2008-03-06
Toward a consensual definition of Contemporary Art?
Jean Couteau
Even before they argue about “Contemporary Art”, the survey respondents are all
at pains to come up with a succinct definition of the word “contemporary” or its
local equivalents. Li Xianting does not discuss it, while Fumio Nanjo accepts
the word “contemporary” as a given. Katy Deepwell says that it means, by definition:
“not temporal”. Western-educated Kwok Kian Chow delves into Western philology
to come up with the meaning, “current”, which, he says, goes back to the 17th century, the period when the Renaissance West was inventing “History” as a linear
flow consisting of successive, well-categorized periods. But he is not the only
one to dig into philology, Thomas Berghuis and, to a lesser extent, John Clark
observe, using examples, that to understand the word “contemporary” in Asia, one
should also investigate Asian philology. Thomas Berghuis underlines that existing
notions in Chinese, such as xiandai (modern times, the contemporary age, the ‘now’ age), jindai (modern times, the approaching age), and dangdai (the present age, the contemporary era), have constant connections and divergences
with one another. He also adds that these terms were conveyed to other cultures
in Asia, including Japan. Japan, as explained by John Clark, does indeed have the notion of gendai (the modern, the contemporary), which differs from kendai (early modern), but we are not shown their relation to any Chinese root. Besides,
if the meaning somewhat differs between China and Japan, what about other cultures?
Having no one writing on India, we have no information about the way(s) the Indo-European,
grammatically time-aware languages of India construct the “contemporary” or any
equivalent notion. In Indonesia, people do not call up any Indonesian word, but
rather directly borrow the word and give it an Indonesian spelling: kontemporer. The closest indigenous word would be kini (now) and kekinian (present), which do not convey the notion of “current” or “time flow” found in
“contemporary”. Is there, in the use of the new Indonesian word kontemporer, a significant shift of meaning? Perhaps, which helps explain why the present
survey is being held. In short, as the above examples attempt to make clear, even before getting into
the thick of the topic of “Contemporary Art”, there are already varying interpretations, and negotiations concerning the term “contemporary” itself and its suggested
local equivalents.
So, what is the meaning of “Contemporary Art” proper? All of the writers seem
to concur with John Clark that it refers to a “mood” or, in Fumo Nanjo's words, that it is “not about media or subject matter, [but] about the spirits of the works.” Kwok Kian Chow characterizes this mood or spirit
by saying that “Contemporary Art is marked by the meta-position it takes toward
the art-world, by incorporating into art a critique of the art world system, value
structure and institutions.” In doing so, says Thomas Berghuis, it “rearranges
our perceptions of time, place, and space, and challenges social behavior and public
conduct.” These opinions seem to be shared, explicitly or implicitly, by all the
writers. Yet, Kathy Deepwell underlines the dynamism of the concept. Contemporary
Art, as she sees it, is constantly (re)negotiated by artists, art institutions
and the market, so it is impossible to truly define in a stable way. Harping further
on the same theme, Thomas Berghuis remarks that it cannot, nor may not be “historicized”— meaning institutionalized in any given historical
frameworks. Were this to happen, we might add, it would lose its “contemporary”
characteristics and hence, its legitimacy as contemporary. So the notion of historical
flow inherent to its Latin roots seems to apply not to linear history proper,
but to a “trans-historical” spirit that pervades certain historical periods. Which
ones? That is what will be discussed next.
There is a wide variety of opinions among the writers concerning the temporal
framework to which the notion of contemporary art applies. John Clark, alone in
his camp, dates the origin of Contemporary Art in the West back to the end of
the Cold War, barely twenty years ago. But he traces an occurrence of the term
in Japanese, and perhaps of the concept in Japan, to as early as 1910, with the
notion of gendai. Kwok Kian Chow ask himself—provocatively, he acknowledges—whether a contemporary
attitude cannot be said to be found in Chinese paintings of the 14th century, when artists “decided to abandon the representation of the physical
world and favored interpretations of earlier masters instead.” Yet, without going
that far back, and referring to the “mood” and “meta-position” mentioned above
and agreed upon by all, most of the writers see this systematic aspect as first
appearing in Duchamp and being generalized after World War II—from Pop Art onward
in the West and later on in other regions of the world, according to local conditions.
Generally, what the above debate underlines is that the occurrence of Contemporary
Art in its meta-positioning aspect is linked to an evolution and questioning inherent
to the phenomenon of modernity itself—especially in its most traumatic aspect:
world war. ...read more on C-Arts Magazine (ISSUE#02) read more in DISCOURSE @ C-ARTS VOLUME-02
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HIGHLIGHTS
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2011-03-30
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Van Gogh Alive – the Exhibition set to open on 16 April 2011
Singapore (30 March 2011) In commemoration of Van Gogh’s birth date today, the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands announced that it will host the world touring premiere of Van Gogh Alive – the Exhibition. Visitors will get to experience Vincent Van Gogh’s art work come alive in an exhibition that will combine the latest in sound and projection technology using images of Van Gogh’s masterpieces.
