The Scholar: Tiger Chen

The Project: The Art of Order

The Essential Question: Mr. Chen created a light sculpture by draping metal chain from a fluorescent fixture, and displayed it along with a series of five paintings that celebrate vertical and horizontal lines.

Notable Quote: “The process of creating is the part I love the best, the process of collecting elements, thinking, and hunting. I never know what I am going to find in my mind palace; the only thing I can do is go in and start looking, and keep looking until I find something that I feel satisfied about. And then I go to the real world and create the object by my own hands.”

Biggest Challenge: “Coming up with the ideas. I spent a long time figuring out what I’m going to do, what I’m going to like. The original idea for this project was a birthday cake. It changed a lot. The elements changed and everything changed. Finding the idea and finding what I’m going to use is the hardest part.”

Surprising Discovery: “Do not stop thinking. Do not stop searching. Sometimes I would feel like, Okay this is my project, I will just go and do it. But over time I may feel, this is not really what I want. Maybe I won’t like it. So I keep thinking, keep searching for what I really like.” 

Tip for Future Scholars: “Don’t limit yourself. Open your mind. Go searching.”