New Wave
Client: Converse
Project: OFF CANVAS: A STREET-LEVEL TYPOGRAPHY EXHIBITION
Type of work: Typography Installation
Year of work produced: 2011
Address: No.111 Gulou East Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing, China
Nod Young’s work here at MAO Live is a salute to the undying influence of the “New Wave” music movement upon his formative years as a student and now continuing into his adulthood as an artist. His piece is inspired by his nostalgia for new wave, which he reveres for its rebellious punk foundation, but his deeper fascination lies within the complexities of technology and art that further define the sound. His memories of his student days are inextricably linked to his soundtrack of The Cars, Duran Duran and The Police.
As Nod navigates forward in his life, he finds his previous pursuits of new wave seem to be waning— he is less avid about seeing live shows, he finds himself standing further and further back in the crowds, and his well-worn new wave music collection stands idle. Upon deeper examination however, the artist reaffirms the spirit of the movement still burns brightly, albeit manifested in a new fashion. He celebrates the seminal influence of the new wave from within, channeling the “passion, maverick, romance and senses” of it into his art work. His work represents a musical composition of new wave in an alternate form–with the the stripes as his lyrics, the color as his melody, and vocals jointly comprised of his own, together with the viewer.
