Recall--Beili+Liu

= = __**About Beili Liu:**__ Beili Liu is a contemporary artist working in Austin, TX where she is an Assistant Professor of Art at the University of Texas. She earned her MFA at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2003. Although she has been living and working in the United States for some time, her experiences in China inform her work. She often draws inspiration from the contradictions and conflicts between Eastern and Western value systems ([]). Liu's installations explore ideas of cultural identity, time and fragility through the use of light, sound, space and unique materials. More information about her work can be found here: []

__**//The Hous//****//e Phase Installation Series//**__ In Beili Liu's //House Phase Installation Series//, the artist recreated the exact dimensions of her family's one room adobe home in China in different media and locations. The series is made up of three installations, //The Little House Stands Alone on the Prairie, Shadow House, and Recall.//

//**The Little House Stands Alone on the Prairie**// The first phase, //The Little House Stands Alone on the Prairie//, was built out of ‘soil/mud bricks,’ (known as adobe bricks in the United States) on the secluded prairie in Nebraska. Liu worked closely with her father in completing this work, using his knowledge and experience as a resource for the construction of the house. He had helped to build many in China, so she consulted with him about materials, especially the when making the bricks. Since building materials were scarce in China during the time Liu’s father and others were constructing their homes, home builders often used what was near and accessible, including soil. Liu compares this resourcefulness to that of the American pioneers (Liu, 2005).

The construction of a new home is one of the most celebrated events in Chinese villages, and was usually done for a son getting ready to start a family.It was also a community event, and young men throughout the village would help to build a new dwelling, often helping to construct many homes before building one of their own. Liu received help creating her bricks from fellow artists, visiting school children, and interested community members, making the construction of her little house a community endeavor as well. However, Lui also contrasts this experience as a Chinese woman, “[…] I, as a woman and a daughter, was about to build a house of my own” (Liu, 2005, p. 52).

Once the house was finished, Liu plastered the inside of the house with newspaper, something families did to houses in Lui's home village to spruce up the walls and to keep dirt from flaking off into the home. Liu chose to use articles about China published in American newspapers. As a finishing touch, Liu spent the night in the dwelling. She says of the experience, “I was home” (Liu, 2005, p. 53).

Beili Liu recalls a memory while looking at her finished work in Nebraska: “In the silence of the night, my memory took me back to years ago, to a small village in the northern province of Jilin in China. The houses there were made of clay and straw; the side of the house looked like the shape of a mountain, which we called the ‘mountain wall’. In one of these houses, I was born to my young parents, who were among the youth sent to rural villages for the cause of China’s Cultural Revolution” (Liu, 2005, p.50). Liu left the house where it stood to naturally decompose, returning the soil from which it was built.

//**Recall**// == The third phase, //Recall,// 2006, was created using 500, eight foot long hand made wax drippings carefully suspended from the ceiling in a large room. Because the wax is so fragile, Liu's house could never be dismantled and reinstalled elsewhere. Instead, the wax drippings must be made every time the work is installed in a new location. In earlier versions of //Recall//, the wax drippings were suspended from the rafters of a hundred year old barn. The different location of the installation in the Gallery One site changes the dynamic for Recall through the use of one light bulb in the center of the house and the use of a different set of hand made wax drippings. The viewer responds to each space separately and as new works.

Formal and Contextual Analysis

"Installation art is a term that loosely refers to the type of art into which the viewer physically enters, and which is often described as 'theatrical', 'immersive' or 'experiential'" (Bishop, Clair Installation Art p. 6). While other forms of art, including sculpture and painting, focus on a single object, an installation also encompasses the space around it. The viewer is an active participant in the art experience and is fully immersed in the space. Installation works also challenge the viewer by their location and amount of time they exist. Installations fall into several categories, site specific, temporary and long term installations. Besides site consideration, an installation artist must decide whether or not to create a long term, semi-permanent or temporary work. A temporary piece is one that is created for a specific length of time then dismantled. Once dismantled, the installation can not typically be recreated again.

