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Meet An Artist: Xiaoze Xie

Xiaoze Xie is an internationally recognized artist and a Professor of Art and Art History at Stanford University. Xie received his Master of Fine Art degrees from the Central Academy of Arts & Design in Beijing and the University of North Texas. In this three-part series, Xie shares his experiences and the people who shaped his love for art as a young boy, and how he followed his passion into a career. He explains the role of art and that of an artist, and finally, some of his own works and what inspires him. Xie has participated in solo and group exhibitions around the world and his work...

Following A Childhood Passion

I loved art from a young age. However, I grew up in rural China right after the Cultural Revolution, at a time when there were not many opportunities. But I consider myself fortunate. Since my father was the Director of Teaching at a high school, I spent my childhood playing in the courtyard and classrooms and spending time at my father’s office. There was nothing much to play with, but he had a lot of chalks to write on the blackboard. I would draw on his blackboard and later, the cement playground became my canvas. A Turning Point My interest in drawing developed very intuitively and...

What Is The Role Of Art?

When we think of art, we imagine anything from painting and drawing to sculpture, photography, video, performance, animation, graphic design and much more. Art can take any form to create an experience, to articulate an idea, to share a feeling or message, be it clear or ambiguous. However, in contemporary art, the boundaries between traditional genres are often blurred. A contemporary artist could combine or repurpose existing objects without making everything themselves. For example, artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres piled a heap of candies in the corner of a gallery, as a way to contemplate...

My Work: Capturing The Big Picture

I am a professor at the Department of Art and Art history at Stanford University. My focus is on studio arts (drawing and painting) and not on art history or applied arts. We encourage students to combine different mediums and to incorporate knowledge from other disciplines in art making. I am passionate about making art. Painting is my primary medium; but I have explored other mediums such as photography, video, and installation. "Fragmentary Views" In my work, there is a group of paintings titled l “Fragmentary Views” depicting real stacks of newspapers on the shelves of a library. When you...

Xiaoze Xie

Xiaoze Xie is an internationally recognized artist and a Professor of Art at Stanford University. He received his Master of Fine Art degrees from the Central Academy of Arts & Design in Beijing and the University of North Texas. He has had solo and group exhibitions and his work is in the permanent collection at many esteemed museums in the U.S. 

Meet An Archaeologist

Colleen Hanratty is an archaeologist. An expert in Maya culture, Colleen is a member of the Maya Research Program. Each summer since 1992, the program has sponsored archeological fieldwork at the ancient Maya sites of Blue Creek, Nojol Nah, Xnoha, and Grey Fox in northwestern Belize. She fell in love with archaeology at a young age and first participated in an excavation (with a local archaeology society) when she was 10 years old.

Ask an Archaeologist: Part 1

Colleen answers your questions about archaeology here! Is the past important? Archeologists study past cultures through remains of ancient sites and artifacts, which people have created. The fascinating facts in your history books would not have been possible without the work of dedicated archeologists. Why is it important to understand the past? It is often said that "History repeats itself". A society oppressed by a dictator, the cry for freedom, the challenges of democracy - this could be present-day Egypt, the U.S. 250 years ago when it came out of Britain's shadow, or Rome's struggles in...

Ask an Archaeologist: Part 2

This is a continuation of Colleen answering your questions about archaeology! 6. What kind of things have you found as a team? Is it true that archaeology is hard work and finds are rare and hard to come by? The organization I work with (the Maya Research Program) has found literally millions of artifacts ranging from pottery and stone tools to human and animal remains to residential and ceremonial structures. However, we are studying very large sites from a very complex culture that built large permanent structures and cities (you can learn more about the Maya Research Program here . However...
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