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2011-01-05
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Works by Vincent Leow A mid-career survey of Vincent Leow’s oeuvre marking a new direction in the artistic practice of Leow,
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2011-01-05
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Organized by Hou Hanru in collaboration with ShContemporary 9th September, 2010
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2031-01-01
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An interesting exploration into art in Singapore by nineteen artists, including seniors like Tang Da Wu, Jimmy Ong and Zai Kuning “who have lived
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2010-10-06
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The installations of Java’s Machine: Phantasmagoria by Augustinus Kuswidananto (a.k.a. Jompet) have been shown in a number of variations, exploring syncretism or strategies to reconcile
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2010-10-06
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Filipino artist Bembol Dela Cruz presents the concept of art reflecting art, with an explosive narrative that carves life out
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2010-10-06
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Islamic art in Indonesia used to be associated with religious calligraphy only, but in 2009 Lawangwangi’s exhibition of Contemporary Islamic Art showed that calligraphy is just a form of language.
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SPONSORED
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EMERGING ARTIST
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 There is a new epidemic trend in the contemporary art of Asia sweeping through the population of younger artists: Animamix Art.
Amalia Kartika Sari
Each artist has a full right, and at the same time an obligation, to explore forms and ideas continuously, although naturally there will be many obstructions and challenges along the way.
Hayatudin
“A community is often proud of a certain building, viewing it with a sense of grandeur. Meanwhile, a range of monumental idioms are often used to mark great moments in history.
Edo Pillu
 From different generations and cultural backgrounds, S Teddy D and Daniel Flanagan present together their collaboration on Transubstantiation.
Daniel Flanagan
From different generations and cultural backgrounds, S Teddy D and Daniel Flanagan present together their collaboration on Transubstantiation.
S Teddy D
 Not unlike other Filipino-Americans who journey to the Philippines to learn more about their roots, Hanna Pettyjohn undertook such a passage in reverse.
Hanna Pettyjohn
I do not wish to become a president, professor, doctor, governor, celebrity, corruptor, politic expert or anything else.
Nyoman Darya
Solo Exhibition:
1998 Urban Personality Exhibition, Chongqing, China
2001 Hangzhou Jincai Gallery
He Wei-Na
 Ong-Arj’s painting has point out thoroughly content in a society condition today. Even it express through looks weird human image.
Ong-Arj Loeamornpagsin
 Fazar paints with his heart. He believes that his interpretation is like “worship”. Any composition existing in his painting is his effort of concretizing what he feels.
Fajar Roma Agung Wibisono
 With great imagination, he has been using a very unique artistic language to express his very much primitive and strong emotion on the surrounding characters.
Yang Pei Jiang
 In Ardana’s works garlic becomes most artistic in various ways it is rendered whether it is presented individually or in groups of bulbs, cut open, blown up, its thin and transparent layers peeled, as well as severed and torn.
Dewa Ngakan Ardana
Filippo Amato Sciascia (born at Palma, Di Montechiaro, Italy, 1972) will present his solo exhibition of his recent works titled Lux Lumina at Kendra Gallery of Contemporary Art from the 12th December 2009 – 14th January 2010.
Lux Lumina
 Hui Xin’s art addresses both the phenomenon of our constant need for visual stimuli, as well as our desire to be surrounded by objects that give us pleasure. His new paintings and sculptures bring out a dichotomy between naive happiness and adult-themed amusements.
Hui Xin
Since childhood, Nano has enjoyed reading comics, even producing his own comic book in junior high school. Comics became the first visual art Nano came to know.
Nano Warsono
2002:"Ilusi Koran", Semarang Gallery, Semarang. "Transisi", Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta.
Budi Ubrux
 Selected Solo Exhibition
2005:“Paradoks Batas”, Edwin Galeri, Jakarta. 2003: “Painthink”, Edwin Galeri, Jakarta.
F. Sigit Santoso
 He got The Special Award From The 25th Exhibition of Contemporary art in 2008 and winner Prize from 11th Panasonic Contemporary Painting Competition when he postgraduate.
Chalermpon Ratanakomonwat
 The inspiration behind his recent paintings came in 2005 while he was observing his second child was a son. People say that when babies sleep they are guarded by angels. This common experience evoked a wave of questions: Was the baby dreaming? What was he dreaming about? What was he feeling?
WAHYU GEIYONK
 “Many artists like to ponder on the past and the present through the history of human civilization,” says young artist Wang Mian. “With pieces of information and inspiration they
WANG MIAN
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