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FANTASIA:

Curatn ·sxt

an Imagination toward the Daily Life

Pi Li

In 2000, young curators from Asian countries were invited by the Japan Foundation toexplore as a group the topic of "how to determine the cultural identity of contemporary art inAsia in the age of globalization ." The curators were invited to present the art and thoughts on
this topic in different Asian countries through a series of exhibitions. We decided to break
down the geopolitical barrier and make exhibitions of contemporary art in different Asiancountries, which will not be based on the nationality of the artists but on t),e issues of theirconcern. In order to establish a cultural network of art among Asian countries, the curators
were to first curate his/her own part of the exhibition, all of which were to come to Tokyo in
2002 and be presented to the audience as a whole .
After some discussions, "Under Construction" was decided as the larger theme of theexhibitions, for this term from the Internet not only reflects the process of urbanization andmodernization in Asian countries in the age of globalization, but also connotes a sense of humor
and incisiveness. On the one hand, it demonstrates the richness of urban life brought about
with economic growth in Asian countries , and implies, on the other hand, that themodernization transformation in Asia is a long process , and that the modernity it establishes will
be an "alternate modernity" different from that of the West . Each curator would, out of his/her
intellectual background and interest, address different issues under this larger theme. For
example, what are the thoughts behind the arts facing the history and reality of the countries,
with a colonial past? What is the unique historical and religious conditions of the arts inSoutheast Asia? How have the methods of social exchange and cultural rituals changed during
What is the significance of traditional craft and its internal
the process of modernization?
changes brought about in the rapid process of modernization? What was of concern to me , toKim Sunjung from Korea and Kamiya Yukie from Japan was how Asian artists unfold their
imaginations in the process of modernization .
Amongst the fierce globalization and urbanization , the daily lives of people living in
Asian countries today are undergoing unprecedented transformation in every direction. Atmacro-level, daily life in Asian countries is influenced by two factors : one is the different
movements within a shared space, such as the nation-based capitalism and globalism, or market
economy and State-controlled economy; the other is the interaction of ideologies, such asWesternism, collectivism, individualism , consumerism and pragmatism . At micro-level , there
are signs of daily life in Asia that are just like any other parts of the world. That is, thediminishing existence of an individual due to the "transition" taking place while people spendbusy lives under the pressure of time . Under such condition, calculation of chances has drivensocial life, with everyone accepting a high level of risk. Time and space are turned into variablesin that same calculation, whereby they are saturated by information and manipulated by theendless and monotonous cybernetic and TV screens. This is the new feature of daily life in Asiawith which globalization and urbanization have endowed us. This process accelerates emptying
and sanitization of the imagination . Without the imagination, the meaning of art is in short
supply. Here, the "meaning" and "instituted forms of value and understanding" not only include
the stories and images, but also a struggle between culture and objective reality .
. Among the Asian artists who live in a situation where they turn a new page everyday,
we suddenly duly discovered a common ground for imagination. This was illuminated by theartists from China, Japan, Korea and Thailand, who observe the small details of daily life toaffirm the very existence of the individual. From this perspective, we thought that "fantasia" inart that is "under construction" would become a base plan for our exhibition. This underlying
concept was developed through the artworks that were shown in Seoul and Beijing. We hopedthat these works would enthuse reconsideration of the identities of Asian art, and present thesimultaneous changes that appear in the daily lives and the arts in globalizing Asia. In "Under
Construction," we did not find it necessary to present an exotic view of the daily life in non------'

