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VOLUME 18 NO. 4 DECEMBER 2009 T contents

Volume 18 No.4 December 2009

3 EDITORIAL TAASA REVIEW Sandra Forbes and Sabrina Snow, guest editors THE ASIAN ARTS SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA INC. Abn 64093697537 • Vol. 18 No. 4, December 2009 ISSN 1037.6674 4 WHITE RABBIT Registered by Australia Post. Publication No. NBQ 4134 Elizabeth Keenan

editorIAL • email: [email protected] 6 SO WHAT IS ‘CONTEMPORARY’? QUEENSLAND’S APT6 General editor, Josefa Green Russell Storer publications committee Josefa Green (convenor) • Tina Burge 9 ON BEING ART: DADANG CHRISTANTO’S SURVIVOR Melanie Eastburn • Sandra Forbes • Ann MacArthur Helen Holmes Jim Masselos • Ann Proctor • Susan Scollay Sabrina Snow • Christina Sumner

10 THE ARTISTS OF ANGKOR: CONTEMPORARY AND MEDIEVAL STONE WORKSHOPS IN CAMBODIA design/layout Martin Polkinghorne Ingo Voss, VossDesign printing

13 GREAT PERFECTED BEINGS John Fisher Printing

Jackie Menzies Published by The Asian Arts Society of Australia Inc. PO Box 996 Potts Point NSW 2011 16 THE ART OF IMITATION: MING WONG AT THE VENICE BIENNALE www.taasa.org.au

Alexandra Crosby Enquiries: [email protected]

TAASA Review is published quarterly and is distributed to members 19 SYDNEY’S BLANKET OF CLAY: A VIEW OF THE AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS TRIENNALE of The Asian Arts Society of Australia Inc. TAASA Review welcomes Merran Esson submissions of articles, notes and reviews on Asian visual and performing arts. All articles are refereed. Additional copies and subscription to TAASA Review are available on request. 21 THE PAZYRYK CARPET, 60 YEARS ON Leigh Mackay No opinion or point of view is to be construed as the opinion of The Asian Arts Society of Australia Inc., its staff, servants or agents. No claim for loss or damage will be acknowledged by TAASA 24 IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN: TWO JAPANESE TEMPLE GUARDIANS Review as a result of material published within its pages or Russell Kelty in other material published by it. We reserve the right to alter or omit any article or advertisements submitted and require indemnity from the advertisers and contributors against damages 25 ALASTAIR MORRISON (1915-2009) or liabilities that may arise from material published. Claire Roberts All reasonable efforts have been made to trace copyright holders.

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OBJECT OF DESIRE by WANG ZHIYUAN, China, 2008,FIBREGLASS, BAKING PAINT, [email protected]

LIGHTS, SOUND, 355 x 356 x 70 cm The deadline for all articles for our next issue is 15 DECEMBER 2009 A full Index of articles published in TAASA Review since its beginnings The deadline for all aDvertising in 1991 is available on the TAASA web site, www.taasa.org.au for our next issue is 1 FEBRUARY 2010

2 TAASA committee EDITORIAL

Judith Rutherford • President Sandra Forbes and Sabrina Snow, guest editors Collector and specialist in Chinese textiles

Gill Green • Vice President Art historian specialising in Cambodian culture

ANN GUILD • TREASURER This December edition of the TAASA Review, pressures of life today, these artists interpret Former Director of the Embroiders Guild (UK) is indeed a collaborative effort: Josefa Green aspects both of traditional and modern life in KATE JOHNSTON • SECRETARY and myself soliciting articles, Sandra Forbes China to produce works of striking creativity, Intellectual property lawyer with completing the bulk of the editorial work, and wit, and freshness - especially in the inventive an interest in Asian textiles finally myself pulling it all together! Excellent range of media used. The work of White Hwei-fe’n cheah teamwork from the TAASA Publications Rabbit artists are represented on both our Lecturer, Art History, Australian National University, with an interest in needlework committee!! front and back covers this edition. JOCELYN CHEY Visiting Professor, Department of Chinese Studies, This Review was intended as general issue, Alexandra Crosby, writing from the Venice University of Sydney; former diplomat but in early 2009, our publications team Biennale, discusses how the Singaporean Matt Cox discovered that Australia was offering this year artist – curator team Ming Wong and Tang Fu Study Room Co-ordinator, Art Gallery of New South a most vibrant and exciting exhibition scene, Kuen manipulate stereotypes of race, gender Wales, with a particular interest in Islamic Art of especially in the context of contemporary Southeast Asia and nationality, to show the changing nature Asian art. Since July, Sydney has played of cultural identity in an increasingly global Philip Courtenay host to the Australian Ceramics Triennal; has Former Professor and Rector of the Cairns Campus, world. Wong does this with wit and humour James Cook University, with a special interest in seen the opening in August of the exciting through the medium of video, giving insights Southeast Asian ceramics new private museum specializing in Chinese into the changing interpretations of national Sandra Forbes contemporary art, The White Rabbit, and film and its identities. Editorial consultant with long-standing interest has witnessed the stirring performance art in South and Southeast Asian art of Indonesian Dadang Christanto at Gallery Underlying many of the works of Asian artists Josefa Green 4A. In addition, in Brisbane, on December discussed in this review is an awareness of General editor of TAASA Review. Collector of Chinese ceramics, with long-standing interest in East Asian 5th, the sixth Australian Triennal of Asian tradition, where traditional media and art art as student and traveller Pacific Art (APT) a major regional forum practices have been revised or reinterpreted GERALDINE HARDMAN for contemporary art, will open at the using contemporary methods and ideas. This Collector of Chinese furniture and Burmese lacquerware Queensland Art Gallery (QAG). To complete is evident in the work as much at the APT ANN PROCTOR the Asian exhibition coverage with a more as it was in that of the emerging ceramicists Lecturer in Asian Art, Sydney University traditional theme, we feature an article on at the Ceramics Triennale. Many of these and the National Art School, Sydney the stunning Indian art collection of the royal artists draw their inspiration from Asia, ANN ROBERTS Rathore family of Jodhpur, now on show at especially China, as reflected in the title of Art consultant specialising in Chinese the Art Gallery of New South Wales. So if this ceramics and works of art one of its 40 exhibitions Another Silk Road. edition were to have a title, ‘Australian Asian The Review carries this theme further with SABRINA SNOW Has a long association with the Art Gallery of New art exhibitions and Events 2009’ would seem a report on the TAASA seminar on The Silk South Wales and a particular interest in the arts of China a most appropriate one. Road held in Sydney in September. A series

CHRISTINA SUMNER of speakers offered a variety of perspectives Principal Curator, Design and Society, The 2009 APT at the QAG is a culmination on the history, architecture, art and texture Powerhouse Museum, Sydney of sixteen years showcasing the exciting of human life in the Silk Road cities from SPECIALIST ADVISOR ON NE ASIA developments in contemporary art in our antiquity to the present. Leigh Mackay also Min-Jung Kim region, amongst the most dynamic in the presents here a fascinating article on the oldest Hon. Auditor global context. ( See TAASA Reviews Aug 93; preserved Persian pile carpet ever excavated, Rosenfeld Kant and Co Dec 96; Sep 99; Sep, Dec 02; Dec 06 ) Here, from Pazyryk on the edges of the Silk Road in state representatives Russell Storer traces the changes in the aims North Central Asia, thought to be from a 3rd Australian Capital Territory and orientation of the Triennial, showing how century BCE Persian inspired workshop. Robyn Maxwell it has responded over the years to the artistic Visiting Fellow in Art History, ANU; movements in Asia and the Pacific. From an For lovers of sculpture and Khmer art, this Senior Curator of Asian Art, National Gallery of Australia early focus on a general introduction to artists edition of TAASA Review carries a leading Northern Territory and practices in the region, to that of looking at article on contemporary and medieval Joanna Barrkman individual practices, it is now launching its most stone workshops in Cambodia, by Martin Curator of Southeast Asian Art and Material Culture, ambitious project yet, in 2009 exhibiting over Polkinghorne. Martin’s detailed research Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory 100 artists from 25 countries. This APT presents provides new light on the methods and Queensland challenging questions on the intrinsic meaning practices of the artists who continue to Suhanya Raffel of contemporary art, covering its varied Head of Asian and Pacific Art, Queensland Art Gallery pass on exquisite carving techniques from practices, forms and approaches, and goes on centuries - old prototypes . South Australia to explore the dominant themes that preoccupy James Bennett contemporary Asian artists – popular culture, Curator of Asian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia This December edition of TAASA I think consumerism, social issues, dislocation, place offers something for everyone. In particular, Victoria and identity, and many more. it offers insights into the vibrant exhibition Carol Cains Curator Asian Art, National Gallery of Victoria International scene Australia is offering its public in Asian These themes certainly feature with the artists TASMANIA art, especially contemporary art. The APT in of the White Rabbit Gallery, Chippendale. Brisbane continues until April 2010, don’t Kate Brittlebank Lecturer in Asian History, School of History and Classics, Elizabeth Keenan describes how, in the context miss it! University of Tasmania of what are universal social and economic

3 WHITE RABBIT

Elizabeth Keenan

RED MEMORY – SMILE by Chen Wenling, China, 2007,bronze and vehicle duco, 290 x 120x 200cm n 1999, after almost ten years living in I Australia, the artist Wang Zhiyuan paid a visit to Beijing. There he heard something that stopped him in his tracks: dance-hall songs from pre-revolutionary Shanghai. When he was growing up, these ‘capitalistic’ tunes had been banned. Now they were everywhere -- along with Debussy and jazz, rock and hip-hop. Art too was exulting in its liberation. Painters who had once been jailed for making ‘bourgeois’ art were now richly paid for it. When Wang Zhiyuan left China in 1989, there were no commercial art galleries in the country. Now there were thousands, and whole districts of Beijing were being turned into artists’ enclaves. So exciting were the changes that Wang Zhiyuan started thinking he’d move back there.

Meanwhile, in Sydney, Judith Neilson was also being bowled over by Chinese contemporary art. Now that her two daughters were teenagers, the former graphic designer and photographer wanted to resume her art studies and was looking for a tutor. At the Ray Hughes Gallery, she spotted a series of flat shapes, cut from sheet metal, that portrayed whimsical fusions of animals, birds and plants: a bird-angel, a winged cloud-man, a pig sprouting fruit. Whoever made these, Neilson decided, was the artist she wanted to learn from. His name, she discovered, was Wang Zhiyuan.

After returning to Sydney, Wang soon became a regular visitor to the Neilsons’ home, tutoring Judith Neilson in drawing and painting--and enthusing about the wonderful art he’d seen in China. After several months of this treatment, Neilson and one of her daughters went to Beijing to see what all the fuss was about. They came back with a single painting, but when she raved to her husband, to share the art because I can.’ And to share it every genre from abstract expressionism and Kerr, about all the other works she’d seen, with as many people as possible: ‘I wanted a traditional ink painting to embroidery, flash video he said, ‘Why didn’t you buy more?’ ‘I said, place where people who’d never set foot in a and conceptual art, incorporating themes and ‘We have no room in the house,’ she recalls. gallery could come and not feel intimidated, influences drawn from Western magazines, pop ‘But later I started thinking, ‘it would be or that they weren’t smart enough, or their music, Zen, Taoism, Chinese folk art, the internet, wonderful if we could have a space, to show opinion was wrong.’ consumerism, feminism, Marshall McLuhan what contemporary Chinese art really is’. So I and Marcel Duchamp. Their output was prolific, said, ‘Why don’t we open a gallery?’ When their ideological shackles were first loosed, energetic and superbly executed. Chinese art in the mid-1980s, the first instinct of many Chinese education may have been ideologically rigid, but In August 2009, the White Rabbit Collection artists was to look backwards. Countless works it was also technically rigorous. Now that artists opened to the public. ‘The name just came appeared mocking Mao and the revolution, could say anything they pleased, they had the to me,’ Neilson says. ‘It was a little flash.’ collectivism and communist propaganda. skills to do so with flair. Admission to the three-storey former knitting By 2000, older artists had got the past out of factory, in the inner-Sydney suburb of their system, and new artists were emerging The 400 works in the White Rabbit Collection Chippendale, is free. ‘I did this for a quite who had no past to worry about. They were (90 of which appear in the opening exhibition personal reason,’ Neilson explains. ‘I just want exploring any subject that grabbed them, using of August 09 ) reflect the fireworks that

4 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 EXUVIATE II – WHERE HAVE ALL THE CHILDREN GONE by Jin Nu, China, 2005, cotton, muslin

undiscovered ones.’ White Rabbit has works by celebrities such as Ai Weiwei and Lin Tianmiao, and by emerging artists like Jin Nu and Dong Yuan, both aged 25. ‘This is not a star show,’ Neilson says. ‘It is a document of Chinese contemporary art since 2000.’

Just inside the gallery’s glass doors hangs Wang Zhiyuan’s Object of Desire, a bas-relief on a giant pair of brightly coloured women’s panties. On a red-curtained bed lie a fat businessman and a young woman flaunting a ring that flashes with electric light. Above the couple glows a green neon sign: ‘Diamonds matter most’. The work mocks the libertinism that is the shadow side of liberty. But it also has a soundtrack: those long-banned Shanghai dance-hall songs, which seem to add ‘...And freedom is a diamond’.

Elizabeth Keenan is Press and Publications result when creative freedom meets technical part of one work) that it took months to Director for the White Rabbit Collection, Sydney. mastery. They range from Chen Wenling’s dry. And there is no-colour: Lu Zhengyuan All quotations from Judith Neilson from personal naked, grinning boy, six metres tall and sculpted his seven Mental Patients in grey, he interviews, August 2009 covered in red car duco, to Jin Nu’s delicate says, because that is what you get ‘when you little-girls’ dresses, floating like a pastel cloud. dilute every colour enough, and when you WORKS REFERRED TO

Dai Hua’s I Love Beijing’s Tiananmen, a witty mix all the colours together’. Chen Wenling (b. 1969), Red Memory—Smile (2007) cavalcade of Chinese history and legend, was Jin Nu (b. 1984), Exuviate II—Where Have All the Children Gone? (2005) made entirely in a computer. A few steps All the works were bought because Neilson Dai Hua (b. 1976), I Love Beijing’s Tiananmen (2006) away are the spare geometries of Gu Fan’s loved them. Wang Zhiyuan, now living in Gu Fan (b. 1980), Find Light in the Rain (2007) Find Light in the Rain, hand-stitched in black Beijing, scouts for pieces he thinks will appeal Jiang Jian (b. 1953), The Orphan Files (2004) wool on white cloth. There are Jiang Jian’s to her; sometimes she buys them, sometimes Xiao Lu (b. 1962), Sperm (2006) heart-tugging full-length portraits of Chinese not. Three-monthly visits to China have honed orphans, and an installation by Xiao Lu-- her eye. ‘The more you see,’ she says, ‘the Liu Haizhou (b. 1971), Gorgeousness Overripe No. 11 and No. 21 (2007) featuring sperm freezer and glass jars—that faster you can identify what is good.’ Since Du Jie (b. 1968), Green, 2007.01.18 (2007) mourns her inability to have a child. There are the works are not bought for resale, Neilson is Zhu Jinshi (b. 1954), Diary: 25.12.2006 (2006) Liu Haizhou’s gigantic, fluorescent portraits free to define ‘good’ independently of market Lu Zhengyuan (b. 1982), Mental Patients (2006); quotation from of dead chickens, and the tiny abstracts of fads. ‘I buy work because I have a reaction personal interview, August 2009 his wife Du Jie, each spun from a single, to it,’ she explains. ‘It might be the colour or Ai Weiwei (b. 1957), Oil Spill (2007) intricately folded line. There is exuberant the shape or the subject, but I notice it -- it Lin Tianmiao (b. 1961), Focus Series No. 1 and No. 2 (2007) colour: Zhu Jinshi’s paint is applied so thickly stays with me.’ Names are not important: ‘I Dong Yuan (b. 1984), Sketch of Family Belongings (2008) (with a spade and a wok spatula that form want to show established artists and promote

I LOVE BEIJING’S TIANANMEN by Dai Hua, 2006, GICLEE PRINT, 110 X 635CM

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 5 SO WHAT IS ‘CONTEMPORARY’? QUEENSLAND’S APT6

Russell Storer Tandem bicycle (from Sharing knowledge series) by Svay Ken, Cambodia 2008. Oil on canvas, 60.5 x 80cm.

