3.0

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This course aims to introduce students to the multiple modalities of modernism in Asia. We will acquire the critical tools to understand the complex and rich discussions surrounding “modernism” in the art traditions in Asia, and challenge a few fraught preconceptions: Firstly, instead of treating “Asia” as the monolithic “other” to the West, we acknowledge the plurality and multiculturality in Asian art that are eclipsed in the term “Asia” and learn the many different traditions and norms that the practitioners and theorists of modern art grappled with. Secondly, we examine how Asian artists dynamically engage with issues and ideas of modernisms that are circulated in global modern art. Thirdly, we discuss the interstitial spaces created by Asian modern artists in their engagements with both traditions and the modern art world. Last but most importantly, we challenge the notion that modernism is a Euro-American invention and exclusively in the Western art historical context. Instead, we locate these practices of modernism in Asia in each of their own histories, and understand how they try to reconfigure modern art in their contexts. The period we cover is what is considered modern and contemporary, ranging from the late 19th Century to present, but with a focus on the 20th Century. We study movements, artworks, artists, concepts changes in China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Asian diaspora in the world (the list of countries are in alphabetic order). Students are also encouraged in this course to explore areas and topics that the course does not explicitly cover but need innovative research in.