[The Modern in Southeast Asian Art: A Reader] Symposium | Debates and Polemics in Southeast Asian Art Writing

One of the key dynamics to emerge from the Reader is the lively back-and-forth of textual polemics on art. Focusing on the idea of polemics, speakers share key instances from the Reader concerned with opposition and debate within Southeast Asian art writing, as well as its meaning and purpose.

To watch the second panel of this symposium, please click here: https://youtu.be/EXT9ZvfgA3s

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About the Panellists

Aminudin T.H. Siregar lectures on Indonesian Art History, Art Criticism, Art and Market and supervises students at the Faculty of Art and Design, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia. He completed his BA in Graphic Art and his MA with a thesis entitled “The Discursive Analysis of Modern Indonesian Art” (2006) at ITB. He has been actively working as a curator and critic since 1999. His first book Blup Art! was published in 1999; subsequent books include New Art- After Non-Representational Painting in Bandung (2004) and Sang Ahli Gambar: Sketsa, Gambar dan Pemikiran and S. Sudjojono (2010). He edited the anthologies Modern Oblique: Mysticism, Shamanism in Indonesian Contemporary Art (2005) and Indonesian Modern Art: An Essay Compilation (2006). He received the Asian Cultural Council grant in 2002 and completed research on “Indonesian Art in Japanese Occupation: Keimin Bunka Shidosho” at Fukuoka Asian Art Museum (2008), Japan. He is currently a PhD candidate at Leiden University.

Dr Gridthiya Gaweewong is Artistic Director of the Jim Thompson Art Center in Bangkok, Thailand. She is also co-founder and director of Project 304, a non-profit art space based in Bangkok focusing on multidisciplinary and cross-cultural contemporary art projects by local and international artists. Gaweewong has curated numerous exhibitions and films festival including the Bangkok Experimental Film Festival (1997‒2007), Under Construction (2002), Politics of Fun (2005), Saigon Open City (2006‒2007), Short Film Festival from Southeast Asia (2009), Between Utopia and Dystopia (2011), Primitive (2011), Apichatpong Weerasethakul: The Serenity of Madness at MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum and travelled to Asia, Europe and the US (2016-2020), and the 12th Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju (2018). Since 2007, She lives and works in Bangkok. Currently, Gaweewong serves as the co-artistic director of Thailand Biennale Chiang Rai, 2023.

Manuporn Luengaram is a curator, producer and independent researcher from Bangkok, Thailand. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand and a Master of Art Administration from the University of New South Wales, Australia. She was also co-editor of the Thai-language volume An Anthology of Southeast Asian Modern and Contemporary Art (2016).

Dr Phoebe Scott is Senior Curator and Curator of Research Publications at National Gallery Singapore. She has curated the exhibition Familiar Others: Emiria Sunassa, Eduardo Masferré and Yeh Chi Wei, 1940s–1970s (2022) and co-curated the exhibition Ever Present: First People’s Art of Australia (2022) and the inaugural exhibition of the UOB Southeast Asia Gallery, Between Declarations and Dreams: Art of Southeast Asia since the 19th Century (2015). She is also an adjunct lecturer in art history at the National University of Singapore.

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About The Modern in Southeast Asian Art: A Reader

Edited by: T.K. Sabapathy and Patrick Flores
Associate Editors: Phoebe Scott and Julie Ewington
Contributing Editors: Antarika, Gridthiya Gaweewong, Horikawa Lisa, Yin Ker, Manuporn Leungaram, Roger Nelson, Roberto Paulino, Seng Yu Jin, Aminudin T.H. Siregar and Simon Soon

Who spoke of the modern in Southeast Asia? When and where was the modern written? How was it written? How was it received? This collection brings together nearly 300 texts that were originally published between the late 19th to late 20th centuries, selected by a group of scholars as responses to questions such as these. The texts were produced chiefly in various locations in the region, by artists, critics, historians and curators in 11 languages, many of which had never before been translated into the English language. Years in the making, this publication is the first to present such breadth and depth of art writing in the region of Southeast Asia, and will be a valuable resource to students, teachers and scholars of Southeast Asian studies and art history.

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Disclaimer

This video has been edited for clarity and concision. The opinions expressed in this video may not represent the views of National Gallery Singapore. Every effort has been made to obtain permission for the material in this video. Copyright within this video belongs to its respective owners and shall not be reproduced without permission.

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