On show at APT6, Queensland Art Gallery. Collection Queensland Art Gallery, purchased 2008 through

the Queensland Government’s Gallery of Modern Art Acquisitions Fund ver the past 16 years, the Asia Pacific O Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT) has reflected the cultural and social changes taking place in this extraordinarily dynamic part of the world. From its inception, the APT has introduced new artists and practices to local and international audiences, helping to build interest in, knowledge of and engagement with the diversity of cultures that surround us. Arising at a time when there were few opportunities, not only in Australia but also overseas, for Asian and Pacific artists to show their work in a museum context, the APT has been a significant agent in building discussions around contemporary art in the region. From what was a series of largely grass-roots scenes in the early 1990s, the Asian contemporary art landscape now also includes numerous biennials and triennials, an array of public and private museums, a vigorous art market, and a number of critical journals and magazines.

With each instalment, the APT has responded to the artistic movements taking place in Asia focus and retrospective model of APT 2002, the Water Mall and adjoining spaces of the and the Pacific, as well as to shifts in reception. which looked at individual practices over several Queensland Art Gallery, APT6 will feature As local knowledge also grows, increasingly decades. This deepening view extended to the works by over 100 artists from 25 countries. nuanced and sophisticated understandings of grand scope of APT5 in 2006, which launched While maintaining its focus on new and art and exhibition making are enabled and the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) recent work, the exhibition offers numerous expected. The early APT exhibitions, for example, and presented complex, collection-driven opportunities to question what constitutes provided much-needed introductions to artists, commissions such as Pacific Textiles and a multi- ‘the contemporary’ in the region, through art practices and contemporary cultures, with part display by the Long March Project, Beijing. enormously varied practices, forms and QAG staff working with co-curators and The Asia Pacific department of the Gallery has approaches. Contemporary art has been advisors throughout the region to select artists also grown in response to this increased focus described by the art historian Boris Groys and to facilitate their participation. As regional and expertise, establishing dedicated positions as ‘the act of presenting the present’, rather networks have strengthened, institutional in contemporary Pacific and Asian art, unique in than simply describing art produced today expertise has developed, and audiences have Australia and rare internationally. (Groys 2008: 71). Grounded in the here and become more informed, the exhibition has been now, works in the exhibition offer myriad able to be articulated in new ways. The broad APT6 builds upon this history with arguably responses to the conditions and experiences representation and multi-curator approach of its most ambitious exhibition to date. Taking of being in the world – a world ever-more the first three Triennials moved into the tighter up the entire GoMA building, as well as complex and interconnected.

Immortalis (from Effugio series) by Thukral & Tagra, India, 2008. Acrylic and oil on resin, 76 x 72cm. On show at APT6, Queensland Art Gallery. Courtesy the artists

6 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 The new book of mountains and seas (part 1) (still) by Qiu Anxiong, China, 2006. Digital hand-painted animation,

AVI file, 3 channel projection exhibited from PC, mediaplayer 11, 4:1, black and white, sound, ed. 1/10, 30:15 minutes.

On show at APT6, Queensland Art Gallery. Courtesy the artist and Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong

Reflecting these interrelationships, APT6 weaves several thematic threads through the exhibition, drawing productive links between works. The prevalence of popular culture, for example, both in its global aspects and local inflections, is a constant inspiration for artists. With burgeoning wealth and growing middle classes across much of Asia, luxury goods and fashionable lifestyles have become highly visible, producing marked shifts in visual cultures. Artists such as Thukral & Tagra, Farhad Moshiri, Rudi Mantofani and Tracey Moffatt use the vivid imagery and communicatory techniques of advertising, cinema and pop art to explore intricate social questions such as imperialism, consumerism and intercultural relations.

Changing economic fortunes and urban development have led to the dramatic transformation of cities and had enormous impact on individual lives. Works by and social transformations over the past few at problems faced by overcrowding and lack Chen Qiulin address the impact of human decades. Presented as a focused platform within of infrastructure in Phnom Penh. Bui Cong displacement through the Three Gorges Dam APT6 and co-organised with the Vietnamese Khanh’s ceramic works locate the new urban project, while both Chen Chieh-jen and Yao artist and researcher Rich Streitmatter-Tran, lifestyles in Vietnam within a long history of Jui-chung reflect upon the effects of financial ‘The Mekong’ features works by Jun Nguyen- trade and capital flows, in the form of blue- crises and the loss of industry in Taiwan. Hatsushiba and Svay Ken that convey the and-white porcelain vases. Similar forces are considered in works by tensions between Buddhist tradition and artists from the Mekong region of Southeast consumer society, while Vandy Rattana’s Other themes in APT6 look at artistic forms Asia, which has undergone great economic photographic project ‘Fire of the Year’ looks and approaches. A resurgence of drawing

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TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 7 From the series Flowers, fruits & portraits [Schaedel-01-2007] by Shirana Shahbazi, Iran, 2007. Type C photograph,

90 x 70cm. On show at APT6, Queensland Art Gallery. Courtesy Bob van Orsouw Gallery, Zurich, © the artist

importance of collaboration in the production of contemporary art, technically as well as conceptually. While models of collaboration and collectivity differ, and arise for a range of reasons, they inevitably enable broader approaches to making art, with different yet complementary skills brought together to realise ambitious works.

The interdisciplinarity that flows out from these interactions is a feature of much significant art-making in the region, and underpins many works in APT6. Artists often work across design, architecture, and various disciplines within visual art simultaneously, expanding and invigorating our conception of artistic practice. As theorist Sarat Maharaj has noted, ‘what we call art activity is expanding, extending, transmogrifying in the contemporary art setting’ (Maharaj 2008: 280). This interrogation of the parameters of art has been a consistent motif in the APT project since the beginning, with its presentation of performance, music, video and film alongside traditional artistic media such as sculpture and painting. The conception of ‘tradition’ has also continuously been brought into question, with the inclusion of media such as textiles, brush-and-ink painting, calligraphy, porcelain and miniature painting, which have been revised or reinterpreted with contemporary methods and ideas.

One of the strengths of the APT has been its embrace of the great heterogeneity and mutability of Asian and Pacific art, rather than attempting to contain it within linear narratives of modernity and history. It is this openness to the protean energies of the region is a feature of contemporary art all over the become an important means of telling stories that has maintained the project’s vigour, and world, and artists in Asia and the Pacific and addressing local concerns. APT6 promises to extend this further. are able to tap into rich graphic histories. Minam Apang and Gonkar Gyatso both Collaboration – a key element in contemporary Russell Storer is Curator of Contemporary Asian Art trained in Buddhist thangka painting, and art’s engagement with the social – is another at the Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern employ its exquisite linear technique to new important aspect of APT6. Several collectives Art. The 6th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary ends; while Qiu Anxiong’s animated video and collaborative projects are included in Art (APT6 ) opens at the Queensland gallery on 5 works combine drawing and traditional the exhibition, reflecting the wide sphere December 2009 and runs to 5 April 2010. brush-and-ink techniques to comment on the of activity artists are involved with, across transforming landscapes of China. Hawai’ian disciplines and in different sites. The REFERENCES artist Solomon Enos uses a comic strip mode Australian group DAMP, which has been Groys, B, 2008: ‘The Topology of Contemporary Art’, in Terry to create a sprawling epic of thousands of operating since 1995, have constructed a space Smith, Okwui Enwezor and Nancy Condee (eds), Antinomies of years of Polynesian history, reaching to the within the gallery in which meetings can be Art and Culture: Modernity, Postmodernity, Contemporaneity, p.71. Duke University Press, Durham. past and into the future. Looking at another held and people can sit and interact with popular form, the musical genre of reggae each other; while the art/design collaboration Maharaj, S, 2009: ‘Philosophical Geographies’, in Making Worlds: 53rd Biennale of Venice (exhibition catalogue), p.280. Marsilio has enormous currency across the Pacific, and Yoshitomo Nara and Graf, known as YNG, Editori, Venice. a special program of promotional and live have built an elaborate architectural structure video clips, documentaries and performances reminiscent of an artist’s studio, filled with has been developed for APT6 . Curated with art works produced by Nara. A number of the assistance of ABC broadcaster Brent artistic collaborations are featured in APT6, Clough, ‘Pacific Reggae’ demonstrates the including Thukral and Tagra, Alfredo and varied ways this form has been adopted Isabel Aquilizan, Ji Wenyu and Zhu Weibing, and articulated by musicians from Hawai’i Robin White, Leba Toki and Bale Jione, and to Vanuatu to New Zealand, and how it has Tun Win Aung and Wah Nu, conveying the

8 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 ON BEING ART: DADANG CHRISTANTO’S SURVIVOR

Helen Holmes

Volunteers stage Dadang Christanto’s performance work Survivor

at Gallery 4A, Sydney, on 15 August 2009. Photo Garry Trinh

urvivor continues Dadang Christanto’s S interrogation of the impact of human disaster. The work refers to the tragic man- made mud catastrophe in the Sidoarjo region of East Java where, three years ago, hot mud began to erupt from the site of a gas exploration well, effectively wiping out 11 villages in the region. To this day, the mud flow continues to subsume surrounding villages. Christanto’s work gives voice to the tragedy of lives lost and the silent suffering of the survivors. The work is a continuation of his theme of loss, empathy for human suffering and all victims of injustice, and relates to his previous work about the disappearance of his own father under the Suharto regime in the mid-1960s.

As the director of Sydney’s Gallery 4A, Aaron Seeto, explains: ‘The entire history of a village – its livelihood and future -- is being buried under the mud. While Christanto’s work is politically confronting, it is also a poetic experience that reminds us of a human asked us to take our poses and instantly we we could metamorphose from a gregarious fragility and erasure in the face of disaster.’ were transformed into serious silent clay gathering of people into victims of disaster models ready to embody the tragedy of the and become the art -- and indeed, a Survivor, Christanto’s solo show, also titled Survivor, human struggle. in more ways than one. opened at Gallery 4A in Sydney on 15 August. The major performance work associated Three hours went by in a flash. It was a Helen Holmes is the ‘cook, the wife, the lover’, with the show was orchestrated by Summar truly sombre and meditative experience. a guide at the AGNSW and a one- time piece of Hipworth as part of the show’s opening. For We remained in an almost trance-like state, performance art. Survivor was staged at Gallery this performance, volunteers were requested. vaguely conscious of people coming and 4A, Sydney, on Saturday 15 August 2009, going, photographers clicking away and with ‘documentation and detritus from the So, in mid-winter, 30 stoic individuals donned the hum of conversation and tinkling wine performance’on display until 19 September. sawn-off track-suit pants and oversized T- glasses echoing from a group at the end of The work was previously staged in Jakarta in shirts and, after what seemed like ‘The Last the gallery. Movement was minimal, just a 2007 in Proclamation Square. Supper’ (a vast morning tea) and instructions slow pivot in the slippery sludge with care from our creator Christanto, we spent the not to fall and no eye contact with our fellow Dadang Christanto was born in Tegal, Central Java, next half hour rolling about in mud (clay). performers. As the clay caked and dried in 1957 and studied painting in Yogyakarta. Over The majority of volunteers were young art on our bodies and then started to crust and the past decade his work has gained worldwide students, though the performers also included powder and drop to the canvas there was a recognition with exhibitions of paintings, sculpture, a handful of others, who, let’s say, were sense of decay and disintegration: yet our installations and performance art. In Australia he has eligible for concession bus tickets. For the bodies remained resilient and resolute. The had two solo exhibitions at the Art Gallery of New latter, three hours without bathroom facilities drip, drip of falling clay and the slow silent South Wales and Sherman Galleries in Sydney, and was somewhat daunting. revolutions were reminiscent of the passage at the Museum and Art Gallery of Northern Territory. of time, as survivors wait… He has been included in two Asia-Pacific Triennials Each individual was handed a photographic at the Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, and has portrait memorialising the life of one of those During the final half hour individual exhibited in key contemporary Asian art museums in lost, fractured or displaced in the tragedy performers tiptoed quietly out of the art, the Asian region and the Venice Biennale 2003. that has inspired Christanto’s work. Our leaving behind in the mud the powerful image instructions were to focus on that person, to of the survivor they had held. Their reward REFERENCES remain silent and motionless, making only was showers and sustenance, provided by www.4a.com.au ¯ slow pivotal movements, until the press had the very capable, friendly staff at Gallery 4A. Gallery 4A, ‘About the project Survivor’, information sheet for been and gone; after that, we could sit or Then after three hours Christanto gave the volunteers. www.crossart.com recline in pose if necessary. sign that the performance was over.

