Art across contexts. Contemporary art meets China, Japan, and Korea.

Art across contexts - is the title of this blog/exhibition.

Introduction

Non-Western Art is considered by this course anything beyond American or European art. Though, I wonder if art itself transcends boundaries and nationalities? In the case of the artists presented in this exhibition they sure should be. Many artists who have trained formally in European or American art schools but come from a 'non-western' world have combined the best of both worlds into their artistic expressions. As a overview on art there are many considerable avenues for artistic expression ranging from media art, visual art, and even performance art. 

The Art Exhibit Begins...

Nam June Paik, TV Garden (1974) Source: https://publicdelivery.org/nam-june-paik-tv-garden/

The first artist I begin to share with you here today is Nam June Paik. Paik who is formally trained with a B.A in aesthetics from the University of Tokyo, a graduate studying as a composer at the University of Munich, and then eventual work alongside John Cage and Marcel Duchamp (conceptual artists). For Paik this is a unique trajectory into the art world has provided for him a perspective and even hailed as the father of video art. The installation by Nam June Paik that is shared here in this exhibition is that of TV Garden (1974). The piece TV Garden has multiple iterations and the one created initially was made in the United States. The most recent exhibiting of this piece was shown at the Guggenheim Museum with the year 2000s iteration of it. TV Garden is considered one of Paik's seminal works taking technology and aesthetic discourse and imposing it upon the museum goers. The natural and scientific meshing into one through the old TV box sets and natural plants. The video being played on the screen is the John J. Godfrey "Global Groove" show. The methodology of Paik is to turn things inside out, by taking a seemingly mundane scene of watching TV and placing it into a natural setting one cannot differentiate the calm and the excitement all placed in one room. I have previously encountered some of Paik's works at the Kunsthalle in Mannheim, MoMa in San Francisco, and likewise talked with friends about his work. Paik is in many ways ahead of his time, showing us art of the future technologies using the past as a reference point. To me this art piece like the ones I have seen by Paik remind me of the subtlety of our media consumption daily, it both worries and satisfies our needs and wants. To enjoy a film versus be imposed to watch within all sorts of environments. Maybe, Paik is making a commentary on the 'smart phones' of today? Whatever it is, I hope to see more of Paik's work or similar artistic expressions. Paik is a Korean-American artist who has in the past been recognized for his diverse work and being an artist studying all around the world as well as exhibiting around the world. 

The second artist I turn our attention towards is artist Ai Wei Wei. Ai Wei Wei is like Nam June Paik a contemporary artist starting his prominent work from 1980s up till present day. Ai Wei Wei is a Chinese contemporary artist and activist. His work has often been notably known for the dramatic and message driven notions for activism for human rights. One particular more glamorous project that Ai Wei Wei did was that of the Beijing National Stadium that looks like a birds nest made for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. To me that Ai Wei Wei seems to be rather different from the work he has produced and for which I will be sharing today. Take a look at the scenes below briefly:

Ai Wei Wei, S.A.C.R.E.D. (2011) Source: https://lisson-art.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/image/body/5512/WEIW130002_1.jpg

Ai Wei Wei, S.A.C.R.E.D. (2011) Source: https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/live/624x351/p01fljn8.jpg

The piece S.A.C.R.E.D. by Ai Wei Wei in 2011, follows after a 81 day incarceration of his crimes by the Chinese government. After being imprisoned Ai Wei Wei in response created this art exhibition consisting of models with eerie scenes from his time as a prisoner placed inside these large metal boxes. The location of this exhibition was in the Church Sant'Antonin in Venice. Ai Wei Wei depicts scenes of him washing himself, eating food, being interrogated, and being under constant surveillance by the police guards. There are a total of 6 metal boxes where the only way to view what is inside is not through the door, but through a sliding opening on top to peek inside at the scenes Ai Wei Wei experienced while in jail. The placement of the boxes in side a holy and pure space is contrasted by the eerie scenes of Ai Wei Wei in jail. The piece reminds audience of their freedom of belief, their freedom of livelihood, and their freedom of choice. The metal boxes and the eerie clay scenes show you the fragility of ones freedom that can easily be taken away or closed off in a minute if now cared for. This art work is not a mere 'aesthetic' it is a message of a need for freedom and a call on the injustices society has enforced upon people in certain countries. 

Please check this article for a video on the art work at: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20130822-ai-weiwei-life-inside

The final artist that I will present here today is Yasamusa Morimura, a Japanese contemporary artist who takes contemporary art to a whole other personal level. By taking props, costumes, make-up, and ditigal manipulation by inputting himself into artistic paintings. Morimura uses seminal works by famous artists and adds himself by overturning the traditional scope of a self-portraiture. Morimura has often been considered one who questions  through satire the 'western frenzy' by Japan on western culture. Consider the work also commenting on issues of identity and representation. Morimura's piece Vermeer Study: Looking Back (Mirror) painted in 2008 is currently at the Andy Warhold Museum in Pittsburgh. The painting takes a Vermeer classic The Lady with the Pearl Earring and adds his own face onto the ladies head. By taking this 'male gaze' concept of seeing the beauty of the piece by Vermeer one is confused by seeing a Morimura on the painting.  The art is subtle, evocative, and filled with questions. Morimura like most artists take imagery to be re-evaluted. In this case, it is the specific features of the face as compared to the original. To reinvent art that is once known for the sake of examining 'art' as a non-linear perspective.

Yasamusa Morimura, Vermeer Study Looking Back (Mirror) 2008 Source: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/41039286802_eaa3d7310c_b.jpg

Summary

Non-western art like that of Morimura, Ai Wei Wei, and Paik are all from the modern contemporary art period. Their works evoke deeper meaning and questioning of what it means to be an art piece beyond the previously enjoyed Western and European art style. Of the three, I would be interested in viewing but not having any of these as they are pieces that require a wide audience to have great affect. Non-western is up and coming or has been, I am now curious as to what art will come next and will the dominant art style not be purely Western or European art forms. These three artists sure are charismatic enough to be leaders in the next art period. They are not Western and European as they themselves identify as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Likewise their works attempt to reconcile with the 'western gaze', technological future, and cultural social issues. Their works are not merely non-western as they take from western and european forms to input in themselves the social components of art from Asia.

Bibliography

“Ai Weiwei's S.A.C.R.E.D. Depicts Scenes from Prison.” BBC Culture, BBC, www.bbc.com/culture/article/20130822-ai-weiwei-life-inside.

“TV Garden.” The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation, www.guggenheim.org/artwork/9537. 

“Yasumasa Morimura.” Luhring Augustine, www.luhringaugustine.com/artists/yasumasa-morimura#tab:thumbnails;slide:7.