On Friday, April 9, 2021 the Ackland offered an in-depth look at "Mysterious Ink World, Part One (2016)", a collaborative contemporary work featured in the Ackland Art Museum’s newest installation of Asian art, Clouding: Shape and Sign in Asian Art.
The immersive work is composed of an abstract ink painting by Ming Ren (American, b. 1956) installed opposite an interactive projection responding in real time to the viewers of the painting, designed by computer scientist and artificial intelligence pioneer Hansong Zhang (Chinese, b. 1969), who received his PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1998.
Both Ming Ren and Hansong Zhang joined us for a conversation about how the work came together and the nature of their artistic collaboration. Ellen Huang, former curator for Asian art, moderated the conversation and situated the work within the larger themes of Clouding.