After a half hour of hilarious child play, The astonishing revelation for me was that we cavorting about in ‘glorious mud’, Christanto could maintain the poses for so long, and that

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 9 THE ARTISTS OF ANGKOR: CONTEMPORARY AND MEDIEVAL STONE WORKSHOPS IN CAMBODIA

Martin Polkinghorne Decorative lintel from Lolei, Hariharalaya, showing the technical mastery and sublime beauty of Khmer sculpture , late 9th century. Photo: Martin Polkinghorne

he beauty and significance of Angkorian T sculpture is, without fear of exaggeration, superlative, and is recognised as among the greatest achievements of human creativity. Drawing from an established tradition of hieratical forms founded in earlier urban centres, the artists of Angkor fashioned sculpture characterised by universally recognised values of beauty, harmony of composition, naturalism and precision of execution. Although sculptural fashions changed over time, medieval Khmer sculpture continuously observed a delicate and distinctive balance between simplicity and attention to detail, humility and grandeur, subtlety and expressiveness. Today, we can revere these sculptures in situ in numerous artists of Angkor. In contemporary Cambodia, and grandchildren, who apply their art at Angkorian sanctuaries and in museums from Ta Keo to Preah Vihear, artists faithfully several locations in Siem Reap. The array of throughout the world. But what do we continue and transform the Khmer aesthetic Khmer decorative motifs, known as kbach, actually know about the Angkorian artistic by replicating the designs, sculptures and primarily derive their inspiration from natural process and artists themselves? The medieval bas-reliefs of their ancestors. forms. Among these are the mythical ‘goose Khmer epigraphic record is silent on the tail’ shape, the ‘fish egg’ shape, a row of matter; there are few references to artists and Seventy-eight year old master Him Tuo, of the fish eggs surrounded by lotus petals called no indications about the organisation and Banteay Srei Rachana workshop in Siem Reap ‘romduol’, the ‘chakachan’ shape named after direction of their work. is one such artist. Accomplished to reproduce a steamed rice flour sweet cut in the shape any pre-Angkorian or Angkorian masterpiece, of a diamond, the hanging ornament called The artists and their methods were Tuo still marvels at the aesthetic and technical ‘romyoul’ after the flower of the Nymphaea undoubtedly of considerable importance to abilities of the ancient artists who fashioned Lotus, and the spiral snail shell or ‘vong hien’ the court and to broader Khmer society, yet their works without the aid of modern shape (Chan and Preap 2005). they remain largely anonymous. Although methods or tools. Like many contemporary ‘the past is a foreign country’ (Hartley stone sculptors, and conceivably Angkorian Before the Second World War Tuo’s father 1953),a carefully considered analogy with sculptors, Tuo comes from a family lineage and grandfather were based at the Tomlap contemporary Cambodian stone workshops of artists. Just as he learnt the suite of Khmer Rangsey Pagoda of Prasat commune in offers us considerable potential to appraise the design features from his grandfather and Banteay Meanchey province, a specialised processes and organisation of the celebrated father, he has passed them on to his children artistic pagoda that undertook sculptural commissions for the pagodas of the region. Tuo began his training at the age of six or seven, but his education in sculpture could be described more as a process of ‘osmosis’, rather than a formal delineated program. For students recruited from outside the familial structure, basic sculptural training can take anywhere between six months and three years, depending on the aptitude of the individual. It takes over ten years to be an accomplished artist worthy of the title of master. Trainees are given easy and monotonous work at first, such as cleaning sculptures and cutting raw sandstone blocks, and then are gradually trusted with more skilled duties, until the entirety of practices are propagated. At no time are pupils instructed to draw from nature directly. Instead they are required to reproduce the traditional kbach idealised forms handed down and transformed from generation to generation. This allows the artist to imitate from memory certain well-known designs and Master Him Tuo and apprentice of the Banteay Srei Rachana workshop put the final touches to a replica of

the 7th century pre-Angkorian Buddha from Phum Thmei, Kompong Speu. Photo: Martin Polkinghorne

10 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 Artists at Banteay Srei Rachana II workshop fashion a

‘Banteay Srei style’ decorative lintel with tungsten

blade chisels, referring to a photo of the original as

they progress. Photo: Martin Polkinghorne

Chaing and Phnom Srok in the north-west indication why each lintel was not finished, province of Banteay Meanchey is the most but the deficit works are a window into the sought after, though there are also quarries at process of sculpture manufacture. Phnom Tbèng in Preah Vihear, and in Pursat and Kompong Thom. Most sandstone can Scrutiny of the unfinished lintels indicates be rendered into any sculpture irrespective that the process of sculpture was not uniform of size or detail, however in the Angkorian through time or space, yet general consistencies period, possibly because of the limitations of allow reconstruction of the overall process. In their tools, different sandstones were selected comparison to contemporary lintel sculpture for different kinds of work. which is completed on the ground, in the Angkor period lintel sculpture predominantly Recent scholarship suggests that harder began with the stone being fixed into position sandstones were selected for sculpture in first, and then being prepared for carving. the round, compared with decorative lintels The lintel face was roughly finished into which typically depict higher levels of detail structural divisions. Characters, motifs and (Caro, Douglas and Im in press). At the designs were transferred onto the sandstone Banteay Srei Rachana and Artisans d’Angkor face with charcoal or chalk. Nothing remains workshops subject choice is primarily market of these drawings, but the commitment to figure subjects, making use of the traditional driven, based on specific commissions and preliminary light carving of the final lintel elements of design on whatever surfaces they is largely drawn from pre-Angkorian and form could not have occurred without such are commissioned to decorate. Angkorian masterpieces. Designs are finalised sketches. At Prasat Chhuk light engravings on a computer using image manipulation show the beginnings of a central foliage Many artists learn the traditional forms of kbach software which is adjusted accordingly to the arch. This carving could not have occurred by sculpting in wood first. Correspondingly, size of the sandstone block to be carved upon. without the final symmetrical composition of art historians have considered that the The design is printed on carbon paper at full the work having already been copied onto the sandstone sculptures replicated techniques size and then placed and traced onto the stone stone. The next task consisted of light carving pioneered from working in wood. (Coral- designating the basic sculptural divisions. Rémusat 1934, 246) supposed that wooden Drawings and photos of the original sculptures models were the common ancestors of both provide a constant reference source for the Indian and Khmer decorative ornamentation. working sculpture. During the Angkor period This is particularly apparent in the sculpting it is conceivable that artists used copy books, of motifs such as foliage and rinceaux that but because of their perishable nature none appear to follow the combined natural have survived to the present day. However tendency of the craftsman’s chisel and the (Marchal 1951, 34) believed that Cambodians grain of the wood. (Dupont (1952, 40) thought were not accustomed to working according to that sculpture of the 7th century must have texts and that the oral traditions were enough succeeded prototypes represented by wooden in the majority of the cases to be used as sculptures that have since disappeared. starting point from which imaginative ardour (Marchal 1951, 10) believed that the particular could take over. sandstone employed by the Khmer was so easily manipulated that the adaptation from Once the basic form of a sculpture has been wood to stone decorative techniques was delineated by lesser craftspeople, one or two made with little impediment. Although there is artists take ownership of the actual sculptural little evidence to substantiate how knowledge process. When working on a contemporary of the trade was transmitted from artist to decorative lintel, for example, two artists artist in the Angkorian period, a pragmatic regularly swap positions working on the deduction would be that the exchange of same areas to maintain the work’s overall skills was conveyed via an analogous master consistency. George Groslier’s analysis of and apprentice relationship. For instance, on the pilasters of Angkor Wat, the Bayon and the large projects of the 10th century (East Banteay Chmar concluded that more than Mebon, Pre Rup), numerous decorative lintels one artist must have worked on the same of lesser skill are situated on minor prasat and piece at any given time. Each ‘section’ was were likely the work of apprentices and junior the combined effort of at least two persons; a artists whereas the decorative lintels on the tracer, and a sculptor. Many similar pilasters primary prasat were reserved for the masters. carved by many artists indicate that artisans possessed common knowledge, and similar The first task creating a sculpture is sourcing technical practices and abilities, which were adequate stone. Numerous Angkorian period informed by consistent and standardised sandstone quarries have been identified training (Groslier 1921, 224.226, 1921.23, across Cambodia including sites at Phnom 206.208). Similarly, the medieval process of Kulen, Beng Melea, Koh Ker and in Banteay carving decorative lintels can be reconstructed Meanchey province. In contemporary by reference to the great many unfinished Cambodia, sandstone from Phnom Chunh lintels in the material record. There is little

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 11 Stone sculpture, Borobudur, Java. 780-850 CE. Royal couple wearing golden

jewellery in the Indian style. Photo: Dr Robert Parker, 2008

familial based, organised on a village basis, and responded to commissions at the request of patrons throughout the empire (Polkinghorne 2008b). Discovery of an actual Angkorian sculpture workshop has thus far eluded researchers, however recent fieldwork approximately 8kms north of Jayavarman VII’s walled city of Angkor Thom at the sites of Phnom Dei and Daun Tei has identified production debitage consistent with artistic intensification. The unearthing of numerous unfinished sculptures of late 12th – early 13th century Avalokiteshvara by French scholars in the early 20th century suggests that this site could indeed be the location of a sculpture workshop. By appraising the methods and technology of this workshop, researchers have a unique opportunity to connect master Him Tuo of the Banteay Srei Rachana workshop and the sculptors of contemporary Cambodia, to the lineage of artists who have continuously fashioned at Angkor some of the world’s greatest sculptures.

Martin Polkinghorne is an expert in Khmer art and completed his PhD in 2008 at the Department of Art History and Film Studies, The University of Sydney, with a focus on Angkorian architectural sculpture. of the details. Examples from Pre Rup, Prasat recovered during the restoration of Prasat He is currently living in Cambodia undertaking a Kravanh and the North Khleang indicate that Phimai now in contemporary Thailand. post-doctoral Endeavour Fellowship including a the shallow engraving was completed in its placement at The National Museum of Cambodia. entirety before deep carving and finishing Medieval tools were certainly lesser quality began. This exact same process occurs in than contemporary instruments, making the REFERENCES the contemporary sculpture of decorative technical marvel of Angkorian sculpture all Chan Vitharin and Preap Chanmara. 2005. Kbach. A Study of lintels and bas-reliefs. Lintels from Trapeang the greater. In contemporary workshops the Khmer Ornamentation. Translated by I. Muan. Reyum Publishing: Totung Thngay, Trapeang Srangè (Dei Dom), master sculptor also acts as a quality controller, Phnom Penh. and Kutisvara, however, retain totally blank marking the sculptures with pencil where they Coral-Rémusat, G., de. 1934. ‘De l’origine commune des linteaux segments offset by completed sculpture on need to be corrected. The final tasks are the de l’Inde Pallava et des linteaux khmèrs préangkoriens’, Revue des Arts Asiatiques 8(3):242 - 251. the same lintel (see also Polkinghorne 2008a). detailed and refined carving , followed by Coral-Rémusat, G., de. 1951. L’art khmer. Les grandes étapes cleaning and polishing with a grinding stone de son évolution (2nd édition). Van Oest, Les Éditions d’Art et The incisions on numerous decorative lintels which bring the work to completion. The time d’histoire: Paris. were very deep, and required the precise it takes to complete a sculpture, depends on Dupont, P. 1952. ‘Les linteaux khmers du VIIIe siècle’, Artibus removal of small localised pieces of stone. the skill level of the artist, however, one large Asiae 15(1-2):31 - 83.

This was probably executed with the use and detailed decorative lintel can take as long F. Caro, J. G. Douglas, Im Sokrithy, in press. ‘Towards a of a small drill that created holes to break as three months for two master sculptors to Quantitative Petrographic Database of Khmer Stone Materials – elements of the sandstone away. Because complete. Today workshops are paid in cash Koh Ker Style’, Archaeometry. lintels were carved in situ the application for the outputs of their labour, but in medieval Groslier, G. 1921 – 1923. ‘Étude sur la psychologie de l’artisan of this technique, and indeed the whole act Cambodia, where there was no system of Cambodgien. Arts et archéologie khmers’, Revue des recherches sur les arts, les monuments et l’ethnographie du Cambodge, depuis of lintel carving must have been carried easily exchanged currency, the inscriptions les origines jusqu’à nos jours 1(2):205 – 220. out with the utmost skill and care by the tell of a system of commerce where donations, Groslier, G. 1921. Recherches sur les Cambodgiens. D’après les most experienced carvers. Today accidental payments, and taxes were exchanged between textes et les monuments depuis les premiers siècles de notre ère. breakages can be remedied with the aid temples, individuals, and the state in numerous Augustin Challamel: Paris. of glue, yet during the Angkor period a forms , including land, grain, livestock, textiles, Hartley, L. P. 1953. The go-between. Hamish Hamilton: London stone fracture probably meant that the image and metals. Sculptors may also have been Marchal, H. 1951. Le décor et la sculpture khmers. Études d’art et must be recreated from the beginning. Artists compelled to provide their services out of d’ethnologie asiatiques. Vanoest: Paris. use specialised chisels of their own making, religious or regal obligation. Polkinghorne, M. 2008a. ‘Khmer decorative lintels and the with iron shafts and tungsten blades. At allocation of artistic labour’, Arts Asiatiques 63: 21 – 35. the Phnom Santuk workshops of Kompong The supply of sacred images to Angkorian Polkinghorne, M. 2008b. ‘Artists and Ateliers: Khmer Decorative Thom the use of angle grinders for bulk temples must have employed many teams Lintels of the ninth and tenth centuries’, Udaya – The Journal of Khmer Studies 8: 219 – 242. stone removal and more nuanced modelling of artists, similar to those who continue the is common practice. As yet no recognisable Khmer sculptural traditions By extrapolating tools have been indentified in excavations at from contemporary workshops, Angkorian Angkor, however numerous iron chisels were artistic production was most probably

12 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 GREAT PERFECTED BEINGS

Jackie Menzies

he absorbing paintings in the impressive In this article I want to focus on a selection of the Jodhpur workshop completed perhaps a T Indian art exhibition Garden & Cosmos, the paintings that illustrate the hagiology and thousand smaller paintings and more than currently showing at the Art Gallery of New teaching of the Nath order of yogins. Most such 340 monumental folios (Diamond 2008: 43). South Wales, were recently rediscovered paintings were created at the request of Man in the ancestral collection of the powerful Singh, who gave unprecedented patronage The Naths had not received any preferential Rathore clan whose current maharaja still to the Naths. His patronage extended to support during the reign of Man Singh’s lives in the royal palace in Jodhpur. The commissioning illustrated texts from the royal predecessors, but because Man Singh credited Rathores ruled the desert kingdom of Marwar workshops, challenging his artists to create a his accession to the Marwar throne to the Nath in Rajasthan from the 13th century to Indian new vocabulary of vibrant imagery relating to sectarian order, he gave them unprecedented independence in 1947, with a crucial point Nath beliefs and teaching. power and favours. The reason for his in their history occurring in 1564 when their support of the Naths is well documented. In acceptance of Mughal sovereignty elevated The Nath sect traces its origins back to the the summer of 1803 he had been hostage in them from local authorities to great kings 12th or 13th century when various heterodox his castle at Jalore, besieged by the troops of (maharajas). A unique Marwar court culture, Shaivite lineages and disparate groups of yogis his uncle Maharaja Bhim Singh (r.1793-1803), reflecting the merging of indigenous Rajput coalesced to recognise the guru Gorakhnath who had assassinated every other claimant traditions with those of the Mughals, emerged as their historical founder. Traditionally, to the Marwar throne. Man Singh was across the fields of literature, music and Gorakhnath is credited with the creation of already a devotee of the Nath sectarian order, painting. This culture was further enriched by hatha yoga which, Naths believed, offered the particularly of the immortal mahasiddha (‘great the religious piety of various maharajas who means to move beyond the phenomenal world perfected being’) Jallandharnath, for whom a commissioned texts and paintings that would and to become an immortal ascetic (siddha) temple had been built near Jalore. Just when propagate their beliefs. Particularly under through its discipline of physical postures and Man Singh was on the point of surrendering the reign of Man Singh (r.1803-43), the 18th meditation. Outstanding individuals such as to Bhim Singh, his Nath spiritual preceptor, maharaja of the Rathore clan, new imagery Gorakhnath were recognised as mahasiddhas the guru Dev Nath, pronounced a message emerged as a result of his patronage of the (‘great perfected beings’), and there were from Jallandharnath to the effect that if Man Nath order of yogins. various lists of the Nine, the Twelve, even Singh waited a few more days, he would the Eighty-four important mahasiddhas. keep his fortress at Jalore plus become ruler The paintings created from the 17th to 19th Traditionally Nath devotional practice did of Marwar. Man Singh therefore deferred centuries in the Marwar royal workshops not embrace images; teaching was mainly oral surrendering. Bhim Singh unexpectedly died, are extraordinarily well preserved, many of transmission from guru to student, although and his royal forces came to the support them still glowing with the pristine, luminous unillustrated texts did exist. This situation of Man Singh, who did become the next colours and gold and silver highlighting of changed with Man Singh, whose reign Rathore Maharaja. Thus his respect for the the day they were made. Created for the witnessed not only the composition of three Naths, his guru Dev Nath and above all the private enjoyment of the Maharajas and new Nath texts – the Nath Charit, Nath Purana mahasiddha Jallandharnath was consolidated. their courts, they range in size from the and the Meghamala – but also the creation of As Maharaja, Man Singh elevated the Naths expected dimensions of an Indian ‘miniature’ a new visual vocabulary to illustrate them. In to positions of power, built temples for them, (approximately 30 x 20 cm) to unusually addition, three other illustrated manuscripts and commissioned new art relating to Nath large, designated ‘monumental’ paintings were produced: the Siddha Siddanta Paddhati, portraits and teachings. (approximately 45 x 135 cm). Shiva Rahasya and Shiva Purana. In total,

