507 Views
Inter-area/Border Crossing
Organized Panel Session
The 2019 Venice Biennale will be titled “May You Live in Interesting Times” and will “view works through the lens of the political unrest caused by the spread of misinformation.” Artists around the globe are navigating identity and culture, political ecologies, and geographic displacement--all issues that are subject to misinformation or misunderstanding--in ways that are unexpected and challenging. Tenzing Rigdol’s series of Buddha panels, titled My World is in Your Blindspot, showcase the self-immolations of Tibetans under Chinese rule; the reference to a “blindspot” speaks to both the viewer’s lack of knowledge of these events, but also to the media’s lack of coverage. Artist B. Baatarzorig’s MGL addresses the politicization and commercialization of Mongolian natural resources, raising important questions regarding the environmental effects of such practices and the imbalance of profit resulting from them. Lhasa-based artists Nortse, Gade, and Tsering Nyandak create work that comment on economic and cultural displacement, issues that affect Tibetan artists both in Tibet and abroad, but are especially nuanced coming from artists living in the contested land. Khadim Ali explores disparate interpretations of cultural heritage through his work regarding the Bamiyan Buddhas, including Islamic and Buddhist views, in an attempt to overcome misinformation with global understanding. The intersection of art and politics is not new, but the emerging discourse surrounding misinformation and/or misunderstanding is interpreted and reflected in new ways by artists in Asia and beyond. This panel explores the role of the artist in these “interesting times.”
Sarah Magnatta
Denver Art Museum
Uranchimeg Tsultem
National University of Iceland, Iceland
Yi Yi Mon (Rosaline) Kyo
Davidson College
Padma Maitland
University of California, Berkeley