{"id":13324,"date":"2016-12-19T15:25:56","date_gmt":"2016-12-19T15:25:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artzealous.com\/?p=13324"},"modified":"2016-12-19T15:25:56","modified_gmt":"2016-12-19T15:25:56","slug":"artist-christine-wang-the-worlds-of-art-and-activism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/artist-christine-wang-the-worlds-of-art-and-activism\/","title":{"rendered":"Artist Christine Wang: The Worlds of Art and Activism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christine Wang’s paintings are as funny as they are deadly. Employing\u00a0an\u00a0extensive repertoire\u00a0of\u00a0aesthetics, this LA-based artist is unafraid to paint vividly and confrontationally. Her paintings and sculptures<\/a> throw together colors, text, and imagery in a uniquely defiant manner. Sometimes they address subjects at the level of\u00a0the personal, while at other times she\u00a0critiques entire systems of\u00a0politics, economics, or social institutions.\u00a0With a visual vocabulary that pulls equally as often from religious imagery\u00a0as\u00a0Facebook photos\u00a0or\u00a0Reddit screenshots, Christine Wang’s practice is a constant meditation of thoughts and tribulations inspired by her experiences as she navigates the complexities of being an artist, activist, and\u00a0fellow\u00a0human. Following her recent\u00a0show<\/a> at the Night Gallery, titled “Devotional Art for Your Home,”\u00a0Christine\u00a0generously squeezed us in for a conversation\u00a0on audiobooks, the relationship of text to image in her paintings, and much much more.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is it that draws you personally to painting? I notice that while you have some performative works and sculpture, much of your work falls into the larger painting tradition. <\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m better at painting than performance or sculpture just because I\u2019ve been doing it longer, so I have more skills in that department and I feel more confident when I paint.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Horror Clown<\/em>\u00a0by Christine Wang (2016). Photo courtesy of the artist.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

You mentioned that you were listening to Foucault\u2019s Madness and Civilization<\/em> while working recently on a painting involving Trump, what else do you like to listen or otherwise consume while working?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here is a list of books I listened to with approximate dates:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Secondhand Time<\/em> by Svetlana Alexievich (Non-Fiction about Soviet Russia)<\/p>\n

The Turquoise Ledge<\/em> by Leslie Marmon Silko (Memoir from a Native American writer.)<\/p>\n

Aug 21\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Past Imperfect <\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 by Julian Fellowes (Trashy novel from Downton Abby writer)<\/p>\n

Aug 23\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The paradox of Choice<\/em> by Barry Schwartz (Did not finish listening)<\/p>\n

Aug 23\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Snobs<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 by Julian Fellowes (Trashy novel from Downton Abby writer)<\/p>\n

Aug 26\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mort<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 By Terry Pratchett (Humor\/Fantasy novel with Death as main character. Part of Discworld Series)<\/p>\n

Sept 5 The Cartel<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 By Don Winslow\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Fiction about the Mexican Drug Wars)<\/p>\n

Sept 11\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Soul Music<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 By Terry Pratchett (Humor\/Fantasy novel with Death as main character. Part of Discworld Series)<\/p>\n

Sept 11\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A Deepness in the Sky<\/em> by Vernor Vinge (Science Fiction)<\/p>\n

Sept 17\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers<\/em> by Ben Horowitz\u00a0\u00a0 (Business Non-Fiction, Self-Help advice)<\/p>\n

Sept 18\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Power of the Dog<\/em> by Don Winslow (Fiction about the Mexican Drug Wars)<\/p>\n

Sept 24\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Freedom is A Constant Struggle<\/em> by Angela Davis (AMAZING Non-Fiction Cultural Criticism, American Studies)<\/p>\n

Sept 24\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hogfather<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 by Terry Pratchett (Humor\/Fantasy novel with Death as main character. Part of Discworld Series)<\/p>\n

Sept 26\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Reaper Man<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 by Terry Pratchett (Humor\/Fantasy novel with Death as main character. Part of Discworld Series)<\/p>\n

What Got You Here Won\u2019t Get You There<\/em> by Marc Reiter and Marshall Goldman (Business Non-Fiction, Self-Help Advice)<\/p>\n

Oct 2\u00a0\u00a0 The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo<\/em> by Amy Schumer (Humor, Non-Fiction)<\/p>\n

Oct 12 Fledgling: A Novel<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 by Octavia Butler (Fiction about a black vampire)<\/p>\n

Oct 14 The Trespasser<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 by Tana French (Murder Mystery)<\/p>\n

The Emperor of Sound: A Memoir<\/em> by Timbaland (Non-Fiction)<\/p>\n

Marguerite de Valois<\/em> by Alexandre Dumas (Fiction, basis for movie Queen Margot)<\/p>\n

