Con Artist Collective Dumpling Critiques | Session 1: Sessa Englund
One of the greatest things about our lovely lilâ collective has always been its location. Nestled between two of the liveliest neighborhoods in the city, Lower East Side and Chinatown, thereâs always plenty to see and do.Â
In the case of artist Shaina Yang, thereâs also plenty to eat and she often finds comfort in being able to get a taste of home at many of the Chinese restaurants in the area. Aside from running City Bird Gallery and working on her own art, Shaina has recently set out to invite other artists along these nostalgic journeys and initiated Dumpling Critique sessions in conjunction with Con Artist Collective and its members.Â
Yang believes it is a way to commune and indirectly introduce the art world to individuals who may be unfamiliar with viewing art or feel they have no ârelationâ to it. In this first session, Shaina invites artist Sessa Englund out to get her work critiqued by the workers of Forever Taste restaurant in Chinatown. Fun times! Check out the full conversation below.Â
Dumpling Critique: Â Session 1
Artist: Sessa Englund
Location: Forever Taste | 27 Rutgers St. New York, NY
Rating: 5/5 *There are vegetarian options!
Where we went: Family-owned Forever Taste serves traditional Chinese fare and is the only restaurant on its block. It is modest with three small shared tables and is definitely made for the neighborhood.
What we ordered: Youpo vegetarian noodles, chive and pork dumplings, pork and bok choy noodles along with three fish tofu skewers all to share.
Recommendations: $1 pan-fried onion pancakes, $5 Youpo vegetarian noodles ($5 may seem much for Chinatown, but it definitely tastes like China), $1 pan-fried dumplings comes four an order.
Last mentions:
The portions are big, definitely sharable. The kitchen is open style with no vent so you may end up carrying a souvenir smell of oil and soy. Weâre ok with that; itâs worth the hand made noodles.
Dumpling Lady 1: Â What is this? Is this an antique?
Crit Team: Â No, this isnât antique, itâs an art piece. Can you take a look for us? Tell us your thoughts. Weâll put it on the table for you to see.
Dumpling Lady 1: Â Oh, this is an art piece!
Crit Team: Â Does it make you feel anything?
Dumpling Lady 1:  I just feel itâs an animal or something, but I donât understand what I seeâŠ
Dumpling Lady 2: Â It looks like bread. Or a cake, like the cream on a cake just randomly spread around.
Crit Team: Â Do you like it?
Dumpling Lady 2: Â No, I donât like it so much. Itâs a little messy, too many colors and itâs not neat!
Crit Team: Â This counts as art right?
Dumpling Lady 2: Â Yea, but it looks like a little child did it [laughs]. Whatever I say you guys wonât get mad oh?
Crit Team: Â No! We want to hear your honest thoughts.
Dumpling Lady 2: Â Yea, I donât like it so much. Did you make this?
Crit Team: Â If I said I made it, what do you say?
Dumpling Lady 2: Â Nothing, it is what it is. If it looks good, it looks good. If it doesnât, it doesnât. Thatâs how I am.Â
Dumpling Lady 1: Â Aiyo, I keep looking and looking, I donât understand what Iâm seeing. I really canât understand.
Crit Team: Â What is it that you donât understand?
Dumpling Lady 1:  I donât understand what Iâm looking atâŠ
Crit Team: Â Do you think itâs good? Is it pretty looking? Do you think you would put this in a museum?
Dumpling Lady 1:  Pretty it is, it is pretty looking. But how do I say⊠a museum? Itâs possible. It is a type, what it is I donât know how to say, but either way it feels pretty good. This thing is pretty to look at!
[Dumpling man walks by and dumpling lady asks him to take a look]
Dumpling Lady 1: Â Do you have any feeling?
Dumpling Man: Â Itâs good, not bad. Did you make it?
Crit Team: Â No, we didnât make it!
Dumpling Man: Â It is very good looking!
