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THE THIRD SCREEN:
"FREEDOM"?

Keyword: CONTACT

TSOU: "What I recognized from the third channel is that, the person dressed in green screen is participating in the real-life environment..."

Keyword: COEXIST?

HSIEH: "How could we find a way out of such a world manipulated by digital media? Or, how could we coexist with it?"

Then we talk about the interpretation of the three-channel video. When Tsou watched the videos, she quickly noticed a gap presented between the “advanced language use” in the text and the “simple, naive, and gaudy” visual expression. She stressed her admiration for this depiction of “sarcasm.” To Tsou, the two channels placed at a higher horizontal level made a consistent expression, referring modern people’s behavior of using digital media to “ridiculous.” The channel at the bottom in the middle appears to be a separate context of expression. Named freedom, it confuses her a little. She argues, “What I recognized from the third channel is that, the person dressed in green screen is participating in the real-life environment, instead of staying in the digital realm. He picnicked with the crowd, traveled through the streets, and wandered around the city. I believe he should be a depiction of returning to the real world. The person dressed in green screen should be a representation of each of us. It is metaphoric to the fact that we can still contact reality even in the digital era. Is this what Hsieh intends to say?”

Hsieh described the three-channel video as a trilogy. The first channel, The Origin, explains how memes are a collection of various small contexts and are communication bodies that are not responsible for their meaning and influence. Notably, memes have restructured our way of thinking in this era. The second channel, Spread and Infection, depicts the background conditions under which the mental virus can spread rapidly. Where a variety of symbols situates is intended to flatten the public’s thinking ability. Thus, the mental virus can occupy entire media platforms concisely and unite people’s values. The third channel, Liberty, brings the focus back to real space. When the person dressed in a green screen that is supposed to live under the logic of media production appears in reality, it metaphors a reverse situation of the norm. Hsieh thinks about the issues of personal identity in the digital era and how media has alienated the nature over the years. During the interview, she stated, “How could we find a way out of such a world manipulated by digital media? Or, how could we coexist with it?”

A difference of interpretation lies in how Hsieh and Tsou capture the idea in the third channel Liberty. After initially learning from the two, I communicated this difference to both parties. Both responded positively. Tsou told me this new information expanded her interpretation of Hsieh’s art and reminded her of some characteristics of Hsieh as a friend. Her original thought of considering Hsieh as “cynical” has amplified as she learned the discrepancy between her interpretation and the author’s. Interestingly, Tsou denied Hsieh’s cynical attitude as her superficial self of her, yet argued that this is another face of Hsieh. “This is the different passion and way of communication toward the different issues she cares,” Tsou explained. “I do not mean saying Hsieh as an angry young person. Her works reveal a sense different from what I understood in her personality. She forms sharp insights in her artistic discussion while acting compassionately when treating people in her everyday lives. She tends to do her best to help everyone he cares about. She is not even very good at rejecting others and often puts herself at the very least of the well-treating list. However, in her works, they show a sense of aggressiveness. What I genuinely believe is that Hsieh uses art as a way to express ‘another side of her.’”

On the other hand, when Hsieh heard about Tsou’s interpretation of the piece, she expressed how grateful it is seeing the audience “taking the initiative” to understand what was told. She claimed, “I believe when the work is created, it no longer belongs to me. It has its own life, so I have no rules for the audience to appreciate the piece. I rather reserve some space for the work and the viewer to create their spark! Thus, I find it quite interesting when the viewer, who has the limited artistic knowledge, is striving to capture clues to assist their understanding of the work.”

Review

Hsieh's art

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