The Practice of Yoga, folio 5 from the Siddha Siddhanta Paddhati attributed to Bulaki, India (Rajasthan), 1824.

medium OPAQUE WATERCOLOUR ON HAND MADE PAPER 46 x 122 cm. courtesy Mehrangarh Museum Trust, India

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 13 Jallandharnath and Maharaja Man Singh on Diwali by Shivdas Bhatti, India (Marwar, Rajasthan), c1820-before July 1825.

Opaque watercolour on handmade paper (wasli), 50 x 33 cm. courtesy Mehrangarh Museum Trust, India

Yoga, where nine mahasiddhas, each depicted in the recognisable iconic style created for portraits of Jallandranath, are seen meditating in secluded vignettes. A fish and lotus-filled silver river reinforces the arcadian, lush landscape to which all who follow Nath practice can aspire. In the lower right of the painting is depicted an aspiring yogin, while the white-walled celestial city above him and the pink mountain peaks are overwhelmed by the scale of the mahasiddhas who are the foci as our eye moves across the painting. This folio, and the other first five folios of the Siddha Siddhanta Paddhati, correlate closely with the opening chapters of the text they illustrate, which is attributed to the mahasiddha Goraknath and considered to be the clearest and most systematic exposition of Nath metaphysics and practice (Diamond 208: 232). The mahasiddhas sit in different yoga postures (asanas), their hands in various gestures (mudras). One faces frontally, his right index finger compressing his nostril as he practices pranayama (breath control). The group of Nine Naths is a grouping of significant, legendary or historical founders of the Nath sampradaya (religious community; teaching tradition). There are many permutations to the list of Nine Naths, according to different texts and traditions, but the names of Gorakhnath and Jallandranath appear frequently on such lists.

Apart from images of Jallandranath and other mahasiddhas of the Nath lineage, the exhibition contains paintings that exemplify the new imagery created to illustrate Nath cosmographies. For example, while Nath teaching, like many Hindu religious traditions, embraces the concept of the Absolute known as Brahman, Man Singh commissioned his court artists to depict it. The artists solved the challenge of depicting the Absolute, which -- being immeasurable and formless -- is beyond the constraints of imagery, by depicting it as luminous, shimmering fields of gold. Other innovations inspired by Nath teaching include anthropomorphic images to illustrate such expansive concepts as Consciousness (Purusha) and Matter (Prakriti). A feature of Man Singh’s transformative impact he wears the saffron coloured garment and on Nath teaching was his commissioning jata (dreadlocks) of a Shaivite holy man, a The Naths regarded Jallandharnath as an of numerous portraits of Jallandhranath, triangular black hat and the large kundal anthropomorphic manifestation of the of whom previously there had been no earrings (worn through holes bored in the Absolute, with the court artists reflecting images. Through countless repetition, the ears’ inner cartilage) that are a distinctive such beliefs through pictorial representations artists of the royal atelier created what is feature of Nath gurus. (In his depiction of the of him. For example, Nathji creates the now an immediately recognisable icon of eyes, however, the artist resorts to traditional Earth’s Sacred Waters depicts Jallandranath Jallandranath. Portraits of Jallandranath show Rajasthani court practice for royal portraits.) (whom Man Singh referred to as Nathji) as him teaching lesser gurus, advising the Hindu the anthropomorphic manifestation of the gods, or, as in the image illustrated, being The subtly didactic intent of many of the universe, teaching Kala (Time), represented worshipped by Man Singh. This image is a verdant landscape scenes, peopled with as a Nath siddha. This particular painting, as characteristic depiction of Jallandranath: he various gods, mahasiddhas, birds and well as others illustrating Nath mythologies, is shown in profile, his body is ash-smeared, animals, is exemplified in The Practice of proclaims Nath belief in the pre-eminence

14 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 The Equivalence of Self and Universe, folio 6 from the Siddha Siddhanta Paddha,

by Bulaki, India (Rajasthan), 1824. Opaque watercolour on handmade paper ,

122 x 46 cm. courtesy Mehrangarh Museum Trust, India

of Nath mahasiddhas over these images is still uncertain, awaiting the Hindu gods: Jallandranath appearance of currently unidentified texts is shown instructing the that might elucidate their meaning. As so three great Hindu gods: often with Asian art, we are confronted with Shiva, blue-skinned the expanse of what is still unknown. Vishnu, and four-headed Brahma (Diamond 2008: Jackie Menzies is Head Curator of Asian Art at the 187). A number of lesser Art Gallery of New South Wales. The exhibition deities are depicted Garden & Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur overawed by the Nathji’s was curated and organised for its world tour by radiance that suffuses the the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian whole scene. Further right Institution, Washington DC, in partnership with the in this extraordinary and Mehrangarh Museum Trust, and is at the Art Gallery innovative painting, Nathji of New South Wales until 26 January 2010. Further is seen creating the great information on the exhibition and associated events, rivers of India, and meeting see What’s On, p. 30. several times with Shiva who had doubted Nathji’s REFERENCES primacy (see Diamond Diamond, Debra et al, 2008: Garden & Cosmos: The Royal p.187 for fuller discussion Paintings of Jodhpur. Thames and Hudson, London. of this painting).

According to Nath belief, in the penultimate year of the 12-year course of hatha yoga, a yogin becomes a siddha, a perfected being who achieves an equivalence of self and universe (Diamond, 209). This belief is graphically captured in the image of the fully frontal stand- ing siddha whose eyes are crossed in yogic meditation, and on whose body and orange dhoti are mapped the 14 principal worlds of the universe. The scale of this transcendental figure can be gauged by the complementary sun and moon on his cheeks.

In depicting Nath beliefs and aspirations, there are further paintings illustrating yantras, sacred diagrams for realising the self; others depicting cosmographical mandalas; and yet others depicting Nath mahasiddhas against vibrating fields of swirl- ing cosmic waters. Each expanse of water is a different colour: gold, pink, silver, saffron; each folio contains a symbol, for example the letter om, a tortoise, a snake, significant within yogic tradition. The exact meaning of many of

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 15 THE ART OF IMITATION: MING WONG AT THE VENICE BIENNALE

Alexandra Crosby

Ming Wong at the Venice Biennale 2009. Photo Alex Davies

he Venice Biennale has and may always each recreating scenes made by different T maintain a Euro-American focus. With directors. Sala3 showed Wong’s oldest audiences queuing for the most talked-about work, Four Malay Stories (2005), in which the shows at the British and American pavilions, artist himself portrays 16 characters from this year’s Biennale (7 June to 22 November four films: Ibu Mertua Ku/ My Mother-In- 2009) has been no exception. Many of the Law (1962), Labu dan Labi/ Labu and Labi Asian pavilions and exhibits went relatively (1962), Docktor Rushdi/ Doctor Rushdi (1971), unnoticed. But Singapore’s artist-curator team and Semerah Padi/ The Village of Semerah Padi Ming Wong and Tang Fu Kuen produced one (1956), all by the famous Malay director, actor of the exhibition highlights. Their courageous and musician P. Ramlee. Heavily influenced show Life of Imitation certainly fitted the theme by Indian cinema, Ramlee’s work is typically of this year’s Biennale, ‘Making Worlds’, and melodramatic. But his stock characters – the well deserved the Expanding Worlds award. evil rich mother-in-law, the poor musician, the unjustly treated servant – are also drawn Tucked away in the glorious crumbling from stereotypes of a Malay society defined Palazzo Michiel del Brusa in Cannareggio, by class, gender and ethnicity. The artist’s the Singapore pavilion transformed a dusty conceptual strategy here is to destabilise entire language – through speech, gesture Venetian interior into an opulent Singaporean these stereotypes with humour, introducing and costume – that plays out the social and cinema. With careful attention to a series of himself as each of the characters, isolated on a moral concerns of the time. defining cinematic moments, Wong expressed plain grey background, to further deconstruct a deep perspective on the various and all the elements of the scene and engage in Re-identification through self-portraiture shifting dimensions to national film and the interpersonal melodramas with the other – may be a well-trodden path in contemporary global flow of filmic identities. Rather than now invisible – characters. In each scenario, art. Cindy Sherman, for example, restaged attempting to produce an ‘authentic’ voice of we recognise him as both the artist and herself in the 1960s as hundreds of characters Singapore (or Asia), Life of Imitation exposed the character, rendering the context of each from an imagined film canon, her familiar the futility of thinking along such lines. film’s narrative much less relevant than the stare showing the self and constructions of re-enactment of the characters. Bringing the femininity to be in constant metamorphosis. Three multi-channel video installations four films together in this manner points to What is unique about Wong’s work is his were displayed in Sala1, Sala2, and Sala3, the way these identities interact to form an remarkable attention to language – though perhaps this is not so surprising for an artist from multilingual Singapore who currently lives in the linguistic muddle of Europe. Four Malay Stories is subtitled in Malay and English, while Wong is clearly learning Malay as he recites his lines, his mistakes are recorded and sequenced one after another. And while these characters may be familiar in households across Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, for Wong as a Chinese Singaporean their language is a kind of indirect heritage. Wong’s immaculate costumes also show signs of imperfection and exaggeration. On Wong’s chameleon features, a false moustache, a prosthetic bald brow and overly dramatic makeup all question the authenticity of the original as much as his pastiche.

In Sala1, the title work Life of Imitation (2009) appropriated Imitation of Life (1959) by German director Douglas Sirk, itself a remake of John M. Stahl’s 1939 film adapted from Fannie Hurst’s novel. Sirk’s film deals with the privileges of whiteness in the United States. Its plot is based around the struggle of a black woman with her light- complexioned daughter who attempts to pass for white, both pitied by a white actress. Life of Imitation by Ming Wong, from installation at the Singapore Pavilion, Venice Biennale 2009,

curated by Tang Fu Kuen. Image courtesy of the artist

16 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 Life of Imitation by Ming Wong, from installation at the Singapore Pavilion, Venice Biennale 2009, curated by Tang Fu Kuen. Image courtesy of the artist

In Life of Imitation, Wong casts three actors turns in each of the roles, producing a kind (2000) with a Caucasian New Zealand actress. from Singapore, a Chinese, a Malay and an of round robin of interpersonal relations that By referencing an internationally acclaimed Indian, to recreate these racial tensions in a makes it impossible to see anyone as either a film of Chinese origin, this piece uses film single heart-wrenching scene from the film. victim or culprit. ‘I’m white. White!’ they cry, itself as a metaphor for the way cultural Exposing the fact that performing identities one after another. ideas travel, constantly redistributing not is not exclusive to black and white, nor to the only representations of their place of origin, melodrama of mother-daughter relationships, In Love for the Mood (2009), shown in Sala2, but their relationships with other places and Wong ridicules the simplification involved also problematises whiteness by replacing ideas as they drift in the global flows of in reducing the complexity of such identities both star-struck lovers from the famous production and audience. He questions how to flat characterisations. Wong’s actors take Wong Kar Wai film In the Mood for Love sex and love are bound up in complex rites,

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 17 Four Malay Stories by Ming Wong, from installation at the Singapore Pavilion, Venice Biennale 2009, curated by Tang Fu Kuen. Image courtesy of the artist

taboos and experiments, and how these are Bauhaus. But on closer inspection, these styles impossible to avoid in Venice – we must exchanged across cultures. The resulting were clearly localised for the tropical climate consider the absence as well as the inclusion work is a deeply layered expression of how and the multiple identities they were required of so many countries. Where is Malaysia, Singaporeans and Asians represent traditions to express, with signage in English, Chinese, Indonesia, or India, in this cacophony of of love and relationships, and also of how Tamil and Jawi. This was also the period of culture? Ming Wong elegantly dealt with the non-Asians see and represent love in Asian Singapore’s partition from Malaysia (1965) clumsy nationalism of the Venice Biennale contexts. In this way, Wong’s work is neither and, along with Four Malay Stories, such work with his own reading of Singapore, Asian, Singaporean nor Asian, but essentially global encourages a re-reading of ‘national cinema’ and international cinema. Freely quoting in context. that acknowledges the multiple histories of from multiple cultures and histories, he language and identity. While Malaysia has resists visual languages that confine him Wong, who is now based in Berlin, negotiates never scored a pavilion at Venice, Wong’s to a singular identity. Despite its place in the constrictions of the contemporary art view of the messiness of visual culture global surveys such as the Venice Biennale, world with refreshing humour. While many probes national boundaries of Malaysia and the context of contemporary art such as Life artists deal with dislocation, diaspora and Singapore, and does much to include their of Imitation can no longer be defined as if transience with a sense of longing (a recurring shared cultural histories, a slippery terrain of the world was neatly divided into exclusive theme in the Biennale), Wong conquers the authenticity and ownership. geographic or cultural zones. differences between shifting cultural spaces, claiming them as the foundation for his own The exhibition also included a series of Alexandra Crosby is a writer and researcher distinct global identity. documentary interviews with Wong Han currently based in Brussels. She is completing a PhD Min, a private collector of cine-memorabilia on the cultural practices of environmental activists But Life of Imitation is also nostalgic, from Singapore and the Malay world, and a in Java, and recently co-edited the book re:Publik, specifically for the 1950s and 60s, the golden movie ticket seller. Eight striking canvases Indonesia-Australia Creative Adventures, available at age of Singaporean cinema. As a retrospective, painted by Singapore’s last surviving movie www.gangfestival.com the show is as much about the spaces of billboard painter, Neo Chon Teck, completed film consumption as it is about the films the tribute to a time that may have passed, themselves. Filem-Filem-Filem (2008) is a series but for Ming Wong it is seemingly available of Polaroids depicting the fate of old cinemas to limitless interpretations. in Singapore and Malaysia. These buildings show evidence of the mobility of international If we are to look through the lens of the architectural styles, particularly Art Deco and Nationalist Biennale model – and this is

