Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, 1993 : Exhibition report

PUBLICATIONS The Queensland Art Gallery produced two major publications to accompany the Asia- Pacific Triennial, as well as a supplement to the catalogue, an education kit and a bulletin series. Book Published by the University of Queensland Press, in association with the Queensland Art Gallery, Tradition and Change: Contemporary Art of Asia and the Pacific is a unique 248 page scholarly book the first publication to document the contemporary art of Asia and the Pacific region. This major publication includes essays on the art of fourteen countries in the region, written by leading authorities generally from within the countries. These are India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Australia. The scholarly editor was the Queensland Art Galiery’s Deputy Director and Manager, International Programs, Dr Caroline Turner. Please refer to Tradition and Change... authors, Appendix V. Reviews for the book and catalogue have been very favourable - "Tradition and Change is a significant book because of its scholarly contribution to an understanding of Asian and Pacific art and because it represents a further signpost of the direction in which Australia’s future is being channelled by subtle forces... the excellent array of contributing scholars from each country represented in the 'Asia-Pacific Triennial' locate the contemporary art of their country in a more meaningful and enlightened context. This book would make an excellent starting point for students of art of our region, and should single-handedly dispel a few myths for each reader." (Dr Richard Dunlop, The Social Educator, November 1993) "... the authors expertly examine the region’s different traditional backgrounds, diverse cultural outpourings and the shared experience of recent change in today’s global village. Their insightful essays will assist tertiary students, historians and lovers of art in understanding the current transformation of art in our region. They reflect the dynamism and vigour of contemporary art in Asia and the Pacific, and the need to find new definitions of identity for both Australia and the region." (Janet Austin, Australian Bookseller and Publisher, September 1993) "It is a book which has been conceived in the current spirit of political and diplomatic exchange with the attendant levels of curiosity, awareness and positioning... Tradition and Change is timely, perhaps even overdue." Margaret Moore, Far, February/March 1994) Tradition and Change... challenges the stereotypes often held by Western audiences of static traditional art, presenting the exciting and dynamic contemporary art of the region and the influences upon it. Several international speakers at the conference noted that the book is the first of its kind to address the contemporary art of the region and that the book fills a major scholarly gap in the field. For example the Malaysian art critic, Redza Piyadasa commented that by using the book as a core text, a new course on the modern art of the Asia Pacific region can be taught for the first time. International distribution and further print runs of this book are presently being discussed. Tradition and Change... is priced at $29.95. Catalogue The 120 page catalogue accompanying the exhibition, The First Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, has proved very popular. Illustrating the work of each of the seventy-six