Xindanwei | 新单位 A new way of working | 一种新的工作方式

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xindanwei chitchat edition 10: “Global Identity”-Screening of Experimental Film and Video from Three New-Generation Artists

Time: 7:30-9:30pm Friday June, 25th

Cost:free

Host:Jos Diegel, Holly Rodricks, Zhu Xiaowen

Abstract
Identity is based on a person’s position and recognition of self , which must be generated in a certain society.

In a global environment, the notion of “nation” and “culture” enlarge the similarities and differences of people’s identities; however, what kind of standards are we using to limit our identity? If these standards mostly come from external factors, how do we form our individual opinions? If our identities are only confirmed by these external factors, what is inside is only emptiness and loneliness.

In China, metropolitan cities like Shanghai are becoming more and more international, but that does not decrease the sense of distance between “Chinese” and “foreigner”.  That is why we always treat people of different nationalities with different standards. It actually shows the uncertainty of our own identities, because only the uncertain issue needs to be underlined. How to regard our identity in the global environment with open eyes and minds, and how to find our own pursue and position in spite of the consistent change in the external world, is a new question raised by “global indentity”.

This screening introduces three new-generation visual artists from different countries, including Dutch German artist Jos Diegel, Indian American artist Holly Rodricks, and Chinese-born video artist Zhu Xiaowen. All three have international backgrounds. Some of their work is directly related to the theme of Global Identity; other pieces reflect the artists’ critical thinking of social culture in a wider perspective. Their work has been showed many times in Europe and North America and has won various awards; however, this is their first time communicating with a Shanghai-based audience. We hope that this audience will watch their films and videos with an open mind. The screening will take one hour, after which the audience will have the opportunity to communicate with the artists directly. Zhu Xiaowen will be present, while the other two artists will chat with us online.

Jos Diegel

Jos Diegel is half Dutch half German. He lives and works in Offenbach, a city in Germany where various types of immigrants gather together. He received his Diploma from Academy of Arts and Design Offenbach. Jos is a politically motivated painter and filmmaker. His work has been showed nationally and internationally in a number of exhibitions, screenings, and festivals, including BERLINALE 2009 in the European Filmmarket, European Media Art Festival Osnabrück 2009, and his film Größere Leinwände, Längere Hales (Bigger Canvas, Longer Necks) was nominated the German Film Price 2009 in the category of experimental film.

Holly Rodricks

Holly Rodricks was born in Chicago. She received her BFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago, with a concentration in Video and Photography. Holly is currently an MFA candidate at Syracuse University in the Department of Transmedia, with an emphasis in Art Video. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally in a number of exhibitions, screenings, and festivals.

Her family emigrated to the United States a few years before she was born. With them came a rich cultural legacy, much of which conflicted with typical American paradigms. While not always evident on the surface, her artistic process is largely informed by this consistent discord.
It an attempt to reconcile these difference and to better understand her role, a portion of Holly’s research is dedicated to a reclamation of her heritage through the study of Indian history and language. In addition, she regularly works with her parents and grandparents, investigating their experiences, their reasoning, and how their values influence her position. The result is a painfully complex balance of embracing certain expectations and discarding others.

Zhu Xiaowen

Zhu Xiaowen was born in Shanghai, China. She received her BA in Film, TV and Media Arts from Tongji University. Currently she is a MFA Art Video student in Syracuse University, USA. During her undergraduate study, she did an exchange program at Academy of Arts and Design Offenbach in Germany. Her experience in Europe and America has a unique influence on her artistic creation. She works mostly with documentary film, experimental video and multi-media installations. Richly influenced by different cultures, she has a strong interest in the notion of “international identity” that reflects certain social and cultural issues based on her own understandings.
Zhu Xiaowen is a visual poet, social critic and aesthetic researcher. Her work has been showed in a number of exhibitions and festivals all over the world, including Strozzina Art Space (Florence,Italy), Sainsbury Center  for Visual Arts (Norwich, UK), Museum of Contemporary Photography (Chicago, USA), Everson Museum of Art (Syracuse, USA), Festival Junger Talente (Frankfurt, Germany) and etc. Her one-minute short film Carousel Travel got the jury award of one-minute documentary film festival in DOK Munich 2010.
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新单位茶话会第10期: “全球化身份”语境下的新生代实验影片展映