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Western countries . But nonetheless, we thought we would provide an approach to discoverand challenge the consistent ideologies and concepts (these ideologies and concepts are usefulin nu_rturing commercial trade and traditional culture, therefore, are not necessarily confined bytheir political implications) that are revealed during the process of globalization andurbanization, both which lay behind the daily life. As to the art in the world today, maybe,
fantasia could mean a certain kind of imagination and give us the opportunity to achieve "thedisenchantment of the world ." In fact, this must have been the vision Max Weber had when heborrowed this phrase from SchillerImagination in the artworks is the crystallization of strong intuition and creativity of anartist , who present their ideas in various forms . Naturally, this stems from their different
historical and environmental backgrounds. Furthermore , this imagination helps to make up forthe void in contemporary art that the art ists are trying to overcome, but yet to fulfill. The
biennales and triennales that are prevalent in various parts of the world today are not the only
examples, which demonstrate a case for contemporary art as a "consumed" entertainment .
This situation prompts artists to look for a grand discourse, with a spectacular visual effect, andan enlarged visual experience . Could our "imagination" provide a new opportunity for theAsian contemporary art that is extremely "consumer-oriented? " In fact , is it not the Asianesqueimagination that could bring this opportunity? What is the Asianesque imagination? It is an
artistic realm we endeavor to pursue in daily life. These artists have rejected the concept ofeveryday life as insipid and monotonous . They have, rather, regarded it as one of the forms
that reflects modern life and the sources of their creation. They have turned ordinary objects
and images into irreplaceable elements of artistic creation , so as to break the gap between theso-called high art and low art , and to make everyday a particular space full of imagination - a"fantasia" of everyday life.
In our exhibition, artist from different countries represented their own versions andviews of daily life. Ozawa Tsuyoshi tried to provide a space in his works for communicatingwith and encouraging the participation of the audience in his "interactive art ." He presented hisseries of work , Vegetable Weapon: Asia Version, in both Seoul and Beijing. He used ingredients oflocal hotpot recipe to make models of weapons, then took photographs with the models who
were invited to participate in his project. Afterwards, these fake weapons were cooked andeaten up in a banquet . He took photos of the weapons and the re levant process , which wereput on display in a plastic greenhouse in the exhibition space . This suggested the transformationof food, which is closely associated with the local culture , and portraed combating and peacefulexchanges as two sides of one coin. Besides rewriting the rules of daily life, Rhii Jewyo invented
new rules and ways of life. Her creation originates from her investigation into the people who
has urgent needs to improve their lives. Therefore , her exhibited works were pr imarily small
tools for these people and simple art books with instructions to relieve pain. All of her works
were based on her own experiences. In one of her works , she created a space and a set oftools for people to scream, but by not disturbing any~ody else but the person screaming, inboth public and private spaces .
The second aspect of the exhibition was to reduce "art " in importance by using
readymade objects or implementing everyday actions so that it becomes a part of "daily life."
For instance, Kan Xuan produced image as ,a means of personal writing . She has often inititated
her creation from the details of her personal life, giving significant changes to all the details
closely associated with our daily life. The Boat by Gimhongsok was a vehicle of transportation
with full load. At first glance, it seemed to sail off with an abudant cargo, but by taking a closer
look , it was revealed that a lot of objects were of no use, such as fish cans, beer bottles and an
illustration of fish. It seemed to remind us that objects necessary in modern life could be suchutterly useless wastes that were loaded on this boat awaiting for its captain 's order . Kim Sora
brought daily objects into the exhibition. She was concerned with the contextual changes thatwould took place as these objects were removed from everyday life into an exhibition space.
The works she displayed in Seoul and Beijing were 1,290,000 KRW and /,650 CNY respectively.
In these works , she exchanged US dollars into local currency so that she could buy various
objects at the local markets . These objects were then bound together and hung in the show . In
the exhibition in Beijing, she encouraged the audience to exchange the objects with their own
things, thus linking the implication of the work with value, exchange , and regional differences .
The third aspect of the exhibition was concerned with the representation of the spaceof everyday life, by obscuring, breaking , and replacing the boundaries between private/art spaceand space of real life. Mareeya Dumrongphol used ceramics as her primary mater ial. What she
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created was not only some objects, but eternal works of art. She used clay to make the workand showed the process of the clay being created and damaged. Over and over, she repeatedly
cleaned the exhibition space and covered the space with clay. While the work was given an
ever-changing look, she took photos and video to record the process, and put this record ondisplay. All of these elements have turned the work into a visualized diary, making theexhibition space a space for oneself, and the ceramic products the medium for thecommunication between her work, its space and the audience. Ham Jin, created his own uniqueworld, which was far removed from a real space. He drew attention to those objects that were
neglected because of their triviality or forgotten despite their beauty. He combined headlessdolls, dried fish and medicine tablets, -and plotted them in different corners of the exhibition
space. The audience walked over his works as they viewed the exhibition . His art is solely
based on his imagination and the beautiful daily objects, which particularly interest him.
The last aspect of the exhibition was to introduce a new world achieved throughchangeo perspectives. Yang Zhenzhong addressed the spiritual emptiness masked by different
scenes of everyday life in the city. In his work, I Will Die (2000),which he started to create in1999, he recorded images of the subtle facial changes of people from different regions withvarious identity, after they spoke the words, "I will die" towards the video camera . His otherwork, Sleep Walking is a Therapy, put together sections of different scenes in urban life. With
the sound of intense breathing, a sharp contrast has been formed between the tension andanxiety in the black space and the active scene. The work tried to fantasize the daily life andinterchange the fantasy with reality . In the photographs of Miao Xiaochun , Chinese men very
similar to the artist were portrayed . These photographs were not a documentary, and they
lacked a fixed visual focus. The huge photographs and their plentiful details drove our eyesbrowsing through the dense forest of images, while that man in ancient costumes and with ablank facial expression, seemed to be waiting for our sight somewhere. His existence did notchange the nature of the scenes of everyday life, but instead produced a new sight on the part of
the audience. What the works dealt with, was the critical point between presence and absence,
which had been successfully transformed into a visual form. Noguchi Rika took photographic
images of middle-aged swimmers in Beijing who swim throughout the year , even in the cold
winter when the lake is covered by ice. Here, the artist again took away the specific time andspace. Different from the "self-interested" artists, the works of Jung Yeondoo contained
stronger sociality elements. He tried to recover in his photography works the memory ofordinary people lost in the sober daily life. Jung presented a work entitled Bewitched in theexhibition in Beijing, which recorded, through several pairs of photos, portrating the dream andreality of young people . He took one photo of young people in their everyday setting andanother which showed their realization of the dreams . These young people included waiters ofgarage and ice-cream shop, who spoke of their daily life, dreams and hobbies. In this ':'."orktheartist reminded us of the existence of the adolescent memories, the contrast of reality anddream, and the equivocal emotion of satisfaction and emptiness.
To date, we have tried to transform the geographical idea of Asia into a cultural
identity . Asia itself is comprised of complex and panoply of ethnic groups, cultures, andhistories. We are astonished by the rapid advancement of technology and the improved
condition of network communication. In today's global world, Asia's daily life exists under ahighly hybrid condition. The traditional culture and Westernized modernization have made Asia
breed two uncompromising values within it. But because of this perplexing environment, theartists are trying out a dialectic approach from various angles. As part of the "UnderConstruction" project, we researched artists in China, Japan, Korea and Thailand, and presented
them in the "Fantasia" exhibition, in order to show the ongoing transformation. The artists
were able to share their experiences and concepts, and, through their exchanges, present theiridea of "What is Asia?" from their various Asian perspectives. From hereon, we sould envision
new multicultural phase of Asia. These artworks should be able to vividly record the changes
that are taking place amongst us, by touching on the surface of the everyday life where thevarious political issues are put aside from our conscience.

Pi Li (Assistant Researcher, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing. China).& 15'