Belgravia<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 by Julian Fellows (Trashy novel from Downton Abby writer)<\/p>\n

It Gets Better<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 by Dan Savage (Non-Fiction anti-bullying campaign)<\/p>\n

Oct 27 Salem\u2019s Lot<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 by Stephen King (Fiction horror vampire)<\/p>\n

Oct 24 Fevre Dream<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 by George RR Martin (Historical Fiction horror vampire)<\/p>\n

Nov 9\u00a0 Locally Laid: How we built a policy, industry-changing egg farm – from scratch<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 by Lucie B. Amundsen (Non-fiction)<\/p>\n

Nov 10\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The world of Ice and Fire: The untold history of Westoros and the Game of Thrones<\/em> (Fiction)<\/p>\n

Nov 14\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Still Fooling Them<\/em> by Billy Crystal (Non-fiction)<\/p>\n

Nov 17\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Madness and Civilization<\/em> by Michel Foucault<\/p>\n

Nov 28\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Girl in the Spider\u2019s Web<\/em> by David Lagercrantz (Fiction sequel to Girl with the Dragon Tattoo<\/em> novels. Thriller)<\/p>\n

Nov 30\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Three-Body Problem<\/em> by Cixin Liu (Science Fiction from China. Nebula award winner)<\/p>\n

Dec 2\u00a0 Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane<\/em> (Thriller)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As you can see, it\u2019s a lot of fiction and non-fiction. The fiction tends to be either a thriller, horror, murder mystery, humor, or something light and fluffy about marrying well. The non-fiction tends to be advice, self-help or feel-good. Very rarely do I listen to something serious with theoretical implications \u2013 in part because those types of books are rarely put into audiobook form. I did listen to the Argonauts by Maggie Nelson and that was amazing. I think Foucault and the Angela Davis\u2019 book Freedom is a Constant Struggle<\/em> are the most consequential books that I\u2019ve listened to in these past few months.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\""Pandas
Pandas Are Welfare Moms<\/em>\u00a0by Christine Wang (2015). Photo courtesy of the artist.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Love the Terry Pratchett! About those \u201cBusiness Non-fiction \/ Self-Help Advice\u201d books, did you find them enlightening?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Power of Habit <\/em>was a great book. Very convincing, it\u2019s about how to make habits and break habits. I also liked Creativity Inc<\/em>. (about Pixar), What Got You Here Won\u2019t Get You There<\/em> (about management), and The Hard Thing about Hard Things<\/em>, which communicated lessons that Ben Horowitz (the author) learned from his start-ups. These aren\u2019t traditional self-help books in the sense that they are not about how to lose weight or get a man. These books are more about business and management, which helps me think about my time and relationships differently.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Especially because I organize with an all-volunteer chapter of a larger organization in Los Angeles, I think these books helped me think about my interpersonal relationships more from a managerial point of view. I can now ask myself certain questions like what does the other person want, what do I want, what do I have the time for, and how can we work together. Or even from myself, I can ask questions like how can I be a more effective manager of myself, my finances, or my time?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\""Don't
Don’t Be Such a Martyr<\/em>\u00a0by Christine Wang (2016). Photo courtesy of Night Gallery.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Do you ever get frustrated with the Julian Fellows or as you call it, \u201clight fluffy fictions\u201d about marrying well? Or does it somehow fuel your working as a form of escapism (perhaps similarly to the thriller\/horror\/mystery genre)?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Escapism helps me stay still and make paintings. Especially if a painting is labor intensive, the more addictive the book is, the longer I can sit still and do my work.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\""Sushi"
Sushi<\/em>\u00a0by Christine Wang (2014). Photo courtesy of the artist.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