时间:6月25日（周五）19:30—21:30
费用: 免费
主持：Jos Diegel, Holly Rodricks, Zhu Xiaowen
摘要

“身份”是一个人对自我的定位和认识，而这种定位必然是在社会中产生的。

在全球化的语境中，“身份”的相似与不同被“国家”与“文化”的概念扩大了，而我们究竟在以怎样的标准限制自己的身份，如果这些标准大多来自外部因素的影响，有多少是出自个人的独立思考？如果我们的身份只是通过外部因素得以确认的，那么内在只能是空洞和寂寞的。

在中国，像上海这样的大城市日趋国际化，但人们对“中国”和“外国”的隔阂感并没有弱化多少，所以我们才不断地用双重标准看待、对待“中国人”和“外国人”，而这其中所反映出来的其实是我们对自我身份的不确定性，因为你对不确定的东西才会需要去强调。而如何以一种更为开放的视角看待我们在全球化环境中的身份，如何在外部世界不断变化的过程中找到源自自己内心的追求和定位，应该是“全球化身份”提出的一个新的命题。

本次展映活动包括了全球三位新生代影像艺术家的多部短片作品，他们中既有德国、荷兰混血的青年艺术家Jos Diegel，美籍印度裔艺术家Holly Rodricks，也有出生在中国上海而在德国、美国留学的录像艺术家朱晓闻，他们的某些作品和“全球化身份”的主题直接相关，而另一些作品则含有更为广义的对当代社会文化的批判性思考。他们的作品在欧洲和北美地区参加过多次展映并获奖，而这是他们第一次与上海本土观众进行交流，希望观众们以开放轻松的态度来观看影片，在1小时的放映之后会可以和三位艺术家直接交流，朱晓闻会来到放映现场，而另外两位艺术家会通过网络视频的方式和观众进行交流。
Jos Diegel介绍:

Jos Diegel 是德国荷兰混血，他在奥芬巴赫生活、工作，这是德国一座各国移民聚集的城市。他毕业于奥芬巴赫艺术设计学院，取得硕士学位。Jos是一位政治画家和电影导演。他的作品在世界各地的美术馆、电影节上参与过展映，包括2009年柏林电影节、2009年奥斯纳博克欧洲媒体艺术节等等。他的实验电影
《大画布，长脖子》被提名2009年度德国电影大奖。

Holly Rodricks介绍：

Holly Rodricks出生于芝加哥，毕业于伊利诺大学芝加哥分校，主修录像和摄影艺术。目前她在美国锡拉丘兹大学攻读艺术硕士学位，专业是录像艺术。她的作品在世界各地参与过各种展览和艺术节。
作为美国第二代移民，她经常感受到印度传统文化和典型美国文化之间的冲突，而她的艺术创作深刻地受到这种冲突带来的影响。她希望通过自己的作品对这种文化冲撞进行调和，同时更好地理解自己的身份。她的一部分研究通过对印度历史和语言的学习，对印度传统文化进行重审。此外，她经常和自己的父母、祖父母合作，观察他们的经历和想法，以及他们如何对她的定位产生影响。她的作品既迎合了一些特定的期望，又打破了另一些期望，是两者之间痛楚而复杂的平衡。

朱晓闻介绍：

朱晓闻出生于中国上海，毕业于同济大学广播电视编导专业，目前在美国锡拉丘兹大学攻读艺术硕士学位。大学期间，她曾赴德国奥芬巴赫学院交流学习，她在欧洲和美国的生活经历对她的创作视野产生了独特的影响。她的作品体裁包括了纪录片、实验录像和多媒体装置。由于来自不同文化的影响，她对反映社会文化议题的“国际身份”这一主题非常感兴趣，并且借由作品表达自己的独特观点。
她用诗歌化的方式呈现视觉语言，用批判性的思考审视社会现实，并且用研究的态度探索美学发展的方向。她的作品在世界各地都进行过展出，包括意大利佛罗伦萨斯特罗慈宫美术馆、英国桑斯博里视觉艺术中心、美国芝加哥当代摄影美术馆、美国锡拉丘兹艾佛森美术馆、德国法兰克福青年艺术节等等。她的一分钟短片《旋转马车的旅行》获得了2010年慕尼黑国际纪录片电影节一分钟纪录片竞赛单元的评委会大奖。
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