"Arting" Interview (Excerpt)

Sep 3, 2024 

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"Arting": Ms. Lihua Chen, I’ve noticed that your works involve a wide variety of creative techniques, including painting, photography, AI, video, and installation art. Could you first provide an overview of your art project so that everyone can have a basic understanding? Then, could you share whether a project of this scale has received support from society? What kind of response has it generated? What have you gained and reflected on through this process? Up to this point, has the project met your expectations?

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Li: I love walking and favor places that are friendly to walkers. I've taken numerous photos, created many sketches capturing fragments of daily life, and continue to do so. Gradually, I developed an idea: to return some of my creations to the original locations that inspired me to capture them and leave them for anyone to take. Inside each package, I include an email address with a note: "Who are you? Why did you pass by here? Could you share your story with me?" 

 

Initially, I intended for "Hi, Strangers" to be a project centered on instant photography and quick sketches. But just as I started, OpenAI made a groundbreaking debut, drawing in many with its compelling newness. As more people began feeding into AI, I came to recognize an undeniable reality: beyond face-to-face interactions, there is an unseen third party influencing our world of communication. Is humanity, in its solitude, compelled to explore such imaginative connections and bring them to life? For some, “extraordinary communication” feels more liberating than traditional social interactions. This is a controversial, evolving topic.

 

In the field of painting, the powerful capabilities of digital technology are also challenging traditional art forms. The last time we saw a debate like this was between digital and hand-drawn art. Given that my project centers on "interaction," I decided to bring AI into the process, to expand the boundaries of communication and see what sparks might fly. In the end, all the image-based works seen by the public are processed through AI (DALL-E), but the way AI operates is shaped and guided by me, its creator. I've directed this "newborn" in a certain growth path, but I can't control its wild evolution, and it has generated many different images for me. Ultimately, I exercised my choice, selecting works that aligned with my aesthetic for presentation.

 

Rather than opting for AI-generated images that mimic photographic realism, I chose those bearing "AI-generated traces" close to the qualities of painting. Since I was working from photographs as a base, I didn’t need a "photo-like" effect; instead, I applied a "reverse" treatment, producing a blend of familiarity and strangeness. This process was unique—a negotiation and compromise, almost mirroring human interaction. 

 

After releasing the pieces, I began to receive responses from the people who picked them up. Some emails were quite fascinating, and I chose a few to display via a projector installation, heightening the sense of mystery. A year later, I slowed down this series and started new projects. Whether the connection with New York strangers endures, or whether responses come in, has become less essential to the essence of the project. Initially, I envisioned rhythmic, interactive exchanges; yet, after carrying it out, I found myself closer to being a "tree hollow," absorbing and preserving pieces of others' "past" and "present." In their lives, my works became markers, a reminder of past moments and reflections. 

 

This art project was funded by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

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媒体采访（节选）

2024年9月3日

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"Arting": 请问陈幽隐女士，我看到你的作品涉及的创作手法非常多样，有绘画、摄影、、视频、装置等，请你先整体介绍下你的艺术计划的内容，让大家有个初步的了解。然后请问这个体量的计划是否得到了社会的支持？产生了怎样的反响？你从中得到了什么？思考了什么？进行到现在，这个计划是否达到了你的预期？

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Li: 我喜欢走路，喜欢那些对步行者很友好的地方。我拍下了很多照片，画下了不少记录日常碎片的小画，并持续至今。我逐渐产生了一个设想：将我创作的一些作品，放回这些作品最初吸引我去捕捉它们的原地址，任人拿取。我在作品包裹里留下一个邮箱，附在一张纸条上：你是谁？你为什么会经过这里？你可不可以告诉我你的故事？我原本计划“Hi，Strangers”只是一个关于即时摄影和快速绘画的项目，但我在刚开始进行这个计划时OPEN AI横空出世，作为一个拥有极大魅力的新生体立刻吸引了很多人。如今喂AI的人越来越多，我逐渐确认这个世上除了肉身的人与人之外，还有看不见的第三方影响着交流的世界这个客观事实。人类是否其实太孤独了，才会有那么多的遐想？并将遐想付诸行动？对于一部分人而言，“超常规的交流”比传统的社交更让人感到轻松酣畅。这是个争议性的话题，并且还在发酵着。在绘画领域，电子技术的强大辅助能力也在冲击着传统绘画，上一次类似的争议还是电脑绘画与手绘之争。作为一个以“互动”为主题的艺术计划，我决定让AI参与进来，扩展交流的边界，看看会产生什么样的火花。最终，人们看到的图片类作品都是经过AI（DALL E）处理过的，而AI处理的方式，是我这个原创者灌输或者说养成的结果。我指引了一个“新生儿”成长的方向，但我无法控制她的野蛮生长，她给我生成了很多不同的画面。然而，最后我还是行使了我的选择权，我选择了符合我审美的作品呈现在观众面前。我没有选择那种看上去尽量贴近写实很像照片的AI生成方式，而是选择了带有一些无限贴近绘画特质的“原始AI图像生成的痕迹”的呈现方式。因为我本身就拍摄了照片，以照片作为基底创作，所以不再需要“照片化”，而反其道而行之的“逆向化”处理方式能达到让人一看上去既熟悉又陌生的效果。这个过程很特别，是一个相互博弈和妥协的过程，像人与人之间交流的一面镜子。作品投放出去后，我开始陆陆续续收到拾取者们的来信，有不少邮件很有意思，我选择了部分以投影灯装置的方式展出，更具不确定的扑朔感。一年后我放慢了这个系列的脚步，同时开启新的创作。与纽约陌生人的联系是否具有持续性甚至收不收得到回应对于整个行为来说，已经不那么重要了。本来我期待有节奏的互动式交流，当我真的去做了以后，发现事实上我更接近一个“树洞”，吞下并保存了一些人的“过去”与“现在”。我的作品在他们的世界里成为了一个印记，用于让他们回忆起过去的某段时光带来的感悟。该艺术计划得到了纽约文化局和曼哈顿下城文化理事会的资助。