The Modern In Southeast Asian Art: A Reader | Publication Launch & Symposium

This symposium will consider the writing of art in Southeast Asia within and across national boundaries in the region. Speakers will respond to the development of the landmark publication “The Modern in Southeast Asian Art: A Reader”, touching on issues of modernism and modernity, regionality, vernacular expression and post-coloniality.

They will discuss the locus and languages of the modern in the region and consider how these writings have been circulated, translated, distilled, interpreted and re-presented. The symposium will also highlight the close collaboration between Southeast Asian institutions, agencies and individuals which has resulted in this research publication.

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The symposium includes two panel discussions:

“Debates and Polemics in Southeast Asian art writing”
One of the key dynamics to emerge from the Reader is the lively back-and-forth of textual polemics on art. Focusing on the idea of polemics, the speakers will pull out key instances from the Reader concerned with opposition and debate within Southeast Asian art writing, as well as its meaning and purpose.

“Language and Translation in Southeast Asian art writing”
What were the languages in which the discourse of Southeast Asian modern art was written? What does this linguistic make-up reveal about the field, and how is it reflected in the kind of terminology and vocabulary that has emerged? Issues of translation within the Reader will also be discussed in this panel.

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About “The Modern in Southeast Asian Art: A Reader”

Edited by: T.K. Sabapathy and Patrick Flores

Associate Editors: Phoebe Scott and Julie Ewington

Contributing Editors: Antarika, Gridthiya Gaweewong, Horikawa Lisa, Yin Ker, Manuporn Leungaram, Roger Nelson, Roberto Paulino, Seng Yu Jin, Aminudin T.H. Siregar and Simon Soon

Who spoke of the modern in Southeast Asia? When and where was the modern written? How was it written? How was it received? This collection brings together nearly 300 texts that were originally published between the late 19th to late 20th centuries, selected by a group of scholars as responses to questions such as these. The texts were produced chiefly in various locations in the region, by artists, critics, historians and curators in 11 languages, many of which had never before been translated into the English language. Years in the making, this publication is the first to present such breadth and depth of art writing in the region of Southeast Asia, and will be a valuable resource to students, teachers and scholars of Southeast Asian studies and art history.

Co-published by National Gallery Singapore and NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore
Two volumes, approx. 1300 pages, paperback
ISBN: 978-981-14-0664-5
S$120 (before GST), 25% discount on the event day