ARTICLE 79 - Art's new direction

[Monday, January 11, 2010 19:57 IST] Riddhi Doshi / DNA

A city-based art gallery is popularising new media art. Curator Andre Lee explains its nuances.

Mumbai: Many believe that new media art is still not very well received in Asia. In an effort to popularize the art of the new media, a group exhibition at Sakshi art gallery is showing some very innovative new media works from across Asia.

The nine artists belong to different countries in the sub-continent, from Iran, Japan, Turkey and Indonesia. Shilpa Gupta represents India.

The exhibition is titled The Tradition of the New and is curated by Taiwanese writer and museum manager Andre Lee. Andre says, “Most art markets of Asian countries are dependent on the western markets, especially that of new media. People in Asia, if I may say, are biased to the traditional art. So this exhibition is to promote new media art and bring about an exchange of artistic ideas between different Asian countries. That is very important.”

The Tradition of The New focuses on the idea that people of the contemporary world are still entangled with the traditions of the past though they may not be aware of the same. Andre explains, “People believe that we are far off from our tradition but that’s not true. If you will look carefully, today’s world is a mix of both the new and traditional. And the works in this exhibition reflects the same thought.”

As soon as you enter the gallery you will be welcomed by an antique wheel by Tu Wei-Chang. But when you go closer you find images of helicopters, a computer mouse and other synonyms of modern life.

The show-stopper is the video art by Wuchi-Psung. You first see the old Chinese sketch art and then gradually this is transformed into a work of modern art. A closer look at the machine and you will see just a netted sheet of metal attached in front of the projector. The simplicity of making of the art and then later what it projects is what makes it so impressive.

Article Courtesy: DNA INDIA