18 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 SYDNEY’S BLANKET OF CLAY: A VIEW OF THE AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS TRIENNALE

Merran Esson

n October 2008 I spent two weeks in I Jingdezhen, China, hoping to meet Takeshi TAKESHI YASUDA Yasuda who runs the Pottery Workshop there. I was interested to meet the man who was born Everyone benefits from exchanges that occur at in Japan, lives in England and is now managing events such as the Australian Ceramics Triennale, the Pottery Workshop and Experimental held Sydney in July this year, where Japanese- Sculpture Factory in China. Yasuda says that born ceramic artist Takeshi Yasuda was a generous he is ‘one bloody lucky potter’, referring to presenter and demonstrator, offering a quiet the opportunity to be part of a revolution philosophy developed over many years of practice overseeing the establishment of an exciting in three very distinct cultures. enterprise offering residencies to international artists and the opportunity to work with some I own a few of Takeshi’s pieces and I continue to of the most skilled makers in the world. be delighted by his work. I use his ceramic vessels, something I know would please him as he sees Well, I missed Takeshi Yasuda in Jingdezhen, his pots as a focus in our daily lives, not just as because he had gone to Japan and then to visual objects. His work has luscious thrown rims England. But I finally met him in July this and generous curves and is all about touch as he year when he accepted our invitation to be converts this soft material with masterly confidence both a keynote speaker and a demonstrator at into exuberant and exaggerated forms. the first Australian Ceramics Triennale, held in Sydney in July 2009, during which time a On his website, Yasuda states: ‘After 40 years of selection of his work was shown at the Rex handing this strange material called clay it continues Irwin Gallery. to amaze me. You only need your bare hands to form it. It responds to the touch of a feather or the Ceramic artist Takeshi Yasuda (UK/Japan) I loved Jingdezhen. My travelling companions blow of a hammer accurately and proportionally, demonstrates technique at the Australian there last year were Roger Law and Deirdre and remains thus unless any other force is applied.’ Ceramics Triennale. National Art School, Amsden, both from the UK. Roger used to See www.takeshiyasuda.com Sydney, 20 July 2009 be famous as the creative energy behind the very wicked UK TV show Spitting Image; he very large pots thrown for him, and the Chinese our near neighbours has meant that many now spends his time between UK, Bondi and workers are learning the tools of the modelling Australian ceramic artists are exploring Jingdezhen, having been seduced by ceramics trade honed in the creative workshops of and experimenting in Asia, such as those and Australian sunshine. Of course Roger Spitting Image in 1990s England. following Ah Xian’s footsteps to work at the is a dab hand at modelling, so his desire to Pottery Workshops in Jingdezhen. combine his ideas with the knowledge, skills Roger was also a keynote presenter at the and traditions of the factories in China has led Ceramics Triennale conference. He presented Sydney presented over 40 ceramics exhibitions to some seriously big pots being made by the a paper titled ‘The Long March to Jingdezhen’, during July: the Triennale literally blanketed Chinese factory workers and modelled and very much in keeping with ‘Facing Asia’, the town with clay. We presented lectures, decorated by Roger and a few willing Chinese one of the themes explored during the four demonstrations and welcomed delegates apprentices. I suspect that both cultures benefit day conference. Australia’s proximity to Asia from Asia including China, Japan, Korea, from this very practical exchange. Roger gets and the wealth of knowledge and skills of Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan and Pakistan.

Five stemmed cups by Takeshi Yasuda (Japan/UK), 2009. Porcelain, each ht 6.5cm x diam 7cm. Exhibited Rex Irwin Gallery, Sydney, 14 July-8August 2009. Photo Terence Boque

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 19 Teapot by Takeshi Yasuda, Japan/UK, 2009. Porcelain, ht 23cm x diam 20cm. Image courtesy the artist individual’s personal expression: it offered a rare opportunity to identify ideas which are common across cultures, celebrating the similarities rather than differences. Our common language is clay, which has a long history in Asian cultures and is important in everyday Asian life. The history of ceramics allows us to track the evolution of humanity, the development of ideas, the connection to a cultural heritage or an institutional tradition.

Rather than the links of a chain that shackle and restrict, the exhibition and the Triennale conference forged new associations and pointed to new and dynamic possibilities. We leave our footsteps and fingerprints upon this earth, and those of us lucky enough to work with the materials of the earth have the opportunity to make a language all of its own. From earliest time humans discovered that to press a thumb into a lump of clay leaves a small hollow impression. The aim of the Triennale was to make a slightly larger impression. Exchanges begun at this conference offer a healthy dialogue through Along with others from UK, Poland, USA, which in the English language has a certain process, materiality and concept. Ceramic NZ, Canada and Australia who have visited ambiguity, is not so easily defined in Korean. artists from Australia and Asia will certainly and worked in Asian workshops, we were Link suggests a form that connects to another continue to interact. able to discuss this phenomenon of Western as in a chain, where as in the appropriate artists being drawn to the East. Korean characters there is far more emphasis Merran Esson is a ceramic artist, Acting Head of on person-to-person and the connection Ceramics at the National Art School, Sydney, and The Triennale was supported by three of resulting from this ‘link’. The exhibition was Chair of the Australian Ceramics Triennale. Sydney’s art education institutions. At COFA’s about much more than the work; it was Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Jacqueline Clayton about an association made between people, curated Another Silk Road, an exhibition that between cultures. The most productive focussed on work being made in China by projects, the most dynamic exhibitions both local and international artists. In the result from genuine personal bonds. The exhibition catalogue, she says: ‘The Silk Road ceramic work represented more than just an has become a metaphor for cultural exchange between disparate and distant groups with China as a key destination and hub.’

At Sydney College of the Arts Galleries, Jan Guy curated Young Guns. In her catalogue essay, she wrote: ‘The idea for Young Guns germinated from long reflection on the state and status of ceramic arts in Australia. Still today there is much talk of the demise of the discipline and its failure to produce works of a high standard or innovation. This loose chatter contradicted what I was seeing on the ground locally. Here the emerging ceramicists were creating exciting experimental works that dealt with contemporary social issues and constructed new views of ceramic traditions.’

At the National Art School Gallery in Darlinghurst we presented LINK, an exhibition profiling the ceramics departments of The National Art School in Sydney and Kongju University in Korea. This was curated by me and Professor Hae Sin Ro from Kongju University, South Korea. ‘Link’, a word Freshwater-Saltwater Pots by Roger Law, UK, 2008. Made and photographed in Jingdezhen, China, 2008.

Porcelain, celedon glaze, sizes variable, tall pots ht 140cm x diam 95cm

20 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 THE PAZYRYK CARPET, 60 YEARS ON

Leigh Mackay

ne ancient summer in the Altai Mountains opened the tomb 60 years ago, in 1949, he burials across the Altai and the Eurasian steppes O of southern Siberia, a band of iron-age found the two embalmed aristocrats, nine from the Ukraine to Mongolia, most of them horsemen gouged a deep chamber in the earth horse carcasses with riding gear, exquisite looted in antiquity. Of the mounted pastoral and buried an aristocratic couple equipped with artefacts and everyday utensils – preserved in nomads who dominated Eurasia from about various items for the afterlife. The mourners then ice for more than 2000 years (Rudenko 1970). 1000 BCE until well into the Common Era, the covered the tomb with heavy layers of logs and best documented are the Scythians, Sarmatians soil, topped it with a broad mound of stones, This moment 60 years ago was magical, not and Sakas to the west and the Xiongnu in the and rode away. This alpine cemetery, slightly only for archaeology but the study of carpets east; the Pazyryk people clearly belonged to northeast of the junction of Russia, Kazakhstan, and textiles. For the ice yielded an embroidered this cultural spectrum (Rudenko op cit). These China and Mongolia, was later called Pazyryk -- Chinese silk, coloured felt saddle cloths, a kurgans have yielded an astonishing range local Turkic dialect for Valley of the Dead. huge felt appliqué hanging showing a rider of artefacts in gold and other solid materials approaching a goddess -- and a spectacular fashioned in the ‘Animal Style’ of steppe art Robbers soon looted the tomb of any precious multi-coloured pile carpet, the oldest ever found. (Aruz et al 2000). But the nomads’ textiles are objects. But a permafrost gripped the burial It is now displayed in the Hermitage Museum in mostly a mystery, for these quickly perished chamber, and through the hole the robbers St Petersburg (Barkova 1999, 2002; Bunker 1991). unless preserved in salt, dry sand or ice. left, the rain poured in and quickly froze, eventually filling the tomb with ice. When This tomb or kurgan (the Russian term), labelled The Pazyryk carpet is all wool, measures veteran Russian archaeologist Sergei Rudenko ‘Pazyryk V’, is among hundreds of nomadic 1.83m x 2.00m, and its format hardly differs

The Pazyryk Carpet, c 328-250 BCE, discovered in an Iron Age tomb in southern Siberia in 1949. Wool warp, wool weft, 1.83m x 2.00m.

Collection Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg. Photo courtesy HALI

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 21 from that of today’s oriental carpets. Its centre as the Oguz confederation of around the 10th • The procession of riders and horses field of 24 symmetrical squares is surrounded century CE. But radio-carbon dating of the strongly echoes the Pointed-cap Saka by two major borders with guard stripes. Pazyryk’s fibres and the timber used to line the nomads (from Central Asia) carved on the One shows a procession of 28 horsemen in tomb, combined with dendrochronology (the Apadana steps at the Achaemenid capital, steppe gear, alternately walking or riding study of tree rings), gave the most probable Persepolis. In both cases they walk their their horses; the other shows a line of stags or date as 328-250 BCE (Rageth 2004). steeds with arms bent along the animal’s elk (moose) walking in the opposite direction. spine, reining its head back sharply, These counterwise processions give the carpet Together, the Pazyryk’s age and technical while the horses wear head plumes and balance and movement. Two minor borders excellence proved the art of weaving fine pile braided manes, and are of small stature. show griffins or winged lions. rugs with polychrome designs was significantly Such human and animal processions are older than previously thought. Further, since common in Near Eastern art, not steppe The carpet’s silky, lustrous pile is cropped to 1949 numerous pile fragments have been art (Schurmann 1982; Learner 1991). only 2mm high. Its seven vegetable colours discovered in the At-tar caves of Iraq and are predominantly red or crimson and include Fostat (old Cairo), woven in the early centuries • The motifs that represent the shoulder turquoise and yellow. The dense asymmetrical CE. Rug scholar Murray Eiland Jr observed: and hindquarter muscles of the stags also knotting (each knot completely encircling two ‘Clearly all the weaving techniques required appear in lions in Mesopotamian glazed warps) is extremely regular (Barkova 1999). Rug for a variety of pile carpets -- including the brick friezes -- at Susa for example -- and scholars Harald Bohmer and Jon Thompson techniques still most commonly used -- were the bulls carved in relief on the Apadana estimate the Pazyryk consumed the fleece of present in Western Asia before the 1st century stairs at Persepolis (Learner 1991). about 100 sheep (Bohmer, Thomson 1991). AD, and any theories based on a hypothesis that this weaving technology was first brought So the carpet could be a Persian import The carpet’s symbolism and purpose are West by the Turks in the 10th century [CE]…. incorporating Mesopotamian elements; in fact, subject to speculation -- but not its age, quality or by any other East Asian group, is quite Pazyryk V also contained a cut-up, illustrated and significance for textile history (Pinner unnecessary.’ (Eiland Jr 1998). kilim (tapestry) thought to be inspired by 1982). Some experts had assumed pile weaving Achaemenid Persia (Rubinson 1990). Of was a nomadic invention carried westward So, who wove the Pazyryk and where? Here, course, Altaian weavers might have copied an by migrating Turkic-speaking nomads, such science blends with art historical analysis, original Persian carpet, perhaps because its offering probabilities but not certainty. iconography represented Achaemenid power and cultural prestige. Many researchers doubt that the Pazyryk inhabitants had the necessary technology and Bohmer and Thompson gave the Persian theory a skills to produce the carpet -- though we should twist. While accepting the New Eastern character never underestimate the abilities of the steppe of the imagery, they stressed – as rug scholars nomads. A firmer argument against a steppe always do – that textile designs and motifs origin was the Pazyryk’s iconography. Steppe easily migrate, so to identify a carpet’s origins artefacts are typically wrought in the elegantly we must also study its structure and technique. curved ‘Animal Style’, usually portraying They noted the extremely even knotting and wild animals in combat or feline predators resulting consistency of design, the carefully attacking hoofed animals. Their bodies are planned spacing of the stags and riders, and the highly stylised or distorted to suggest pain depressed warp that produced the dense, tight or spontaneous action, while body parts structure. They concluded that these and other often morph into others: for example, deer points indicated the Pazyryk carpet was woven antlers end in bird’s heads (Rudenko 1970). in an urban workshop, perhaps commissioned In contrast, the Pazyryk’s imagery is highly by a nomadic VIP. A workshop would entail a formal, symmetrical, balanced and realistic. fixed loom and one or more weavers following a There is nothing wild or fanciful about the designer’s cartoon – or even copying an original horsemen (rarely depicted in steppe art), or the carpet with the same design (Bohmer, Thompson carefully-drawn horses, harnesses and bridles, 1991; Barkova 1999). or the stags with their antlers and patterning. Even the griffins, which do occur in steppe art, Researchers also noted the Pazyryk’s rustic appear in symmetrical repeats (Barkova 1999). touches and steppe references, such as the stags, the horsemen’s steppe gear, and the To many observers, the carpet’s imagery horse blankets bearing ‘Tree of Life’ designs and composition indicate an origin not on associated with nomadic textiles (Barkova 1999). the steppes, but in Achaemenid Persia or These elements indicated the proposed carpet perhaps Mesopotamia via Persia (Azerpay workshop lay not in the Persian heartland, such 1959; Rudenko 1970). For example: as a royal atelier, but on the periphery: perhaps a steppe province where Achaemenid cultural • The rug’s central grid of squares with traditions survived and nomadic lifeways were floral motifs resembles the carved grid on a familiar sight. The weavers might well have stone floor panels in the Assyrian palace been former nomads. Bohmer and Thomson of Senacherib at Nineveh, from the 7th further noted that the insects (Polish kermes) century BCE (Schurmann 1982). that were crushed for the crimson dye in the

22 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 Pazyryk Carpet, detail of stag, probably elk (moose):

Pazcryk Carpet, detail of horseman: note steppe costume, note antlers, patterning. Collection Hermitage Museum,

horse’s gear. Collection Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg St Petersburg

REFERENCES

Aruz J., Farkas A., Alekseev A., Korolkova E. (eds), 2000: The Golden Deer of Eurasia: Scythian and Sarmatian Treasures from the Russian Steppes. Metropolitan Museum NY & Yale University Press 2000.

Azerpay, G. 1959: ‘Some Classical and Near Eastern Motifs in the Art of Pazyryk’, Artibus Asiae 22, pp 313-339.

Barkova, L. 1999: ‘The Pazyryk -- Fifty Years On’, HALI 107, pp 64-69.

Barkova, L. 1999: ‘Pazyryk Felts’, HALI 113, pp 74-79.

Bohmer, H., Thompson, J., Bunker, E.C., Learner J. et al, 1991: in Source: Notes in the History of Art, 10.4 Summer 1991 (devoted to the Pazyryk carpet). carpet were native to Central Asia and western region. All were linked to southern Siberia and Eiland, M. Jr., Eiland M. 1998: Oriental Carpets: A Complete Guide. Bullfinch Press, London, Ch. 1. steppes, both on the Persian fringe, and not to the Altai by trade routes and numerous Saka Pinner, R. 1982: ‘The Earliest Carpets’, HALI 5.2, pp 110-115, 118-119. the Iranian Plateau itself. and other nomadic tribes who might have Rageth, J. 2004: ‘Radiocarbon dating of textiles’, Orientations transmitted Persian luxury goods northwards in 35:44, pp 57-62. They concluded: ‘If the urban character of its exchange for gold and furs. Robinson, K.S.1990: ‘The Textiles from Pazyryk: A study in the transfer weaving style is accepted, then the Pazyryk and transformation of artistic motifs’, Expedition 32.1, pp 49-61. carpet can be seen as a provincial interpretation Today the experts still favour this view of the Rudenko, S.I. 1970: Frozen Tombs of Siberia: The Pazyryk Burials of the fashionable Achaemenid court style Pazyryk’s origin -- but cautiously, because much of Iron Age Horsemen. University of California Press, Berkley. produced for a nomadic clientele by urban about the carpet remains elusive. Even Thomson Schurmann, U. 1982: The Pazyryk (symposium paper, Armenian weavers with cultural connections to both Persia and Bohmer conceded that the Pazyryk could be Rug Society. and the steppes’ (Bohmer, Thomson 1991). a nomadic copy of an Achaemenid Persian Hermitage Museum web site: http://depts.washington.edu/ original (Bohmer, Thomson 1991). Never silkroad/museums/shm/shmpazyryk.html Logistically, the most likely location of such underestimate the nomads. a workshop would be in the ancient Persian- controlled regions of Sogdia or Fergana (both now Leigh Mackay is President of the Oriental Rug Society of in Uzbekistan), or Bactria (northern Afghanistan) NSW. He has a BA in Philosophy and Linguistics and an before Hellenistic Greek art displaced Persian MA in Islamic Studies. A former journalist, he has lived styles; or in Chorasmia (now Karakalpakstan in Iran and travelled in Central Asia, and has a strong and Turkmenistan), or even Parthia in the same interest in the history and culture of these regions. .

Spring in the Stans 01 – 14 April 2010 A comprehensive tour of the great sites and cities of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan where Turkic culture and art flourished. Visit legendary Samarkand and Bukhara, Khiva, Nukus, Merv and Mary. Tour leader We offer over 20 study tours each year, of which the following scheduled during is Helen Nicholson. 2010 may be of interest to TAASA members. Japan: Through the Torii Gate Jordan and Syria 05 -22 April 2010 04 - 24 February 2010 Experience Japan at Cherry Blossom Time. This tour covers central and southern Japan, and includes Jordan and Syria have seen the birth of civilisations and have experienced the movements of successive visits to great modern cities like Tokyo and Osaka, historic centres like Kyoto and Nara, feudal castles nations across their soil. Trace the story from Neolithic times, to sites like Ugarit, to Roman Jerash in like Himeji and Matsuyama, and well preserved small towns like Kanazawa and Takayama. In Jordan and Dura Europas in Syria. The Christian west becomes involved with the ill-fated Crusades but conjunction with WEA and led by Simon Gentry. also leave their mark with crusader castles like Kerak in Jordan and Crac des Chavaliers in Syria. Land Only price per person, twin share: $7,995 Of course fabled Petra and Wadi Rum are included. Tour leader is Ancient Historian Leonie Hayne. Land Only price per person, twin share: $6,595 Three Ancient Lands: Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia 16 April – 05 May 2010 EGYPT: FROM ALEXANDRIA TO ABU SIMBEL The Caucasus – a unique melting pot of Eastern Orthodox and Islam. From the shores of Lake Sevan, 15 FEBRUARY – 08 MARCH 2010 the oil boomtown of Baku, to the lush church-studded hills of Georgia, the Caucasus is its own world. This comprehensive tour of Egypt includes the usual cruise from Luxor to Aswan, with time to explore Led by Rob Lovell the Luxor temples and Valleys of Kings and Queens. You will also visit Abu Simbel. There will be time to Land Only price per person, twin share: $7,295 explore both the ancient sites around Cairo but also the Islamic medieval city as well. You will visit the UNESCO Library in Alexandria and travel to the fabulous Siwa Oasis. The tour is led by Ben Churcher. ALSO Land Only price per person, twin share: $7,450 From Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi’S 1000th Birthday Iran 19 September – 11 October 26 March – 16 April 2010 Arabia Felix: Oman and Yemen John Tidmarsh (Near Eastern Archaeology Foundation) leads his second tour to Iran for us, exploring 6 October – 20 November pre-historic sites, the cities of the Persians and Sassanians, whose sophisticated society challenged the Byzantines and laid the foundations for an advanced Islamic succession. Includes fabled Isfahan and Shiraz. Land Only price per person, twin share: $7,395

For a brochure on any of the above tours, or to receive our quarterly newsletter Bon Voyage, please phone: (02) 9290 3856 or 1300 799 887 (outside Sydney metrop.), fax: (02) 9290 3857, e-mail: [email protected]; www.alumnitravel.com.au

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 23 IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN: TWO JAPANESE TEMPLE GUARDIANS

Russell Kelty Pair of temple guardians [nio], Japan Edo Period (1615-1868), 17th-18th century. Fukui, wood, lacquer, cloth, paint, glass, iron; left figure 192.0 c 120.0 x 65.0 cm, right figure 200.0 x 95.0 x 65.0 cm. Gift of Andrew and Hiroko Gwinnett through the

Art Gallery of South Australia Foundation 2009, collection Art Gallery of South Australia

he Art Gallery of South Australia recently T acquired a pair of Japanese temple guardians (nio) which are a spectacular testament to the great heritage of East Asian Buddhist art. They are unusually large, and are the only examples of their kind in an Australian public collection.

On passing through the main gateway of many Buddhist temples in Japan, the frightening visages of two wrathful nio figures inevitably confront the visitor . These threshold guardians are usually housed on either side of the southern gate and delineate the boundary separating profane and sacred space. Their role is to protect monks and lay devotees from the negative forces and spirits that would contradict the Buddha’s Dharma. As guardians of the Buddhist teaching, nio are ubiquitous elements of temple architecture throughout East Asia. The majority of these statues were fashioned from wood and enshrined in semi-open porches, exposed to the vagaries of the weather as well as to the civil unrest that often led to the destruction of temple mouth expressions were intended to represent (Japanese cypress) wood, prized in Japan for buildings. An intact pair of figures is therefore the forceful declamation of a mantra associated its fragrance, long-lasting quality and sacred a rare survival. with acts of exorcism. Alternatively, the associations. The unknown sculptors used the expressions may be connected to a secret mantra common yosegi zukuri (joined block) carving The two figures are known respectively as Naraen used in esoteric rituals to summon protector technique introduced in Japan in the later half Kongo and Misshaku Kongo, and are commonly deities during the visualization of a deity and his of the 10th century. Sculptural elements like called kongo rikishi or ‘vajra-wielding strongmen’. entourage, similar to Shingon Buddhist practice. the chignon (top knot), glaring eyes, stylized Naraen Kongo, a form of the Hindu god Vishnu, musculature and fluttering waist wraps, probably once held a vajra in his raised hand. The partially disrobed bodies of the Art Gallery’s derived from the Indian dhoti garment, are He would have stood on the right of the temple two nio are fantastically muscled and their dramatic hallmarks of nio in Japan, Korea and China. In entrance. Misshaku Kongo, a manifestation of gestures articulate their role as spiritual guardians particular the figures’ ‘chrysanthemum nipples’ the Hindu god Indra, probably once held a – demonic protectors of the faith - epitomizing documents a stylistic link to the theatrical sword in his lowered left hand and would righteous cosmic fury. The arm postures may idealism of sculptures produced during the have stood on the left side of the entrance. The derive from the movements of ancient Chinese Kamakura period (1185-1333), which many two figures together are sometimes described as martial arts or even the stylized choreography of Japanese scholars believe represents the zenith ‘doubles’ of Vajrapani, the bodhisattva of power. shamans during Buddhist exorcisms. of Buddhist art in Japan. Vajrapani is often depicted in Chinese Buddhist cave chapels dating to the late Tang (618-917) The iconographical lineage of these gods dates back The Art Gallery of South Australia’s Pair of and early Song dynasty (960-1279) and in those to the earliest development of Buddhist figurative temple guardians possess a spectacular sense of locations displays similar appearance and traits imagery. Their ancestors were the yakshas, ancient energy. The charming naivety in the modeling to the Japanese nio. Indian Vedic forest gods described as inoffensive of details such as the feet indicates a provenance male nature fairies or gruesome ogres. One of the from an extant Fukui Prefecture temple. The The carved faces still possess their original bulging earliest figurative elements of Indian art, yakshas are lack of idealization of the bulbous belly and less glass eyes, and convey a powerful expression of portrayed either as fearsome warriors or as portly, self-conscious articulation of the musculature unbridled ferocity. The mouth of Naraen Kongo dwarf-like figures. In a Buddhist context, the yaksha directly connects them to an ancient heritage of is open in the agyou position and the mouth of subsequently transformed into dharmapala (Skt: Buddhist protector art found in archaic stone Misshaku Kongo is closed in the ungyou position; ‘protectors of the Dharma’) and were stationed sculpture at locations like the Longmen grottoes according to a common interpretation, these at temple entrances charged with the protection (c. 493CE) in China. They are a unique testimony positions represent the Sanskrit mantra syllables of the Buddha and the Dharma. Nevertheless, a to the interpretation of this subject as it evolved ‘Ah’ and ‘Om’. Since ‘Ah’ and ‘Om’ are the first forest yaksha still appears frequently as an attendant over a millennium in the art of East Asia. and last syllables of the Sanskrit alphabet, it is mourner in Japanese nehan paintings depicting the often said that this alludes to the beginning and death of the Buddha. Russell Kelty recieved his BA in Art History from end of the world. However, recent research into Colorado State University and is currently pursuing the connection between East Asian Buddhist The SA Gallery’s temple guardian figures were his MA in Art History (Asian Art) at the University imagery and ritual practices suggests that the created in the 17th-18th century with hinoki of Adelaide.

24 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 ALASTAIR MORRISON (1915-2009)

Claire Roberts ALASTAIR MORRISON AT HOME IN HUGHES, CANBERRA, IN 2006. PHOTO JEAN-FRANCOIS LANZARONE ©

POWERHOUSE MUSEUM, SYDNEY

lastair Morrison, who died in Canberra After demobilisation in Hong Kong, Alastair A in August aged 93, was a passionate joined the British Colonial Service, and the collector and a generous donor to cultural following year the Morrisons moved to institutions. He was a great traveller, Sarawak, where Alastair worked as a District raconteur, ornithologist, conservationist, Officer in various up-river locations. He colonial administrator, and high-level public was appointed to the Colonial Secretariat servant, the son of George Ernest Morrison in Kuching in 1954 and worked as Principal (1862-1920), husband of the photographer Assistant Secretary (Defence), Development Hedda Morrison (1908-1991) and much loved Secretary and then Information Officer. After friend of many people from diverse social and the incorporation of Sarawak into the state cultural backgrounds. of Malaysia in 1963, Alastair was invited to work in the new Federal Department of Alastair was born in Peking in 1915, the Information. Prior to his departure from second son of George Ernest Morrison and Sarawak the title ‘Dato’ was conferred upon Jenny Wark Robin (1889-1923). His father, him in recognition of his service to Malaysia. an Australian doctor turned journalist, In 1967 the Morrisons moved to Canberra was the Peking correspondent for The where Alastair worked as Head of the South- Times newspaper in London from 1897- East Asia branch of the Office of Current National Library of Australia respectively. 1912, and later political advisor to Yuan Intelligence under the Joint Intelligence The photographs gifted to the Powerhouse Shikai, President of the Chinese Republic. Organisation until his retirement in 1976. formed the basis of the retrospective In Her Morrison’s insightful dispatches earned him View: The Photographs of Hedda Morrison in the nickname ‘Chinese’ Morrison. Tragically, Alastair was born with an innate curiosity China and Sarawak (Powerhouse Museum, Alastair’s father died when he was five years and wanderlust. Like his father and his two 1993). In the years that followed the old and his mother died three years later. brothers, he spent much of his life in Asia. Powerhouse became the home of important He and his two brothers Colin and Ian were After his retirement, Alastair and Hedda collections of papercuts, Chinese belt toggles; brought up by their nanny and an elderly drove around Australia in their ‘beetle’ before Japanese netsuke; Indian, Nepali and Tibetan maiden aunt and educated in England. choosing to settle in Canberra, where they bronze figures; ceramics from North and came to love the landscape of the Australian Southeast Asia, and a rich library of books From an early age Alastair immersed himself Capital Territory. Alastair was a keen walker, reflecting Alastair and Hedda’s wide-ranging in the natural world, finding solace and bird watcher and conservationist. In the collecting interests. In 2002 Alastair was made pleasure in the heaths and pinewoods of lonely years after Hedda’s death in 1991, a Life Fellow of the Powerhouse Museum in Surrey and in the pages of books about birds he was supported by his many friends and recognition of his outstanding contribution to and the lives of naturalists drawn from his colleagues. He sponsored the publication of the development of the collection. father’s vast travel library. As a child he a field guide to the birds of the ACT and suffered from various ailments and it was reptiles and frogs of the ACT and expanded Alastair was himself a rare bird, a learned, during a period of convalescence that he his interest in collecting. The Powerhouse inspiring and gentle man. He is greatly missed. began to take an active interest in ornithology Museum was one institution that became part His generous spirit now lives on in Hedda and keeping birds. His first collections were of his late-life extended family. Hammer Morrison’s remarkable photographs of moths and butterflies. After graduating in and in the objects that he and Hedda collected economics from Cambridge in 1937, Alastair I first met Alastair in 1989 when the Powerhouse and gifted to cultural institutions in Australia travelled to Peru and Chile to collect bird Museum commissioned Narelle Jubelin to and America in order to spark the interests of specimens, many of which he then sold to produce an artwork that responded to objects future generations. British zoos and museums. in the Museum’s collection. Hedda Morrison gave permission for her photographs of life in Claire Roberts, Senior Curator of Asian arts and In 1940 he visited his brother Ian, who was Peking to be used as the basis for petit-point design at the Powerhouse Museum, is currently working in Shanghai, and accompanied him renditions that formed Jubelin’s Legacies of (2009-10) a Research Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute on a trip to Peking. Alastair had been ill and Travel and Trade (1990). for Advanced Study at Harvard University, working decided to recuperate there. He met and on a research project relating to photography and became enamoured of Hedda Hammer, a After Hedda’s death Alastair donated a large China and including a detailed study of the Hedda photographer who had lived in Peking since collection of his wife’s exhibition prints to the Morrison archive at the Harvard-Yenching Library. 1933, and together they explored the city of Powerhouse Museum and a smaller set of his birth. He took a job as a cipher officer in prints to the National Gallery of Australia. Her REFERENCES the British Embassy and after the outbreak substantial archive of photographic negatives www.powerhousemuseum.com/heddamorrison/ of the Pacific War worked in intelligence in was divided into East Asian, South and catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1585946?lookfor=yallourn&offset= India and then entered the army and joined Southeast Asian, and Australian groupings 218&max=220 the 2nd Ghurkhas. At the end of the War he and was bequeathed to the Harvard-Yenching hcl.harvard.edu/libraries/harvard-yenching/collections/morrison/ returned to Peking, marrying Hedda in 1946. Library, Cornell University Library and the rmc.library.cornell.edu/EAD/htmldocs/RMM04516.html

