The convergence of art and technology
Trying to pin down Jay Yan to a particular style is as difficult as holding on to a greased pig. His works range from videos projected onto the outside of a large building where he is trying to sleep in a 27-inch box, to an interactive arrangement where people can listen to the sounds emitting from a Calla Lily flower as audible frequencies from speakers vibrate its vase, to large installations featuring thousands of small, individual elements. But the one constant throughout his pieces is the intentional way he designs them, aiming to have people react to and interact with them.
Born in Shanghai China but raised in the United States, Yan wasn’t necessarily driven to be an artist. While he enjoyed art, he never felt it was his calling. Instead, he was armed with an insatiable curiosity – and when he entered college at UCLA, he was given a setting where he could explore multiple disciplines.
“I really just fell into it (art),” Yan explained. “I picked an interesting university and I just studied everything I could and just got into it. I always liked watching people and how they interact with different environments, and I found that art gave me a way to do that.”
In the case of the work he created for Baird Center, eekuawlim, the visitors to the convention center play a critical role in how the piece is perceived.
“When people walk by, it reflects their image on the scattered pieces. I really hope that people notice that and explore it. If they move back and forth in front of it, they will see how their motion and what they are wearing alters and changes the piece.”
Made from over 7,600 colored pieces of stainless steel, eekuawlim covers the majority of two walls outside Baird Center’s Grand Ballroom. This played perfectly into Yan’s fascination with creating works of immense size and scale.
“I wanted a piece that was reflective towards the people, but also at the same time, because of the elevated space, I wanted something that kind of reflects down onto people so that they can have an intimate experience without being high up,” Yan said. “That is why I chose the stainless steel material, and the fact that these are slightly angled downwards towards the viewer so they have this kind of nice upward experience.”
While attending college, Yan also found that he was interested in computers, which today he utilizes heavily in creating some of his designs.
“I write custom algorithmic software to create my giant-sized pieces like the one at Baird Center,” Yan mentioned. “The software uses principles of AI to create thousands of variations.” Although Yan had never been to Milwaukee before he was commissioned to create eekuawlim, he found inspiration in many aspects of the city – especially how the city is pushed up against nature.
“I was first inspired by a Claude Monet piece that was in the Milwaukee Art Museum. It’s called Waterloo Bridge,” Yan told us. “I found the bridge in the painting, and the industrial setting behind it, very ‘Milwaukee.’ To me, they evoked the bridges in Milwaukee and the industrial sector of the Midwest, which I find very interesting. These aspects of Milwaukee actually dictated the work, because working with stainless steel is a very industrious process.”
eekuawlim is part of the We Energies Foundation Art Collection located at Baird Center. Jay Yan is one of the 33 artists, most from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, or with special ties to the area, who have works featured in the collection. You can discover more about the artists and their works at https://bairdcenter.com/art-collection/