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IN THE STUDIO with Dan Kwong

Hi Dan, please tell us a little bit about yourself.

D: I’ve been a performance artist for about 26 years now. I’m also a writer, a director, a video-maker. I’ve been at 18th street since 1992. I grew up in a family where art was a regular part of life. I was very lucky in that sense, that art and creativity was a part of our lives from very early on. We were always painting and drawing and making things with clay.

When I was in Chicago for college I was introduced to performance art. I found it really interesting to present your creativity to a live audience. It was so exciting. But I never really knew what I wanted to say — this was my problem in art school. I had talent, I had skill, but I had nothing to say. I’ve been a performance artist for about 26 years now. I’m also a writer, a director, a video-maker. I’ve been at 18th street since 1992. I grew up in a family where art was a regular part of life. I was very lucky in that sense, that art and creativity was a part of our lives from very early on. We were always painting and drawing and making things with clay.

Where is your home?

My father grew up in Hong Kong, my mother’s family comes from northern Japan. So, I traveled to all those places. I began to appreciate my culture more and feel more connected to it. The way I grew up in LA, especially during the time I grew up in LA, culture was white. Everything in television and movies and advertising was white. I identified as white. Then I got to a point where I liked being Chinese and Japanese. That’s when I felt like I knew what I wanted to say with my art. I wanted to talk about my journey. I wanted to talk about my self identity and the way society confuses us about our self identity. That led to my first performance, in 1988. I used to have these huge birthday parties … and I started to do these little performances there. My first major performance was when Highways was born. That was when I was born.

I don’t really perform much these days. It’s been much harder to find work. Now there are dozens of Asian-American solo performance artists. I think you’re always learning more about yourself. That never stops. It’s never finished. As time goes by and I learn more about myself, I try to find a way to put that into my art. What did I learn from my mother? Now that she’s gone, what can I see that I didn’t see? My work is always using my own life experience to try and share something that is interesting.

What keeps you grounded in performance art?

I love it. I love the creative process. When I’m making a performance, I feel like I’m using as much of my brain as I possibly can. It’s very satisfying. I’m using every bit of my thinking ability in so many different directions with the hope of adding meaning to things. There’s just a lot of joy in the creative process that makes me feel the most alive. I’ve never done this because I wanted to get rich or be famous. I love this profession that I have. Yes, I would like some more money. Yes, I would like more people to see my work — of course. But there’s a part of being an artist that is just for myself and my own satisfaction. And it seems like I think I’m good at it. It’s an activity in life that I have many skills for and am suited for. I feel like I’ll do it no matter what — successful or not successful.