Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Raven Jiang. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Raven, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

It was not very far from the time I graduated as an electrical engineering student, had studied art for one year and graduation is only one year afar. Everything was very intriguing but also very anxiety-provoking to me, for I have not found my own way to express myself as a visual artist. So I keep many small sketchbooks just constantly recording every idea that comes to my mind. I gradually find the hint of who I really was and what I was really interested in and want to express at that time. The book ”a year and a half mumbling:” was finished in a relatively short time, but actually it was the result of all my emotions and thoughts over the past year and a half. I honestly expressed my anxiety and my doubts about being an artist and being myself, tried to catch the abstractness and sentimentality, and gradually formed my own visual language. And I was very happy that some of the illustrations were selected in Illustrator 64, and the book are recently collected by the Watson Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Raven, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a New-York based illustrator who just graduated this May from School of Visual Arts MFA Illustration as Visual Essay program. I am focusing on the abstract and emotional visual expression that can better convey more dimensional information with text. More focused to express the emotional tension between multiple static scenes and abstract graphics, my work is very strong for some content with complex and controversial content. Moreover, I am very enthusiastic about independent publishing and artist’s book. In the two years since I entered to start studying art, I have been selected in many art fairs in New York City and got more involved in the art community. My works began to receive more recognition, and two of my titles are included in Printed Matter’s distribution program. Three of my titles are recently collected by the Watson Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

As a creator driven by curiosity, I always hope that my work can make people curious, but retain some ambiguity. Seeing the same things from a unique perspective has always been what interests me most. Because I always hope to see more complex reasons behind things or the complex emotions entangled in people’s hearts. Expressing complexity and subtlety in a visual way is an important goal for me as a visual artist. I hope to better grasp the complex information that subtle changes in things can carry. At the same time, I also hope that the values of such a diversified view of things can be transmitted more so that more people can start to use different angles to observe things around or far away. a kind of life. Contrary to the current many stimulating and consumerist values, I hope to convey more values about calm, thinking, and caring.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Other than illustrations and science, I am also very into music and graphic design. I really enjoy listening to some of the Beatles’ studio tracks. I admire their enthusiasm for creation and their bravery for innovation. Good work always requires a lot of trial and error. After trying all the options that you want to try and innovate, better results will always appear naturally. After I have made all the “bad” images, the “good” images will appear. On the other hand, I really like Chekhov’s collection of letters. Through these manuscripts, I can see his sincere and kind side. Apart from sticking to the things he admire, he was not afraid to point out the works he didn’t appreciate. As a creator, there are choices and exclusions. Only when you are more firm in your own values and choices, there will be a more honest and precise personal expression.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.ravenanother.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raven_another/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raven-jiang-177320279/

Image Credits
all images belong to Raven Jiang