What did you think of The Three-Body Problem<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I thought the Three-Body Problem<\/em> was very Chinese for lack of a better term. For example, at the beginning of the book the description of the Cultural Revolution, or even specific ideas like that the trauma never came from the \u201ctop official.\u201d Instead, all of the trauma inflicted on the main character was from lower-ranking people who got \u201ccarried away.\u201d In a sense I could see how the author might have had to censor himself or write in a way that did not seem like it was criticizing communism or the top brass. I also think that the fantasy of a Chinese-specific, nationalistic scientific progress was a prevalent theme in the book.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Another thing I thought very Chinese was the idea of personal suffering subsumed into a common good moment. Like the Tri-Solarans who lost a finger or something after getting rehydrated were \u201clucky.\u201d Also, if the scientist who was working on the proton unfolding failed, he and all the scientists working on the project would be put to death, which had a very Chinese feel; it reminded me of the nine familial exterminations, an ancient punishment where the emperor would put you and all your family to death. It was fun to see those culturally-specific things in a sci-fi novel.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\""After
After Tiepolo<\/em>,\u00a0Global Warming Cat<\/em>,\u00a0and Dizzy Cat<\/em>\u00a0by Christine Wang (2014). Photo courtesy of the artist.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Can you talk a little about the role of words in your work, knowing that you were initially trained in a kind of post-Ab-Ex tradition while also heavily interested in semiotics (and de Saussure)? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Text in my work is sometimes informational, like a Vaclav Smil quote. Sometimes they are labels; they will reiterate the image with which they are paired. For example, \u201cI got married for health insurance\u201d confronts ideas of heteronormativity, love, marriage, and happiness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\""I
Health Insurance<\/em> by\u00a0Christine Wang (2016). Photo courtesy of the artist.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Words have many roles in my work. They take on more political content by naming the actions or positions of the subject. For example the \u201cI\u201d in \u201cI love rape porn\u201d or \u2018I can buy any cake I want\u201d points to the \u201cI\u201d as an individual consumer making choices.\u00a0Words are powerful signifiers in a spectrum of painting signifiers, which include paint handling, typefaces, colors, marks, and edges. At Cooper Union my painting professor Robert Bordo talked about \u201cpainting language,\u201d which I interpreted to be how every gesture, mark, and stroke in painting could signify a mood, a thought, a temperament, a historical painting moment, and so on and so forth. I think adding words to paintings further expands the \u201cpainting language\u201d that is available to me.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\""I
Green Tea Cake<\/em> by Christine Wang (2016). Photo courtesy of the artist.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

An interest in De Saussure and semiotics came from several teachers at Cooper including Stephan Pascher, Doug Ashford, and Walid Raad. Raad encouraged me to study critical theory, which I did for a summer at NYU. One thing essential to take away from de Saussure was the idea that the relationship between the signifier and the signified is arbitrary. The was very hard for me to grasp at the time and I was resistant to it, yet I agree with it totally now because it is a freeing concept. Foucault expands on \u201carbitrariness\u201d in a beautiful way in Madness and Civilization<\/em> when he traces how the symptoms and descriptions of \u201cmania,\u201d \u201cmelancholia,\u201d and \u201chysteria\u201d were mapped onto those signified quite arbitrarily. He makes a compelling case.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\""The
The issues are too important to be Judgmental<\/em> detail. Christine Wang (2016). Photo courtesy of Night Gallery.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

On the other hand I thought that arbitrariness of the sign was an Euro-centric view of language that did not include Chinese pictographic linguistic histories. In reality, there was a intuitive part of me that confused \u201carbitrariness\u201d with \u201cmeaninglessness,\u201d and I resisted this philosophy. I still resist it in a way and must grapple with the two oppositions, signed being arbitrary and signs having tangible connections to their referents. These two oppositions are most evident in \u201crape porn\u201d in that either the signs of rape that produce arousal are arbitrary and therefore can be enjoyed guilt free, or the signs of rape have a connection to the source image \u2013\u00a0the woman who was suffering \u2013\u00a0and therefore consuming the porn would be morally reprehensible.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"untitledmultiplechoicediptychshouldianduntitledmultiplechoicediptych20121359048171\"
Untitled (Diptych)<\/em> by Christine Wang (2012). Photo courtesy of Night Gallery.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

You\u2019ve said before in your interview with Veronique d\u2019Entremont that \u201cmy art is totally ridden with guilt.\u201d It seems that your art is often a way of processing personal\/moral quandaries, from paintings with text like \u201cI love rape porn\u201d to \u201cI got married for health insurance\u201d to \u201cI identify with white male rappers.\u201d Other times, messages are directed outwards, such as \u201cYour man baby tactics won\u2019t work,\u201d or \u201cDaddy, if you loved me why were you so mean?\u201d Do you or did you ever feel apprehensive about putting these \u201cdirect thoughts\u201d out in the open?<\/strong><\/p>\n

