ArtAsiaPacific
ArtAsiaPacific September/October 2011
www.artasiapacific.com
Out Now
Responding to today's global shifts, our September/October issue seeks out developments among artists' practices, especially those who embrace genre-defying approaches. We introduce our new associate editor Hemant Sareen, whose Feature article looks at the lineage of the Minimalist style in India. As a starting point, Sareen examines the practice of the late Nasreen Mohamedi and her contemporaries VS Gaitonde, SH Raza and Jeram Patel. Through this investigation, Sareen follows the Subcontinent's younger generation, which continues the lineage of the "pared-down" aesthetic epitomized by Mohamedi. From Shanghai, Xhingyu Chen considers Chinese artists born after 1980 and argues that this "Post 1980s" group should not be characterized as self-centered and apathetic. Chen cites the loosely formed collective, Museum of the Unknown, as a prime example of young artists banding together to collaborate and exchange ideas.
From Istanbul, editor-at-large HG Masters traces the shared histories and collective influence among Eastern Europeans, Caucasians and Central Asians through the work of the antic collective Slavs and Tatars. Masters examines the group's practice, which spans research, performance, installation and print, and explains, "Beginning with the collective's name, everything related to Slavs and Tatars is about building connections between seemingly disparate subjects-whether places, histories or ideologies." Also embracing incongruous associations is Berlin-based Japanese artist Tatzu Nishi, who encloses public monuments in temporary rooms that serve as hotels, cafés and studio apartments. Reviews editor Hanae Ko spoke with Nishi, who told her, "The true meaning of art is to exist within a world-in which everything is expected to have a meaning or function-as a 'purposeless' and 'illogical' entity. Just by having this seemingly antisocietal position, art can provide society with a different perspective on life."
Among Essays, Singaporean artist Heman Chong recalls his experience introducing the idea of alternative historical narratives through a fiction-writing seminar he conducted in Alexandria, Egypt. For Case Study, Chin-Chin Yap looks at Ryan Gander's recent sculpture of a futuristic 25 euro coin to ruminate on what the economic landscape might look like in 2036. In Profiles, Shanay Jhaveri talks to Alexandre Singh about the method behind his loose collage works and performances.
In One on One Japan's enfant-terrible artist Makoto Aida draws inspiration from the work of his younger peers, the Chim?Pom group, while on the eve of the Istanbul Biennial, Duygu Demir files a Dispatch report from Turkey's metropolis of culture. Finally, for Where I Work we visit Filipino-American light sculptor James Clar, who has taken the unusual step of setting up a massive "open studio" in glitzy Dubai, where he hopes his way of working will encourage more artists to settle in the United Arab Emirate.
Reviews include "Bye Bye Kitty!!!" at the Japan Society in New York, Yang Fudong at Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation in Sydney, "Image in the Aftermath" at Beirut Art Center, Rabih Mroue at the Institute of International Visual Arts in London, Kim Beom at Los Angeles' REDCAT, plus much more.
Select articles now online in Arabic and Chinese: www.artasiapacific.com
