Philosophical art beckons viewers to embark on a journey of profound contemplation, compelling them to uncover the intricate layers of meaning within the artwork. It’s not merely about admiring a visually stunning piece; it’s about delving into the thought-provoking philosophical message it conveys.
Jiayun Ding, an accomplished glass artist, possesses a deep and distinctive comprehension of glass art. She sees glass as a versatile medium, with its juxtaposition of tough exterior and delicate essence. Ding enjoys employing glass to produce visually striking and poetic artworks.
This series of Jiayun’s works is centred and focuses on existentialist philosophy and its involvement in artistic language to explore and discuss the ideas around the core principles of existentialism.
Jiayun founds it essential to not only grasp the idea in theory but also to explore how materials and procedures could help complete certain aspects of the narrative on a personal level. She has attempted to articulate philosophical concepts through glass as a form of art language.
Existentialist philosophy holds that essence precedes existence; therefore, glass ingredients precede the existence of glass itself. In this light, Jiayun Ding as a glass artist believes that making glass by herself with natural sand will be an artistic approach to represent the essence of existentialist philosophy.
Exploring the logic of existence through glass formation. Viewing glass as the vessel of life, Jiayun created a conceptual piece to interpret life’s essence. She made four glass containers in varying proportions, representing the raw materials forming glass. These four essential elements: sand, soda, limestone, and salt were sealed in containers and fashioned into a shape reminiscent of the Holy Grail, drawing a comparison between the essence of “life” and life itself.
To illustrate the concept of essence preceding existence and underscore its significance in existentialism, Jiayun took the largest piece from the glass she made from the raw materials and transformed it into a multi-faceted, irregular-shaped gem. She places this glass gem, symbolising the meaning of existence, amidst the sand, she sought to convey the pivotal role of essence preceding existence. The transformed glass gem, lying amidst the sand, serves as a silent testament to the relationship between its existence and its fundamental essence.
From the perspective of existentialism, Jiayun believes that everything that individual in their life creates the value of life and the meaning of existence in the present. The meaning of life lies in continuous experience and exploration, and each person is influencing Others around, which enlightened me on the basic meaning of existence for human beings.
Continuing Jiayun Ding’s investigation into the concept of philosophical enquiries of existentialism by utilising glassblowing tools made in glass, she imagines using glass shears that are made in glass cutting hotglass during the process, but the existing glass tools for glassblowing cannot be used due to their tendency to shatter upon contact with the hot glass surface, making their use impractical and absurd. That makes her thinks of the contradiction between two types of glass existence presenting an impossible loop.
The work The Rhythm of Existence showcases the contradiction between two types of existence, glass vessels and the tools that make them exist. The body of work illustrates the process of glass making with glass-making tools made in glass, which is impossible in reality. All the existence on the planet starts with atoms, and they always return to atoms again. Scientifically every individual existence is related to one another, which leads to a question: are those glass vessels made of glass? Or they are just made by the same thing that shares the basic atoms? In this piece, the loop of the cycle of life is completed again in another narrative way.
In the work What Makes Life Immortal? The iconic glass diamond shears from Jiayun’s works are anthropomorphic, they finished the last stage of life like a living person, that is, after the completion of its mission or the meaning of existence, with their own unique nature of the background colour of the funeral ceremony and cremation ceremony, a complete collection of the so-called ashes and storage in a hot glass urn. This whole process is a cycle of life, and it is also a cycle of glass as a material as we glass artists use it, from glass billets to the glass diamond shears and back to glass sheards that can be recycled again. A new pair of glass-made diamond shears tightly grab the urn mouth which symbolises the new generation finishing the loop, it could also be interpreted as the new generation inheriting and developing the crystallization of cultural heritage and spiritual wealth based on what is left by the old generation.
In order to convey the main concept of existentialism, which is that existence precedes essence, Jiayun used the combination of presenting a practical body of work and a performance art film (result). This whole artistic demonstration has been recorded and edited into a performance art film.
To watch the whole performance link is below here: https://www.transparentdirection.com/post/what-makes-life-immortal
Because of Jiayun’s deep interest in existentialist philosophy, she has drawn on the work of these artists to develop her own style and express her personal perspective on existentialist philosophy through the language of glass as a medium for expression of her views on existentialism.
Throughout the creative process, Jiayun sought to express deep philosophical ideas and fundamental principles through her artwork. This exploration not only deepened her comprehension of existentialist philosophy but also allowed Jiayun to bridges the gap between art and philosophical inquiry through personal expression. While Jiayun producing her artworks and contemplating existentialist philosophy, she discovered that art and philosophy both continually delve into fresh ideas, concepts, and associated experiences. This exploration is not a relentless quest for truth or a definitive solution; rather, its aim is to further investigate these concepts and theories themselves.