Reflections on the Human Condition - Api-fellowships.org

ENGAGING MODERNITY: RELIGION, GENDER, AND ART 119
CREATING ALTERNATIVES FOR CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS IN
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Mizuki Endo
INTRODUCTION
This paper outlines my research on the structure of
contemporary art in the Philippines and Indonesia.
The goal of this eleven-month research is to develop
strategies in order to create a local artist’s network for
an international art exchange program which I plan to
start from next year. While some public institutions,
such as Japan Foundation, Asian Art Council (USA),
and Asialink (Australia) have their own exchange
programs in various fields of art, the existing cultural
networks and exchange programs organized by foreign
institutions tend to hold the perspective of “spectators
(of exotic Asian culture)”. Additionally, by trying to
introduce a general overview of what has been going
on in Asia, these programs tend to neglect the essential
diversity of Asian culture, and the culture of each
Asian country.
The close communication with local artists made me
realize that there is a strong need to create an alternative
network system, which embraces diversity for better
understanding and development of Asian contemporary
culture. This alternative network will require a conclusive
approach i.e. a careful examination of the structure of
existing art institutions, roles of the art market, trends
in international art and the creative practice of the local
artist. Such a challenge will also require us to re-think
fundamental question like “What is art in Asia?”
THE RISE OF ALTERNATIVE SPACE
The idea of alternative space was first developed in
New York City during the 1960s when artists were
struggling with the limitation of traditional art spaces
such as museums and commercial galleries that were
incapable of supporting new forms of art (installation
and performance). Therefore, young artists of that time
developed warehouses, old buildings and lofts into
their own alternative art spaces. In this sense, the word
“alternative” meant “neither museum nor commercial
gallery”. Also, alternative space became a place to explore
new and “alternative” styles of art as well as a base for
the artist’s community.
Similar types of alternative spaces emerged in the
Philippines and Indonesia during the 1990s. Big Sky
Mind (Manila), Surrounded by Water (Manila), Ru-
angrupa (Jakarta), Cemati Art House (Yogyakarta) are
a few examples. Alternatives, the guidebook of Asian
contemporary art spaces published by the Japan
Foundation, introduced twelve spaces from the Philippines
and sixteen from Indonesia. In addition to these spaces,
there are new alternative spaces that are constantly appearing
and disappearing in urban areas in both countries.
The main reason why alternative spaces were needed
and developed in Southeast Asia is because of the lack
of art infrastructure. Because the number of museums
and art institutions were not enough to fulfill artists’
needs, artists demanded opportunities to exhibit their
work. Also, the development of information technology
brought new trends such as installation and media art to
Southeast Asian artists. Alternative spaces were expected to
exhibit those kinds of artwork. Additionally, the political
shift in the Philippines and Indonesia motivated artists to
develop alternative methods of expression against
traditional Western styles of art that had long been
supported and encouraged by the old regime. Alternative
space was also attractive for those who were pursuing a
new relationship between art and society.
Chinese curator, Ho Hanru, describes the characteristics
of contemporary Asian art as, multi-transdisciplinary,
multi-transcultural; and a merging of art and real life
that generates new distinctions between private and
public spaces. He points out that alternative space reflects
these characteristics, and continues:
“For various reasons, ranging from personal to
economic, from social-political to strategic, these
alternative spaces are constantly appearing,
evolving, and disappearing, and ultimately transform
themselves into different modes of practice. This
is precisely the essence of the new paradigm of
“institution”: always moving, flexible, changing,
and reinventing itself.”
He claims that alternative space is a product of
globalization and is functioning within it. At the same
time, he sees alternative space not as an art “institution”
in the Western sense, but as an ever-changing process of
institutionalization and de-institutionalization. In this
sense, alternative space, Hanru says, holds an “immanent
Ref lections on the Human Condition: Change, Conflict and Modernity
The Work of the 2004/2005 API Fellows