Liu's //Recall//, is a temporary installation, it has a momentary quality that intensifies the viewer's response; knowledge of its eventual destruction lends urgency to the work one must embrace while the opportunity is still there. This image shows how the light and space affects a viewers experience while entering the work. Dapples of light shimmer on the floor creating shadows and the air influences the movement of the wax drippings stimulating viewers to 'recall' their own memories.

"Though my work is ephemeral oftentimes, I am satisfied with the perceptual connection that people make with it. Like reading a poem, the tone of voice affects the layering of words, which emerge, echo, and fade out through time." -Beili Liu

Beili Liu’s memories of her parents play an important role in the installation. Her parents were intellectuals sent down to the country side during the Cultural Revolution to be re-educated. During this time her family participated in Mao’s vision to build a stronger China. The house references her father’s hand built home and symbolizes the families shelter and protection during this time.
 * || [[image:recalla1.jpg align="right" caption="House Phase Installation Series, California http://www.beililiu.com/06to07.html "]] || [[image:recalla2.jpg width="312" height="181" caption="House Phase Installation Series, California http://www.beililiu.com/06to07.html"]] ||

The use of wax in this piece goes beyond the visual stimulation in referencing the medicinal purposes in Chinese medicine. Chinese wax is used for making candles, but used medicinally to remedy hoarseness, pain, worms, nervousness, and broken bones (Britannica, 2009).

The fragility and medicinal uses of the material combined with the cultural background of Liu comment on the painful sacrifices and struggle her family made during the time of the Cultural Revolution.

 References

ArtSlant. __ArtSlant - LURE: Installation Art by Beili Liu.__ 18 May 2008. 7 Apr. 2009 [].

Art Farm. __Beili Liu Art Farm Project.__ 2006. 7 Apr. 2009 [].

Bishop, Clair. __Installation Art__. New York, NY: Routledge, 2005.

Chinese Culture Center Online Gallery. __Beili Liu's Page.__ 2008. 7 Apr. 2009 [].
 * Chinese wax **** . ** __Encyclopædia Britannica__. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 06 Apr. 2009 <[]>.

__Installation Art__. Wikipedia. []

Liu, Beili. //Personal Statement//. __[|www.beililiu.com]__. January 25, 2008. []

Liu, B. (2005). The little house stands alone on the prairie. Ceramics Technical. No.21. pp. 50-53. Retrieved from http://www.beililiu.com/reviews/BeiliLiuArticle.pdf. April, 2009.

Odeo: Search, Discover and Share Digital Med. __Artist Lecture: Beili Liu & Her Installation Art.__ 3 June 2008. 7 Apr. 2009 [].

WCC Gallery One. __WCC Gallery One: Current Exhibit: Recall.__ 2006. 7 Apr. 2009 . 

Lesson plan for 11th -12th grades and AP art students**
 * //Creating a Familiar Space: Exploring Context, Culture and Family through Installation Art//

Installation art is unique in that it allows for space, time and other non-traditional art materials to be used a media, making context and physical material of installation equally important to its meaning. In this lesson, students will discuss the installations of Chinese-American artist Beili Liu in order explore the important role context and alternative materials play in installation art. Students will then create their own installations to express ideas about culture and family using space, time, and alternative materials.


 * __Objectives__**


 * **Students will explore how cultural and family experiences can be expressed through installation art**


 * **Students will use non-traditional materials to make art**


 * **Students will understand how time and space can be used as a medium that contributes to meaning and concept**


 * **Students will consider how context might affect any given work of art, beyond installations.**

__**Essential Questions:**__
 * Why are homes important?
 * What makes a home a home?
 * What role does our home play in shaping our identity?

__**Discussion Questions for** //**The Little House Stands Alone on the Prairie**//__
 * How does Lui’s installation draw comparisons between American history and her own history in China?