You are assuming that the \u201cI\u201d in my paintings refers to me and is somehow autobiographical as opposed to me making a character. When the viewer reads \u201cI love rape porn,\u201d then for a second it is the viewer who inhabits the \u201cI\u201d position and I think that is more interesting to me than the autobiographical. I really believe that I\u2019m not that different from other people, and that when I examine my own selfishness and hypocrisy other people must examine their own desires too.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\""Daddy"
Daddy<\/em> by Christine Wang (2016). Photo courtesy of the artist.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Can you tell us a little more about what happened after what was shown in your March 19<\/em> video? What is the status of the \u201cNo More Jails\u201d project?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That video was shot in 2013. The \u201cNo More Jails\u201d project is not my own. I am a volunteer for Critical Resistance Los Angeles. I\u2019ve decided to step back for 6 months until February 2017, but the chapter is still active. We are part of a larger coalition called LA No More Jails (LANMJ). Other organizations include Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB), Dignity Power Now (DPN), Youth Justice Coalition (YJC), and Los Angeles Community Action Network (LACAN).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Right now the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the elected body of 5 representatives in charge of LA county\u2019s budget, approved the final Environmental Impact Report for the Mira Loma detention center for women on October 25, 2016. Our coalition chanted and shut down the meeting. The cost of this women\u2019s jail is about 100 million dollars, most of it coming from the State of California. It will expand the capacity of women\u2019s jail around 5,000 beds, which we think is horrifying. This is also part of a larger 3.2 billion dollar plan to tear down men\u2019s central jail and build a new \u201cmental health\u201d jail.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As a prison-industrial-complex abolitionist, I believe the funds can be better spent elsewhere in the county. Women and mentally-ill people do not need cages. If you agree with me, please donate to any one of those organizations I listed or become a monthly sustainer by signing up for a mailing list and coming out to the Board of Supervisors when we ask people to come out and rally.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\""Coronation
Coronation of Police Chief Beck<\/em> by Christine Wang (2016). Photo courtesy of Night Gallery.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

You\u2019ve talked about a sense of \u201cdisgust\u201d that goes into your art-making: disgust for the ever-expanding jail systems, racial oppressions built into our political and economic systems, and the complicity of everybody in all of this, including the art world. Do you feel like your messages have operated differently since being represented by an institution like the Night Gallery? Do you feel like people are taking them more or less seriously? How do you feel knowing that some of the people you are angry at are paying more attention to your work and, in a way \u201cenjoying\u201d those angry messages?<\/strong><\/p>\n

You are assuming that Night Gallery somehow has an effect on the messaging of the LA No More Jails coalition, but I assure you that my two worlds \u2013 the art world and the organizing world \u2013\u00a0do not mix very often at all. I also think that a prison-industrial-complex abolitionist message is so convincing and strong that people have to take it seriously from any position, whether as an art professional or not.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I wish that the people that you are imagining that \u201cenjoy\u201d my work actually buy my work. I think I told a student once that political art is the perfect commodity, in that people who buy political art can maybe feel less guilty. There was a certain point in art history where paintings were seen as less political because they were easily commodified. Now we see the hyper-commodification of all forms of art including ephemeral performance pieces by Tino Seghal, for example. Are paintings more or less political now that other forms of art can be commodified?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\""I
I Want That Bag<\/em>\u00a0by Christine Wang (2014). Photo courtesy of the artist.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

To another point, I helped organized two art auctions through Paddle8<\/a> to help benefit Critical Resistance<\/a>. Plenty of painters donated work to those actions and it is only at the point of commodification, the point of the sale, that resources can be generated to help Critical Resistance continue abolition work. I honestly don\u2019t care what you think or say, I only care about what you do.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In your interview with Lucia Liu, you talked about being \u201cactive in my own decisions\u201d with regards to dating white men as an Asian woman. You also hinted at the impossibility of eradicating internalized racism. How do you reclaim agency while recognizing that society has infiltrated something so deep as sexual desire? How does one fight back? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s clarify something again. When I say racism I mean a systematized oppression. Personal, internalized preferences can be prejudiced but not racist unless the person supports a racist government or organization. A police state is racist. My politics are very strongly anti-racist, anti-sexist. I believe that it’s wrong to build a jail that will lock up mostly poor women of color.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\""Devotional
Devotional Art for Your Home<\/em>\u00a0installation shot at Night Gallery. Christine Wang (2016). Photo courtesy of Night Gallery.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Where is the fight you are talking about? I\u2019d rather fight the Board of Supervisors than myself. What do you mean reclaim agency? Why should I reclaim something that I\u2019ve always had? Let’s be honest, as an upper-middle-class Chinese-American girl growing up in the suburbs of D.C., I\u2019ve had a lot more agency and opportunity than some of the lower-middle-class men who voted for Trump. I\u2019m very much concerned with this constant bleeding of what \u201cracism\u201d is.Don\u2019t get confused by what is real and what is unreal.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How are you dealing with the post-election world?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The same way I was dealing with the pre-election world; I make art, organize, and try to spend less money.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\""World
World Map<\/em> by Christine Wang (2014). Photo courtesy of the artist.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Where can we find you or your work next?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have a solo show in January at\u00a0Galerie Nagel Draxler<\/a> in Berlin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Christine Wang’s paintings are as funny as they are deadly<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":14189,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,24],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13324"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13324\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}