1993 APT1 Conference : Identity, tradition and change

10 apply u t i l i t a r i a n or a e s th e tic c r itie r ia , and to make use of, do away with, or inco rpo ra te in an ae s th e tic a lly mo tiva ted object. This u rban ontology of the un - red ep loy ab le seems like a critica l coun te rp a r t to th e massive modern museum, overdesigned, full of wise provisions and modern a r t e f a c t s , w'hereas beyond whose w'alls the re appears visible in the s em i -bu r ied s t r a t a of the modern s t r e e t a physica l ontology of re s is tance . One can see th is kind of phenomenon informs some in s ta lla t io n work, bu t I th ink some sys tema tic incorpora tion of i t as a topic across a r t cu ltu r e s in Asia might allow an in t e rn a t io n a l exhibition such as the Triennale in fu tu r e to get around the gap be tween the very modern experiences of people in Asian c ities and the IS th cen tu ry European ca tegories of a r t works largely favou red by t h e i r e lite s for display in th e i r a r t museums, d. Beyond mystagogy There seems to be a tendency in the museum church to place a r t a t the func tiona l locus of a new' religion. Coming from a North European P r o t e s t a n t background and brough t up from adolescence with Rembrandt and Poussin I pe rsona lly see a r t's small marks of love, t r u t h , and b e au ty aga in s t the g r e a te r implacability of human tragedy being achieved in s p ite of religion, how'ever o ften a r t has h is to rica lly borrowed religious garb to clothe its formal discourse. I am conscious t h a t as museums in te rn a tion a liz e we will be asked to worship before new religious relics, and more so a t exh ib itions which bring w'ork tog e th e r from many cu ltu re s a t once. I th ink the problem a rises of how the non -re lig iou s audience in an o t h e r - c u l t u r a l a rt w'orld accepts the art work w'hich not only may have specific re ligous conno ta tions for the maker - be they Christian, Islamic, or Buddhist - bu t may have these re inforced by the new' religous atmosphere of the museum church wre are now' supposed to receive them in. My only suggestion with works of th is kind