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 25 CITIES OF THE SILK ROAD: A TAASA SEMINAR

Christina Sumner In Damascus, Syria: the Great Mosque of the Umayyads, 705-715: the prayer hall façade

as seen from the courtyard. Photo Ross Burns entral Asia has a hold on us. This land of C contrasts at the heart of the Asian landmass arouses endless fascination and an appetite for its stories. In particular we are drawn to those narratives which promise to untangle for us the ancient network of trade routes which traversed the region and which we know as the Silk Roads. Equally appealing is the lure of the great cities of the region, redolent as they are of romance and immoderate histories. Not surprisingly, the recent TAASA seminar Cities of the Silk Road, held at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney on Saturday 5 September this year, was a sellout.

For this seminar, the latest in an excellent series on the great cities of Asia, five cities were chosen as topics. They were Damascus, Tashkent, Bukhara, Samarkand and Kashgar, each of which would arguably merit a whole day of lectures. As a carefully chosen group they were strong not only for themselves upon an earlier temple to Jupiter by the become independent until 1991, following the but also as representative of the region and Umayyad Caliph al-Walid I between 705 dissolution of the Soviet Union). Tashkent the history of the Silk Roads. Grouping them and 715. Many early historians, reflecting a suffered a devastating earthquake in 1966 enabled us to glimpse the urban landscape of growing European interest in Western Asia, which had a profound impact on the city the region and the Silk Roads in their entirety, sought to demonstrate that mosques were which, with a population of 2.1 million, was the from Damascus, Europe and the West, through once Christian buildings. In the mid-1600s fourth largest in the USSR. Large numbers of Uzbekistan and on to Kashgar, China and the for example, Edward Pococke argued that people were homeless, living in rows of tents, East. Conversely, the fact that the Silk Road the Great Mosque was originally Roman and and Tashkent faced the enormous challenge of covered such vast distances and spanned Byzantine, rather than the work of Arab building a new city before winter. The result as some 2000 years, ensured that capturing architects. In the 1850s, Josaiah Porter drew described by Bolotin was a concrete jungle of its history and differing cultures in a day an accurate plan of the Great Mosque, cheap and ugly buildings. would be a challenge. TAASA approached showing its overall schema of two concentric this challenge with great sensitivity, selecting rectangles; but sadly, the marvellous interior Life in Tashkent for Bolotin centred on the speakers who brought differing perspectives. of the great building which Porter and other walled compound where she lived as the only This diversity of approach enabled a wider early travellers saw was almost entirely child of academic parents. Interestingly, for the view and expanded our understanding of the gutted by fire in 1893. additional insights provided, the compound region considerably. was shared with another family who had More recently, in the early 1900s, Karl a dramatically different lifestyle. Bolotin’s In ‘Discovering Damascus’, Ross Burns traced Watzinger and Karl Wulzinger carried account of the contrasting yet peacefully the early history of the city through an analysis out research with a view to preserving old interconnected lives of the two families offered of the work of the city’s first historians and Damascus through preventing the Turks a model of tolerance. While Bolotin was the archaeologists. As Australian ambassador to from their customary practice of robbing old only child of a Jewish family from Belarus who Syria from 1984 to 1987, Burns fell in love with buildings to make new ones. Some elements of spoke Russian and generally stayed indoors, the area and, following his undergraduate the great colonnaded thoroughfare of Roman the other family was Uzbek-speaking and degree in history and archaeology and two Damascus, which lies under the modern city, Muslim, with six daughters and a son, and publications on the archaeology of Syria, can still be identified today, as can intact lived mostly outdoors. On opposite sides of the is currently undertaking a doctorate at remaining stonework of the original 8th same compound, the two houses also differed Macquarie University. His talk challenged century Umayyad building which forms the considerably, one with wooden floors, metal many assumptions and conclusions regarding western wall of the Great Mosque. roof and a refrigerator, the other with earthen the archaeological record and brought the floors, straw and clay roof, and large holes in scant remains of ancient Roman, Byzantine By contrast, Rae Bolotin’s ‘Memories from the ground for cool storage. Particularly telling and Arab Damascus carefully into focus. Tashkent: life between two cultures in the City was Bolotin’s reference to the inclusion of of Stone’, offered a highly personal perspective children in the daily work of the other family. Central to Burns’ talk was the Great describing her childhood in Tashkent from Although this is often characterised as child Umayyad Mosque of Damascus, which the early 1960s to the late 1970s. Uzbekistan labour, Bolotin as an only child simply saw the is now documented as having been built at that time was part of the USSR (it did not laughter and togetherness of a large family.

26 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 Kashgar MARKETPLACE, Xinjiang, China. Photo © John Gollings 2005

Leigh Mackay’s talk, ‘Bukhara: microcosm of Central Asia’, focused on how the Bukhara we see today has been shaped by its past. More a large agricultural country town than a city, Bukhara was a key oasis stop on the Silk Road network and its old town typifies Central Asian cities generally. Bukhara also has immense charm, in large part due to the protection of its remarkable buildings. Contributing factors in Bukhara’s preservation have been the restoration work done by the Soviets in the 1970s in preparing it for tourism and, more recently and more conservatively, by UNESCO, following the city’s heritage listing in 1993.

Mackay identified six historical periods for Bukhara beginning with the 700s, which saw Muslim Arabs bringing Islam to Central Asia. This was followed by a Golden Age from 900- As an oasis settlement in a very dry land, Normal University and Urumchi’s Institute of 1200, when the city was a famed intellectual an abiding preoccupation for Samarkand’s Archaeology; and secondly the camera lens centre with large numbers of mosques. The inhabitants was the management of water for of Australian photographer John Gollings. 10th century Samanid Mausoleum dates to their practice of intensive irrigated agriculture. Mesmerised as we were by the haunting this period and the Kalyan Minaret, also The earliest agriculturalists of Samarkand, beauty of Gollings’ photographs, many of featuring exquisite decorative brickwork, was then called Afrasiab, were the Sogdians who them in a soft monochrome reminiscent of built in 1127. Decline and eclipse followed, understood that their agricultural way worked the surrounding desert landscape, we were however, in the period 1200-1500. Central best when they allied themselves with pastoral readily drawn by Bezhan into a virtual Asia was devastated by Ghengis Khan in nomads and their flocks. The cultural symbiosis experience of contemporary Kashgar. 1220 and Bukhara was almost entirely razed, thus formed allowed cities like Samarkand to although it was partially rebuilt by Timur and become great centres of commerce. Bezhan emphasised the uniqueness of Kashgar the Timurids from the late 1300s. in its location, its history and its surviving Known to the ancient Greeks as Marakanda, culture, including its exceptionally large 1500 to 1700 was Bukhara’s Silver Age, a Samarkand was part of the Persian Achaemenid donkeys. Surrounded by mountains and the period of considerable building work, Empire until conquered by Alexander the Taklamakan Desert, Kashgar connected China notably mosques, madrassas, bazaars Great in 330 BCE. Some 200 years later, with Central Asia via the Silk Roads. Echoes of and caravanserais, when the city was Chinese adventurers travelled to Central Asia Kashgar’s past can still be seen in its surviving re-established as regional capital. Stagnation in search of horses, paving the way for the Silk architecture and also at the renowned Sunday followed, however, from1700-1900. The Silk Road trade, whereby the Sogdian traders of market, to which people still bring their goods Roads trade had declined dramatically and Samarkand flourished. Samarkand too was to sell loaded on animal carts. Bukhara acquired a reputation for despotism destroyed by Mongol invaders in the 1200s, and cruelty. The heavily fortified Ark, today but rebuilt by the Timurids to become a great Bezhan posed the political question of how the Bukhara Museum, was the seat of the cultural centre for the arts. Its spectacular much Kashgar now belongs to China and how ruling Emirs who lived extravagantly while surviving Timurid architecture of the 1300s much to Central Asia. Hundreds of thousands the city became increasingly impoverished. and 1400s includes the fabled Registan, Timur’s of Chinese have moved to Kashgar from Beijing Bukhara was eventually annexed by Russia, tomb the Gur Emir, Ulug Beg’s extraordinary and Urumchi, but Kashgar is still immediately along with the rest of Central Asia, in the Observatory and, a little outside the city, the adjacent to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. mid 1800s. As a result, Western influences are necropolis Shah-i-Zinda. The Uighurs were converted to Islam by Sufis increasingly evident, as in the Palace of Moon who ruled Kashgar for 200 years and their form and Stars outside Bukhara. The last phase Today in Samarkand, economic life continues of Islam is soft and flexible, strongly influenced brought in the modern Soviet socialist state to reflect ancient nomadic and urban by shamanism. It seems the people of Kashgar in the 1920s and finally the independence of interactions. Following independence in 1991 inhabit two worlds simultaneously, Muslim Uzbekistan in 1991. after 100 years of Russian and Soviet rule, Uighur and the everyday political reality. local Uzbek and Tajik traditions are being Samarkand, one of the world’s oldest cities and reaffirmed in tandem with a rapid return to This was an excellent seminar, a good day situated in the middle of the ancient Silk Road, trade and tourism. which greatly enriched our understanding was the subject of Dr Heleanor Feltham’s of five great Silk Road cities of Central Asia talk ‘Samarkand: the golden crossroads’. The final talk of the day took us east to Kashgar, and evoked in diverse ways their remarkable Feltham emphasised the magical status of in an area traditionally inhabited by Uighur interconnected history, culture and survival. Samarkand in the popular mind and sought people and now part of the Chinese province to account for and balance its eternal romance of Xinjiang. Dr Farid Bezhan, in ‘Kashgar: oasis Christina Sumner is Principal Curator, Design & and fascination as an imaginary destination city on China’s old Silk Road’, portrayed the Society, at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney. through a summary of the city’s role in the city through two lenses: firstly the analytical broader scheme of things and consideration of eye of researchers at the Monash Institute, For a review of the book Kashgar, Oasis on China’s its economic historiography. working with Chinese scholars at the Xinjiang Old Silk Road by Jocelyn Chey, see p. 28 this issue.

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 27 RECENT TAASA ACTIVITIES

TAASA QLD Book launch snow lions while working on a project with On 20 October TAASA and the Australian ICIMOD, the International Centre for Integrated Asian Textiles Seminar Institute for International Affairs (AIIA) Mountain Development in Kathmandu, Nepal. On Saturday 26 September, with the hosted a book launch of Dr Solomon Bard’s co-operation of the Australian Centre for Asia newly published book ‘Light and Shade: Preview of Sotheby’s Connoisseurs Pacific Art (ACAPA), a seminar on Asian Sketches from an Uncommon Life’ at Glover collection Sale textiles was held in the lecture theatre at the Cottages, Sydney. Dr Bard, who during his On Wednesday 21 October TAASA Victorian Queensland Art Gallery (QAG). Members life relocated from eastern Siberia to Harbin members were invited to an evening Preview Marjorie Morris and Dana McCown spoke in northern China , then to Hong Kong and of the Sotheby’s Connoisseur’s Collection sale respectively on Central Asia, on the subject now to Sydney, recounted his experiences as which took place on Tuesday 27 and Wednesday of A Look at the Silk Road and Telia Rumal, a child growing up in Chita, Siberia. He chose 28 October in Melbourne. The sale included many an extraordinary but neglected group of to study medicine in Hong Kong and went on specialised areas including Jewellery, Clocks, textiles from South India. They illustrated to become a conductor of the orchestra there, Watches, Furniture, Silver, Glass, Ceramics, their presentations with slides and samples as well as to delve into the archaeology of the Paintings and Rugs. Of particular interest to of garments and textiles from their personal island. As that period of the twentieth century TAASA members was the section of Chinese and collections. Miranda Wallace, curator of the witnessed the Russian revolution, the takeover other Asian Works of Art. Among the highlights Easton Pearson fashion exhibition running in of Manchuria by the Japanese, then the horrors were a group of 19th century cinnabar lacquer the adjoining Queensland Gallery of Modern of World War II in Hong Kong, Dr Bard’s vases and a brushpot, a 17th/18th century Art at the time of the seminar, also gave a experiences shed a multitude of fascinating rhinoceros horn libation cup, a Wanli mark and short slide show and then a floor talk about personal insights into this period of history. period ‘Three Friends’ blue and white jar, and the exhibition, with emphasis on the Indian an impressive 19th/20th century gilt copper influence on the fashions. Most who attended TAASA VIC alloy with polychrome Vajrabhairava. It was then enjoyed a social function in the Museum a very enjoyable evening with refreshments café after the seminar. Talk: Sibylle Noras on The Mythical Snow kindly provided by Sotheby’s in their attractive Lions of Tibet Armadale showrooms. TAASA NSW On 1st September members of TAASA Victoria were treated to a talk on The Mythical Snow Talk: Julia Johnston on Hiroshi TAASA Textile Study Group Lions of Tibet, by Sibylle Noras. Sibylle discussed Sugimoto’s Seascapes For the October meeting, Chris Reid and the origin and iconography of the snow lion, On Wednesday 18 November Julia Johnston, Safrina (Evi) Thristiawati re- created the illustrating her presentation with images who is visiting Japan in January to further textile components of their wedding in of snow lions in paintings, sculpture and her research on this artist, gave a talk on the Lampung, South Sumatra nine years ago architecture, and examples of snow lions from contemporary Japanese photographer Hiroshi (TAASA Review, Vol 11, no.1, March 2002). her collection. Sibylle has travelled extensively Sugimoto at Kazari Collector Gallery in The bride wore a stunning gold wrapped in the Himalayas for many years and became Prahran. Julia discussed Sugimoto’s renowned thread traditional tapis and the groom a fascinated by the playful snow lions that are Seascape series within the framework of the checked pattern sarong with a silk ikat often depicted upholding the Buddha’s throne. artist’s reworking of the series. patterned headwrapper. Chris and Evi filled She started collecting repousse and wooden the meeting room with textiles from their collection of wall hangings, door drapes and covers traditionally used in the ceremony. TAASA MEMBERS’ DIARY DECEMBER 2009 – MARCH 2010

TAASA NSW CHRISTMAS PARTY On Wednesday December 9 TAASA NSW will be holding its annual Christmas Party. from 6.00 – 9.00 pm. This year the venue will be in The Briefing Room at the Powerhouse Museum, Harris St., Pyrmont. As this party is a way for all TAASA members to get together after a busy year, there is no charge for the drinks and nibbles for members. Access to the Briefing Room is from MacArthur Street, which runs off Harris Street to the side of the Powerhouse building.

