Present Encounters : Papers from the conference of the Second Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane, 1996

Fumio Nanjo Era of an Eventful Voyage As with everything, art has to begin from reality, and reality is never simple. Many would wonder what is the criterion of beauty in this postmodern or post-colonial era . Everyth ing is chang i ng so rapidly. Technology has enabled us to collect, store and process extensive amounts of data . Technology has also made it possible for us to travel long distances safely and quickly. These possibilities have contributed to i ncreased opportunities for people to encounter foreign cultures and contexts which lead us to think of them . As a result, our perspective has become multi-polarised and values have become relative. It is an extremely hard task to j udge what is right, what is beautiful and what is fair. This incident has changed the relationsh ip between individuals and the identity of art. People no longer simply try to preserve their identity but they can manipulate it. It is quite natural because identity is in society often used as a tool by an individual to appeal to others. Then Identity even becomes merely a convenient trick for making society systematic by categorisi ng people by different labels so that the society gains an order and ease of understanding . On the contrary, reality is not simple. One's identity is after all spread , changing and swayi ng. If one attempts to regulate the identity the reality would slip away. Today the concept of identity is obsolete, among games of multi-layered mean ings of codes and symbols. Think of an artist such as Shani Mootoo who was in my exh ibition 'TransCulture' last year, was of I ndian orig i n , born in I reland, grown up in Tri n idad, l iving in Canada, a lesbian , writer and artist. The diversity of culture is reinforced by the multi layers of identities. However it is d ifficult for human beings who have modern values in their bones to look at the world and its people in this way. Yet we are living in such an era . This is a reality surrounding us. Therefore , what we have to do is to start everything from that poi nt. We must pursue constant revisionism and revolution of consciousness. The power of achieving this exists only within i ndividuals, and each one must gain the courage to review the reality. A simple descri ption of universal beauty does not exist any more, nor should we rely on the easy answer. We must listen to every single value of beauty and vision. We must abandon all prej udice and predetermined criteria. We must not fabricate an easy identity. Keep away from every cliche and l isten to the story that works of art tell you . One must not expect solely to see an artist's cultural, historical or social background i n his work. Nor should an artist use it as a marketing tool. These are a yoke to be transcended . A fight aga inst this temptation will form a core of creative activities. Therefore , if a work tells a story of an artist's cu ltural and social background, that has to be an inevitable result but not a purpose . Tradition and identity stays in the spirit but not i n the material. If traditional objects are repeatedly made for sell ing to foreign tourists, it is not art. But if new object is made even with Western materials, objects, or icons with the spirit of reviving the tradition of their own , it will be art and creative art. Listen i ng to the story of art will be a creative activity which brings self-revelation just as much as creating art itself. It is only possible through confidence and an open soul. When this is achieved the art becomes a crossing point of memories and different cultures. Consequently, the art is transformed into a thinki ng tool of h uman bei ngs and not a category of human activities. Th is means that art becomes a part of our everyday life. Art changes as time goes by. The universal beauty could exist but may not exist. Keeping i n mind the question of whether or not u niversal beauty exists, we must depart to the sea of meanings of different identities and contexts. Then, you will fi nd that universal beauty is that eventful voyage itself. Artists must continue to navigate us towards the sea of terra incognita as the Ulysses of our time. 40