cao fei: SA397
The artist that I chose to explore and learn more about is Cao Fei and her work in “Fantasy”. Her works focus on the integration of cultures into one another, and the integration of hip hop into Chinese culture. Her time to analyze cosplaying also interesting to me because she analyzes parts of pop culture that have become even more popular since the time working on her project. The ways in which she picks her locations is something that I wish I had more attention to, particularly the way she can explain and pick apart the cosplay culture. The way she incorporates the dances into the factory is something that I ended up finding extremely interesting, due to how precise and thought out placement and location are with her video works.
Later on, her focus to join Second Life to make an art project from this avatar-based program. Her captivation with it is something that I can definitely see, the way in which she can dedicate herself to create a documentary through the game application, a way that I haven’t quite seen artwork done before - with video game artwork. The way in which romance is dictated by the video game is so unique and I find something extremely disconcerting. The way she shoots these scenes make this word seem so large and endless, although it is clear that in the end, it is just a video game.
The way this leads to her creating her own world has me enthralled, particularly the way it seemed to become a warped China. The construction as far as being in 2009 is so impressive and large-scale, seeming so open that it feels unreal to look at. It’s hard to imagine how they have created their own city and managed to create a controlled environment.
