The world is finally taking notice of contemporary art from Asia and the Pacific – art dealers are buying and collecting it, major curators of international exhibitions are selecting and showing it. Similarly, the world is developing a new awareness of avant-garde art trends emanating from these regions, trends as potent as any in Europe, the United States or Australia. What then does this art tell us about the changing cultures of Asia and the Pacific today?

This course provides a foundation in understanding contemporary Asian and Pacific art. We will examine a range of contemporary art that has emerged in Asia and the Pacific over the last two decades, especially since the recognition of contemporary Asian and Pacific art by Western art centres, including Australia. We will investigate the similarities and differences linking the diverse cultural contexts of Asian and Pacific artists and their relationship to 'Western' artistic traditions. The course will foster a contemporary understanding of visual art forms and cultural contexts of Asia and the Pacific as different from Western art histories. It will stress localised agencies of Asian and Pacific art through an exploration of key artists and their works in Asian and Pacific art history, a critique of Eurocentric/universalist approaches, and recognising the emergence of new methodologies for interpreting art outside the West. Underpinning the course is recognition of the valuable place and exciting contribution of contemporary Asian and Pacific art to the development of present day global art practices and histories.

Notably, the course stresses visual texts as key resources of cultural knowledge about Asia and the Pacific. It emphasises the dynamism of contemporary artistic culture in Asia and the Pacific, and aims to counter long-held stereotypes of art from these regions as persistently exotic, traditional and firmly belonging to the past. We will discuss different contemporary art forms (painting, sculpture, performance art, installation art and other visual forms) in relation to the particular social, historical, cultural and political contexts within which they were produced as well as where they are exhibited and received.

We will examine specific national, regional and/or global contexts of contemporary Asian and Pacific art, and explore key issues in art through thematic case-studies including: mapping Asia and the Pacific; exoticism/ Orientalism; colonialism/ postcolonialism; nationalism, modernity; gender/sexuality; faith, spirituality and religion; ethnicity, race, indigeneity; traditionalism and the contemporary; art and anthropology in museums and galleries; biennales and triennales; globalisation and diasporas.

On satisfying the expectations of the course, students should be able to:

1. identify and compare prominent examples of contemporary Asian and/or Pacific art and artists and how they relate to their cultural/political/artistic contexts of production;
2. analyse and interpret how cultural and aesthetic meaning is produced and conveyed through art (ie. visual art styles, materials, and symbolic processes) and art criticism;
3. use specific examples of art and art criticism to think, write and argue about significant issues and ideas underlying contemporary Asian and Pacific art;
4. apply critical thinking skills in thinking, writing and arguing about Asian/Pacific art;
5. reflect on and discuss your own learning as it relates to the subject matter of the course.

This course is open to students who have completed six university courses (36 units), particularly those with an interest in developing new knowledge on contemporary visual art of Asia and the Pacific in its social, historical, political and cultural contexts.