Janice Liuson- Young

 

Janice Liuson- Young : Moving Beyond Comfort Zones 

Text by Hannah Jo  Uy

“The temptation for all artists is always the natural desire to be safe and stay comfortable,” Janice Liuson-Young admits, “Why tinker with something that has been successful in the past?” “But that’s not life, that’s death. That’s why for me, every once in a while, I have to remind myself that I want to be a real living person, risky though it may be, rather than just a painting of a person stuck in a museum somewhere.”

Life is characterized by its unpredictability, but for people who are not willing to embrace change, whether those imposed by the external world or that stirring within them, moving beyond comfort zones is frightful. For artist Janice Liuson-Young, however, breaking barriers is the essence of life, and creativity, with its infinite possibility, is the most authentic expression of our humanity. 

“I believe that all people are natural artists, because we were all created by the Original Artist in His image,” she says, “This implies (among other things) two things: all of us have an innate sense of beauty (and reality), and all of us have the ability to create. However, we live in a fallen world that often obscures our sight of the real. Our creative ability is also hampered by our limitations and brokenness.”

Even as a young child, Janice had already shown remarkable interest in the arts. “I remember wondering at the beauty I see in the world, and thinking about why we are drawn to it,” she recalls, “I also found myself fascinated by how people used colour and lines to express their ideas and emotions in graphic form. So, while still a child, I tried my hand at sketching people using pencil, and found out that I could draw. And still later, I decided to take up Fine Arts at UP.” 

Liuson-Young thrived in the Fine Arts Department of University of the Philippines Diliman, where she took up Visual Communications, graduating cum laude and valedictorian in the Class ‘86. She continued to hone her skills, finding herself inspired by the aesthetic sensibilities of Norman Rockwell, John Singer Sargent, Romulo Olazo, Mauro Malang Santos, whose technique, ideas and compositions significantly influenced her own artistic formation. 

“I’ve tried to always be observing, learning, thinking, caring, and creating – in short, to be alive and growing as a person first, and an artist second,” shares Janice, “I’m not sure “evolved” is the right term, because the word implies that I’ve discarded “obsolete” parts of the artistic me – I haven’t really, these parts of me are still intact. However, I do think I’ve grown as an artist because I’ve widened my artistic vision and have also developed a more varied palette of artistic expressions.”

After graduation, she worked as an illustrator and designer of clothes and toys for children, before her first show in 1999 at Shangri-la Plaza. She has since showcased her work across a number of solo and group shows in the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, Holland and Belgium.

The human condition has always been a subject of fascination for Janice, whose deeply contemplative nature and sharp observations of her surroundings found catharsis in the canvas

“I like to paint the human element into “ordinary” situations that are, however, on closer inspection, not really that simple, like children encountering the world and responding to it. I also like to explore the idea of “beauty” and “reality” in my works, which includes concepts such as order, balance, harmony, humanity, and “life”.”

Since 2005, Janice held the position as Associate Dean of the FEATI University School of the Fine Arts, helping guide a new generation of artists. She manages to cultivate her career while juggling her responsibilities as an educator, finding inspiration in dynamic and vibrant interactions in the art world in the form students, faculty and colleagues. 

“I am also inspired by ideas that arise from my reading of Scripture, especially when they involve the human condition,” says Janice, “Also, I try hard to be really observant of what’s happening in my own life.”

In her desire to challenge stagnation, her latest show reflects her embrace change with a light heart and injecting an element of play as part of a larger discussion on an artist’s need to always explore new frontiers and avoid being boxed in by their own conceptions of themselves. 

“My recent exhibits are exercises in moving beyond my comfort zone - of ‘playing outside the lines’ so to speak,” says Janice, “I wanted to see what would happen if I stepped outside my established pedestrian lanes and trespassed into the danger of the unfamiliar. While strictly I’m not a realist, until last year most of my artistic career involved painting recognizable objects –such as people, flowers, and koi. But I’ve always admired good abstract art. Many times while looking at an abstract painting, I would find myself thinking that I’d like to do that too.” 

She continues, “Then last year I found myself having fun just mixing and playing with paint, and using new materials\mediums in the market. Normally, mixing paint would have been serious stuff. It would have been preparatory for the work I’m about to do. But this time I was just like a kid having fun, instead of preparing to paint a kid having fun. And so, after doing a few studies, I finally asked myself, ‘well, why not?’ 

This question led to J Walking 2, her fifth solo exhibition, currently on display at The Crucible Art Gallery until March 29, 2017. Aptly named to embody the spirit of exploration and self-reflection that guided her creative process for the collection, the show features more than 30 works that serves as a visual playground of Liuson-Young’s foray into abstraction.

However, more importantly, the collection manifests her faith and hope: “I believe that life is both real as well as a metaphor for a deeper reality, and a foreshadowing of realities to come. To my mind, the artist’s job is to be sensitive to those instances when the metaphor is revealed, and to attempt to capture and interpret it for others, thus reviving the experience of forgotten beauty.”