 * What does her work say about family? What role did family play in this installation?


 * What role do the newspaper articles play in this work? How do Americans view Chinese culture? Are there any similarities between Lui’s family experience in China and her experience building this work in the United States?


 * How would this work of art be different if it were located somewhere else besides the prairie in Nebraska?


 * __Discussion Questions for //Recall//__**


 * How might the re-installation of this work in different locations, i.e. the barn and the gallery, affect the meaning of the work?


 * Does the fact that the wax drippings have to be re-made every time the work is displayed have any influence on meaning? How so?


 * Where else could this work be installed? How that would that location change its meaning?


 * Think about the characteristics of the material used in this work. What might the artist be saying about family and culture?

__**Discussion Questions about Installation and Context**__


 * How does location, time, and material affect the meaning of a work of art?


 * What role does the viewer play when viewing an installation? What about other types of art?


 * Do objects, in particular works of art, always have one meaning? Who and/or what determines what an artwork means?


 * __Installation Project__

Discussion: Use the following questions to help students get started with their installation concepts.**


 * What culture does your family come from? What makes up who and what your family is?


 * What are some of your favorite or most vivid memories of your family?


 * What physical spaces, items, or sounds remind you of your family and your experiences with your family? How could you incorporate these things into an installation?


 * What would an installation about your family look like? How could you show your families culture and experience through an installation?

> sketches and ideas so you can present a convincing case as to why you should be allowed to display your work.
 * Instructions for Students:**
 * 1) Make a list of materials and objects you would like to use in your installation. Be creative and feel free to use non-traditional materials!
 * 2) Draw 4 to 5 sketch designs for your installation. Think about how you will put your materials together, where the installation will be located.
 * 3) If the installation is going to be in a public space, work with your art instructor to obtain permission to install the work. Make sure to have clear
 * 1) Begin installing your work. Be sure to document the process since your installation is a unique experience!
 * 2) Is there any way for other students to help you with your work? Installation is often a group process, so invite other to join in.
 * 3) When you are finished with your installation, document the final piece if you wish.

__**Installation Reflection and Critique**__


 * Bring the students together to talk about everyone's process and final piece.
 * We all know these works were meant to be about family and the home. What do these works tell us about those ideas?
 * How is everyone's conception of home different? How is it the same?
 * How would these works be different if they were located somewhere else? What if the artist had chosen a different set of material?


 * Have each student write a one to two page reflection about their process, their final pieces and their response to the class critique. Students should focus on the following questions:
 * How did you consider context while designing your installation? What role did context play in the meaning of your work?
 * While working on your installation how did your ideas about your home and family change? How did those ideas influence your choice of materials and location?
 * What did you think of your classmate's work? Did you gain any new insights into culture or ideas about homes and family? What were they?
 * What was the most challenging part of this project?
 * What part of the project did you enjoy the most?
 * If you had to do the project again, would you change anything? What?

__**Evaluation**__ Students can be graded on the following:


 * //Participation://** Did the student contribute to the conversations about Liu's work? What did they contribute to critiques? Were projects finished on time?

//**Creativity:**// Did the student use non traditional materials in a meaningful way? Did they have strong reasons for their choice of location and materials? Did these choices contribute to the meaning of their work?

by other students?
 * //Engagement://** Was the student's work engaging? Did it inspire conversation and new thoughts? Was the student willing to let his or her work be interpreted


 * //Installation Reflection://** Did the student provide thoughtful answers to the questions? Did they meet the length requirement of the paper? Did their responses inform their work in any new ways?

__**National Visual Arts Standards**__ The above activities and discussion questions meet the following National Visual Arts Standards for grades 9 - 12:

Content Standard 1: Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes Content Standard 2: Using knowledge of structures and functions Content Standard 3: Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas Content Standard 4: Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures Content Standard 5: Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others Content Standard 6: Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines