The seminar will look into questions provoked by modern practices of Asian artists that take their homes, exhibitions, and workshops across continents. While in the world of globalization we all are uprooted in one way or another, a question of belonging seems to be a complex one with contemporary artists, especially with those who chose to live outside their homes of origin. How does contemporary art respond to these frequent changes in social and cultural life of these artists? How do contemporary Asian artists view, make use of, and think of traditions?
The seminar will start with “Eurasia,” a conceptual framework explored by several important artists in Europe and Asia in the twentieth-century, including Josef Beuys and Nam June Paik. This concept stretched beyond geographical definition of a continent or a specific locale; it rather suggested questions raised by these artists in response to the Cold War, intercontinental migration and connected practices of exhibitions and performances.
We will then discuss art and issues of belonging provoked by such well-known artists who live across continents, as Gonkar Gyatso, Tsherin Sherpa and Enkhbold. We will also read and discuss about recent biennales, including the 56th Venice Biennale, their participatory and inclusion policies. The seminar will include meeting and interviewing contemporary Asian artists in the Bay Area.

This course fulfills the following Major requirements: Geographical area (B) and Chronological period (III).