TAASA ACT EVENT On Saturday March 13th (tbc) TAASA is planning to hold a Study Day with curators to view the Asian photographic collection at the NGA and the artworks of East Asia at the National Library. Members will also be invited to a talk on Islamic calligraphy by the

Study Group members examining some traditional wedding Australian - Iranian artist Nasser Palangi on Sunday 14th. textiles. Photo Gill Green

28 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 BOOK REVIEW: COMMUNITY AND MEMORY

Jocelyn Chey

dictionary when living in Baghdad, but his 50,000 households in high-rise apartments in tomb is in his hometown, Kashgar. new suburbs.

Kashgar: Oasis City on China’s Old Silk Road pro- A recent report from the Beijing Cultural files the history and everyday life of the town Heritage Protection Centre emphasised and its residents and provides a brief introduc- the preservation value of the Old City and tion to the ongoing research project being under- expressed concern about procedural aspects taken by Monash University’s Asia Institute of the project. Rebuilding the city not only Kashgar, Oasis on China’s Old Silk Road in the Kashgar/Yarkand region. Photographer promotes earthquake safety but also reinforces John Gollings (photography), George Michell, John Gollings visited in 2005 and took thousands ‘ethnic unity and the reinforcement of Marika Vicziany and Tsui Yen Hu (introduction). of photographs of archaeological sites, mosques, Xinjiang’s borders’, according to one report Frances Lincoln, London 2008. tombs, bazaars, streets, and Kashgar residents at from a local planning meeting. work and play. An illustrative selection of photos Kashgar, on the southern edge of the Taklamakan is accompanied by an excellent introduction by The reconstruction project highlights weaknesses Desert in far west China, has been in the the Monash team and their Chinese collaborator, in China’s framework for cultural heritage protec- news this year because of widespread conflicts Prof Tsui of Xinjiang University in Urumqi. tion, particularly as it relates to ethnic minorities. between Han Chinese and local Uighur citizens. The Kashgar demolition project illustrates broader The demolition of Kashgar’s Old City and its The book provides a succinct history of the problems in China’s policies on ethnic minorities. impact on Uighur cultural identity and way of Southern Xinjiang Uighur people and their life, well documented in this book, are certainly culture – but its chief importance may well lie Jocelyn Chey, a former diplomat, is Visiting among the causes of recent violence. in the unfortunate fact that Gollings’ excellent Professor at the University of Sydney and a member photographs now stand as a memorial to a way of TAASA’s Committee of Management. Kashgar was a Silk Road junction where trav- of life already lost. Ninety percent of the Old ellers met before or after hazardous mountain City of Kashgar has already been demolished crossings to Persia and India. The foothills of because of government concerns about the the Pamirs are clearly visible from the city. threat of earthquakes. Officials from UNESCO- An age-old trading centre whose population linked ICOMOS (International Council on today is over 70 percent ethnic Uighur, it feels Monuments and Sites) wrote to the Chinese as if it belongs in Central Asia. Beijing is over government in June 2009 to express concern 4,000 kilometres to the northeast. about the threat to the unique mudbrick city.

Once named Shule, Kashgar first came under The Chinese government recognises the cultural Chinese rule during the Han dynasty. It importance of the historic Silk Road. It has briefly regained independence around 75CE announced its intention to rebuild the old city ‘in before being retaken by General Ban Chao. traditional style’ while incorporating earthquake- It was wrested from Tang rule by Tibetan proofing technology. This is not likely to be a forces, retaken and lost again to Arab forces success, judging by similar work carried out in in 751 at the battle of nearby Talas River. In Beijing in the lead up to the Olympics last year the 10th century Kashgar became the seat of power of the Karakhanid kingdom, the The Silk Road flourished because of international first Turkic state to convert to Islam. Marco commerce and cultural exchange. This supra- Polo visited Kashgar in 1273 and remarked national message does not conform with national on ‘the wonderful gardens and vineyards policy, which stresses unity and conformity. In and the large quantities of cotton’. Emperor Kashgar, Uighurs are by definition a minority. Qianlong annexed the city in 1759: it has Their views on cultural heritage are discounted since remained under Chinese control, while and their cultural monuments are suspect if retaining a strong sense of local identity. they reinforce separate ethnic identity.

The Uighurs have a well-established The Old City of Kashgar is redolent historical identity. A clear line of descent of community and inherited memory, can be established between the 8th century characterised by mud brick courtyard houses Orkhon Turkic inscriptions and today’s overshadowing narrow lanes that may be Uighur language. In 2005, a seminar in built and rebuilt many times over the centuries Kashgar marked the millenarian anniversary but remain the centre of the tight-knit local of Mahmoud al-Kashgari, who compiled community. Now, under a US$4.4 billion Diwan Lughat at-Turk, a key text for research project launched last year, authorities will into Turkic history. Al-Kashgari compiled the ‘reconstruct’ the Old City and resettle roughly

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 29 WHAT’S ON IN AUSTRALIA: DECEMBER 2009 – FEBRUARY 2010

A SELECTIVE ROUNDUP OF EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS

Compiled by Tina Burge

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY work in Australia and also includes work by Zhongjian: Midway his contemporaries and followers. Tamworth Regional Gallery, Tamworth Asian Art Talks 15 Jan - 28 Feb 2010 National Gallery of Australia, Canberra Go to www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au for further information Following its tour of four major centres in 19 January 12.45: Beatrice Thompson, Asian China - Beijing, Tianjin, Xiamen, Shanghai, Art - Asian costume 2010 Arts of Asia Lecture Series - - Zhongjian: Midway will tour to fourteen 2 February 12.45: Niki Van den Heuvel - Powerful Patrons Australian regional venues, after commencing mythical creatures of Borneo. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney at Wollongong City Gallery in October 18 February at 12.45: Pamela Walker , Tuesdays 1-2pm from 2 March - 12 October 2010 2009. The exhibition consists of works by International Art - Islamic calligraphy from fifteen artists from China and Australia, Southeast Asia. The 2010 Arts of Asia lecture series explores including several of China’s and Australia’s the preeminent individuals in Asia who have most notable contemporary artists: Ah Xian For further information go to: shaped the arts, culture and sense of identity (Australian tour only), Guan Wei, Liu Xiao www.nga.gov.au of their peoples. Lectures will include well Xian, Guo Jian, Jin Sha, Xifa Yang, Sally known historical identities such as Ottoman Smart, Kate Beynon, Lionel Bawden, Laurens NEW SOUTH WALES sultan Suleyman the Magnificent and Shah Tan, Julie Bartholomew. Lu Peng, Shen Jehan, architect of the Taj Mahal. However, Shaomin, Liu Qing He, Zhang Qing. Garden and cosmos: The royal paintings the series will also explore other influential of Jodhpur leaders who are less widely known such as For further information go to: The Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney Korean King Cheongjo himself a painter, www.tamworthregionalgallery.com.au 29 October 2009 – 26 January 2010 who sponsored Buddhist temples and created the royal library or Tibet’s 5th Dalai QUEENSLAND The exhibition showcases the internationally Lama, who oversaw the efflorescence of renowned royal collection of the Mehrangarh Tibetan artistic style and set into motion the The 6th Asia Pacific Triennial of Museum Trust, Jodhpur, famous for the creation of the Potala Palace. Art Gallery Contemporary Art (APT6) superb paintings from the unique art of NSW Director Edmund Capon launches Qeensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art tradition that flourished in the royal courts the series of two terms of 12 lectures each 5 December 2009 – 5 April 2010 between the 17th and 19th centuries The by introducing the legacy of China’s First paintings included in the exhibition range Emperor Qin Shihuangdi. The sixth exhibition in the Gallery’s Asia from miniatures to monumental artworks Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art series depicting the palaces, wives and families For full program and online booking will include the work of more than 100 artists of the Jodhpur rulers,and epic narratives www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/events/courses from 25 countries, including collaborations demonstrating the devotion of Maharaja and collectives, which reflect the diversity of Man Singh to an esoteric yogic tradition.

There is an event program associated with the exhibition

Hymn to beauty: the art of Utamaro Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney 13 February - 2 May 2010

Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806) is the quintessential exponent of ukiyo e woodblock prints of Jaapanese courtesans His sensuous and insightful portraits of women from all walks of life - aloof courtesans, diligent housewives, affectionate mothers and passionate lovers – have enjoyed unabated popularity in Japan and worldwide.

Featuring around 80 prints from the renowned collection of the Museum of Asian Art, State Museums in Berlin, this exhibition is the first extensive survey of Utamaro’s

Guo Jian, Untitled No.8, 2008, Oil on canvas, 152 x 213 cm, TAMWORTH REGIONAL GALLERY VISITING EXHIBITION

30 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 practices across Asia, the Pacific and Australia. Drawn from the collections of the Queensland There is Program of free events associated It will have a number of specific focuses Art Gallery, the Queensland Museum, the with this exhibition and thematic links while considering recent Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa shifts in contemporary art in communities and a private collector, the exhibition features For more information about other programs that have not been represented in the APT works from Fiji, Niue, Samoa, Tonga, Hawai’i, associated with the exhibition go to before, including works by artists from Tibet, Futuna, the Solomon and Cook Islands, www.ngv.vic.gov.au/ngvinternational. North Korea (DPRK), Turkey and Iran, and Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. from countries of the Mekong region such as Cambodia and Myanmar (Burma).Innovation For further information go to: qag.qld.gov. in performance art and music in the Asia au/exhibitions/current/paperskin Pacific is also represented, as is cinema from the Indian sub continent to the Middle East. VICTORIA

For further information go to: Chinoiserie: Asia in Europe 1620–1840 www.qag.qld.gov.au National Gallery of Victoria, International, Melbourne Paperskin: Barkcloth across the Pacific 9 October 2009 – 14 March 2010 Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane 31 October 2009 – 14 February 2010 Chinoiserie refers to a style in Western art which draws its inspiration from the arts of China, ‘Paperskin’ celebrates the visual sophistication Japan and India. Drawing mainly from the NGV and vitality of cloth made from the beaten Collection, with a few key loans, this exhibition bark of paper mulberry, banyan and fruit will showcase European Chinoiserie in a range trees, which has played an essential role in of media including ceramics, furniture, glass, everyday life in SE Asia, as well as holding textiles, painting, prints and drawings. These political and ceremonial significance. creations will be placed with examples of Asian ‘Paperskin’ explores the stories embodied art which illustrate both the inspiration for the VIENNA PORCELAIN FACTORY (DU PAQUIER), Vienna Austria in these cloths. With their evocative visual European productions and how these works 1718–1864 Coffee pot c.1725–30, porcelain (hard-paste) 26.2 language of bold and intricate patterning, depart from their Asian models. x 24.7 x 17.0 cm, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne barkcloths have been likened to tattoos Felton Bequest, 1940

JAPAN: AUTUMN, BURMA: THE CAMBODIA: BACKROADS LAOS: LAND OF THE ISLANDS AND ART ESSENTIAL ANGKOR WAT OF BURMA LOTUS-EATERS EXPERIENCE AND BEYOND

17 October – 29 October – 07 November – 16 November – 27 January – 02 November 2010 17 November 2010 24 November 2010 02 December 2010 10 February 2011 Japan is a two-sided coin: one Designed and hosted by TAASA Angkor’s timeless grandeur is One trip to Burma is never Enigmatic and relatively post-modernist side embraces contributor Dr Bob Hudson, our unmissable, an unforgettable enough. Backroads of Burma is undeveloped, landlocked cutting-edge technology; the longstanding annual Burma travel memory. Yet Cambodia ideal for the second-time visitor Laos offers travellers an other reveres and preserves program features extended stays offers a host of other important or indeed first-time travellers intimate glimpse of traditional fine artistic and cultural in medieval Mrauk U, capital cultural and travel experiences: desiring remote and rustic Southeast Asian life. Gradually traditions. Ann MacArthur, of the lost ancient kingdom of outstanding ancient, locations. Starting and finishing emerging from tumultuous Senior Coordinator of Asian Arakan (now Rakhine State) vernacular and French colonial in Yangon, our schedule wends recent history, Laos is a gem of Programs at the Art Gallery and Bagan, rivalling Angkor architecture; spectacular riverine south into Mon State, visiting Indochina with interesting art, of NSW, is our experienced Wat as Southeast Asia’s environments; a revitalising Kyaiktiyo and Moulmein architecture, French and Lao Japanophile leader. Kyushu and richest archaeological precinct. urban capital in Phnom Penh; before heading north to Sri cuisine, intricate river systems, Shikoku predominate including Exciting experiences in Yangon, and beautiful countryside. Ksetra, the ancient Pyu capital. and rugged highlands. Darryl the Setouchi International Inle Lake, Mandalay and a Join our team of Gill Green, Mystical Mount Popa, Bagan, Collins, long term Southeast Art Festival on the island of private cruise down the mighty art historian, author and Monywa and the spectacular Asian resident, has designed Naoshima on the Inland Sea. Ayeyarwady are also included. Vice President of TAASA plus cave temples of Po Win Taung, and will guide a comprehensive A lengthy stay in Kyoto is our Land Only cost per person expatriate museologist, Angkor Sagaing and Mandalay follow. tour of Laos which includes the spectacular autumn finale. ex Yangon $4750 resident and TAASA contributor Dr Bob Hudson is program wonderful historic royal city of Land Only cost per person Darryl Collins on this latest, leader. Luang Prabang and Wat Phu ex Fukuoka $5000 updated version of our highly Land Only cost per person Champasak. evaluated 2008 and 2009 ex Yangon $4150 Land Only cost per person programs. ex Vientiane $4400 Land Only cost per person H ERITAGE DESTINATIONS ex Phnom Penh $4700 NATURE • BUILDINGS • PEOPLE • TRAVELLERS

PO Box U237, University of Wollongong NSW 2500 Australia For a brochure or further information phone Ray Boniface at Heritage Destinations m 0409 927 129 e [email protected] on 0409 927 129 or email [email protected] or visit our website ABN 93 086 748 834 LIC NO 2TA004916 www.heritagedestinations.com.au

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 18 NO.4 31