Meet Raven Jiang | Illustrator, animator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Raven Jiang and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Raven, what’s the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make?
As an ordinary East Asian child, it seemed to me as a child that the only serious subjects that existed in the world were mathematics, physics, and chemistry, because I was never surrounded by people who made a career out of culture and art. But on the other hand, I grew up with a love of expression, but my language skills were not very good, and what I wanted to express was abstract and subtle. So I became a science student who not only liked to talk in class, but also liked to draw in class.

After I got my degree in electrical engineering, I suddenly lost my goal. Without exams and a clear goal, I suddenly had no idea what I should do. I thought if I like painting, I should go into painting. A career that I can stick to and enjoy is always better than a direction that makes people confused.

After studying with my teacher for a year, I entered the MFA illustration as visual essay program at SVA. As a newcomer to the art field, everything was exciting but scary for me.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
More than technique, new approaches to visual narrative and the ambiguity it contains are the directions I am most interested in. In the creative process, I tend to be guided more by my intuition and find the narrative technique that best expresses a certain emotion. Although it was once painful for me, I am now grateful for my overactive associative ability, which gives me a huge pool of material to work with. So far I have completed 15 small sketchbooks, a diary-like record of all my thoughts, emotions and inspirations.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Independent publications and art books appeal to me, so I would like to recommend the famous independent bookstore Printed Matter, which is located on a small corner in the Chelsea area of Manhattans. Above the bookstore is The High-line Park, where I often go for a walk, surrounded by large and small galleries. I often feel like I’m thinking too much, but sometimes I feel like I’m not thinking enough. Strolling through the long and thin High Line Park by the river, I feel the tall buildings, plants and people in a hurry move me closer and then farther away, and I let them lead my thoughts out slowly, letting my mind go. After clearing my mind of the clutter, I walked into Printed Matter to see what was new to me, or to see if my favorite publisher had anything new. I love the idea of using books as a medium to carry different perspectives, to ask readers questions, or to express their feelings and more.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Like many people, I’m very grateful to my family who don’t fully understand what I want to do or what I’m looking for, or what’s bothering me. But they still fully support me in the decisions I make and have always provided all the support they can. In addition to making me physically grown-up, they have also supported me in actually going down the path I really wanted to try, and in growing spiritually without regrets. Especially my mother, we have a family bond, but also a mutual understanding and support of each other as women to live our lives as we see fit.

I am also grateful to my professor and advisor at school, because when I first entered the art field I was timid and I always speculated on what others wanted to see and made it my goal. But my professor and advisor both saw the narrative potential in my work and encouraged me to do what I really wanted to do, to tell the story I really wanted to tell.

Website: http://www.ravenanother.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raven_another/

Other: ravenanother@gmail.com