Project Space: Word. Sound. Power. At The Tate Modern.

Emily Jane Cushing suggests the Tate Modern exhibition ‘Project Space: Word. Sound. Power’

London: Tate Modern exhibition ‘Project Space: Word. Sound. Power’ is the first in a series of international collaborative exhibitions exhibited at the Tate Modern, London.

Anjali Monteiroand K.P. Jayasankar, Still from Saacha (The Loom) 2001, Image Credit, http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/project-space-word-sound-power

Anjali Monteiroand K.P. Jayasankar, Still from Saacha (The Loom) 2001, Image Credit, http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/project-space-word-sound-power

Driven by the desire of strengthening cultural exchange and dialogue throughout the world, the series presents contemporary art through a series of collaborations with cultural organisations.

Project Space: Word. Sound. Power. is curated by Loren Hansi Momodu at Tate Modern and Andi-Asmita Rangari, Khoj, International Artists’ Association, New Delhi. Indeed, what makes this exhibition so exciting is the bringing together of emerging curators from both the Tate Modern and selected international venues to create shows to be exhibited in both London and the inspired location, in this exhibition the other location will be New Delhi.

The series will show-case the work of new artists, those recently established and of rediscovered artists. Among these artists are Amar Kanwar and Anjali Monteiro and K.P Jayasankar using medium including audio documentary, video, performance, text and sound. The Tate writes that it hopes this exhibition takes a moment to listen to the harmony and dissonance of voices rising.

Amar Kanwar’s film ‘A Night of Prophecy’ was shot in several regions of India including Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Nagaland, Kashmir. The artists from these regions used music and poetry of tragedy and protest to express emotions resulting from caste-bound poverty and the loss of loved ones caused by tribal and religious fighting.

Amar Kanwar, Still from A Night of Prophecy 2002, Image Credit; http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/project-space-word-sound-power

Amar Kanwar, Still from A Night of Prophecy 2002, Image Credit; http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/project-space-word-sound-power

Anjali Monteiro and K.P. Jayasankar, Still from Saacha (The Loom) 2001, Image Credit; http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/project-space-word-sound-power

Anjali Monteiro and K.P. Jayasankar, Still from Saacha (The Loom) 2001, Image Credit; http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/project-space-word-sound-power

Saacha is about a poet, a painter and a city. The poet is Narayan Surve, the painter Sudhir Patwardhan and the city is Mumbai; the birth place of the Indian textile industry and the industrial working class. The film addresses the politics of representation and the decline of the urban working class in an age of structural readjustment, whilst simultaneously exploring the relevance of art in this contemporary social environment.

Related events include Performance and music; Mithu Sen  will make public readings of a new work entitled ‘I am a Poet‘, which she describes as being ‘not bound by rules of grammar, diction, vocabulary and syntax’. Mithu Sen will be reading ‘I am a Poet‘ on Friday 12 – Sunday 14 July 13.00, 14.00, 15.00, 16.00.

And a film by Anand Patwardhan: We Are Not Your Monkeys; Jai Bhim Comrade, Monday 15 July 2013, 18.00 – 22.30

The exhibition will show from 12 July – 3 November 2013 at the Tate Modern London, and continues at Khoj, International Artists’ Association, New Delhi, 10 January – 08 February 2014.

More information about the Tate exhibition can be found here.

‘Move on Asia’ – Video Art From Asia 2002 – 2012

Emily Jane Cushing suggests the ‘Move on Asia’ exhibition of Asian video art from 2002 to 2012.

London: The ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Germany opened on February 9th their exhibition which shows the development of the video art genre and the increasing importance of Asia in contemporary art; the exhibition runs until August 4th 2013.

Meiro Koizumi: „My Voice Would Reach You“ (2009). Video still; Image Credit: http://regator.com/p/259249425/move_on_asia_video_art_in_asia_2002/

Meiro Koizumi: „My Voice Would Reach You“ (2009). Video still; Image Credit: http://regator.com/p/259249425/move_on_asia_video_art_in_asia_2002/

The increased interest in Asian arts resulted in the 2007 exhibition at the ZKM | Karlsruhe  curated by Wonil Rhee entitled “Thermocline of Art. New Asian Waves”. This exhibition was hugely successful in attracting world-wide attention to the Asiatic ‘moving image’; despite being only six years prior and fifty years since the emergence of video art, the need for a follow on exhibition showing the huge development in this genre is needed.

