Student Profile

Second year student Virgil Wong has been creating experiments on art, anatomy, medicine and technology and working full time as head of Web Services at a New York hospital for over ten years. His digital media work, films, installations, and paintings have been exhibited at the Taipei Museum of Contemporary Art, Museum of Contemporary Art in Yucatán, Museum of Image and Sound in San Paolo, Pickled Arts Center in Beijing, New Society for Fine Arts in Berlin, and Deitch Projects in New York. His 2001 film Murmur, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. He is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts grant. He also adjunct faculty in the MA in Media Studies program at The New School. His web site is http://www.virgilwong.com

Applicant questions for Virgil:

What are your goals in the program? 
I'd like to deepen my art practice and find a healthier balance between my creative aspirations and life's more practical considerations. I see Transart as exactly the support and structure I need to produce work that may hopefully make a positive contribution to the world. I currently teach as an adjunct faculty member at The New School here in New York City, and an MFA would potentially qualify me for a core faculty position. Also, I hope to pursue a PhD program to further develop my various research and art projects.

How is it working in a low-residency program?
Transart is a program that is fully present in my life. The residency programs are concentrated periods of learning that are significantly more intense than any traditional Master's program. The large number of students in New York have regular critique sessions. And all students benefit from a one-on-one mentorship with an artist that's much closer than what traditional graduate students have with their faculty. The connections through Transart create a global classroom where students benefit from a customized network of resources around the world. 

The community I've become a part of through Transart is already much more immersive than what I've developed in ten years of living and working as an artist in New York City. I'm developing a collaborative robot project right now with my first mentor, Deborah Aschheim, whom I also exhibited with earlier this Fall. Also, faculty members Mary Ting and Marji Vecchio have both curated my work. The Transart students, directors, and faculty members make up a remarkable body of artists and curators.

Could you give any insight into the level of technical expertise of applicants coming into the program, the general "type" of work of appicants that were accepted, etc.?

While there are certainly technically savvy people in the program -- including one artist who is building a giant robot -- the majority of students employ technology rather judiciously. And we have painters, sculptors, and performers who don't really do any coding or electronic work at all. Transart is focused on creative and intellectual exploration rather than technological gadgetry for its own sake.

Most students are older and quite experienced. Many students are teaching and are already quite accomplished in their fields.  I'm not sure if there's a specific type of student, but certainly anyone who is self-driven, passionate about their art and ideas, and curious about the larger context of their work would succeed in the program.

How do the critiques go?

Given this high-level of expertise among the student body, constructive feedback comes from fellow students as well as faculty members. Critiques are well-structured, concise, and effective in unearthing references and ideas to help students talk about their work from a much wider perspective.

Some of Virgil's experiences in the program and his work can be found here.

http://www.virgilwong.com/transart/