During 2020 Pandemic, Tong Ziyun started his live streaming art class.  Some of the works presented in the exhibition are finished during the live feed class. From my observation, Ziyun’s working process had two distinct characteristics: first, he is very enthusiastic about live drawing; sometimes the process will take a long time and depends on the time and condition of the subject, he is very observant which is due to the influence of phemonology.  And in his works, there is strong sense of logic which is his core strength, but not all.  He would quite often, intentionally sabotages images on canvas then bring it back again to its logical state; in the states which drift amongst destructions, logics, restructions, to finish the works would often take a long time, which at the sametime, unstable and accidental.  This unique creative process has became Ziyun’s special thought process and special way to present art; and it is apparently shown in the uncertainty, timeless and transending landscape paintings and live drawings. To teach students from various background is totally different experience from his own painting process. Ziyun states that the live streaming class is very positive experience which allow him to systematically sum up his theory and knowledge.  The switch between artist and teacher force him to profile and observe himself.  There should be more than one way to teach art, so right and wrong is pointless.  How and what to instruct students ends up to Ziyun’s own understanding of art.

For those students already saw Ziyun’s live streaming class, they understand the meaning of art through the process.  They have the chance to see first hand how the theories of art transition on canvas; it also demystified art.  Rather than the finished works, I would pay more attendtion to Ziyun’s live feed presentatoin.  The focus of the exhibition is to place studio and streaming side by side, which compare it to the classical art value with the live streaming trend.  Classical art studio is a mystified space.  Courbet’s Artist’s Studio was one example that demystified art, which it was later rejected from an exhibition.  Although the example is rare and distanced, for most of the audiences, art creation is still an sacred process. The mysticism of art is contrary of current values of declassification and disempowerment. Tik-tok and other live streaming media has became the most active in the recent three or four years.  When people question the high-class or low-class of the current live streaming media, it also implies conflict of values. But through out history, the current low-class concepts or forms, might just ferments the future high-class standards.

Zhao Tao