We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ray Chang. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ray below.
Ray, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you wish you had started sooner?
I find value in the work and experiences I’ve had thus far. I’ve worked odd jobs, internships, studios, and agencies – all of which have informed my creative work today. Some jobs may not have anything to do with my passions, but I draw from my past and believe I started my creative career at the right time.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m a multidisciplinary artist with works of expanded cinema in various forms, including animation, sculpture, mechanical design, lighting, sound, and installation. From film cameras to old wind-up robots, my process comes from both technical and aesthetic perspectives, dissecting mechanisms and animation principles to produce works of alternative cinema to interrogate the contemporary cinema experience. I embrace the synergies between methodological and historical vectors in my practice to theorize the reception of this relationship in a physical, psychological, and social way.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I used to work editing jobs at various studios and agencies for about 5 years after my undergrad. I enjoyed collaborating and understanding what working a job relevant to my studies after college is like. However, I did find myself missing being in a school setting as it felt that I still had more potential I wanted to explore. I wanted to surround myself with more like-minded people who also wanted to further their studies and experiment creatively. That’s why I went back to school to pursue an Experimental Animation MFA. I graduated three years ago and am still in that mode of experimentation while taking on an educator role that allows me to stay in conversation with like-minded individuals.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I do not have an end goal in mind. My hope is to continue embracing whatever path my decisions take me. Make good friends, create things I’m proud of, and stay curious.
Contact Info:
- Website: rayfchang.com
- Instagram: rayfchang
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ray-chang-b764a4112/
Image Credits
All image credit to Ray Chang