Essai curatorial de l'exposition "Tang Chang (1934-1990) : Non-Formes" au Centre Pompidou, Paris,... more Essai curatorial de l'exposition "Tang Chang (1934-1990) : Non-Formes" au Centre Pompidou, Paris, 20 octobre 2023 - 8 avril 2024.
Curatorial essay in bilingual exhibition catalogue for "Tang Chang (1934–1990): Non-Forms" held a... more Curatorial essay in bilingual exhibition catalogue for "Tang Chang (1934–1990): Non-Forms" held at the Centre Pompidou, Paris, 20 October 2023 - 8 April 2024.
https://readymag.com/bagyiaungsoe/essai/
Along with “Modern Burmese Painting According to Bagyi ... more https://readymag.com/bagyiaungsoe/essai/ Along with “Modern Burmese Painting According to Bagyi Aung Soe” from the Journal of Burma Studies (2005/06) and a selection of texts by the artist, this essay “BAGYI AUNG SOE (1923–1990): Juggling Paradoxes in the Here & the Now” was intended for the publication accompanying the exhibition, BAGYI AUNG SOE (1923–1990), scheduled at Musée national d'art moderne - Centre Pompidou in Galerie 0 from December 2020 to February 2021. The exhibition was rescheduled to February 10 – May 3, 2021 [and extended till August 23, 2021] due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with various setbacks thwarting the realisation of the anticipated publication. Independently of the exhibition’s hosting institution, a decision was made to electronically publish this curatorial essay for four reasons: in line with Bagyi Aung Soe’s credo, to make widely accessible this text on the appreciation and legacy of his practice and oeuvre three decades after his passing; to spur reflection, discussion and further research; to register this exhibition marking a milestone in the history of modern Burmese art with which Aung Soe’s life and work is intertwined; and finally, to explore new possibilities of knowledge-making via alternative publishing with fellow students of art and art history: Issa Sng Yi Xian, Toby Wu and Zune Ei Htet. This essay includes images of works and documents other than the exhibition’s selection numbering more than three hundred. It is hoped that any oversight or error will encourage a more robust enquiry and scholarship of equal delight.
Through the example of Bagyi Aung Soe, Myanmar’s leader of modern art in the twentieth century, t... more Through the example of Bagyi Aung Soe, Myanmar’s leader of modern art in the twentieth century, this essay examines the potential of Śāntiniketan’s pentatonic pedagogical program embodying Rabindranath Tagore’s universalist and humanist vision of an autonomous modernity in revitalizing the prevailing unilateral and nation-centric narrative of modern Southeast Asian art. It brings into focus the program’s keystones on the modern, art and the artist, which have been pivotal in discoursing on the Burmese alumnus of the ashram-turned-university, and explores how the same might be applicable to fellow artists in Myanmar and the region.
A student at Rabindranath Tagore’s ashram in Śāntiniketan, India, Myanmar’s “father of modern art... more A student at Rabindranath Tagore’s ashram in Śāntiniketan, India, Myanmar’s “father of modern art” BagyiAung Soe (1923/24–1990) embraced his Indian gurus’ concept of art and the artist. In the spirit of the laureate’shumanist universalism, he strove to picture Buddhist teachings. His signature idiom christened “manawmaheikdi dat”, which has yet to be studied in Myanmar and is virtually unknown at the international level, reliedon meditation to achieve advanced mental power in order to picture the most elemental components of allphenomena, and its visual references included all that was possibly accessible under socialist rule in Burma(1962–1988). With little regard for artistic conventions and categorisations according to discipline, nation andchronology, Aung Soe drew from the sum of artistic, intellectual and spiritual traditions defining his space andtime, varying from quantum physics to esoteric Buddhism, from popular culture to poetry. The nature of hisapproach, method and subject matter, coupled with his country’s exceptional circumstances, demands a newnarrative of art that is unfettered by the assumptions inherent to the purportedly international framework ofEuramerican modern art. Focusing on the contextual significances of the genesis and reception of manawmaheikdi dat painting, this dissertation examines the making, the reading and the seeing of this pictoriallanguage whose transnational and transhistorical dimension renders it “the most modern of modern art”. Basedon a selection of the artist’s works and writings, as well as witnesses of his life and practice, we attempt a storyof how he pictured and made manifest the formless on his own terms.
What narratives might illustration as a medium and body of works carry, in addition to those divu... more What narratives might illustration as a medium and body of works carry, in addition to those divulged by individual illustrations? In Myanmar (Burma), as in many economically developing countries, illustration was the principal site of avant-garde artistic experimentation in a heavily censored society into which the art market had yet to penetrate. Yet, it has been thus far omitted in the prevailing art historical narrative. Through the illustrations of Myanmar's most prolific illustrator and acclaimed trailblazer of modern art, Bagyi Aung Soe (1923-1990), AungSoeillustrations.org (ASi) recounts the emergence of a novel artistic consciousness between 1948, the year the country gained political independence, and 1990 when Myanmar began to open up after almost three decades of isolation under a purportedly socialist regime. In addition, data visualisations of the illustrations created over four decades uncover narratives of a country, a people and an artist's aspirations and t...
