More from this Issue
Where to now?
Thai art has grafted partly grasped Western styles onto a Thai base, and the market is booming But a lack of direction and critical voices is evident in this rigid status-ridden society. Pioneering innovators like Thawan Duchanee who translated Buddhist philosophy into a modern mode lost his fire and became repetitive. Corporate patronage has encouraged this. Those who are breaking new ground include Prasong Lueuang, Vasan Sittiket, Montien Boonma, Chirasek Pattanapong.
Role of Galleries in Contemporary Art
Around 1983 art dealers first appeared in Indonesia. By 1990-91 there was an art boom, and galleries were operating in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, and Bali. Owners come from various walks of life, including oil trading. With some notable exceptions, there is a sameness about the offerings in most of these galleries. A brief history 1930 - 1955 describes the establishment of galleries to supply visitors interested in local art.
Changing Attitudes to Ceramics
Ceramics have a long history in Vietnam and two 13th Century centres Bat Trang and Phu Lang are still active today. Old blue and white porcelain ware used to be in common use in peasant families, but different polychrome styles are now in vogue and fake antiques are common too. In some design colleges non-functional sculptural forms and decorative motifs have replaced functional ware, but there is a healthy expansion of production nationally.
Introduction to Indonesian Modern Art
There are perennial debates within art circles in Indonesia about applying terms like surrealism to local art. The history and geography of Indonesia mean that theirs is a 'different' kind of modern art which took the form of an art rejecting Dutch colonial rule. Later, in the 80s the influential theorist Dr Soedjoko advocated including traditional art and craft in the fine art canon. He predicted a shift in world focus from Europe and America to the South.
The Shaping of Contemporary Art in Malaysia: New art new voices
Theatre director Krishen Jit talks to artist Wong Hoy Cheong about contemporary Malaysian art and his adoption of a figurative style of painting after he returned from study in the USA. This is being used by young artists in Malaysia as an expression of rebellion, as is performance art. Malaysian society avoids dissenting voices and has been slow to accept the angst in modernism, which perhaps has only just been fully internalised though it was introduced in the fifties.
A Thai-Australian Exhibition
Thai-Australian Cultural Space was an exhibition at the Bangkok National Gallery in 1993 of works by Montien Boonma, Vichoke Mukdamanee and Kamol Phaosavasdi from Thailand and Joan Grounds and Noelene Lucas from Australia, all of whom had experience of working in countries other than their own. A common theme of the work was our relationship to nature and the spiritual in art and life.
Artists' Regional Exchange: The Next Wave
The third edition of ARX, the biennial artists' exchange project between Australian and Asian artists, put much energy into promotion, andtravelling the visiting artists around Australia to give lectures and workshops in an effort to create more opportunities for Asian artists. ARX is constantly shifting its focus and is an evolving event but a continuing interest is cultural nuances and the visual manifestations of these.
Fine Art in Ho Chi Minh City
Interview between author and the painter Ca Le Thang about new developments in Ho Chi Minh City brought about by the open-door policy doi moi and the increasing commercialisation of fine art. Modernism is more easily accepted here than in some other parts of the country. The magazine My Thuat was formed 2 years ago as an organ of the City Fine Arts Association, and provides a forum for artists and critics to air important issues.
Australian Studios Hanoi (Part of Australia/Asia, Striking Up Conversations)
The efforts on the part of the author and others to set up a studio for Australian artists, writers, historians and others within the Hanoi College of Fine Arts. Support being sought from the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture and the art education institutions in Australia.
Faces of Hong Kong to Australia via Singapore
The artist lived with local people in Singapore to find imagery from populist Hong Kong cinema resulting in the exhibition Mien.
Women Achieving Against Great Odds
Women make up 30% of painters in Vietnam yet have received little attention. Women face many obstacles to success. Married women whose husbands do not approve of their practice are the most disadvantaged. A handful of women artists have become known, and one has taken part in exhibitions overseas. Previously there used to be annual group shows of women artists, but now the trend is towards solo shows.
Modern Art in Thailand: A Glimpse
A concise history of the beginnings of modernism in Thailand from the 1890s. In the 1970s the current Princess established an alternative space for young Thai artists in which the tensions between art for art's sake and art for religious purposes were evident. Politically correct art about Thai-ness was sponsored by banks in the 80s. Later political instability and environmental problems gave rise to a new kind of work challenging cultural consumerism.