Issue no.59
July – August 2008
This summer is China’s moment in the international limelight, for the Beijing Olympics coincides with an ever-growing interest in Chinese culture and, in particular, contemporary art. With the grandiose spectacle of the Olympic Games in sight, ArtAsiaPacific no. 59 looks at artists from around the world whose oversized work and ambitions are triumphant, majestic and yet deeply personal.
In the July/August issue of AAP, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s curator Christine Starkman looks at the massive installations and sculptures of Do-Ho Suh—from the tiny figurines, chronicling the plight of the individual in the face of enormous social forces, to his most recent architectural series of scaled-down recreations of his home in Korea colliding with a former home in New England. Likewise, the personal and political come together with an astonishing formal elegance in the sculptures of Mona Hatoum. AAP managing editor HG Masters examines Hatoum’s oeuvre and explains how she began her career as a performance artist before moving onto large-scale installations and objects. Devika Singh writes on the films of Delhi-based Amar Kanwar as he looks at the historic human tensions generated from differences between cultures. Features editor Andrew Maerkle puzzles through one of Japan’s best-kept secrets, Makoto Aida, whose work brims over with convoluted political positions and misogyny, constantly creates un-resolvable contradictions. Finally, Angie Baecker and Graham Webster ruminate on a pre-Olympian Beijing and the current state of its of its exploding art scene.
Drawing on the thread of monumental projects, Australia desk editor George Alexander profiles Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev’s ambitious Biennale of Sydney, “Revolutions – Forms that Turn,” the first event of the Art Compass suite of mega-festivals in Asia later this year. Ian Driscoll meets Arne Glimcher to discuss his legendary PaceWildenstein gallery and their ambitious move to Beijing’s 798 district. And Harvard historian Cecelia Levin provides an overview of Indonesian modernism.
In a Special Section, AAP presents curators’ texts for the non-commercial Best of Discovery exhibition over 30 artists from across Asia to be presented at ShContemporary 08 in Shanghai this September. A special Projects in the Making examines what might be a life-long endeavor for conceptual artist Zheng Guogu and his real-life recreation of his favorite computer game, Age of Empires. Returning to real life, Swiss collector Uli Sigg argues against a proposed boycott of contemporary Chinese art fired up by the political debates surrounding the Olympic games. Bearing in mind the ideals of the Olympics, where nations come together and the victors are rewarded a crown of olive leaves, ArtAsiaPacific similarly celebrates the achievements of artists who constantly strive for dialogue, hope and peace.
