主編語

Abstract

Viewed from the perspective of recent history, modern art as it developed in the countries of Southeast Asia and in Taiwan (where, broadly speaking, modernization was synonymous with Westernization) consistently shared one salient point of commonality: the process of modernization and the experience of being colonized had a mutually causal relationship and were inextricably linked. The first generations of Taiwanese modern artists learned Western art almost entirely from Japanese instructors living in Taiwan. Many then traveled abroad to Japan, the land of their rulers, for advanced studies. Quite similar experiences are also verified in the modern art histories of such countries as Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar and Vietnam. For example, one institution played a primary role in the development of fine art in Vietnam prior to World War II: the Ecole des beaux-arts de l'Indochine, founded by the French artist Victor Tardieu and the Vietnamese artist Nguyễn Nam Sơn, who had studied at the Ecole nationale superieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

The internationa l conference "Southea st Asia and Ta iwan: Modernit y and Postcolonial Manifestations in Visual Art," held by TFAM in 2015, sparked considerable interest within Taiwan's art and academic communities. In response, we have designated the subject of that conference as the special theme of this edition of the Journal, in the hope of engendering further discussion and deliberation of this topic.

Yin Ker, a professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, has for many years engaged in research regarding Bagyi Aung Soe (1923-1990), the "father of modern Burmese art." Examining and arranging his artworks in a manner reminiscent of archaeology, she has unearthed an intimate relationship in his art between modern perspectives and Buddhist thought and meditative practice. She also presents masterful analysis of the spiritual concepts of "modernity," "art" and "artist" within Aung Soe’s creative strategy.

Malaysian independent curator and researcher Chai Chang-hwang analyzes the subjective and objective elements within the non-mainstream contemporary art groups and alternative art spaces that arose in Malaysia during the 1990s, set within the context of their political and economic history, elaborating on various problems and challenges encountered in their process of development.

Taiwanese image artist and independent curator Sandy Hsiu-chih Lo adopts Sa Sa Art Projects in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and Lostgens’ Contemporary Art Space in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as examples by which to explore the subject of "curating topography," which she has long both investigated and practiced. Lo analyzes how the concept of curating topography transforms the passive relationship of spaces, artworks and viewers into active connections among places, artworks and participants.