Writer and curator Simon Wu knew his first essay collection would be titled “Dancing On My Own,” after the pop song by Robyn, before he had even started working on the book. Born in Myanmar and raised in Philadelphia, Wu, 29, ventures toward emotions similar to the song’s booming synths and crying-in-the-club lyrics about losing out on love: “I’m in the corner watchin’ you kiss her.”
Combining stylistic personal memoir with art criticism, Wu crafts seven braided essays spanning topics from cleaning out his parents’ garage to trendy Telfar bags and Berlin dance floors. Wu has extensive experience in art criticism, having studied art history at Princeton. He is currently an art history Ph.D. candidate at Yale. In “Dancing On My Own,” he takes readers through Asian American art movements across many times and places but always convincingly grounds his essays in personal experience.
Character Media had the opportunity to speak with Wu about his essay collection, which was released June 25. Wu discusses his experience as an Asian American in the art world, his favorite pop music and whether or not his mom has read the book.
Character Media: During your childhood or young adulthood, did you know that art was for you?
Simon Wu: I grew up doing a lot of arts and crafts with my mom that I never considered [to be] art with a capital “A.” When I went to college, I was a chemistry major for two years and thought I was going to become a doctor. It wasn’t until I took a class sophomore spring on contemporary art that I was like, “Wow, there are a lot of different types of art other than painting, sculptures and stuff like that.” It was relatively late that I realized that I could turn the things that I was doing with my parents around arts and crafts into…
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