An inscription on a Chinese statue of Amitabha dated 746 AD reads, “As a matter of general princi... more An inscription on a Chinese statue of Amitabha dated 746 AD reads, “As a matter of general principle, the highest truth is devoid of any image. But if there were no image, there would be no possibility for truth to manifest itself. The highest principle is without words. But if there were no words, how could the principle be known?” From the point of view of an art historian and through the example of a short animated film proposal, this essay investigates the ways in which strategies specific to animation, such as narrativity, metaphorical potency, metamorphosis, and most importantly, the capacity to penetrate intangible dimensions, mitigate these challenges. The author argues that animation offers a more efficacious medium than static images and theory in evincing Buddhist dharma; namely, that in the process of depicting Buddhist thought and practice, both the activity and product of animation become sites of merit-making and means of spiritual transformation in themselves.
The first major exhibition dedicated to Bagyi Aung Soe (Myanmar, 1923-1990) gathering more than 3... more The first major exhibition dedicated to Bagyi Aung Soe (Myanmar, 1923-1990) gathering more than 300 original works, archival documents and film excerpts.
Co-curated with Catherine David.
Essai curatorial de l'exposition "Tang Chang (1934-1990) : Non-Formes" au Centre Pompidou, Paris,... more Essai curatorial de l'exposition "Tang Chang (1934-1990) : Non-Formes" au Centre Pompidou, Paris, 20 octobre 2023 - 8 avril 2024.
Curatorial essay in bilingual exhibition catalogue for "Tang Chang (1934–1990): Non-Forms" held a... more Curatorial essay in bilingual exhibition catalogue for "Tang Chang (1934–1990): Non-Forms" held at the Centre Pompidou, Paris, 20 October 2023 - 8 April 2024.
https://readymag.com/bagyiaungsoe/essai/
Along with “Modern Burmese Painting According to Bagyi ... more https://readymag.com/bagyiaungsoe/essai/ Along with “Modern Burmese Painting According to Bagyi Aung Soe” from the Journal of Burma Studies (2005/06) and a selection of texts by the artist, this essay “BAGYI AUNG SOE (1923–1990): Juggling Paradoxes in the Here & the Now” was intended for the publication accompanying the exhibition, BAGYI AUNG SOE (1923–1990), scheduled at Musée national d'art moderne - Centre Pompidou in Galerie 0 from December 2020 to February 2021. The exhibition was rescheduled to February 10 – May 3, 2021 [and extended till August 23, 2021] due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with various setbacks thwarting the realisation of the anticipated publication. Independently of the exhibition’s hosting institution, a decision was made to electronically publish this curatorial essay for four reasons: in line with Bagyi Aung Soe’s credo, to make widely accessible this text on the appreciation and legacy of his practice and oeuvre three decades after his passing; to spur reflection, discussion and further research; to register this exhibition marking a milestone in the history of modern Burmese art with which Aung Soe’s life and work is intertwined; and finally, to explore new possibilities of knowledge-making via alternative publishing with fellow students of art and art history: Issa Sng Yi Xian, Toby Wu and Zune Ei Htet. This essay includes images of works and documents other than the exhibition’s selection numbering more than three hundred. It is hoped that any oversight or error will encourage a more robust enquiry and scholarship of equal delight.
Through the example of Bagyi Aung Soe, Myanmar’s leader of modern art in the twentieth century, t... more Through the example of Bagyi Aung Soe, Myanmar’s leader of modern art in the twentieth century, this essay examines the potential of Śāntiniketan’s pentatonic pedagogical program embodying Rabindranath Tagore’s universalist and humanist vision of an autonomous modernity in revitalizing the prevailing unilateral and nation-centric narrative of modern Southeast Asian art. It brings into focus the program’s keystones on the modern, art and the artist, which have been pivotal in discoursing on the Burmese alumnus of the ashram-turned-university, and explores how the same might be applicable to fellow artists in Myanmar and the region.
A student at Rabindranath Tagore’s ashram in Śāntiniketan, India, Myanmar’s “father of modern art... more A student at Rabindranath Tagore’s ashram in Śāntiniketan, India, Myanmar’s “father of modern art” BagyiAung Soe (1923/24–1990) embraced his Indian gurus’ concept of art and the artist. In the spirit of the laureate’shumanist universalism, he strove to picture Buddhist teachings. His signature idiom christened “manawmaheikdi dat”, which has yet to be studied in Myanmar and is virtually unknown at the international level, reliedon meditation to achieve advanced mental power in order to picture the most elemental components of allphenomena, and its visual references included all that was possibly accessible under socialist rule in Burma(1962–1988). With little regard for artistic conventions and categorisations according to discipline, nation andchronology, Aung Soe drew from the sum of artistic, intellectual and spiritual traditions defining his space andtime, varying from quantum physics to esoteric Buddhism, from popular culture to poetry. The nature of hisapproach, method and subject matter, coupled with his country’s exceptional circumstances, demands a newnarrative of art that is unfettered by the assumptions inherent to the purportedly international framework ofEuramerican modern art. Focusing on the contextual significances of the genesis and reception of manawmaheikdi dat painting, this dissertation examines the making, the reading and the seeing of this pictoriallanguage whose transnational and transhistorical dimension renders it “the most modern of modern art”. Basedon a selection of the artist’s works and writings, as well as witnesses of his life and practice, we attempt a storyof how he pictured and made manifest the formless on his own terms.
