Contemporary Asian Art

Contemporary art from various Asian contexts has attained a high level of international visibility during the past two decades. In part brought about by geopolitical developments, a major and continuing realignment of international exhibition rationales has seen the work of a number of Asian artists featured regularly in major biennial and triennial exhibitions around the world. This new visibility for non-western art is also related to the critique of Eurocentric, universalist ideologies that has influenced recent scholarship in the humanities and social sciences. This course introduces students to a varied and exciting range of artistic practices from contemporary India, Indonesia, Japan and China. Students will also be offered an understanding of political, cultural and artistic contexts against which this work may be located. Questions of postcolonial politics, globalisation and nationalism will be addressed as part of the theoretical framework. This course may be offered in semester-long format or as an intensive.