Jump Over The Chasm With Ken Lum Artwork

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Glo Says Let's Talk Local, Vancouver

Jump Over The Chasm With Ken Lum

November 22, 2021 • Season 5 • Episode 7

In today’s episode of of Season 5 - What ART thou? Where ART thou? host Gloria Chong and her co-host Kristin Lim talk to guest, Ken Lum the creator of the iconic East Van Cross and his connection with Vancouver. He shares generously and genuinely about his background and about his journey to becoming an Artist Extraordinaire.

Episode Highlights

• 3:20 – Gloria says, Ken is a world famous artist with roots in Vancouver. He is currently the Chair of Fine Arts at the University of Pennsylvania.

• 4:35 – Ken states that he went to SFU as he just needed to get a new start.

• 7:33 – Ken didn’t know anything about Contemporary Art but then he discovered at SFU, there was a Center for Contemporary Arts and they were just starting at that point.

• 11:29 – Art wasn't a dream for Ken; it was more of like an escape from lab life or escape from factory life.

• 19:21- Kristin asks Ken, when he started to pick-up his camera and go around photographing.

• 22:29 – Ken’s career started before he started doing a MFA at UBC.

• 28:15 – Ken went the academic route because having a salary gives you some breathing space in the marketplace.

• 30:52 – Ken is working towards the show in New York and in January, one of his screenplays is under discussion right now.

Interesting Points

1. He thought being a graphic illustrator, and that sort of stuff was basically the extent of being an artist. He didn't know anything beyond that. He didn't know anything about the world of Museums and Galleries but then he accidentally discovered this course at SFU.

2. Some artists have no problem with the market, but he always had a problem with it because it's always compromising of one's ideals of what art should do and how art should perform and that's one of the reasons he took the academic route.

Interesting Quotes

• “My mother was really upset with me especially when she found out I was interested in being an artist.” – Ken Lum

• “I didn't want to be in a lab coat in lab, for my life. I mean, that's fine for other people but for me, I wanted something more.” - Ken Lum

Resources/ Links

• Glo Says Let’s Talk Local Podcast: AppleSpotify

• Kristin Lim: Instagram

• Gloria Chong: Email

• Ken Lum: Website