Crit Team: Â Why do you think itâs good looking? Do you have any feelings or thoughts?
Dumpling Man: Â Itâs very pretty, it has an [unknown phrase equivalent to âairâ], even though itâs messy. It has an [unknown phrase equivalent to âairâ] about it.
Crit Team: Â Sorry, what is [unknown phrase equivalent to âairâ]? Apologies, our speaking has deteriorated. Our Mandarin Chinese sucks.
Dumpling Lady 1: Â I also donât know how to speak Mandarin Chinese either; we usually speak our own language from He Bei. We are farmers!
Crit Team: Â Oh, do you have a lot of art where you come from?
Dumpling Lady 1:  No, we donât have any art where we come fromâŠ
Crit Team: Â Not even a little bit?
Dumping Lady 1: Â Generally, we donât have it!
Crit Team: Â You mean âlife is artâ?
Dumpling Lady 1: Â [laughs] What?
Crit Team: Â So this to you is art?
Dumpling Lady 1: Â Yes, when I look at this, it looks like art. It looks like good art [giggling]. I wanted to see if I could touch it before to see what it feels like if I touched it!
Crit Team: Â So when you see this painting, it makes you want to touch it?
Dumpling Lady 1: Â Yes, so I wanted to ask you earlier if I could touch it. I would recommend my friends to see it.
Crit Team: Â Would you hang this painting in your home?
Dumpling Man: Â Hang at home? Of course!
Dumpling Lady 1:  Hang in my home? Let me think where I would put it⊠I would put it in the living room, on a table.
Crit Team: Â If you were to sell it, how much would this be?
Dumpling Lady 1: Â That I wouldnât know! This would have no price. There is no price tag on art. Not on this piece of art.
[We then revealed that we were a group of artists who work at a nearby galleries and that the artist whose work theyâve been critiquing was sitting with us for dinner!]
Crit Team: Â This piece of art is actually made by our good friend here, Sessa Englund, except she canât understand anything that we are saying!
Dumpling Lady 1: Â Oh, I can see it now! Thereâs a person on the bottom, right? So what did she make?
[Crit Team is translating between Dumpling Ladies and Sessa Englund now]
Sessa Englund: There might be! Itâs very open⊠What did I make? I made, uh, my emotions⊠It can be a person down there. Itâs my feelings in the painting, but it can be a person, it can be what you see in it. Thatâs what itâs supposed to be.
Dumpling Lady 1: Â Standing from here from this perspective, it does look like a bunch of people and a personâs feeling. What is it that she was painting?
Sessa Englund: I agree [with her]. For me, it looks like a room also sometimes.
Dumpling Lady 1: Â When I stand here, it looks like one person! When I stand here, it looks like two people! Standing from far away, it looks like thereâs people, but when you get closer, there arenât. They disappear. Do you see it?
Sessa Englund: Yea! Yea, I like that in paintings that when looked at from afar it looks like a person and when you get close up its just paints. I like that⊠Do they still like it?
Crit Team: Â Do you still like it now that you know the artist a little bit?
Dumpling Lady 1: Â I like it even more! [laughs]. I got to meet the artist!
[After the critique, Sessa Englund does the incredible⊠she offered the painting to the Dumpling Ladies as a gift!]
Sessa Englund: Itâs so nice of them that they liked it! Thatâs so cool! Thatâs amazing, are you kidding me? And they saw all these people and things in it. Thatâs the best. If they want it⊠I donât want to make them take it if they donât want it, only if they want it.
Crit Team: Â [asking the Dumpling Ladies] Would you want to keep this painting as a gift?
Dumpling Lady 3: Gift?! Of course Iâll take it! I want to slowly admire it⊠Itâs beautiful!
Sessa Englund: Thank you so much! Thatâs so nice. Iâm really embarrassed. Do they know? That Iâm really happy? This is the best crit that Iâve had ever.
Conclusion: Three out of four loved the piece.
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