Chan has done a series of arts which has captured the attention of many people.
Exhibitions and Publishing
In his work of art, Chan has had an opportunity to do an exhibition in Venice Biennale, the Serpentine Gallery, the New Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Biennial, Documenta among other institutions. Regarding the art of publishing, he has done several editing, and in 2010, he got an eBook publishing work with a company Badlands Unlimited which is in New York. Some of the essay done by this artist has also featured in Frieze, October, Parkett, Bomb, Artforum, Flash Art, Tate, Texte Zur Kunst among other journals and magazines.
Font Design
As mentioned in the above paragraphs, the work of art by Paul Chan is quite diverse. One of the areas that he has done some exciting work is in the field of font design. In 2009, Chan came up with a particular font type which he described it as "TrueType font." These fonts have a certain level of erotic elements which he obtained by assigning different excerpts alphabet letters. He uploaded the font on his website which can, therefore, be downloaded in the digital form from the site. The font is dynamic which offers the users a chance to generate an unlimited number of expressions which is obtained by just typing. These fonts are classified under a cycle of 21 font drawings which are related to the media installation of Chan. The medium in which this work was presented is in the form of writings. Since the owner uploaded it to his website, it can, therefore, be accessed through online platforms.
7 Lights Project
Secondly, another piece of art by Chan is a project of the 7 Lights. The aspect of 7 lights is a project that Chan started working on since 2005 which was made up of seven projections. In most of the cases, artists use the concept of light series as a symbol of a world with an impending danger of falling apart. Based on Chan, the seven lights are about the light which has been carried away. In the title of his work, the word light has been physically crossed out. The horizontal crossing line may be regarded as a beam of light. The title is therefore used as a way of comparing light and darkness which the artist sometimes confuses the two. The medium of this art of work is visual systems. The animations can be viewed via YouTube. The portable hard drives also contain this presentation and can also be used in accessing the content.
Filmmaking
The third example of the work of Chan is in filmmaking. In 2003, Chan came up with a video named Baghdad. He composed this film in Iraq despite the earlier sanctions by the American governments. He was a champion of social justice, and he joined the Iraqis as a part of peaceful campaigns. While the western media houses portrayed negative image about Iraq which was based on speculations, Chan went an extra mile in this video and interacted with the Iraqis on a personal level. He would therefore get first-hand information on what was going on in Baghdad. He interacted with the locals in a friendly manner, a move which was opposed by the western countries. The people of Iraq were protesting against the imminent war which had affected them severely. Since Chan joined them in these protests as a way of social redemption, he was seen as a traitor. However, to many, the film recorded by Paul Chan is regarded as accurate, and this made the Baghdad video to go viral. The content of this work of art can be viewed through YouTube. They are also found in different libraries.
Conclusion
The work of Paul Chan blends so well with the new globalized world of art. As an artist, he has been to different countries courtesy of his career. His ideas can blend so perfectly with the contemporary and the modern world of art. This artist can stand before an audience of different geographical backgrounds and different social class and comfortably express his views. He can exchange his ideologies with a foreign ambassador to discuss the impact, construction, and the potential merits of an exhibition or artwork as well as with the local craftsmen. The new globalized culture does not present a mountain to Paul Chan based on how he has carried out his career in the past. He managed to maneuver through even at the point that he would lose his county's support. It was through his work that he proved to the world that personal stand is worth sacrifice in some cases.
Summary
In conclusion, the work of Paul Chan is well structured from different perspectives. His artwork is so diverse, and through his ability, he managed to carry everything successfully. He used his career as a tool of social transformation. For instance, when he decided to produce the Baghdad film, it was an apparent deviance from the American system. He got a lot of resistance from his country from participating in the quest for peace in Iraq. However, he did not seem to be shaken by the opposition that he received. He is also seen as an epitome of change. It was through his work of art that he got to be noticed when he was initially not recognized. Paul Chan can, therefore, be taken as a role model based on how he carried out his career profile.
References
Chan, P., & TESTAMENT, N. (2014). PAUL CHAN—SELECTED WORKS. Navigation, 27(28), 29.
Magagnoli, P. (2012). The Pull of Violence: Paul Chan’s Trilogy of War. Afterall: A Journal of Art, Context, and Enquiry, (31), 26-35.
Smith, R. (2004). ART REVIEW; Caution: Angry Artists at Work. The New York Times, 27.
