Meet Wei-Fang Chang | Video Designer & Multi-media artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Wei-Fang Chang and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Wei-Fang, what matters most to you?
Being kind and open as a human being is essential. Though it might seem distant from art, a piece of art is not just the finished product; it’s also about the process of creation. Trusting the process and acknowledging that a piece of art encompasses more than the objectivity of the artwork itself are significant takeaways from my artistic journey. It is crucial to remember that art serves as a gateway to expanding our understanding of the human experience; thus, remaining true to oneself is essential for my artistic creation.

Keep your eyes, emotions, and heart open. I recall a video designer whom I admire once said, “Eyes are the best learning tool, even when you are gazing upon a pile of trash.”

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a video designer and multimedia artist who was raised and born in Taiwan, and am currently based in Los Angeles, though spiritually in the universe. I specialize in video projection design and interactive art particularly within live experiences.

As a video designer, I find my sparkles in live performance that creates the aura, which evolves uniquely in that time and space, through our sensations in a performance. I am intrigued by the unique of live performance which allows me to immerse in chaos, confusion, ecstasy, or fear, and gives me the other psycho-somatic space to detach from the external world. I am interested in challenging the liveness of video arts by extending it outside of the frame of the window screen onto a spatial dimension within performative environment.

The visual language in my works is inspired by the organic flow of nature transition and subtle perception of logically conflicting human behaviors and self-reflection. I retranslated these perceptions into digital geometric motion graphics, such as distorted linear patterns, rhythmic waves and atmospheric digital gradients, evoking the perpetual transitions of nature. Additionally, I also like to explore video as a mirror for a self-portrait and audience engagement using live camera in my installation and projection design. It is intriguing how the subjectivity of viewers can also become the objectivity of their experience, suddenly building a connection between the external and internal aspects of a monitor and the body of a user, thereby transforming audiences from passive viewers into active participants and integrating them as part of the video information.

I am proud of my capacity for sensitive perception. The range of feelings accessible is far broader than what human language can convey. I really appreciate the immense sensations my body can experience through art, especially in live experience. It is interesting that a human won’t be able to fully understand other human’s sensation. We can describe or try to understand a feeling by language, but there’s no way to feel exactly same as other’s sensation and perspective.

It’s not a smooth road, but I am filled with gratitude and love, as I have been fortunate to be supported by friends and family throughout my journey. Throughout my life, I’ve been anchoring myself in environments where I didn’t necessarily come from the background I aimed to achieve. Despite this, I’ve always believed in the passion that led me to where I am in the present. It has been a contradictory process for me to figure out who I am and why I’m here, even now. However, I’ve come to embrace this process; after experiencing frustration, I always confront my true self.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I will take them to one of my favorite vintage markets, the Pasadena City College Flea Market. Known for its collection of antiques and collectibles, it’s located in the parking lots along the west side of the Pasadena City College campus. Pasadena boasts many antique malls, which are my go-to spots in LA. I find immense joy in browsing antiques; they capture how time and space are preserved in an object. Objects have the power to store memories and evoke emotions. I love seeing the diversity of objects from the past and imagining their presence in today’s era. It’s simply amazing.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
CalArts. I met many talented and kind people within the CalArts community and am grateful for everything that unfolded on campus. My artistic abilities truly flourished while pursuing my master’s degree in Interactive Media for Performance at CalArts, within the School of Theater, where I specialize in video projection design for performances. It is a artistic, crazy, experimental, collaborated, vibrate and unique school that I can feel and learn so much by just open my eyes and sensations.

Coming from a “design” background to an “art” environment, I had an hard time defining myself and felt chaotic in an art school, because I used to follow a rules to plan my design, as opposed to art process, in which it takes time or space to experience or improvise. However, in an art-focused environment, the process often requires time and space for exploration and improvisation. Through various art practices, hands-on theater, and dance productions as a video designer, I’ve learned to be open to others, honest with myself, gentle with my surroundings, and patient with the artistic process.

Website: https://www.weihuang.website/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/w._.mp4/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wei-fang-chang-1a2237190/

Image Credits
School of Theater, California Institute of the Arts