Artist and professor Gerald Pryor, head of NYU’s Photography Program, brought NYU Shanghai up close and personal with his life work and artistic process at a February 19 talk, Meaning, introduced by Jian Jun Zhang. He also spoke at the pop-up exhibition in the Art Gallery, Reknown, featuring a few of his works and those of his students representing crossovers between individualism in America and collectivism in China. Interested in the idea of the “Orient," Pryor came to China, decades ago, with the Chinese Cultural Association.
During his talk, he showed his own short films interspersed with photos, all representing everyday occurrences as an “inference of memory.” Pryor’s work aspires to push boundaries, rather than being confined by limitations. He described his own work as “a juxtaposition of the spiritual and natural world,” and added that artists have the ability to figure out the inner workings of society and bring enlightenment to others.
When asked during the Q&A session what work of art left a shocking impression on him, he immediately responded, “The Last Supper, ....as an embodiment of both a spiritual and natural energy." With the flurry of questions from the curious and observant NYU Shanghai student, Pryor noted that their observations led to new interpretations of his own work that he had not previously seen.
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(Text by: Chelsea Polanco)