Tag: Contemporary art

Don’t you get tired of the political chaos around the world and in Indonesia, now with the never-ending election cacophony? Ugh! So when I got an email reminder from Museum Macan that it was the last weekend for its contemporary art exhibition on March 9 and 10, I jumped at the chance. There’s nothing like art to reduce stress, stimulate one’s brain and revive flagging spirits! There were exhibitions by Arahmaiani, one of Indonesia’s most respected, multitalented artists; Lee Mingwei, a renowned Taiwanese artist living in Paris and the United States, and On Kamara a Japanese conceptual artist whose “One Million Years” is about the passage of time, on “society’s use of dates to give materiality to the elusiveness of time”. “To give materiality to the elusiveness of time”? Wow! Don’t you just love that? &ldquo... Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.

Don’t you get tired of the political chaos around the world and in Indonesia, now with the never-ending election cacophony? Ugh! So when I got an email reminder from Museum Macan that it was the last weekend for its contemporary art exhibition on March 9 and 10, I jumped at the chance. There’s nothing like art to reduce stress, stimulate one’s brain and revive flagging spirits! There were exhibitions by Arahmaiani, one of Indonesia’s most respected, multitalented artists; Lee Mingwei, a renowned Taiwanese artist living in Paris and the United States, and On Kamara a Japanese conceptual artist whose “One Million Years” is about the passage of time, on “society’s use of dates to give materiality to the elusiveness of time”. “To give materiality to the elusiveness of time”? Wow! Don’t you just love that? &ldquo... Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Petani Semasa is a significant exhibition on contemporary art about the Patani region of Southern Thailand, that privileges local artists. Currently on display at the Ilham gallery in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the works are deeply complicated, and largely unsettling. Featuring 27 artists, the show never resolves into a unified voice, but showcases the diversity of practice and experience of the region. Patani Semasa adopts poetic means of representation from a region largely internationally defined by its enforced marginality. This conflict has been simmering for decades, perhaps peaking in 2004 with the Tak Bai incident wherein approximately 78 men were tragically killed by Thai police (some reports put the number of the dead higher). While the majority of the artists of Patani Semasa deal with the contentious politics of the region, they don’t propose solutions, or lean on simplistic answers. While many works on display are dark and violent, the exhibition is successful because of its much more subtle, even quotidian representations of the Patani region, which are equally worthy of our consideration. Another powerful work made from local materials is Jamilah Haji’s, “The Spirit of Faith 7,” (2011). Like Waji’s work, the figures in “The Spirit of Faith 7,” are expertly crafted and really pop from the frame, though with a dramatically different affect. Everyone can appreciate a good meal.