ArtAsiaPacific July/August 2011
Out Now
While most of the art world puts up its feet in July and August, ArtAsiaPacific takes a moment to contemplate the subtle and not-so-subtle changes swirling about us today. In this issue, AAP looks at how artists respond to precarious histories and uncertain futures.
Ai Weiwei‘s recent release after his 80-day-long detention at the hands of the Beijing police follows an overwhelming international outcry: interest in his work is stronger than ever. As outraged artists, curators and critics strive to disentangle Ai’s occasional outbursts of acerbic social commentary from his art in an effort to underscore his artistic sanctity, contributing editor Andrew Cohen argues in his feature that in fact Ai’s art and politics have always been deliberately inseparable.
The massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan in March and sparked an ongoing nuclear crisis reminds us that the world as we know it can be upended in an instant. As Japan begins rebuilding, managing editor Ashley Rawlings probes the unearthly foreboding in the posters and canvases of Tadanori Yokoo, a graphic designer-turned-painter whose practice evolved in tandem with Japan’s tumultuous decades of reconstruction immediately following World War II.
In West Asia, the Palestinian Authority’s looming request for the United Nations General Assembly to confer international recognition onto the State of Palestine in September, draws editor-at-large HG Masters to the work of Palestinian artists who address the conditions of the Israeli occupation, from the construction of the separation barrier in 2002 up to the present. Also contemplating the issues of war, borders, exile and migration is Turkish-born Armenian conceptual artist Sarkis. Contributing editor Marlyne Sahakian describes the driving force behind Sarkis’ work as “the idea that art has a transformative power-both horizontally, in terms of education and activism, but also vertically, as a way to elevate the human spirit and transcend suffering.”
In Essays, independent curator David Elliottoffers a frank critique of the state of museums in the 21st century, while Catherine Wilson provides an unusual glimpse into recent public and private art initiatives in Brunei. Moving away from arts funding to the distressing trend of artistic censorship, we invite Tibetan artist Tenzing Rigdol to respond to the recent attack by Hindu fundamentalists, who claimed that his work Bollywood Buddha is blasphemous to Buddha. This also reminds us of the death of MF Husain on June 9, the giant of Indian modern art, who struggled against the same insidious forces of religious fundamentalism for the last 15 years of his life, forcing him into self-imposed exile in London, Dubai and Doha since 2006.
Among our project columns, artist Jaishri Abichandani discusses her admiration for painter Samira Abbassy; and in our Questionnaire, Taiwan’s Lee Mingwei reveals what he is reading this summer. Reviews include senior editor Don J. Cohn’s study of the translated Chinese digital texts that were permanently deleted by China’s authorities in Ai Weiwei’s Blog: Writings, Interviews and Digital Rants 2006–2009.
Finally, Where I Work takes AAP to the Beijing studio of Guan Wei, just a few weeks before his unexpected eviction and the building’s razing on May 30. With bittersweet irony, we recall noticing the sound of planes flying closely overhead, whereupon Guan remarked that his studio, “… is a little less likely to be redeveloped because Beijingers don’t want to live near a flight path.” Guan and other tenants were given three days to move. The official line: the building did not meet fire regulations.
One cannot help but wonder, if Ai Weiwei was allowed to speak freely today, what would he be tweeting, blogging or saying in public about the gross injustice dealt to Guan Wei and other fellow residents in the building. And for those who remain uncertain over whether Ai is an activist or an artist, it is worth noting that he once said, “Art is about life. Our life is entirely political. Therefore all my art is political.”
Select articles now online in Arabic and Chinese: artasiapacific.com
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