Danh Vo Interview: Art Should Estrange

“There’s all this bullshit that art is bridging!” Meet the Danish-Vietnamese artist Danh Vo in his studio located between a chicken farm and a compost station outside Berlin.
In Danh Vo’s art you’ll find religious sculptures that are cut up, old American flags and his grandmother’s laundry machine. By using objects from his upbringing in a strict Catholic household and presenting them in a white cube gallery he wishes to alienate people and make them question what they know: “Everybody is born under systems,” Vo says and continues: “Somebody has created what you should do and think. And I’m very sceptical towards that.”
Often in Vo’s work, you’ll find a juxtaposition of objects. “Contradictions are very real in everybody’s life.” Danh Vo argues that we learn that life should be harmonies, which it rarely is. This is what he’s trying to project into contrasting pieces such as in the work Your Mother Sucks Cocks in Hell (2015) where an old, wooden, religious sculpture has been merged together with a piece of marble sculpture.
Even though Danh Vo uses personal objects, the goal is not to reveal any intimacy with the viewer. “I was interested in the distance between different social groups,” he says. “I wanted to deal with estrangement, when you would come in a white cube where information is amputated. That you would just not understand.” To Vo art should not be bridging, it should estrange.
Danh Vo (b. 1975) is a Danish-Vietnamese artist. Vo has presented solo shows at several prominent art institutions, including The Royal Academy of Arts in London, Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, and Museo Jumex in Mexico City. In 2015, Vo represented Denmark in the Venice Biennial’s Danish pavilion. Vo is the recipient of prestigious awards a.o. the Hugo Boss Prize (2012).
Danh Vo was interviewed by Roxanne Bagheshirin Lærkesen in June 2020 at his studio Guldenhof in Germany.
Camera: Klaus Elmer
Produced and edited by Roxanne Bagheshirin Lærkesen
Supported by Nordea-fonden
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[@thelouisianachannel]

*“Everything that isn’t part of a common narrative is interesting.” Danh Vo shares his thoughts on the late Japanese artist Tetsumi Kudo right here:* kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXObYqijnt-Cd5o

[@ifheavenwashuman]

This channel is gold for us young artists.

[@thelouisianachannel]

So happy to hear that you are enjoying our channel! What's your favourite video? 👩‍🎨

[@ifheavenwashuman]

@@thelouisianachannel 8 Artists Giving Advice To Young Artists video

[@benjamintchang3923]

for real

[@thelouisianachannel]

@@ifheavenwashuman Such an inspiring video, glad that it's your favourite 🤩

[@ArmTheCreative]

What a great quote "Art Should Estrange" . I love it!

[@thelouisianachannel]

We agree 🤩 Keep your eyes peeled for the video - it's premiering in a few hours!

[@poprockstar77]

I don't know what to do with all the love I have for him

[@myhuyentran2295]

Chúc chú vô Danh và gia đình hưởng một mùa giáng sinh thật vui vẻ và một năm mới dồi dào sức khỏe và vạn sự bình an

[@rosemarshall1219]

This channel is gold.

[@kristianmollermunar]

fantastic interview

[@Jimmylad.]

I love this man

[@kevinumbel8383]

So true...

[@petzelgallery]

Great work

[@thelouisianachannel]

Glad you liked it!

[@josuemedina4180]

nice

[@TyneandwearTagalong]

"I never see my self as a creative person"

[@eliaspopa]

He mentioned he was born in Denmark. However, in other interviews, he discussed his immigration to Denmark for Vietnam as a refugee. Curious as to what the official history is here.

[@benjamintchang3923]

god damn this dude is cool

[@benjamintchang3923]

well-spoken guy for real

[@shuturflute]

What's the name of the song/artist of the music playing halfway through? Around the 4 minute marker?

[@artrobot-productions8084]

splendid,..\///\///\

[@ErikYkema]

What is the name he says at 3:55, I hear 'isanbulur lugucci', but I got that wrong... :)

[@thelouisianachannel]

Danh Vo is talking about the Japanese artist Isamu Noguchi, who he is a great admirer of 🌟

[@k-dramagoodmorningseoul]

Hi. How are you? + Since Corona, ordinary daily life is more precious than ever. Now that it's winter, I hope there's no more damage.

[@seanlutz6187]

I wanna marry him

[@muktarajibola4634]

understood like 20 percent of what he said.

[@JaxsaSkepticalMisanthropy]

New art = Don't make actual art, build speeches and write essays around fallacious justifications of what you state is supposed to be art. Visual arts had never before need so much words to be considered art (or to convince people they are) What I see is a craftsman talking as a failed and neglected college teacher (at least, from what I can see and hear from this video)

[@williama.hovestreydt6623]

Rubbish "art"