In this episode of Talking Taiwan we sat down to speak with Eugenie Chao who describes herself as Taiwanese American maker, educator, and musician who works in the intersection of ceramics, sound, and history. Her exhibit at the Taiwanese American Arts Council House 17 on Governors Island aptly named Listening Vessels, features ceramic objects turned musical instruments created by Chao and is on display until September 7th.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What came first for Eugenie music or working with clay?
- What made her combine ceramics with music?
- Where did that idea come from?
- How did she get interested or start working with clay?
- Eugenie’s musical training and what instruments she plays?
- What was her early artwork like?
- How her artwork has evolved over time?
- What does it mean to work at the intersection of ceramics, sound, and history?
- What is her creative process is like?
- How sound affects her artwork?
- How she decides the size of the objects she creates?
- The challenges involved with making large scale pieces vs pieces that can be made by hand
- How does the size of an object affects the sound it makes
- The ceramic instruments from ancient cultures that inspire her, how she discovered them and what was their purpose
- What inspires you? Where do you get your inspiration?
- Eugenie’s connection to Taiwan
- How Eugenie considers herself a maker and not an artist
- What can we expect to see and experience from Eugenie’s Listening Vessels exhibit at the TAAC house on Governors Island
- The most ambitious or challenging piece of work that Eugenie has made
- How Eugenie deals with a creative block
- Eugenie’s future projects can we expect to see from you?
Related Links:
Eugenie Chao’s website: https://www.eugeniechao.com/
Eugenie Chao on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urbanclayware
From Mud to Music: http://ninestones.com/frommudtomusic/index.html
Ocarina: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocarina
Diabolo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabolo
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