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2019 Exhibitions

Islamic poster art exhibit poster

From Mecca to Sufi Shrines: Islamic Poster Art from South Asia

March 13 through May 5, 2019
Charles B. Wang Center Skylight Gallery


Curated by Yousuf Saeed, an independent filmmaker and researcher based in India, From Mecca to Sufi Shrines showcases the ephemeral objects and devotional art produced for popular consumption in the Islamic world, in particular in South Asia. Included are mass-printed Islamic posters and calendar art from India and Pakistan, which often depict images of the Hajj pilgrimage; South Asian Sufi shrines and saints; and calligraphy and talismans linked to other religious faiths found in the region.

From Mecca to Sufi Shrines raises the question of why such vibrant visual cultures continue to thrive in the South Asian Islamic world despite the skepticism and suspicion of Islamic authorities on popular art’s legitimacy, as well as why images and popular culture are inevitabilities for popular piety despite orthodox Muslims’ increasing dissociation from them.

     

 

RELATED PROGRAMS

LECTURE
Pluralism in the Devotional Islamic Art of South Asia
Wednesday, March 13, 2019 @ 4 PM
Charles B. Wang Center Theatre

 

Forgotten Faces: Visual Representation of Trauma and Mass Killings in Asia

March 12 through June 14, 2020
Charles B. Wang Center Skylight Gallery, Zodiac Gallery

Curated by Jinyoung Jin, Forgotten Faces traces the cultural phenomenon of mass killings and political trauma in Asia. Although the Holocaust sparked horror and outrage, mass killings did not stop—in fact, they became a defining characteristic of modern society across the globe, including our current moment. Asia, in particular, was the site of many such atrocities, with untold numbers of civilians dying as victims of colonialism, Cold War politics, unstable nation-state systems, capitalism, globalization, social and economic inequality, and growing ecological challenges.

This exhibition reveals the links between these crimes against humanity and works of art, featuring artists Kim Hak (Cambodia), Kumi Yamashita (Japan), Federico Borella (Italy), Lim Ok-Sang (Korea), Noh Suntag (Korea), Choi Byungsoo (Korea), Jung Min-Gi (Korea), Lee Yunyop (Korea), Tenzing Rigdol (Tibet), Tung Min-Chin (Taiwan) and Joe Sacco (US). In the midst of tensions between journalism and aesthetics, we can find documentation of unspeakable acts and a crisis of representation. Forgotten Faces raises public awareness of a largely ignored history of brutality and undertakes to answer how art can express dark histories and a desire for social justice.

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Related Program

LECTURE
Five Degrees: Climate Change in India - CANCELED
Thursday, March 12, 2020 @ 4 PM
Charles B. Wang Center Theatre

OPENING RECEPTION - CANCELLED!
Forgotten Faces
Thursday, March 12, 2020 @ 5 PM
Charles B. Wang Center Skylight Gallery

ART CRAWL
A Guided Tour of Campus Galleries - CANCELED
Thursday, April 2, 2020 @ 3 PM
Charles B. Wang Center Skylight Gallery

LECTURE
Alive: 40 Years After the Khmer Rouge War - CANCELED
Tuesday, April 28, 2020 @ 1 PM
Charles B. Wang Center Lecture Hall I

 

The Studio exhibit poster

The Studio: Through a Surrealistic Lens

Long-Term Installation
Charles B. Wang Center Theatre Gallery


White, flat, dreamlike spaces, serving as thresholds between the inner, subjective self and the external, physical world, were a subject that fascinated the South Korea-based project group GREEM (a name that literally translates to “picture” in Korean). GREEM’s goal is to elicit feelings of strangeness, difference, curiosity, and fun in its audiences. Following a long and rich Surrealist tradition, GREEM draws inspiration from dreamlike narratives, absurd juxtapositions, and comic books for new graphic languages.

A huge, flattened, and cartoon-like artist’s studio in white and black is open, inviting viewers to live out their surrealistic fantasies. The realistic detailing of the artist’s studio also adds touches of humor, utility, and everyday-ness. As soon as the viewer enters the studio (which is carefully modeled and gives the illusion of a three-dimensional form), surrealistic dreams are triggered; the white, flat scene and the viewer’s point of view are disrupted.

The current exhibition is designed to be reproduced and seen on social media as much as it is meant to be enjoyed in its actual location. This imaginative exhibition crosses perspective, culture, and media.

 

Curated by Jinyoung Jin, Director of Cultural Programs at the Charles B. Wang Center, this exhibition is designed and presented by Project Group GREEM, based in Seoul, South Korea.

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RELATED PROGRAMS

ART CRAWL
Guided Exhibition Tour
Wednesday, March 13, 2019 @ 3 PM
Charles B. Wang Center

 

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