contemporary art in china, africa, japan, iran & eastern europe
THE REAL THING: CONTEMPORARY ART FROM CHINA The speed of change in technology, architecture, industry, and lifestyle in China has been matched by extraordinary developments in the arts. Embracing modern technologies and a widespread openness to the history of Western art has combined with Chinese traditions and concerns to forge new forms of expression.
CONTEMPORARY ART IN EASTERN EUROPE A reconstruction of the missing history of contemporary art, art networks, and art conditions in Eastern Europe from the East European perspective.
IRANIAN CONTEMPORARY ART Representing significant trends of the Iranian art scene, Iranian Contemporary Art covers a wide range of styles, from calligraphic or abstract to figurative, and includes video photography and installations. It takes as a starting point a moment in the early 1960s when artists from Iran, fully acquainted with western art, sought inspiration from their own rich cultural heritage to produce distinctive forms of modern art. More recent works by a younger generation are shown, amongst them pieces that explore a conflict between modernism and tradition, or take a light-hearted look at the paradoxes of contemporary life.
WARRIORS OF ART: A Guide to CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE ARTISTS Recently the West has been inundated by a steady flow of images from manga, anime, and the video games that are a key part of today's Japanese visual culture. At the same time, Japanese contemporary artists are gaining a higher profile overseas: many Westerners are already familiar with
Takashi Murakami's brightly colored, cartoonlike characters, or with Junko Mizuno's "grotes-cute" Lolita-style girls. Perhaps less familiar are the absurd fighting machines of Kenji Yanobe, the many disguises of Tomoko Sawada, or the grotesque fairytale landscapes of Tomoko Konoike.
AFRICA REMIX is one of the only comprehensive publications on young contemporary art of the last decade in and from Africa. It features more than 80 artists from nearly 30 countries, well representing the geographic diversity of Africa--from Egypt and Morocco to South Africa. Both well-known artists, who are already established in the international scene, as well as new, emerging talents are included. In an attempt to do justice to the complexity of current artist production, this survey covers film, documentary photography, fashion, music, and literature, in addition to the fine arts. Experts in the field comment on the different artistic positions represented and their sources of inspiration. Rather than relying on the traditional categories of postcolonial discourse, this publication concentrates on the "fact of the present": the artworks are seen as an expression of the direct influence of the present on the artist. An illustrated dictionary on the important aspects of African art and culture completes this fascinating study.
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