What narratives might illustration as a medium and body of works carry, in addition to those divu... more What narratives might illustration as a medium and body of works carry, in addition to those divulged by individual illustrations? In Myanmar (Burma), as in many economically developing countries, illustration was the principal site of avant-garde artistic experimentation in a heavily censored society into which the art market had yet to penetrate. Yet, it has been thus far omitted in the prevailing art historical narrative. Through the illustrations of Myanmar's most prolific illustrator and acclaimed trailblazer of modern art, Bagyi Aung Soe (1923-1990), AungSoeillustrations.org (ASi) recounts the emergence of a novel artistic consciousness between 1948, the year the country gained political independence, and 1990 when Myanmar began to open up after almost three decades of isolation under a purportedly socialist regime. In addition, data visualisations of the illustrations created over four decades uncover narratives of a country, a people and an artist's aspirations and t...
An inscription on a Chinese statue of Amitabha dated 746 AD reads, “As a matter of general princi... more An inscription on a Chinese statue of Amitabha dated 746 AD reads, “As a matter of general principle, the highest truth is devoid of any image. But if there were no image, there would be no possibility for truth to manifest itself. The highest principle is without words. But if there were no words, how could the principle be known?” From the point of view of an art historian and through the example of a short animated film proposal, this essay investigates the ways in which strategies specific to animation, such as narrativity, metaphorical potency, metamorphosis, and most importantly, the capacity to penetrate intangible dimensions, mitigate these challenges. The author argues that animation offers a more efficacious medium than static images and theory in evincing Buddhist dharma; namely, that in the process of depicting Buddhist thought and practice, both the activity and product of animation become sites of merit-making and means of spiritual transformation in themselves.
The first major exhibition dedicated to Bagyi Aung Soe (Myanmar, 1923-1990) gathering more than 3... more The first major exhibition dedicated to Bagyi Aung Soe (Myanmar, 1923-1990) gathering more than 300 original works, archival documents and film excerpts.
Co-curated with Catherine David.
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Papers by Yin KER
Along with “Modern Burmese Painting According to Bagyi Aung Soe” from the Journal of Burma Studies (2005/06) and a selection of texts by the artist, this essay “BAGYI AUNG SOE (1923–1990): Juggling Paradoxes in the Here & the Now” was intended for the publication accompanying the exhibition, BAGYI AUNG SOE (1923–1990), scheduled at Musée national d'art moderne - Centre Pompidou in Galerie 0 from December 2020 to February 2021. The exhibition was rescheduled to February 10 – May 3, 2021 [and extended till August 23, 2021] due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with various setbacks thwarting the realisation of the anticipated publication. Independently of the exhibition’s hosting institution, a decision was made to electronically publish this curatorial essay for four reasons: in line with Bagyi Aung Soe’s credo, to make widely accessible this text on the appreciation and legacy of his practice and oeuvre three decades after his passing; to spur reflection, discussion and further research; to register this exhibition marking a milestone in the history of modern Burmese art with which Aung Soe’s life and work is intertwined; and finally, to explore new possibilities of knowledge-making via alternative publishing with fellow students of art and art history: Issa Sng Yi Xian, Toby Wu and Zune Ei Htet. This essay includes images of works and documents other than the exhibition’s selection numbering more than three hundred. It is hoped that any oversight or error will encourage a more robust enquiry and scholarship of equal delight.
Teaching Documents by Yin KER
Co-curated with Catherine David.
Book Reviews by Yin KER
Along with “Modern Burmese Painting According to Bagyi Aung Soe” from the Journal of Burma Studies (2005/06) and a selection of texts by the artist, this essay “BAGYI AUNG SOE (1923–1990): Juggling Paradoxes in the Here & the Now” was intended for the publication accompanying the exhibition, BAGYI AUNG SOE (1923–1990), scheduled at Musée national d'art moderne - Centre Pompidou in Galerie 0 from December 2020 to February 2021. The exhibition was rescheduled to February 10 – May 3, 2021 [and extended till August 23, 2021] due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with various setbacks thwarting the realisation of the anticipated publication. Independently of the exhibition’s hosting institution, a decision was made to electronically publish this curatorial essay for four reasons: in line with Bagyi Aung Soe’s credo, to make widely accessible this text on the appreciation and legacy of his practice and oeuvre three decades after his passing; to spur reflection, discussion and further research; to register this exhibition marking a milestone in the history of modern Burmese art with which Aung Soe’s life and work is intertwined; and finally, to explore new possibilities of knowledge-making via alternative publishing with fellow students of art and art history: Issa Sng Yi Xian, Toby Wu and Zune Ei Htet. This essay includes images of works and documents other than the exhibition’s selection numbering more than three hundred. It is hoped that any oversight or error will encourage a more robust enquiry and scholarship of equal delight.
Co-curated with Catherine David.