Episode 68: Mother Tongue (w/ Dan S. Wang)

Summary: Hey everyone. I hope you are well. I got my first vaccine shot. Hoping to get my second in a few weeks. I also have been traveling through parts of southern China and trying to grasp the art scene more. My students just had their senior year exhibition which I am proud to see their work hanging. It brings back memories of my undergrad. I have have one more week of school and then a month of meetings before I head to Shanghai. Time is moving fast. Anyway. For today, I have Dan Wang, an artist, writer, and organizer. Chinese-Midwestern by birth and currently living in Southern California, Dan’s art work has been shown in several solo exhibitions and scores of group shows, and has inhabited venues ranging from museums and art centers to street demonstrations and toilet stalls. His texts have been published in books, journals, webzines, exhibition catalogues, as commissioned art projects, and in a range of artists’ publications. As a cultural organizer, Dan has also worked in several collaborative configurations, having contributed to projects and productions authored under the names Compass, Madison Mutual Drift, and Red76. He was one of eight founding keyholders of the Chicago experimental cultural space Mess Hall. I caught up with Dan recently and was excited to learn more about his family background and growing up as a Chinese-American in the midwest. We chatted about Jajangmyeon, learning Chinese, spreading ideologies, and so much more. I hope to catch up with Dan in the future after this discussion for round 2. In the meantime, stay safe, stay healthy, and I hope you enjoy this.