The Second Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art exhibition catalogue (APT2)

The Japanese artists in the Second Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art cannot possibly represent all strands in contemporary Japanese art but they give some insight into the present and changing concerns of Japanese artists.Their work also reveals the significance of context and the complexity of a country frequently seen as the epitome of post-modernism.The ultimate paradox of Japanese art, however, may be that while Japan has, to use the phraseology of Masayoshi Homma, adopted and adapted over the centuries, first from China and then from the West, Japanese art remains distinctive and different with its own in-built contradictions. As Masayoshi Homma has also commented, Japanese art still reflects a duality that goes back to the time of the ancient Jomon and Yayoi peoples, one represented by a style of rich, even grotesque and exuberant decoration, the other by a style of great simplicity and refinement. 6 This duality is reflected in the art of the Triennial. Yet Japanese art of today is predominantly a product of the peculiar circumstances which shaped postwar Japan. It is not possible to see the work of any of these five artists as interchangeable with artists from another country, particularly artists from countries in the West, despite the cultural interchange which is so fundamental a factor in contemporary Japan. Their work counters superficial assumptions about cultural heterogeneity. In Murakami's The hellish madness of the game .. .', for example, we do not see a merging of Japanese and Western popular cultures-only a violent and disturbing dichotomy. An understanding of these works challenges us to understand present tensions in today's Japan. Caroline Turner, Deputy Director and Manager. International Programs, Queensland Art Gallery 1 Quoted in Alexandra Munroe, Japanese Art After 1945:Scream Against /he Sky, Harry Abrams, New York,1994,p.223 'Japan-Masterpieces from the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo', 1982. ·sengai: The Zen Master',1985. 'The CeramicTraditions of Japan:Master Works from the Idemitsu Museum of Arts,Tokyo', 1988. 'Painters and Sculptors: Contemporary Australian Art: 1987. 'Japanese Ways, Western Means:Art of the 1980s in Japan', 1989 4 'Contemporary Japanese Calligraphy from the Hara Museum, Tokyo', 1990 The Hara Museum of Contemporary Art was organising gallery for the Japanese component of the first Asia-Pacific Triennial,1993. 5 The Six OldKilns of Japan CeramicCollection was originated by former Chairman ofTrustees, AWL.Austin, OBE,AO, with funding from Idemitsu Kosan Co, Ltd; Mr James Fairfax, AO; Sir Bruce and Lady Watson; ITOCHU Australia Ltd.; and Mitsui & Co.(Aust) Ltd. The ARCO Gallery of Asian Art was sponsored by ARCO Coal AustraliaInc. The Kenneth and Yasuko Myer Collection of ContemporaryAsian Art was established in 1993 withgenerous funding from The Myer Foundation and Michael Myer and Ann Gamble Myer in memory of the late Myer Foundation founder, Mr Kenneth Myer and his wife Yasuko, who were tragically killed in 1992. Masayoshi Homma,'Japanese Expressions', in CarolineTurner (ed.l, Tradition and Change.ContemporaryArt ofAsia and the Pacific, University of Queensland Press, Brisbane, Australia, 1993. Japanese artists in 1993:Miho Akioka, Miran Fukuda,Hotaro Koyama, Shinro Ohtake, Tokihiro Satoh,Shigeo Toya and Tsuguo Yanai. Japanese artists in 1996 Emiko Kasahara,Yasumasa Morimura,Takashi Murakami,Kimio Tsuchiya and YukinoriYanagi 1996 CuratorialTeam: Caroline Turner,Furnia Nanjo and Clare Williamson The Queensland Art Gallery has had extensive relations with Japan since 1982 Top Yasumasa Morimura Doublonnage (Marcel) 1988 Direct positive colour photograph on paper,ed. 2/ 10 150x120cm Collection: Queensland Art Gallery Middle Kimio Tsuchiya The setting sun and Shadow 1994 Installations comprising ashes and slide projector Collection: Museum of Contemporary Art, Saitama Bottom Shigeo Toya Woods Ill 1991-92 Installation comprising wood, ashes and synthetic polymer paint Collection: Queensland Art Gallery. The Kenneth and Yasuko Myer Collection of Contemporary Art The Revolution Reinvigorated: Art as Cultural Strategy Chinese Art in the 1990s Claire Roberts Han Mo Art Centre, a privately run gallery and artists' meeting place in Beijing, was closed in late 1994 after an artwork appeared on the cover of the gallery newsletter which conflated the image of the artist Zhao Shaoruo and Mao Zedong. 1 This action was a reminder that art which cannot be understood in simple nationalistic terms, or which criticises the leadership, cannot be tolerated. In August 1995 Lin Tianmiao was forced to withdraw from the official invitational exhibition of Chinese women's art organised to coincide with the United Nations International Conference on Women in Beijing. Lin Tianmiao's work, The proliferation of thread winding, was an installation which incorporated overtly feminist references. 2 On the day before the exhibition was scheduled to open, the work was deemed a fire hazard. In its place the artist displayed two fire extinguishers, a photograph of the work, and a notice stating the reason for its removal and the hope that the fire safety consciousness of viewers would be raised as a result. The exhibition opened the following day without the photograph, notice or fire extinguishers. It was, however, too late to edit the official catalogue, which stands as testimony to a battle between the curatorial group and officials. Despite the continuance of erratic and somewhat mystifying official clampdowns on avant-garde cultural activity in China, artists are increasingly productive. Over the years they have developed a symbiotic relationship with the authorities, and many have excelled at finding creative solutions to physical, intellectual and spiritual constraints. With few prospects of holding a satisfying exhibition in a state-sponsored institution, avant– garde artists have been busy creating their own opportunities. Disillusioned with the limitations and commodification of ink painting and oil painting they have been exploring other media. 3 The choice of artistic language reflects a pragmatism on the part of artists who are responding to a society in a state of flux. Installation/Performance/Text Installation, performance art and text (wenben) are among the media which have resonated most strongly with young and mid-career artists. Installation is a flexible medium which can happen in the home, in a building awaiting demolition, or in the open fields. It is planned in isolation or as part of a group activity, realised, talked about, documented, dismantled and then added to the curriculum vitae and pictorial dossier. The rapidity with which the process happens and its transitory nature ensure the realisation of the idea. The process is controlled by the artist or group of artists and the work gains potency from the context of borrowed elements and the environment. This is also the case for c u RAT o RI A L E ss A vs : EA s T A s I A I 39