Figures as evolved traditions in the exhibition contemporary art in Asia : traditions/tensions

Abstract

In 1996, a traveling exhibition titled Contemporary Art in Asia: Traditions/Tensions spearheaded by Vishakha N. Desai (1949-), then the director of Asia Society Galleries, and Thai guest curator Apinan Poshyananda (1956-), introduced Asian contemporary art to the euro-America-centric art world. It was seen as a groundbreaking exhibition not only because it was the first time in forty years since Asia Society’s establishment to exhibit contemporary artworks from Asia, but also because the exhibition rode the wave of a new interest in global art practices. Asian contemporary art, as an integral part of Global Art, was still underrepresented in the 1990s. Traditions/Tensions included 27 artists from five Asian countries: Thailand, Philippines, India, Indonesia, and South Korea, and spanned a variety of artistic engagements, such as painting, sculptures, installation, and photographs. This dissertation focuses on three key works (Three Buddha Mothers by Philippine artist Agnes Arellano, The Inner Voice by Indian artist N. N. Rimzon, and Fermentation of the Mind by Indonesian artist Heri Dono), as a means by which to demonstrate how certain Asian artists create figurative art and how this tactic plays with notions of traditions. The artworks addressed a variety of issues: postcolonialism, nationalism, and gender issues. By analyzing these artworks and their association with the social and historical context, this paper examines how figurative art in Asia acts as a visual vernacular evolved from the past to construct new “invented traditions” as theorized by Eric Hobsbawm.