It is noted that as an art genre video art has continually been associated with the West despite much of the technology originating in Asia. This exhibition proves that over the last couple of decades the culture of video art has gained greater independence from Western models by showing at biennale’s and art exhibitions across the world.

The vast exhibition, containing over 140 works, is made up of works from video artists originating from thirteen Asiatic countries including China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. In addition to the showing of established artists, recent works by new artists are also shown.

The exhibition displays a wide range of Indian art; Indian artists showing are Vishal K. Dar, Chitra Ganesh, Shilpa Gupta, Tushar Joag, Shakuntala Kulkarni, Nalini Malani, Pushpamala N., Sharmila Samant, Tejal Shah, Valay Shende, Shine Shivan and Thukral & Tagra.

“40+4. Art is "Not Enough! Not Enough" Image Credit, http://vimeo.com/48543105

“40+4. Art is Not Enough! Not Enough” Image Credit, http://vimeo.com/48543105

An interactive installation entitled “Global Fire” by the Paris-based artist Du Zhenjun may also be viewed in connection with the exhibition. “Global Fire” is a large inflatable dome in which the visitors may ignite the flags of 200 countries with lighters on heat censors. Also on show in the ZKM_PanoramaLab is the interactive video installation “40+4. Art is Not Enough! Not Enough” in which forty Shanghai based artists are interviewed about their works and asked to question their art in relation to the environment and the social impact of their artistic production. This installation resulting from the collaboration between the curator Davide Quadrio, the filmmaker Lothar Spree as well as the video artist Xiaowen Zhu is truly insightful and fascinating.

“Global Fire” by the Paris-based artist Du Zhenjun, Image Credit; http://duzhenjun.com/installations/global-fire/

“Global Fire” by the Paris-based artist Du Zhenjun, Image Credit; http://duzhenjun.com/installations/global-fire/

This exhibition runs until 4th August 2013; view the website for more details on this exciting exhibition.

Also, for those wishing to read more about Indian video art, I have found a really interesting article from Tehelka Magazine with Pakistani artist Bani Abidi discussing Indian Video art and it’s increased popularity here; it’s a great read!


Bani Abidi at dOCUMENTA (13)

Sneha Sikand of Saffronart on Bani Abidi’s latest video installation

Bani Abidi, Death at a 30 Degree Angle
Image credit: http://www.stylepark.com/en/news
/observations-in-space-and-time/334166

Kassel: On view at the latest installment of dOCUMENTA is a video installation by artist Bani Abidi. The project titled ‘Death at a 30 Degree Angle’ was commissioned by the Sharjah Art Foundation and will be on display in Kassel until September 16, 2012.

The installation is a film broken up into three separate projections being screened on planks resting against the wall. Set in India, it is a fictional account of a politician who has commissioned a statue of himself but is unable to settle on the right costume to ‘represent’ himself. Abidi’s project is inspired by the book, ‘The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat’ by Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuściński, about the decline of the Emperor of Ethiopia – Haile Selassie. The dominant themes in this work work are those of megalomania and the obsession with posterity. 

Born in Karachi, Bani Abidi went to study in Lahore and later in Chicago. Initially practicing as an installation artist, it was her time in Chicago and exposure to film that inspired her to shift to video art. In an interesting interview with the National Gallery of Victoria, Abidi talks about the significance of her cultural location in her artistic practice.

Read more in ARTINFO’s recent interview with Abidi

Indian artists at dOCUMENTA (13)

Manjari Sihare shares details of talk about Indian artists at this year’s dOCUMENTA

New York: For those in Kassel for the dOCUMENTA, the Courtauld Institute of Art is hosting a talk this Friday, June 8 about the contemporary Indian artists being featured in this exposition this year. Catch Nalini Malani talk about her work, and video-art theorist, Johan Pijnappel and art historian, Zehra Jumabhoy speak about other artists from the subcontinent who are being featured in this most important international exhibition of contemporary art that takes place once every five years.

Learn more about the artists in dOCUMENTA (13). 

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