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An Interview with

Gina Glee

Gallery

Background & inspiration

I remember my mother said when I was 3, 4, 5, I drew a hundred faces, all different. When I was very young, I started drawing. When I was first year of junior high, my mom took me to a famous art professor in Taiwan. The professor taught at the art museum there. I studied Chinese painting with him for 8 months. He really liked my work and had good compliments, I remember that.
Actually, I should mention music. I think music and art are so related together for me, especially. When I was 3 years old, my mom bought a piano from Germany. My sister really loved piano music, so my mother bought a very expensive piano. I know very simple notes. I can guess the note exactly from listening--"That's an A! That's a D!"
I think that is why I am so sensitive to colors. I think this is related to the notes. I started learning music very young, 3, 4 years old. I probably have a certain kind of unstable--moving around a lot. Now I can sit longer time, I don't think I am so settled. I like music but I cannot stay for long time to practice. I practice when I have to. But I'm not really so diligent to practice so constantly.
When I was like, maybe second grade of junior high, or third grade, I don't know what happened. I stopped playing music, for whatever reasons. Just not starting learning to go to lessons. I didn't really continue doing that. After college, I really felt passionate about music and art. Taiwan's education system is such that you cannot change your major so easily. So I couldn't do that, 'cause they had such limited restrictions. What if you make the wrong decision? Back then, they are not so flexible. My major was not in music. I studied business the first year and I studied literature the second year. From the middle of Taiwan, I transferred to northern Taiwan, because my family lives in Taipei.
My mom really likes art, Chinese painting. She started going to lessons. She said, "I don't want to be a housewife anymore!" She said, "I have been cooking for 30, 40 years." So, my father became the cook for the family. She spent a lot of time in painting, she enjoyed that. She knew a lot fo good teachers, so she actually introduced me to one of her teachers. I went to U.S. to study. I went to a music camp in university. At camp, I met some great teachers there. The teacher really liked my playing. She said she would write a recommendation for me. I went to university in Texas. I studied there, and later on my family immigrated to U.S. They stayed in Boston area, New England. They said, "Why don't you come to join us?" I said, "Ok." I transferred there after three years. Then, there is many reasons, I changed my major too. My brother is computer scientist. He thinks it's easy to find job. It is easier from that perspective, so my family suggests me to switch from music to computer science, so I did.
I studied natural language, AI, assembly language. It's not that easy back then because I switched so much. Anyway, I did that. And I graduated from Boston University. So that's what happened. That relates to my later work. You say, "How come you have idea about computer?" Because of course, I studied it before.
I think I also have a passion in [art]. So I picked up art. I studied in Brandeis University, post-baccalaureate. I went to New York Studio School. I stayed there for one year until 9/11 happened.
At that time, I was in Italy. I remember that, so vivid. We were walking in a small town, 2-300 residents. It's kind of funny place, Montecastello. The young generation, they all went out to work. Older residents, they stay there. They have a lot of villages. But sometime they will flock back. I stayed there for over two months. They called it an international art institution. I rememeber when we walk in town. They have a very traditional old TV in the grocery store. "That's happening in New York City!" I was so surprised to see the building collapse. I was about to schedule to leave town, but they closed the flights, they prevented the flight going on. You cannot go back until 10 days later. I was stuck there. I created this Italian landscape. You see the chaos in the sky. You see the motifs or emotional connections with that.

What is creativity?

It's very related to your thinking, your emotions. It's kind of--you can see it as motive too. It's hard to distinguish. It's all together. It's also related to skill. Otherwise you can't express, can't really have a statement. It's same as writing. Innovation, like electric car. Every country has energy problem. What is the saying? Because you need something, you create something. The same thing is the creative work. For me, personally, I don't think you imitate--pen a flower, or something. Photocopy. I don't think that expresses your real feeling. Otherwise, there is no meaning to that. I think that is the most important. It's about what I feel like.

The creative process

I treat emotions as a solid big piece of something. It's hard to bite or swallow. I had a thesis show. That was in April, maybe. And because I was so crazy busy, I couldn't do too much of my artwork. I couldn't even do my thesis show. I was doing something right before the show, three hours before. Peope said "I didn't see that, when did you do that?" I said, "Three hours ago." Unexpected things happen. It's just so many things going on in my life. It's part of emotions-- disturbing. It's really disturbing to me. I think I see more and more. I observe people's behavior more clearly, people's desire or greed. Those cause a lot of trouble for themselves and for the family, or the whole world.
I enjoy reading. I think creativity is related to a lot of things, like your knowledge base. You always collect more data. The way you think and your skills--how are you making this happen? I'm thinking of Elon Musk. He studies a lot. Even if you have a good imagination, you cannot make it.

Interviewer's Note: Gina Glee combines a variety of media in her work. She uses sketching, painting, silkscreen printing, wood block printing, light, and electronic components. This combination is exemplified in Time & Space (2017).

Links as copyright

People use very superficial things--surface--to buy your trust. It's more like selling. You do have to have a marketing skill. Otherwise, people took my ideas because I don't know about marketing. People took advantage of me. People will take advantage of you if you don't know how to market yourself. It's not because I want to be famous. For me, personality-wise, I want to keep it low-key. I don't need to be showing off. I'm not really that kind of person. But the environment makes me feel like if I don't speak for myself, I will be so crushed, so suppressed from the environment. You cannot be so quiet. If you are so quiet, they will crush you.

Interviewer's Note: While Gina Glee was completing her baccalaureate at Brandeis University, another student copied her art and presented it as their own thesis work. For this reason, Gina Glee believes all digital or digitalized artwork should be accompanied by some form of copyright. Linking back to the original source is one such example. When this is not possible, adding watermarks (such as those in the pieces shown) is an alternative.

The digital world

I think later on, I will be more involved for sure. Right now, I am too busy with all the projects going on. Internet of course plays a big role because this is our current world. You get the war happening in Ukraine and Russia. It's a lot of things going on. Even Bitcoin and using digital money. I think it's kind of dangerous. You don't know the whole picture. I think the digital is definitely the future. It will control our world. In China right now, they use digital money. Norway uses all-digital money. I'm not against it but I'm just afraid--you don't know how secure it is.
Of course the Internet affects my work. I was always curious about a lot of things. The Internet plays a big role in finding information. It's related to day-to-day life. It's hard to live without the Internet now.