Publications on Asian Culture

1. Pal, Pratapadity
The Peaceful liberators: Jain art from India.
Museum Associates and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1994 isbn 0 500 01650X. Jainism (together with Hinduism and Buddhism) is one of the three major religions to have emerged in India. It has been practised continuously practised since at least the 6th century BC and currently has a following of some six million people. Over the course of two millennia, the Jains have produced an extremely diverse and vital range of art which has hitherto been little known in the West. Richly illustrated with examples from all ages, this book provides a comprehensive introduction to the art of the Jains and a fascinating insight into the practices, principles, and beliefs of the religion. It is published to accompany the world's first exhibition of Jain art which will be shown at the Victoria and Albert Museum in November 1995. (see review)

2. Stearns, Robert (ed.)
Photography and Beyond in Japan: space, time and memory
The Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, 1995.
This catalogue is the first comprehensive survey of the impact of photography on contem- porary Japanese art. It also provides an introduction to traditional Japanese art, offering a context for understanding the innovations of today's artists. The 100 works shown have been created in the past 20 years by 12 Japanese artists. They range from conventional photographic prints to sculptural pieces and other inventive works that reassess every convention of the medium. The related exhibition was organized by the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo.

3. Zijlstra, Sybrand and L. van der Linden
Nederland-Indonesië, een culturele vervlechting
(Z)OO producties, 1995 isbn 90 74009 11 5.
Published to mark the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Indonesian proclamation of Independence in 1945. This book aims to make visible the cultural influences which have passed between the Netherlands and Indonesia in the 50 years since the 1945. All sorts of contributions, i.e. personal accounts, interviews and essays, from the Netherlands and Indonesia, covering a wide range of cultural interaction, can be found in this publication. (see review)

4. Faulkner, Dr. Rupert
Japanese Studio Crafts: tradition and the avant-garde
Victoria and Albert Museum, 1995 isbn 1 85669 062 8.
This book serves as an introduction to the richness and diversity of activities in the different areas of contemporary Japanese studio crafts. There have been two distinctive trends in Japanese studio crafts since the 1970s:a rapid diversification of avant-garde tendencies in fields such as ceramics, metal and fibre art; and the continuation of the more traditional ceramic heritage, for example, demonstrated by family potteries built up over successive generations. The writer examines these different approaches to studio crafts, and uses a broad range of examples to describe in some depth the sophistication of the making processes in Japan.

5. Gillow, John
Traditional Indonesian Textiles
Thames and Hudson, 1995 paperback edition isbn 0 500 278202.
Over 200 photographs illustrate the beautiful cloud shapes, geometric forms, human and animal figures, Indian symbols, and even Dutch Art Deco designs that have been used as textiles motifs. Based on first-hand research, often conducted in remote areas, John Gillow's account comprises a complete history of textile production in the Indonesian Archipelago, from Balinese double-ikats and Javanese silks to the gold-thread brocades of Sumatra.

6. Jose, Nicholas and Yang Wen-i (eds.)
Art Taiwan
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 1995 isbn 976 6410 53 4 (sc), 976 6410 21 6 (hc)
This catalogue was published on the occasion of the first significant showing of contemporary art from Taiwan in Australia. This book is intended as a timely contri- bution to the burgeoning of literature on the art of this region. Beside colour plates of contemporary Taiwanese art, this catalogue contains essays on the development of Taiwanese art.

7. Dagens, Bruno
Angkor: heart of an Asian empire
Thames and Hudson, 1995 isbn 0 500 300542, paperback.
Cambodia is home to one of the most intriguing ancient cities in the world. For over five centuries Angkor, ancient seat of the Buddhist god-kings, was capital of the Khmer empire. Abandoned in the 15th century, this magnificent city was swallowed up by the jungle and almost forgotten until, four centuries later, it was uncovered by European explorers. This book traces the origins of the mysterious ruins and brings the story of their rediscovery alive through documentary photographs, paintings, drawings, and maps.

8. Murray, Sarah and Suwarno Wirosetiotomo
Contemporary Indonesian Art
Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta, 1995.
This catalogue has been published in connection with the exhibition of contemporary art of the Non-Aligned Countries. Forty-nine contemporary artists from Indonesia are presented in this catalogue, and there are articles on contemporary art in the Non-Aligned Countries, modernism and modernity in contemporary art in Indonesia, and contemporary Indonesian art in a global perspective.

9. Lasschuyt, Helga (ed.)
Weather Report
Weather Report, The Hague, 1995.
Catalogue of a project that started off in 1991, when Rienke Enghardt, a Dutch artist, set off on her first trip to Asia. Several other trips followed. Among the countries she has visited are China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Burma, Vietnam, and Laos. During her journeys, she made drawings, which she then cut into four parts. Each part was sent, like a postcard, to a Dutch artist and an Asian artist, whom she met along the way. Each artist extended the received fragment, creating a new work of art, the same size as the original drawing. Afterwards, the four original fragments were again put together. The fascinating new pieces of art thus created are being exhibited in a travelling exhibition, that will be seen through Asia and the Netherlands. The catalogue contains contributions of, among others, Michel Maas and Jeffry Hantover.

10. Heraty, Toeti
Choices of the Heart: modern Indonesian paintings from Toeti Heraty's collection
Cemara 6 galeri Kafe, Jakarty 1995
Catalogue which accompanied an exhibition at the Rotterdam Museum of Ethnology, from June 1 to August 27, 1995. The exhibition shows work from the private collection of the psychologist, philosopher, and poet Toeti Heraty who plays an important part in the cultural life of Jakarta. She has built up a major collection of modern Indonesian art. The exhibition shows some twenty-five paintings from this collection, selected by Toeti Heraty herself, together with a number of poems and fragments of literature. The result: a personal view of someone who is an Indonesian art professor, of the director of the Jakarta art academy, and of a famous Indonesian art collector



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