Hi! My name is Connie Chen. I am an upcoming 3rd year MFA student in the Nonfiction Writing Program. My thesis in creative nonfiction is my book project titled This is a Zoo, a polyphonic liturgy with candid appreciation of unruly flesh, and penetrating analysis of chronic illness, gender, identity, and their roots in art and religion. With the support of the digital fellowship, I will record, edit, and produce multimedia calligraphic art to accompany the five chapters of my book. The larger scope of my project will include five video essays, which will blend footage of my calligraphy in action, animated calligraphy, and reading of chapter excerpts overlaid with music and sound design so future readers can encounter my somatic expression of calligraphy that the printed page cannot fully render. This summer, I hope to film as much footage as I can and focus on the production of a book trailer that can be shared in both horizontal and vertical video formats. 

With more than 20 years of experience in English and Chinese calligraphy, I am certified as one of 14 Master Penmen in the world for my skills in Engrosser’s Script, Ornamental Penmanship, and Offhand Flourishing. Calligraphy is the spiritual practice of my body at one with my words, where each movement of my nib records my body’s innate impulses, pleasure, and pain. If the finished calligraphy art piece is the EKG graph, what I hope to capture through my videos is the ritual of the warm muscular contractions of the beating heart. I want to invite the pulse and dance of my disabled body into my textual body. 

As an artist working in multiple mediums, I am always looking for ways to translate and transmute the ideas I write about into my visual art and to invite colors and shapes and motion the opportunity to transcend the limitations of my language. This project allows me to work intentionally towards integrating the artforms I practice—what I do and how I do it. It is a crucial step towards living a full expression of my art and building a career with the capaciousness to support what I want to live for.